Keynote Presentation

Jeff’s presentation topic at Eat Alberta 2013 will focus on his transition from gluttonous consumer to self-sustaining producer, and how participants can liberate themselves, one backyard hen at a time.

Jeff Senger is a co-owner of Sangudo Custom Meats, of Sangudo, Alberta. After abandoning a traditional career path in corporate accounting, Jeff Senger immersed himself in the world of micro-finance and -economics. Beginning with the co-founding of a collaborative, community-owned investment co-operative, Jeff went on to co-found the community-financed food processing company that now provides quality meat to several of Edmonton’s best restaurants.

Ricotta Cheese Making: During this hands-on demonstration Chef Roote will show you how to turn everyday milk into delicious ricotta.

Centuries ago, ingenious Italians discovered that if you take the whey left over from cheese-making and reheat it to just under a boil the remaining milk solids will curdle and form a special type of cheese, called ricotta, which means “twice-cooked”. Chef Roote will show you how to make this cheese at home using the milk that’s already in your fridge.

Artisan Sausage Making: Everything you need to know about making sausages at home: ingredients, recipes, equipment, techniques, and other resources. Students will get their hands messy grinding meat and stuffing it into natural casings.

Bacon Making: Homemade bacon: what have you been missing out on?! Make your own bacon from fresh pork belly. Become curing-salt smart, as that stuff can seriously harm folks if you mess that bit up. Never tried homemade bacon? If not, you and Chad have a date! If you ever buy bacon from a store again Eat Alberta will eat their hat. [Editor's Note: Chad's words, not Eat Alberta's...]

Vinaigrettes: More than just Salad Dressing!: Vinaigrettes are Elaine’s favourite way to dress up any dish, not just salads. The vinaigrettes you’ll make are delicious concoctions, most with very little to no fat. Effectively uncooked gastriques and marinades, they’re extremely versatile – delicious on salads; ideal glaze for pan-seared seafood and meat; and an easy marinade/finish for grilled meat and vegetables.

You’ll start with recipes exploring vinaigrette combinations both classic and international (Japanese, Thai, Mexican, and Greek), but you’ll be encouraged to create your own signature vinaigrettes by taste. Make as many as you like and take them home to experiment. Who says you can’t play with your food!

Sourdough 101: Basic Yeast Farming: Fresh, delicious, simple bread at home. Seriously: it’s simple. You think I’m lying. You think there is nothing simple about bread. Well you are wrong. Give Owen one hour of your time and he will prove you wrong. So come meet Julie (fyi, she’s not a big talker) and Owen (big talker) to learn all about making and baking your own simply delicious sourdough.

Equipment needed: Please bring a small glass/plastic container to take 3-5 oz of Julie home so you can continue bread making.

Knife Skills: Cut Like a Chef: As the tin says, learn to use a kitchen knife like a chef. Kevin Kent will show you how to hold a knife, keep it sharp, and some basics cut. Think julienne, brunoise, diced onions, chiffonade, orange supremes, pineapple…………. maybe even flute a mushroom or two.

PICKLES!: A safe, high-acid way to get things into jars for your first canning adventure. This will be a hands on intro to putting things in jars. We’ll talk about brines and flavour for vinegar pickles while creating some delicious carrot and beet pickles for you to take home and enjoy. We’ll go through the basic steps of water bath canning and the details of reading a pickling and canning recipe. You will have two jars to take home and share at the end of the session.

Foraging Plants: Robert will present visual sampling of wild edible plants from the Edmonton area, with ideas for incorporating them into your diet. This will include leaves, flowers, roots, and seeds from various plants that are common and easily accessed.

Foraging Mushrooms in Edmonton: Martin will discuss the basics of mushroom foraging: safety, identification, where to go and what to look for. He will also give profiles of common edible mushrooms found in the Edmonton area.

So You Want to be an Urban Farmer: The fundamentals of building and successfully running an urban garden operation. Topics include: varietal selection, soil-sun-water, micro-weeding, and the essence of a successful gardenerd.

Saskatoon Pie Making: Tips of the trade from Pastry Chef Tracy Zizek! The session will focus on the key techniques of basic pie dough making and how get the best dough possible using proper techniques and trade secrets. You will make a filling using local Saskatoons and learn to create a consistent, flavourful pie. By the end of the session you will be an avid, confident pie-maker.

The Whole Chicken: In this session, you will learn how to properly de-bone and break down a whole chicken. From there you will learn the process of making chicken stock, as well as discuss the benefits of using a brine prior to cooking the bird.

Beer Tasting: Neil will start with a (very) short history of brewing in Edmonton. He will answer common questions, like what’s the difference between ales and lagers. Most importantly he will teach you how to taste beer by evaluating the colour, aroma, flavour, body, and aftertaste.

Then the tasting begins. You will sample a few Alley Kat beers, and a few other local brews. A question and answer period will follow.

Perogy Making: Make perogies from scratch like only a baba can. With Chef Omar by your side you will make traditional, savoury perogies, as well as a contemporary sweet version.

Beef Tasting: Taste the difference between grass- and grain-finished beef, as well as the difference between different cuts of beef from the same animal.