Otto’s Russian-Style Hearty Cabbag...

                Russian-Style Hearty Cabbage Soup When I was living in Invermere BC I did lots of sightseeing into the mountainous back country adjacent the Purcell, Selkirk and the Rockies mountain ranges. I remember being shown the many off the beat and track valley rivers and trails that were once transportation routes for the many mines that were situated all through this area. Some of the mines had natural hot springs and gardens that flourished to bath and feed the hungry miners. This one particular backwoods mine still had a...

Baked Brown Sugar Custard

Baked Brown Sugar Custards.           The hotel bakers were the first to arrive before my dad. Toni was the one who I would spend most of the morning with and she unknowingly taught me how to bake. She would turn on the ovens and get the big stainless steel urns of coffee on the go and start baking  the fresh proofed bread, scones, parker house rolls and sweet buns first thing. She was a very meticulous pastry chef and made every step count. I think about her now and when I was around five, she must have been in her late fifties. She would always...

Bubba Rumba Salsa

              Bubba  Rumba  Salsa I do a lot of research travelling from farms to markets to find the right produce. Tomatoes are one of the most used items for my recipes. The quest to find the best tasting tomatoes takes a lot of trial and error circumstances. They all look so good sitting there on the grocers produce island. Looks can be deceiving! That’s why shopping at the source gets the best results. Picked green and held in controlled atmosphere till they are shipped to the retail stores takes out a big bite of flavour. But...

Creole Hush Puppies

    Mighty Fine Creole Hush Puppies; One of the best kitchenman back yard nibbles are my Creole Hush Puppies. I have wowed a lot of people with these. I would fry up big batches for shore lunches and back yard parties. They go so well with any seafood dish or bbq smoked meats. There simple to make and can be made and refrigerated ahead time and will keep for up to a day. The pork belly lard is important and you will recall the tastes it brings out is similar to old school creole flavourings. They used the fat from the cooked chicken skins and from ducks too....

Crab Cakes!

Back in 1984 I was asked by some celebrities that I was cooking for if I ever have eaten at Stars Restaurant in San Francisco. My reply was not yet, but after hearing about the chef in charge and his new style fusion food menu I knew it would not be long before I would be there in the flesh. Stars were noted as being the birthplace of New American Cuisine. The restaurant was an instant sensation and quickly became the top-grossing restaurant for years. Chef Jeremiah Tower and his posse of celebrity chefs like Wolfgang Puck became the pioneers of California Cuisine. Bobby...

Jar_Doo Wings.

  Jar Doo Wings. I get asked on a regular bases what is my favourite restaurant snack food. Simple, the chicken wing! Now I’m the kind of chef that over the years of gastronomy found very little food that I don’t like! One food item that has been a staple on so many menus is the lowly chicken wing. When I was executive chef eateries like Turtle Jacks, Pat and Mario’s, Hungry Moose, Houlahan’s, Knotty Pine Planet Hollywood, Hard rock Cafe and numerous other pub, sport-pub-bar concepts for which I  branded and created recipes that were extended as...