Those who are in the know, and many of you are, know the shining star in the crown of Canmore’s evolving food scene is none other than our very own Eden Hrabec, executive sous chef at Crazyweed.
This young bright phenom has won a Gold Medal Plate culinary competition and been featured on Food Network’s You Gotta Eat Here.
Earlier this year, Hrabec was one of 14 Alberta chefs chosen to take part in the culinary experience Cook It Raw Alberta. In its eighth edition, the collaborative food culture event changes its location and has gathered local chefs with international mentors in Copenhagen, the Yucatan and Charleston, among others.
“I have had a great experience so far; the energy and talent within the group is very inspiring,” Hrabec said about the experience so far.
The chefs gathered in Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park in May and focused on foraging for local ingredients, hunting wild game and fishing. The retreat took chefs to local farms and taught them about edible plants unique to that specific area.
They partnered throughout the remainder of the year and each received an ingredient to focus upon and an international chef to work with. Hrabec, along with Justin Leboe from Calgary’s Model Milk, have Alberta Beef as their ingredient and are paired with Chef Syrco Bakker from the Netherlands.
This week they gathered at Mount Engadine Lodge in Kananaskis Country for a second retreat and shared their knowledge of local food traditions, techniques and ingredients in order to determine how these elements and the new information they are acquiring will meld on the plate.
Hrabec said as a chef, the style of cooking makes her take a good hard look at what she is putting on the plate.
“Where our ingredients come from and how they are grown is the root to our success,” she said. “This style of cooking is a real chance to collaborate and discover our region’s ingredients and working with such amazing talents from across Alberta, it will be really exciting to see what we create.”
Cook It Raw director Alessandro Porcelli said it was through meeting Alberta Culinary Tourism Alliance chair Don House last year at the Terroir Symposium that he became aware Alberta as a location for the event.
“I was very impressed with the chef talent and the high quality products and ingredients that were being used in the region and was curious as to why there wasn’t a stronger culinary identity that defined Alberta,” Porcellis said.
“Don and I had a long discussion about why this was the case and how the narrative of this region could be told and it just sort of sparked the idea right there and then.”
Porcelli said the event aims to bring the story about Alberta’s culinary products and experiences to a global level and will have a lasting impact.
“I think Alberta is in a unique position because the products and culinary experiences are world-class, but the culinary story has not been told on a global level,” he said. “For Cook It Raw, the legacy will be in how the chefs continue to stay connected, to inspire and mentor one another.
“One of the things we are really focusing on this year is the state of professional kitchens and the healthiness of the work environment. Chefs work in high-stress environments, with tremendous outside pressure to innovate, run profitable businesses, increase their brand and stay on top of global food trends. It is an intensely competitive environment and we would like to foster a professional community that can support and collaborate to push innovation and mindfulness on all levels.”
Hrabec said she hopes to bring the lessons she learns from the experience of being part of Cook It Raw Alberta and put them into her food.
“I have found a new appreciation for ingredients I would have usually overlooked,” she said. “Cook It Raw has opened my eyes up to new opportunities in our culinary culture here in Alberta.”
The main public event at the end of the culinary journey for the Alberta chefs is on Sunday (Oct. 11) at Rouge Restaurant and Outdoor Garden in Calgary from noon to 3 p.m. Tickets are available at www.albertaculinary.com/cookitraw/events/ and are $125. Guests will be able to experience the magnificent culinary collaborations from each of the seven teams at food stations in the gardens behind the restaurant.
