Ah, the start of a fresh year. What better time is there to make a pact with oneself to start anew? In the position of a culinary instructor, I encounter many situations with people wanting to improve areas of the culinary arts within their home kitchens and lifestyles. If you […]
Chef Dez – Your Personal Chef
The holiday season is a very special time of the year that is celebrated with favourite food and drinks alike. Family and friends come together to eat, drink, and commemorate the precious relationships that they hold with each other. Throughout the years there have been many beverages and appetizers made […]
If, at the present moment, you have cornmeal in your pantry, it is probably the residual ingredient from a cornbread recipe you once tried. Although cornmeal is very versatile, and a staple in every Italian kitchen, here in Canada I find that it is not very popular. Not only is […]
Have recent increases in the price of meat leave you with the thought of becoming a vegetarian? With no disrespect to my vegetable eating friends, there is a great technique to bring extreme flavour and tenderness to cheaper cuts of meat. It’s called “braising”. Braising is typically the process of […]
A number of years ago I featured a recipe on Global TV for Italian Sausage & Gnocchi Soup. The amount of positive feedback I received from this recipe was overwhelming to say the least. One of the requests I received within this feedback was for a vegetarian version of this […]
Walking through a warehouse store the other day, a package of frozen meatballs caught my attention. I said to my wife, “I wonder how many people actually buy these?” A small discussion between her and I, surrounding this topic, ensued. I love meatballs in pasta dishes, sandwiches, soups, stews, and […]
A traditional dessert at Thanksgiving is pumpkin pie, but there are so many other options that would feel just as seasonal. One of my favourites is Cranberry Bread Pudding. Bread puddings usually utilize leftover stale bread, but I prefer to use a fresh loaf of French bread and toast it […]
The school year is upon us once again. We have school aged children in our household, and we are always trying to create fun lunches with variety for them. This recipe is in my latest cookbook, Cooking Around the World with Chef Dez, and one we turn to a lot. […]
One of the aspects of the food & wine industry that I have realized over the years of my career as a Chef is that people can be so serious. Yes, I take pride in what I do and I think that the role I play in the industry has […]
Rubs don’t have to be “rubbed” onto meat. A simply dredging or sprinkling will do just fine, but that being said, any rubbing will help the spices to penetrate the meat better in most cases. I never purchase pre-made spice mixes from the store. I always get greater satisfaction from […]
I find that one of the absolute joys of cooking is creating and playing around with different flavours and ingredients to bring a dish together. So to help you achieve success when you’re firing up the barbecue, here are a couple of our favourite homemade barbecue sauces that we use […]
I mentioned this recipe in my previous column on cherries, and due to the overwhelming requests, I am sharing it with you today. This soup is very unique and can be served hot, room temperature, or chilled. It is one of my all-time favourite dishes from my childhood. Mom’s Cherry […]
