JACEK CHOCOLATE COUTURE UNVEILS EXPANDED FACTORY AND BOUTIQUE
Sweet business has grown by 30 per cent a year since it was established in 2009
Their pride and joy in their product is the same as we feel here. JACQUELINE J ACE K, speaking of her visits to ethically-sourced cacao farms
Jacqueline Jacek of Jacek Chocolate Couture has expanded her chocolate-making facility in Sherwood Park, tripling the space from 2,200 sq. ft. to 7,600 sq. ft.
“We couldn’t continue to take on more business if we didn’t grow,” says Jacek, 36.
The business has been burgeoning by some 30 per cent a year since Jacek started making and selling chocolates from her basement in 2009, moving to the Sherwood Park facility at 406 Kaska Rd. in 2012.
The new chocolate factory, three months under renovation, features a brand new and stylish boutique, a tasting room for wine and chocolate events and a cacao bean sorting and roasting room to aid the production of Jacek’s bean-to-bar products.
The bean-to-bar chocolate is Jacek’s passion. Harvested from ethically-sourced farms in countries including the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, the beans are roasted, sorted, and winnowed (which involves peeling the thin skin from the cacao nibs) on-site at Jacek Chocolate Couture. Then the nibs are combined with sugar and cocoa butter and used either to make truffles, or to create luxurious bars. Jacek has visited many of the cacao farms herself.
“Their pride and joy in their product is the same as we feel here,” she says.
A grand reopening celebration is being held at 406 Kaska Rd. Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It features complimentary Jacek treats.
Vancouver chef Ned Bell is the real deal — a celebrity chef with significant culinary chops rooted in a passion for sustainability. If you attend chef Bell’s sustainable seafood supper at NAIT on Nov. 28 at 6:30 p.m., you will not only enjoy a stellar meal, but also will have the opportunity to join Bell in changing the world. Seriously.
I first met chef Bell in 2014, when he was on a Chefs for Oceans bike ride to raise awareness about the health of our oceans. He biked 8,700 kilometres, coast-to-coast, to get people thinking about their seafood choices. At the time, Bell, who had a show on Food Network for seven seasons, was executive chef with the Four Seasons in Vancouver. Since then, he has become executive chef for Ocean Wise, a sustainability program run through the Vancouver Aquarium.
Now, Bell has another new project — a fabulous cookbook, called Lure, which features top-notch, and easy-to-execute recipes based on working with sustainable fish and seafood, plus a host of other plant-based, nutrient-rich foods.
“This (cookbook) is an extension of what my ride across Canada was back in 2014 — trying to get more Canadians to recognize the importance of our healthy lakes, rivers and oceans across Canada,” says Bell.
Lure boasts 80 simple and delicious recipes for the home cook with 40 different sustainable seafood choices. The book is $36 and available at Audreys and Chapters-Indigo, as well as online through Amazon.
On the 28th, Bell will lead NAIT students through the preparation of a four-course meal, based on dishes in Lure, to be served at Ernest’s restaurant (11762 106 St.) The meal is $120, including wine pairings, tax and tip, and a copy of Bell’s new cookbook. For reservations, contact Tanya at 780-471-8685, or email twright@nait.ca.
Parkallen restaurant (7018 109 St.) has a re-imagined menu. Fans of the 35-year-old establishment will be happy to know that some of their favourites are still available (including, of course, the pizza, Joe’s Mezza and Mom’s charred chicken). New menu items include baby back ribs, lasagna and a daily pasta special, along with a new selection of steaks and mussel frites. For more information, call 587-520-6401.
Prairie Gardens Adventure Farm, together with RGE RD restaurant and UnWined, are joining forces to host the North- ern Lands Prairie Collective Gourmet Holiday Market on Sunday, Dec. 3.
The event, fashioned after traditional Italian and German Christmas markets, is $5 per person ($10 for a family carload) and runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Prairie Gardens is near Bon Accord, at 6311 Lily Lake Road, about 25 minutes north of Edmonton.
The focus of the Christmas market is on sustainable and handmade foods, along with local crafts. Watch for RGE RD-made pates, smoked meats, sausages, and wood-fired oven breads. Fine wine by UnWined, as well as whiskey tastings, are part of the fun.
Family friendly highlights include a visit with Santa, a Polar Express trackless train ride, plus winter bale mazes and an indoor petting farm. Call 780-921-2272 or visit Facebook for details.
No sooner has pumpkin spice left the menu that the aroma of tourtiere begins to waft from city eateries. Fans of the style made by the Highlevel Diner will be pleased to know that the traditional savoury Christmas pie is now on sale. The $33 tourtieres are frozen with cooking instructions attached to the box and serve six to eight.
If lineups outside the door are any indication, the newest restaurant to open in Old Strathcona is off to a jolly start. Pip, the third restaurant owned by the team behind Meat and The Next Act, opened Nov. 1 and has been rocking ever since.
The 28-seat restaurant features brunch, which is served seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There’s a classic eggs bennie with shaved ham and dill Hollandaise, and a baked french toast (dense, with maple cream cheese). Sandwiches are available for those who don’t like brunch after noon, including a trout salad sandwich with capers served on sourdough bread.
After 3 p.m., the restaurant is devoted to “premium comfort foods,” says co-owner Saylish Haas. Think roast chicken with crispy kale, mashed potatoes and brown butter gravy ($26), or pork belly with picked cabbage and warm apple fennel salad ($24).
“The biggest word I’ve heard people saying about Pip is that it’s ‘super-cute and cosy,’” says Haas.
Pip is at 10403 83 Ave. and is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Call 780-760-4747. No reservations.