MORE THAN A NAIT TRAINING GROUND
Chef Michael Hassall plans to make Ernest’s restaurant a year-round dining destination
Chef Michael Hassall hopes a steady diet of great food events will soon persuade Edmonton diners that NAIT is not just a place for lunch if you’re near campus during the school term, but a go-to for good food throughout the year.
Certainly by appointing the first full-time executive chef to Ernest’s restaurant (11762 106 St.), the culinary institution has signalled a change. In 2018, for the first time, Ernest’s restaurant ( just named to 100 Best Restaurants in Canada by the reservation system OpenTable) will be open for business when the students have left for the summer.
Though it’s early days, Hassall hopes to “create a name for Ernest’s as somewhere to go for date night, or for a pre-game meal, just park and take the LRT to the arena.”
“My goal is to create a little more business on the weekends,” said Hassall, 32, a NAIT grad and for five years executive chef at Vivo Ristorante in the west end.
Until now, Ernest’s has focused on academics, seeing itself mainly as a training ground for student chefs. With Hassall at the helm, the restaurant will explore other culinary options, such as farm-focused meals in the summer. Hassall said it’s exciting to imagine what he can do for the restaurant with access to all NAIT’s food resources, such as a pastry chef, custom sausages by the school’s meat-cutting division, and hand-crafted cheeses from the school’s production facility.
Also throughout 2018, there will be more fun at Ernest’s on weekends, with food-focused events like the 17th century meal (paired with medieval libations) that’s part of a Jan. 27 book release for a collection of Renaissance-era recipes by local food writer and NAIT instructor, Kristine Kowalchuk.
For now, Hassall is getting to know his staff, who are busy with special menus for the Christmas season. (NAIT is hosting holiday lunches on Monday, Dec. 18, Wednesday, Dec. 20 and Thursday, Dec. 21, plus an evening meal on Saturday, Dec. 16. Call Ernest’s for more details and to reserve at 780-471-8676.)
The Journal asked Hassall to share a quick and easy dish that Edmonton food lovers could enjoy this coming holiday season. He produced a winter salad (with candy cane beets from Peas on Earth), complete with a tangy limoncello dressing that’s sure to please.
We quizzed Hassall on his food bona fides, and his guilty pleasures. The interview is edited and condensed.
Q What’s your go-to when you come home tired and hungry?
A A tomato sandwich with lettuce, mayo, and salt and pepper on sourdough bread.
Q What dish do you always have the ingredients for at home?
A I can usually make a quick curry as I always have spices, a can of coconut milk, canned tomatoes and rice. Plus, you can make a pakora out of anything; it’s just a deep-fried Indian fritter and you can stuff it with whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand.
Q What’s your favourite appliance?
A The coffee grinder, in all honesty. I really enjoy a good cup of coffee and I use it pretty much every day, plus you can use it as a spice grinder, too. The smell of freshly ground coffee perks me up and puts me in a good mood.
Q What’s your favourite kitchen tool?
A My small chef ’s knife. It’s six inches and single-bevelled, for a smoother cut.
Q Do you have a favourite comfort dish from childhood?
A My dad’s chili with sourdough buns. And my mom’s perogies are dynamite, just with salt, pepper, butter and fried onions. My wife now makes them stuffed with green peppers, and they’re also really good.
Q What’s your kitchen motto?
A “Taste everything” is something I say 100 times a day. You’ll never serve bad food if you taste it first.
Q What’s your guilty pleasure when it comes to food?
A Miss Vickie’s lime and black pepper chips, with a Prairie Fire Beer by Edmonton’s Town Square Brewing. It’s a brew pub in the Ellerslie area, where I live.
Q What’s your favourite food city?
A There is good food in every city. But we were recently in Montreal and it’s pretty diverse. I don’t eat super fancy when I go out. I like a ramen and a beer. Or a good poutine.
Q What’s your worst food disaster?
A I was working at Ric’s Grill and I was helping put plates through the pass-through, and I bumped a stack of plates against another stack and the whole thing shot through and hit the floor and shattered. It went absolutely everywhere, throughout the kitchen. We had just put fresh food in all the inserts, and it all had to be thrown out and I broke 35 plates. I cleaned it all up, but the manager said it would have been cheaper not to open that night.
Q What’s your best food memory?
A I remember being on Vancouver Island with my wife before we were married. We were walking on this pier to a fish and chips place and I was very much in love and wanted to get married. Regardless of the quality of the dish … it’s an incredible memory for me.
FARMER’S SALAD
Chef Michael Hassall suggests assembling a collection of bright root vegetables, such as yellow and orange carrots, candy cane beets and watermelon radishes (these vegetables can be found at the Peas on Earth booth at the Old Strathcona Farmers Market, depending on availability). Slice the veggies thin, and then blanch them slightly (maybe four or five seconds) and then plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
Slice several yellow and red tomatoes into wedges, too, and get yourself a couple of handfuls of watercress (available at ethnic grocery stores) or arugula.
Assemble the vegetables in a random, artistic fashion on a broad plate (see photo), and then scatter to taste with the greens. Grate some Parmesan, aged white cheddar or Colby cheese on top and drizzle the whole business with Limoncello Vinaigrette.
Serve, with pride.