IN THE CHEF’S KITCHEN
Handmade pasta a family fave
To own a restaurant had always been in the back of Taszia Thakur’s mind.
On Jan. 1, 2019, that little nugget of hope became a reality as she and her husband, Karan, took over ownership of Calories, the venerable Broadway restaurant with the tempting dessert case.
Calories first opened in 1986 as a coffee shop, and has been a fixture on Broadway Avenue since. It has evolved over the years, expanding into a full restaurant and catering operation.
Long before “local” was a culinary buzzword, Calories was sourcing ingredients from local growers and suppliers. Over the years they’ve taken pride in building their menu around the seasons, with an emphasis on real, simple, delicious food. Chef Taszia worked for the previous owner for five years, and she shares that same philosophy when it comes to creating menus.
Taking over the reins as an owner and head chef has been exciting and gratifying, and this busy mom of a two-year-old works long hours six days a week — except Sunday, which she has claimed as her day off.
Taszia quickly whips up pasta dough in her Kitchenaid, and she tells us that noodles are often requested by her son, so having them on hand is a must for this busy household. As the dough whirls around and around, Taszia chops locally sourced shallots and garlic that will go into a hot pan along with olive oil and preserved vegetables and sauces that she processed in the summer when these ingredients were abundant and at the peak of their flavour.
I see jars of charred eggplant packed in olive oil, roasted red peppers, oven-dried tomatoes, pesto, spicy tomato sauce ready to be made into dinner along with the fresh pasta. She says the family eats at home the same way they eat at the restaurant — simple and delicious food.
Getting in the door at 8 p.m. most nights means there’s not a lot of time for dinner, so Taszia usually makes up a big batch of pasta and keeps it in the freezer, then just pulls it out for a quick feast of noodles. Karan, her husband, is from India, so they cook a lot of Indian food at home, too.
Having a two-year-old in the house changed their cooking style a little bit. Their son likes to eat everything, but if you ask him what he wants to eat tonight, he says “buttered noodles.” As chef Taszia pulls long sheets of dough out of the machine, then deftly slices them into wide strips of pappardelle noodles, we chat a little about this and that.
Q If you have only 15 minutes to eat, what do you cook yourself ?
A Eggs on toast. Poached or sunny side up eggs, some kind of good bread from one of the local bakeries, and the odd time maybe some sautéed mushrooms.
Q What is your guilty-pleasure grocery store item?
A Dark chocolate. The darker the better. I’m pretty picky about my chocolate. Green Blacks and Camino are my favourite.
Q What is your favourite Saskatchewan ingredient to cook with?
A Mushrooms. We get in a few hundred pounds of chanterelles and whatever morels we can get.
I process them for the winter so we can use them in different ways. I love fishing, too. I grew up fishing with my grandpa and my dad, so I love all of the northern fish. I love berry picking, too.
Q If you could cook for anyone famous, who would it be?
A There’s a chef just outside Barcelona who has two Michelin stars. She was the only female chef in the world at the time to have a three and a two Michelin star. Her name is Carme Ruscalleda from Restaurant Sant Pau in Sant Pol de Mar, just outside of Barcelona. So maybe her, but that would be very intimidating, so maybe I would just cook with her. Our lunch there took seven hours. Amazing.
Q Did anyone inspire you to become a professional chef ? If so, who?
A When I was in Grade 8 home economics class in Tisdale, I really got into cooking. Then in Grade 10 I went out to Charlottetown, P.E.I. on a family trip and I toured the culinary institute there, and I shadowed a couple of classes for a day and I just loved it. We were there for a different reason, but I took a day and did that, and from then on I knew that’s where I wanted to go to school. There was no doubt as to what I was going to do.
Q What is your favourite menu item at Calories?
A I love our mussels. We get the best-quality mussels from Saltspring Island. They are the great big plump, juicy ones. That is my go-to when I’m eating at the restaurant.