Guest Chef

John Jackson and Connie Desousa’s bagels

“He prefers to commute by bike to work, sometimes as much as 100 km, depending on the route.”

Chef John Jackson is grateful his kids don’t know his former unhealthy self. “They grew up getting pulled around in their Chariot,” he says. When he was starting his career in New York, however, work/life balance wasn’t on the menu. After ruminating about his poor health one night, he vowed to change. He began running, but soon after hurt his knee.

So, he dusted off his old mountain bike and trained for the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a 200-km long ride with emotional ties – his business partner Connie Desousa’s mother had been recently diagnosed with cancer. The duo co-own and manage many restaurants, including their flagship, Calgary’s Charcut Roast House.

Never getting his driver’s licence (Jackson got his learner’s permit to take his wife, Carrie, to the hospital when she was pregnant), he prefers to commute by bike to work, sometimes as much as 100 km, depending on the route. Eventually, he lost more than 80 lb. and started two annual goals. The first was to ride 10,000 km, and then add 1,000 km each year following. The second goal was to ride 800 km to Regina a few times a year to see his parents. He also started eating throughout the day, instead of a giant meal at the end of a shift. Four years ago, he and Desousa organized a Canadian team, which now has 12 cyclists, to ride in the U.s.-based Chefs Cycle, which works to address hunger. “Chefs Cycle is probably my most gratifying accomplishment that I do each year.” The icing on the cake: after years of support and relationship building, he became a Giant brand ambassador in 2019.

“I say it all the time: riding a bike saved my life. I’m a better dad, I’m a better husband,” he says. “I can do so much more now because I put my health first.”

Ingredients

3 cup bread flour

½ cup organic whole wheat flour

1 tbsp instant yeast

1½ tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

320 ml water

1 egg

1 tbsp molasses

Some toppings you can add to your bagels include dry garlic flakes, white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, nigella seeds or sea salt.

Directions

1. Mix the yeast and water.

2. Add flours, salt and sugar.

3. Knead for 10 minutes.

4. Put the dough in a bowl. Cover with damp cloth. Proof for one hour.

5. Punch down the dough. Divide it into eight pieces, and then roll them into balls

6. Proof for 10 minutes.

7. Make holes in the balls by pressing your thumb through, and then use two fingers to stretch and roll in a circular motion.

8. Bring a large pot of water to a soft boil. Add molasses.

9. Place bagels in the boiling water carefully. Using a timer, cook for one and a half minutes per side.

10. Place boiled bagels on an oiled baking sheet.

11. Make an egg wash by whisking the egg with 1 tsp of water.

12. Bush egg wash on the bagels.

13. If you are adding a topping, put it on.

14. Bake at 425 F for 18 minutes.