Liane Faulder’s Food Notes
Breakfast to raise awareness of year-old program
Mealshare — a program that lets diners contribute to charity while eating meals in restaurants — is launching in six more Edmonton restaurants this week.
To celebrate this, and to raise awareness about the year-old local organization, Mealshare hosts a pancake breakfast in Churchill Square that’s timed to coincide with the K-Days parade. Mealshare co-owner Jeremy Bryant, together with staff from various Edmonton partner restaurants, will be flipping flapjacks from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Friday.
The new YEG restaurants that have joined up are Culina Mill Creek, North 53, Block 1912, Rosso Pizzeria, Dauphine Bakery and Knosh Food Truck. For every Mealshare-branded menu item purchased, a meal is donated by Mealshare to the Hope Mission or Save the Children. So far, some 70 restaurants in four cities — 10 in Edmonton — are taking part, and Mealshare has provided over 65,000 meals to people in need. mealshare.ca
Four Edmonton chefs — Andrew Fung, Ben Staley, Doreen Prei and Shane Loiselle — have excused themselves from the Gold Medal Plates competition, scheduled for Oct. 23 at the Shaw Conference Centre.
Taking their spots are Stephen Chung from the Chateau Lacombe, Ryan O’Flynn of the Westin and Steve Buzak of the Royal Glenora Club — and one more chef, as yet to be named. The other six chefs in the prestigious competition, which raises funds for Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic teams, are: Blair Lebsack of Rge Rd, Brayden Kozak of Three Boars Eatery, Keoma Franceschi of Massimo’s Cucina Italiana, Lindsay Porter of Mercer’s Catering, Sachin Joshi of L2 Grill in the Fantasyland Hotel and Shane Chartrand of Sage at the River Cree. goldmedalplates.com
No summer is complete without a farm-to-fork meal, and chef Blair Lebsack is the master of this medium. On Sunday, Lebsack and his staff team up with Prairie Gardens in Bon Accord to present a Long Table — a straight-from-the-garden, five-course feast paired with B.C. wines and a local cocktail. Lebsack and Prairie Gardens are also working together on Aug. 24 for an Open Farm Days dinner based on farm-raised beef. (Dress for the latter event is “snappy country.”) Those who are on gluten-free or vegetarian diets will be pleased to know the team can change up your plate with a little notice.
Both events feature appies and cocktails at 5:30 p.m., with dinner from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $131.25, including GST, and available through the Prairie Garden’s website at prairiegardens.org. Prairie Gardens is at 56311 Lily Lake Rd., in Bon Accord, 25 kilometres north of Edmonton. Call 780-921-2272. prairiegardens.org
Century Hospitality’s vicepresident and corporate chef, Paul Shufelt, is roasting a whole pig on a spit in the parking lot by Lux Steakhouse and Bar for Bacon Day, the organization’s fifth annual fundraiser for YESS, the Youth Empowerment and Support Services. The fundraiser is on Aug. 29, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Lux Steakhouse and Bar (10150 101st St., 780-4240400).
The menu is pork heaven and features several food stations and more than two dozen varieties of appetizers. The pig, a Berkshire, comes from Alan and Nicola Irving of Irvings Farm Fresh. Jerry Aulenbach, a.k.a. Bacon Man, is helping to host the event. Twenty-five dollars from each ticket sold goes to YESS and organizers hope to raise $10,000. The grocery supplier, Gordon Food Services, is also donating 25 cents worth of non-perishable food for every dollar raised. Tickets are $75 each and are available through Eventbrite. eventbrite.ca