SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY

Schmaltz (Yiddish): 1. Melted chicken fat 2. Excessive sentimentality; overly emotional and sentimental behaviour

When chef Anthony Rose partnered with food writer Chris Johns to create The Last Schmaltz: A Very Serious Cookbook, we just couldn’t resist displaying our own bit of sentimental behaviour. Rose is the muchlauded “king of comfort food,” the Toronto-based chef behind such local favourites as Fat Pasha and Rose and Sons. He has taken his love of family and food and shared his stor- ies and recipes from his restaurants, his travels and his family fetes with the award-winning Johns, and the result is delicious, humorous and, yes, true to definition, sometimes excessively sentimental but always accessible recipes for celebration.

And why not? Here, just in time for the holidays – whether you’re celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or just getting the gang together – we asked Johns to give us his favourites as well as a few behindthe-scenes schmaltzy backstories to whet your appetite. The book, too, would make a perfect hostess gift. You’re welcome. —Vivian Vassos