Top Edmonton Chefs Collaborate on New Cookbook

Edmonton-based food writer Tina Faiz, and cookbook author Leanne Brown debut Edmonton Cooks: Signature Recipes From the City's Best Chefs.

Edmonton’s culinary scene has come a long way over the past decade. What was once a city with sparse offerings for adventurous foodies is now home to some of the country’s top dining destinations.To celebrate the immense talent and innovation of some of Edmonton’s best chefs and restaurateurs, Edmonton-based award-winning journalist and food writer Tina Faiz, and cookbook author and Edmonton expat Leanne Brown have penned Edmonton Cooks: Signature Recipes From the City’s Best Chefs (out now!).The latest instalment from Figure.1 Publishing’s city cookbook series—with offerings from Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, and Winnipeg—provides readers with the chance to recreate dishes from their favourite local hot spots, all from the comfort of their kitchens. Find the cookbook’s recipe for Oeufs en Cocotte with ProsciuttoEdmonton Cooks combines recipes and chef profiles from notable eateries around the city. The anthology includes dishes from high-end spots like Corso 32 and Red-Ox Inn, comfort-food favourites from Little Brick and Meat, and worldly offerings with dishes from Padmanadi, Tres Carnales, and Shanghai 456 to name a few. Padmanadi Vegetarian Restaurant owner Kasim Kasim is one of the many Edmontonians who contributed.Collecting a wide variety of culturally diverse menus—accompanied by a bevy of stunning photographs—was an important focus for co-author Tina Faiz. “We wanted a good mix of food, scenes and ethnic diversity, as well as my own pet project: featuring as many women chefs as possible.”Edmonton Cooks authors Leanne Brown and Tina Faiz.This focus on a wide range of culinary voices from more than 38 restaurants gives the reader a comprehensive guide to Edmonton’s food landscape, while at the same time highlighting the minds and hands behind the award-winning dishes. “We decided to do this book as a way to document the city’s vibrant food scene and to celebrate the chefs that work here,” says Faiz. “This book is all about chefs, artisans, bakers, farmers and producers. These people add to the culture in Edmonton.” A shot of the delectable Banana French Toast from new cookbook Edmonton Cooks.The thread that binds all of the restaurants featured in Edmonton Cooks is the mix of innovation and craft that is at the heart of what they create.“All of the restaurants that Leanne and I chose have fantastic food, but they also have a few other things in common,” says Faiz. “They are all fiercely independent; they are often family-run and chef-driven. They are obsessed with flavour and technique, but most importantly, they care about where their ingredients come from. All of this was so important when choosing the restaurants for the book.”

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