avle show focuses on B.C. cuisine IF YOU love this province, you'll serve it up on your dinner plate. By Peggy Trendell-Whittaker News Reporter At least that’s what Gary Faessler believes. Faessler is the West Vancouver creator and pro- ducer of a popular cable television show that has local chefs working their magic with the best food that B.C. has to offer. His Chefs About Town series is currently being shown on Shaw Cable 4 on Mondays at 9 a.m., Tuesdays at 3 p.m. and Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. [c's already bern aired in other areas of B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia. ‘*There’s an overwhelming abundance of foods here."’ a && If we don't support the culinary arts food industry in B.C., we won't have one. ¥7 — Gary Faessier, producer, Chefs About Town Faessler says. ‘‘The salmon is a great fish. but there's lots more than just that.” Suill, it wasn't easy getting his guest chefs and audiences thinking in terms of ‘B.C. cuisine’? when he first started his show over three years ago. “1 would get polite but blank stares,”’ Faessler says of his endeavors (o heighten awareness of our regional culinary potential. “People would say ‘You must cook a lot of salmon and trout. apes Isn't that kind of timiting Obviously not, Sample shows include Wolfgang von Wieser of Chartwell Restaurant cooking up B.C. cherry soup with sour cream and thyme, a sweet prawn salad with an apple wine scallion sauce and homemade potato chips. Alain) Miajorel of the Pierre Dubrulle Culinary School demon- strates pink swimming scallops in puff pastry shells with a cham- pagne and essence of orange sauce. Gordon Cowen of The Wedgewoud's Liaisons restaurant shaws ous black silky chicken breast braised in carrot juice and fresh ginger, and peatop salad with local prawns and octopus vinaigrette. But faithful Chefs About Town viewers of the program know it is much more than a show about recipes and techniques. The cam- era takes its audience to the source of the food. whether that’s scuba diving for rock scallops or to Quadra Island to view native Indian cooking methods. That’s all indicative of Faesster's determination to educate people to look at their food choices as part of a picture that includes growers, producers and merchants. “Howe don’t support the culi- nary arts food industry in B.C., we won't have one,’’ Faessler warns. ““We'll be dependent on food from California and back east.” As well as eating Jocally-grown food — peaches instead of papaya, for example — Faessler also insists that food be used at the peak of its quality and is cur- rently looking forward to spr. ingtime’s tender usparagus and moarel mushrooms. ‘i's very spiritual. The an- ticipation, waiting for these foods to come into their season. It’s all part of the fun.”’ Fuessler’s deep-rooted commil- ment to his cause is a natural ex- tension of his varly years near a trout-bearing stream in West Van- couver. Sf it wasn't fish for din- ner, it was often deer or game bagged by his humer father, Wild berries were a standard sidedish. He’s translated his early ex. posure to B.C. cuisine into a ca- 1 | HOLDING UP a copy of a ‘'Chefs About Town’’ videotape is the show's producer and creator Gary Faessler. as NEWS photo Terry Peters reer he loves, “Um thrilled with available on five video cassettes. cards. For information, call what I'm doing.”’ he says. Each costs $29.95 and includes Rogers Cable programming The Chefs About Town series is iwo programs und two orecipe department at 430-5550. Onions deserve more attention THERE ARE no Academy Awards for food. But in the world of cooking, the lowly onion performs both starring and supporting roies as well. Onions, in all their pungent gtary, are featured case in salads, baked around roasts and threaded onto kehabs. But sometimes we ash them to fade into the bacherourd, per. forming a simple, suprs ry tale for other fMlavore. Ye MEIN not notice then bur oe ws are sou d omits. them a weren'! there. 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