I am quite certain that Elizabeth Baird and Rose Murray have forgotten more than I’ll ever know about Canadian foodways, the business of writing about food, and six other things I’m not even aware about. So, I am always a little intimidated when called to interview icons of their stature. Lucky for me, before I shot the video below, I had the chance to watch them do a cooking demo at First Canadian Place to a packed crowd of Bay Street ladies. They were really funny, and the crowd (me too, in it) was kept in giggles throughout. It was, in fact, the most fun cooking demo (or salad making demo, but no matter) that I’d ever seen because I’d never seen two demonstrating chefs have more fun on the dais than Baird and Murray. They just kept needling each other, while also deprecating themselves and making silly jokes. Jamie Oliver has nothing on them.
They are also, of course, rather good at writing cookbooks. When I caught up with them last week, Canada’s Favourite Recipes had already gone into a second print run after only a couple weeks release. It’s a lovely, and really interesting, book. Every Canadian foodist ought to have a copy on her shelf, in my humble opinion – but of course I was charmed absolutely by it and its authors…
Can’t see the video? Click here.
Malcolm Jolley is a founding editor of Good Food Revolution and Executive Director of Good Food Media, the not-for-profit corporation which publishes it. Follow him at twitter.com/malcolmjolley
