This year, Chicken Farmers of Canada has introduced 3 new Brand Ambassadors – wonderful bloggers whom we like to feature and who write things about us, too. By expanding our audience this way, we can reach out to new and enthusiastic readers, just like you!

Here’s one of our great Brand Ambassadors, Stacey (@thislilpiglet):

City Mom to Farmer Joe, Stacey will keep you on your hooves and give you everything you need to raise barn animals OR kids. Stacey writes the This Lil Piglet blog where she will enlighten you on social media marketing tactics and source bloggers with tutorials to reach their potential. Readers can enjoy the many recipes, DIY projects, consider a product review, win some giveaways and grab a laugh every now and then.

Stacey had the opportunity to talk to a Canadian chicken farmer in her province. She has now written a very informative blog http://thislilpiglet.net that should give you a good idea of how the Canadian chicken farming industry works. Enjoy!

“Recently I was put in touch with a chicken farmer, Diane Pastoor, in my province to really get down to the bottom of chicken farming in Canada.  Diane, her husband Mark and 4 daughters started off chicken farming really by chance. They wanted to buy a dairy farm, that’s what they were doing before they moved to Saskatchewan from British Columbia in 2003.  Diane and Mark knew somebody that was selling our farm at the time and thought they would look at it just to check it out. They really liked the area the farm was in, the barns at the time were new, and there was city water which was fantastic!  The life of a chicken farmer is a good one. Diane and her family are able to do what they love, feed their family and friends and know what they do is important.  The long hours are part of a farmer’s life whether you are grain farming, cattle, or any other livestock. This is what they love.

The Pastoor’s have 3 large open floor barns. Each one is 60 feet wide by 370 feet long with numerous fans, heaters, lights and vents to control the temperature and environment in the barns keeping the chickens comfy, warm and dry. Their operation, like all the broiler operations in Canada, are considered free run. The chickens are not confined, in separate pens or housing; they run freely in the barns and have access to food and water whenever they feel hungry or thirsty. All farms in Saskatchewan and throughout Canada have strict bio-security and animal care programs that chicken farmers follow. This includes proper washing and disinfecting of the barns between flocks as well as providing fresh bedding and controlled heat and cooling environments. They also have controlled access zones in their barns where there is no cross contamination allowed by way of outdoor footwear and other people cannot enter unless they are fully suited up with special footwear, hairnets and coveralls.

The process begins when the baby chickens, literally hours old “hatched”, arrive in a warm truck in crates delivered to our barns waiting with food, water and fresh new environment. The chickens are kept for approx 35-40 days, depending on what the processor requirements are which is based on the size of chickens needed. During the chickens stay at the Pastoor’s farm, they are monitored very closely to make sure that they are fed, watered and comfortable.  They have day time and night time in the barns so they get proper rest as well. The Pastoor’s make sure they have no outside disturbances such as rodents or other possible germs entering the barns. Once it is time to go, Mark turns the lights down to encourage them to rest and sit down. A crew of chicken catchers come in to move them from the barns to trucks where they are transported to the processing plant. This process is done quickly in almost full darkness to keep the environment as calm as possible. From the processor, the chickens are distributed to restaurants in Saskatchewan and other parts of Canada.

Diane does her best to educate people about the ways they treat their chickens and what they feed them.  Being in Saskatchewan chicken farmers really have good opportunities to grow healthy, safe food because of the abundance of feed grains and the fact that farms are far enough apart in distance that bio-security levels are maintained. The most satisfaction for Diane, comes from knowing they are contributing the best, healthiest and safest possible product they can raise to herself, her family and Canadian consumers.  The Pastoor’s are proud chicken farmers.

As a consumer, and a farmer, I can appreciate both sides of the process.  To know that Canada has strict laws in place to protect the quality and health of our chicken puts consumers’ minds at ease. Hats off to Diane, her family, and all of the chicken farmers in Canada for making sure the chicken that we consume is only the best.”

This year, Chicken Farmers of Canada has introduced 3 new Brand Ambassadors – wonderful bloggers whom we like to feature and who write things about us, too. By expanding our audience this way, we can reach out to new and enthusiastic readers, just like you!

Here’s one of our great Brand Ambassadors, Lynette (@myweeview):

Lynette is married to her high school sweetheart. They’ve been together 14 years and married for 8. In 2008, they gave birth to a very special baby girl. Lynette is a native Nova Scotian, born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada!

Lynette recently visited a Canadian chicken farm and shared her experience on her blog myweeview.com. Here’s what she had to say.

“Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I may not be able to answer that age old question for you, however I can give you some insight as to where your chicken comes from.  If you’re like me (which I guess most households are), we don’t put too much extra thought into where our food comes from.  Milk comes from the fridge and chicken comes from the store.  Well, there’s quite a process to get food from farm to table.  I recently had the opportunity to visit a Chicken Farmer, Mr. David Fuller of Nova Scotia to get the scoop on the chicken industry.

The Fuller Family Farm, is just that – a chicken farm run completely by the Fuller Family.  The farm was originally started by David’s Dad after he moved from England in the early 50′s.  David has been working on the farm since he can remember enlisting the help of his brother, children and in-laws over the years.  Still to this day, everything from book keeping to barn cleaning is completely taken care of by family members.  You may think it’s quite simple to run a chicken farm and sure if you had a few pens and a few chickens to feed your own family, it could be manageable.  However if you’re one of the hundreds or thousands of chicken farmers licensed to produce chickens for Canadians to consume, there’s a whole lot more to the process.

Chicken farmers are always working a few months ahead to prepare for supply and demand for the future.  While it may only be October, the chicken farmers have already known for a few months what their allotment will be for the Christmas season.   There is a National System with a Board of Directors that decides how many chickens are going to be needed per province and then it’s divided up per Chicken Farmer by the amount of kilograms each farmer can produce.

One thing I was completely surprised by is at David Fuller’s Farm, they don’t also produce baby chicklets.  They are actually purchased from a baby chicken farmer and are received at the Fuller farm when they are 1 day old.  So, the chick farmer has to know their allotment even before the chicken farmers, this is why they are planning months in advance.  Confused yet? I was, for what one would think is fairly simple, there’s a lot more that goes into planning, and I only saw one section of the process.

When I went to visit the farm itself, I was interested in seeing how the chickens lived in the barns.  There are 2 groups of chickens with each round, some are kept for 32 days and will weigh an average of 1.8 KGs while others will stay for 37- 38 days and will weigh  an average of 2.15 KGs.  During their stay at the Fuller Family Farm, the chickens are fed a mixture of grains, corn and soy bean meal.   The barns were surprisingly clean although they smelled fairly strong.  The barns are only cleaned from top to bottom, inside and out once the chickens are taken away to be processed for the next step.  If anyone enters the barn they have to be in full bio gear from head to toe, not to contaminate their living area.

I was curious about a few things, because we’ve all heard rumours about growth hormones and chickens that were so fat they could hardly walk.  David assured me growth hormones have been illegal since the 60′s and when I saw the older chickens, they all seemed healthy and were waddling around in their quarters very nicely.  David also mentioned how aware they are when it comes to sick chickens.  A local veterinarian specializing in chickens would visit the farm at the onset of any sick chicken no matter how old the chick may be.  One ill chicken could take out a flock, so the vet is on speed dial to avoid any out breaks.  The chickens have heat, air, an unlimited supply of water and food and were living in a clean environment.  I was a little sad to think of where these chickens were headed in just a few more days, but they were not maltreated and I am a chicken eater, so the reality is, this is where my food comes from.  And, after the chickens “visit the plant”, it’s in the stores the next day to purchase, it doesn’t get much fresher than that.

David loves his job, he was once the president of the Chicken Farmers for 13 years.  He’s been thinking about a retirement plan, however he’s also started a new plant called Eden Valley Poultry Limited – so he might retire from farming, but will still have his hand in the chicken industry.

It was very insightful to visit a chicken farmer, like I mentioned, we as a society have become so removed from where food comes from. It was great to see first-hand a part of the process. I might also like to see where the eggs come from and then I might be able to give some insight on that old mind teaser - because in this process, the eggs do come before the chicken.”

1.      How does it feel to know that you’re one of Canada’s elite athletes?

I feel very fortunate to be able to play high-level sports. I have been able to travel all over the world, meet people from different cultures and develop as an athlete and a person in an extraordinary environment. Volleyball has allowed me to push back my personal limits, to know myself better and to develop personally. For all these reasons, I am very grateful to my coaches who have helped me achieve my full potential, thus allowing me to play at the international level.

2.      Has being an Olympic athlete changed you? If so, how?

I don’t believe it has changed me but I think it has really helped me develop. Throughout the entire process leading up to the Olympic Games, I experienced a lot of emotions, extraordinarily good times as well as more difficult times when things didn’t go the way I would have wanted. Having lived every minute of the process to the full has changed me and helped me see what really counts for me. For example, I know now that the most important thing is not my volleyball results but rather how I practice my sport. I think that practicing my sport in a healthy way, with integrity, respect for my opponents and enthusiasm is more valuable to me than all the games I might have won.

3.      Can you describe a typical day of training or competition?

Let’s take a recent example, the day of our first Olympic match! I got up at about 8 a.m. and went to the cafeteria at the Olympic Village. I ate eggs, fruit and cottage cheese. Then I went to the Canadian Wellness Center. That’s a little room where you can stretch out and relax, meditate and listen to music. That allowed me to revitalize myself and get focussed. While eating a snack, I watched a video for a while to check out the team we were going to play against so the tactical plan would be nice and fresh in my memory. I went to lunch and after that Glen (our therapist) gave me a treatment to make sure that my body would be 100% ready for the game. Then we took the bus to the stadium where the competition was to take place. When we got there, we had something to eat, put on our uniforms and started to warm up. Vincent (our coach) reminded us of the game plan for the last time before passing out balls so we could do a few receptions, passes and attacks before the game started. And finally, we went into the large 15,000-person stadium where we played against Great Britain! Playing in front of that crowd was quite an experience!

4.      How does chicken fit in with your healthy lifestyle?

Chicken is a very good source of protein. I eat chicken regularly and always make sure that it’s of good quality. I like to get my meat directly from my farmer.

5.      If you could only eat one chicken dish for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

I find that chicken can be prepared in so many different ways. I like to try different recipes with good spices. I regularly do one of Daniel Pinard’s recipes in a slow cooker. I put a whole chicken in the cooker and add coriander and fresh parsley, onions, olives, cumin, saffron and home-made chicken broth.

But, if I could only eat one dish for the rest of my life, I would say without hesitation oven-roasted chicken legs with butter and barbecue spices!

6.      What advice would you give people who are thinking about getting fit (would volleyball be a good way to incorporate activity)?

I think the most important thing is to find an activity you like doing that makes you feel good. If you don’t like the activity you’re doing, it will be hard to do it regularly. So, the activity has to feel natural. Volleyball is a great activity to do, but technically it’s a very difficult sport since there are so many aspects of it to develop. When you first start playing volleyball, you have to be patient and train regularly. It’s perhaps less fun at first because you can’t control the ball very well but the better you get, the more exciting the sport becomes. There’s nothing more satisfying that receiving a great pass and making a power attack!

Also, I think that diet is very important for your physical fitness level. Eating well is surely the first step to good health. 

1.      How does it feel to know that you’re among Canada’s elite athletes?

I feel privileged to have the opportunity to play sports to earn a living and especially to have been able to do so for 12 years at a professional level.  I have had the opportunity to tour the world and to visit countries around the globe and to have come in contact with many different cultures.  It has given me perspective on how good we have it in Canada in terms of quality of life.  It is an honor to be able to represent Canada on the world scene and through it all, the journey has taught me so much about myself and about life that I will always look back on this sporting experience with gratitude.

2.      Has being an Olympian changed you? If so, how?

I feel that being an Olympian has not changed me but it has confirmed that there is a healthy way to do sport and that it is through holding this line throughout the process that has helped our team achieve this childhood dream against all odds.  We have put a strong emphasis on maintaining healthy relationships so as to allow each member to be honest with oneself and the team and to forge an environment so we can all thrive and be our best.

3.      Describe a typical day when you’re in training/competing?

At the Olympics, we have been walking a lot! We walk 700 meters to go to the dining hall and that is done three times a day! Since we play mostly later games, we get up at 8, we go for breakfast, then head to the wellness centre in the Canadian building so we can focus and centre ourselves amidst the buzz of the village. We receive treatment at the village before having lunch and then get on the bus for approximately 45 minutes, train for 1h30, treatment, bus ride, back at the dining hall and then to bed.  It has been our routine for the past 9 days with the hours being interchanged daily but the activities remaining the same!

4.      How does chicken fit into your healthy lifestyle?

We try to rotate regularly our sources of protein and chicken is part of that rotation alongside our abundant fruit and veggies and healthy fats.  We have researched a farmer in our area that grows pasture raised chickens and we feel a strong connection to him and his commitment to raise high quality chickens and that makes us appreciate every meal of chicken we get to eat.

5.      If you could only eat one chicken dish for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Very good question as I thrive on trying out different recipes in my slow cooker, in the oven, in the pan with all kinds of different spices (lemon, butter, Italian spices, coconut milk and curry just to name a few!) and chicken is definitely a favorite for these experiments as it soaks up the flavors!  But to answer the question, the simple rotisserie chicken would be my go-to dish for the rest of my life!

6.      What advice would you give people who are thinking about getting fit (and would volleyball be a good way to incorporate activity?

Volleyball is definitely a good way to keep fit, especially beach volleyball as it works on all systems whether it is the cardio, through stop and go, or on the muscular system through lunging, jumping and diving in the sand. To top it off, it is a sure way to have fun with friends! Above all, I believe that creating balance in one’s life is a sure way to getting fit not only physically but emotionally and spiritually and so exercise should be done in that light and not as an added stress to our western busy lives…

If you don’t already know, CFC is a proud sponsor of the Canadian women’s volleyball team that will take part in the Olympic Games in London this year. We wanted to learn more about Annie Martin and Marie-Andrée Lessard and their love for this sport, so we did a two-part interview, the first part of which was with Annie Martin.

1. What attracted you to volleyball in the first place?

I started to play volleyball at the age of 12 when I began high school. It was my older sister Geneviève that got me into the sport. She was already playing on a high school team and really loved volleyball. At home, we slept in the same bedroom and I remember she would put up pictures of volleyball players she cut out of magazines and talked to me constantly about volleyball tactics. My mother wasn’t too keen on the idea of me imitating my older sister (again!). So I promised her that I would just try it and would stop if I didn’t like it. Finally I really caught the bug and ever since, I never stopped playing! 

2. Beach volleyball is primarily a summer sport – how do you keep fit during the winter?

In winter, we regularly attend training camps in warmer places! We also have access to an indoor centre in Montreal (the Griffintown Centre). And of course, we also train in a bodybuilding gym all year long.

3. What are the key differences between beach volleyball and volleyball in an indoor setting?

Beach volleyball is obviously played on sand and there are only two team members on an 8 meter by 8 meter area. Indoor volleyball is played in a gym. There are 6 players to cover a 9 meter by 9 meter area. The net is at the same height in both types.

In beach volleyball, the athletes have to be very versatile. That is, they have to be very good in all aspects of the game (reception, passing, attack, etc.) In indoor volleyball, each athlete has a more specific role. For example, the centre players are blocking and attack specialists. They don’t receive and defend in the back zone.

4. What countries have you visited on your road to London 2012?

I have been playing on the world circuit for 10 years now, and during my entire career, I have visited about 80 different cities throughout the world. The last countries I have visited were Austria, Mexico, Italy, Russia, China, Brazil and the United States. 

5. You are clearly committed to a healthy lifestyle – how do you incorporate that into your daily diet?

I have certain eating habits, but I don’t see them as a strict diet. For me, it’s more a way of eating that I have adopted because it helps me feel good in my body and have a good energy level. When my athletic career is over, I’ll keep on eating that way.

At each meal, I balance the amounts of proteins, carbohydrates and fats I eat. I eat mostly meat, vegetables, fruit, yogurt, cheese and eggs. As for the fats (lipids) I eat, there’re mostly in the form of butter and coconut oil.  

In eating, what counts for me is the quality of my food. I eat as many organic and fresh foods as possible. I almost never eat processed foods.

6. What are some of your favorite chicken dishes?

I really like to oven bake whole chickens. The recipe is both very simple and delicious. I put melted butter on the chicken with BBQ spices along with salt and pepper. I just love chicken legs!

For more information on their exciting adventure at the Olympic Games or to express your support, visit their website at www.lessardmartin.com.

If you haven’t already heard, CFC is a proud sponsor of the Canadian Women’s Volleyball team competing in this year’s London Olympic Games. We wanted to know more about Annie Martin and Marie Andrée Lessard and their love of this sport so we’ve put together a two-part interview, starting with Marie-Andrée Lessard.

1. What attracted you to volleyball in the first place?

As weird as this may sound, when I started high school it was the only sport that was available. I was a very high energy kid and I needed to move and exercise to remain sane.  I became addicted from the very beginning and throughout the year I would seek out opportunities to play be it summer camps and playing in as many teams as I could in my club (during grade 10, I played on two high school teams (midget-juvenile) and four teams in my volleyball club (midget, juvenile, junior and senior).

What I love most about volleyball is the diversity in skills from passing to hitting to setting to serving to defense.  There are so many skills to master that it kept me involved and motivated to get better and better and it remained fun throughout. I would have made a terrible long distance runner (not only for my lack of endurance) but I would have gotten very bored, I like “playing”!

2. Beach volleyball is primarily a summer sport – how do you keep fit in the winter?

Believe it or not, we have an indoor facility in Montreal (Espace Griffintown) where we get to train during the winter months. Over the years, we have also travelled often to hot destinations so we could train outside as the conditions are very different (sun, wind, air pressure). 

On top of playing volleyball, we do weight lifting and intervals for our cardio.  We stay away from high-risk activities such as skiing and snowboarding but I love cross-country skiing and hiking.  They certainly kept me in shape this past winter.

3. What are the key differences between beach volleyball and volleyball in an indoor setting?

The beach court is 8 x 8 meters as opposed to 9 x 9 for indoors.  There are 2 players on each side for beach and 6 for indoor.  No substitution allowed for beach and so you “live and die” by your partner’s side. If an injury shows up, then we have to forfeit.  This is one of the main differences in terms of game management because you can’t hide anywhere and it’s basically the opposition that decides who does what by choosing to serve a certain player over another one.  In indoor volleyball, the setter decides who gets the ball.  In beach, if you have a bad two minutes, it can mean you are eliminated from the tournament and then you’re stuck across the world training for the rest of the week.  I find this to be the major difference that has forced me to get to know myself and build a toolbox to manage pressure situations.  While saying this, I know there is pressure for indoor players as well; I just feel it gets spread out more across members of the team.

4. What countries have you visited on your road to London 2012?

It would be too long to name them all. I have played/trained in approximately 90 cities (it was 84 two years ago). Some countries we have gone to every year for the past 12 years such as Switzerland, Brazil and China and some we’ve only been to once such as Dubaï, the Canari Islands or New Zealand.  My all-time favorites are Switzerland, New Zealand, Paris (we played on the Champs Élysées) and playing in front of our home crowd last year in Quebec city.

5. You’re clearly committed to a healthy lifestyle – how do you incorporate that into your daily diet?

I am lucky that as a family, we have healthy eating habits.  We eat whole and fresh ingredients, mostly organic ranging from high quality milk products, meats, fruit and vegetables and fats such as butter, coconut oil and olive oil.  This composes 90% of our diet and if I feel the urge to have something that will make me smile, then I go for it! My all-time favorite is Haagen Dazs Coffee Ice cream.  I strongly believe in having a healthy relationship to food and having gone through different approaches, this is the way that has helped me remain healthy, fit and happy.

6. What are some of your favourite chicken dishes?

I love a rotisserie chicken in the oven topped with butter and delicious spices.  It is probably the simplest recipe but it tastes amazing and the texture is oh so moist!

To learn more about their exciting journey to the games or to show them your support, visit their web site at www.lessardmartin.com

Canada’s own Monda Rosenberg retired as Food Editor of CHATELAINE, Canada’s largest circulation magazine, in 2009. She was responsible for the magazine’s entire award-winning Food section, including writing and recipe development of over 2,000 recipes a year and overseeing food photography. Before joining CHATELAINE, Monda Rosenberg was Food Editor of the Toronto Star for five years.

Monda has received an impressive number of food writing, styling and publishing awards including the Nabisco Food Writer’s Magazine Food Editor of the Year Award, the New York Art Directors Award for Food Styling and the General Foods Nutrition Writing Award. She has been president of the Ontario Home Economics Association and president of the Toronto Home Economics Association for a double term.

A frequent guest on national television and radio shows, Monda is the author of The New Chatelaine Cookbook, two Vitality Cookbooks, the Quickies series of 7 cookbooks and Chatelaine’s Wonder Foods.

1. Where did you learn how to cook?

I learned standing beside my grandmother and what a women she was! Her passion was food. As soon as she finished breakfast she was planning dinner. Coming from a big farming family in Tincap Ontario (close to  Brockville), her life centered around the kitchen making everything from what they grew, raised or preserved. They even made their own pillows from the goose feathers and flour sacks. 

Nan moved to Brockville with her fireman husband and during the war, their door was always open, Many have told me without her they would have gone hungry. After granddad  passed away, fortunately she moved in with us. I was about 2 years old and she was the center of my universe.

Little did I know that the rest of the world did not get up on Saturday morning and make yeast doughnuts and then cake doughnuts, and then pies and cakes for Sunday – because, of course, you could not bake on Sundays. You went to church and then for a Sunday drive.

I was always glued to her apron. She would give me dough scraps to play with which were quickly turned into a big grey blob. She would let me stir the cake batter and I would splatter it all over the floor. The dog loved it.

We had a root cellar and another basement room where her hundreds of preserves were lined up in neat rows. I remember helping to make tomato chili sauce before I learned how to ride a bike. And all of this was much more exciting than playing hop scotch.

She made the world’s lightest dumplings. Her chicken and dumplings were renowned on Pearl Street and somehow the guys in the firehall knew when they were ready and would just happen to pop over with their bowls in hand.

While I know I’ll never come close to recreating the memorable  textures of her dumplings or lard pastry, I am eternally grateful for the rewarding love of cooking she passed on to me. I never ever  tire of trying a new recipe, or new idea or technique. I just hope she is looking down and knows she is still giving me joy.

2. When developing recipes, do you stick with the latest trends or do you find inspiration from foods you’ve tried?

Wow, that is a big question. I get ideas constantly – from something I hear on the radio, see on television, in newspapers, magazines, buy on the street in Shanghai  and on and on. But my vocation has always been to help people gain pure pleasure from their time in the kitchen so the first criteria is – will it be appealing to the average Canadian and will it work in their lifestyle?

While I may get revved up  about slow roasting a pork belly, braising ribs 12 hours, poaching lobster in butter or making a rolled salmon soufflé - these are not the kind of recipes I primarily provide for my readers.

For anyone to enjoy my work beyond reading the copy and liking the look of my pictures, they have to cook the recipe and love it. That means taking the time and money to buy the groceries and then to cook them. 

So the first step in creating a recipe is that it has to have a reason for being. Just publishing another macaroni and cheese  recipe is silly. You have to create a recipe that has something special to draw the reader in or there is no justification for doing it.  That unique bait could be that it has just 50 calories a serving (just kidding) or can be made in 5 minutes, calls for ingredients most Canadians have in their kitchens or perhaps it contains your favourite blue cheese and on and on.

So every recipe has to instantly let the readers know what that appeal is through its title, it’s sell line and it’s photograph. They have to be drawn in.

Titles are important. Call a recipe a Chicken Stir fry and it is not going to jump off the page at you. Call it Cashew Chili Stir fry  and the promise of something hot, crunchy and healthy may be enough to bring some readers in to read the sell lines – that’s the description that goes under the title.

Every recipe has to have a reason for being. The sell line lists the recipes virtues. It may tell you that the recipe is a fast knockoff of one of your favourite dishes. That it only takes 5 ingredients or mere minutes to start cooking so you can then go off and have a glass of wine while it simmers. It may be a complete meal so you don’t have to prepare a ton of other dishes. While the dish looks impressive enough that you would be proud to serve it to company, you learn in the sell line that it only takes a half hour or you can make it ahead or that the ingredients, despite the drop dead looks, are inexpensive.

Photos are critical to the recipe. When most people are deciding if they will buy a magazine, the first thing they do is leaf through the magazine. If there is a yummy looking dish, they may take the time to glance at the story and that can seal the sale.

This web site certainly understands the power of an appealing photo. Unlike some websites, when you google a recipe you are craving on this Chicken Farmer’s site - say chicken pot pie, for example - the picture of the recipe instantly pops up. (Many websites do not have pictures.) Then you instantly know what it is going to look like.

Another smart thing they do on this web site is to not feature chef’s recipes because most chefs present food in a way that can turn off the average cook – stacking food in little towers, piling a cool salad overtop a braised piece of hot chicken, topping the food with hard to find sprouts, etc. That is not the way you do food at home. When you entertain you want your offerings to have a “wow” factor but you do not have a brigade of sous chefs to help cut and stack food and a team is essential to get these mini art creations out to your guests while the food is still hot.

So another challenge in creating a recipe is that it has to look good without requiring a lot of effort. Take chicken livers, for example. We all know, they are not the world’s prettiest food but you can make them look good with a generous sprinkling of any kind of fresh herb, sliced green onion or colorful veggies. 

3. What is the biggest challenge when it comes to creating a new recipe?

There are many many challenges. But the bottom line is that you want to create a recipe that will taste so good that one will want to make it again and again. Ideally it should be easy to make, not take very much time and be super healthy - low in fat, yaddy yaddy. Then if it is a weekday recipe it should call for ingredients you usually have in the house or if it is an entertaining recipe it should be ingredients you don’t have to travel across town to buy.

4. What do you enjoy the most about creating recipes?

The total intrigue of what will it taste like. As you are planning any recipe, you constantly imagine what the taste will be.  You taste it in your mind. The final result, however,  doesn’t always match what your mind told you it would taste like. This is one of the reasons I do recipes multi times before they meet all my criteria for publishing. I still get excited about doing a recipe, especially if I have never done a similar recipe before.

5. What are some of the best chicken recipes you ever have created?

The first recipe that jumps to mind is chicken breasts stuffed with goat’s cheese, sun dried tomatoes and fresh basil. So easy and so good. Then there is piri- piri chicken ( I love fiery), modern chicken pot pie, lime leaf chicken from my fav Thai restaurant that I have been able to duplicate and any curry dish that includes coconut milk. Need I add more?

6. Which do you prefer, white meat or dark meat and why?

Oh boy.  Growing up I only ate white meat – even with the world’s best roast chicken that my grandmother used to make. Now I covet chicken thighs for their super bonus taste. But ask me what I want from a roast chicken and the answer will be white.

Twenty-three year old Amanda Garbutt is serious about her love of food. As a child, Amanda was a notoriously picky eater. It was a fateful day when, at age 10, Amanda’s mum handed her an oyster adorned with Tabasco and lemon and it was love at first bite. From there Amanda created one kitchen nightmare after another. Together with the help of her mum, Amanda learned the methodology to a recipe and the romance behind food. At McGill University, Amanda found refuge in her tiny student kitchen. With hungry students always stopping by there was no lack of taste testers and encouragement when April asked her to step behind the camera.

Three years, two business awards and over twenty-five episodes later Amanda is now pursuing her passion to inspire culinary confidence full time. When she is not working on The Hot Plate, Amanda is in the kitchen developing recipes, food styling and photographing for Tier 1 brands like Kraft Canada and Barilla Whole Grain Pasta. There are only three things that can coax Amanda out of the kitchen and they are: a full bodied glass of wine, ping pong or an adrenaline pumping offshore sailing adventure. What do these things all have in common? They all help work up an appetite!

1. Where did you learn how to cook?

At first cooking wasn’t something that came naturally to me. Not because I didn’t love flavour and food, but because a key trait of being a “Garbutt” is blatant disregard for directions. As you can imagine, as a 10-year-old kid in the kitchen with no direction I made a few kitchen nightmares of my own. Luckily, I had my mum, probably one of the most methodical cooks I know. She taught me how to follow the flow of a recipe and prep ingredients before starting to cook to make sure I’m set up for success. So the long, and short is my mum - our relationship (especially during the grouchy teen years) was a great way to develop our relationship, and my passion for cooking!

2. When developing recipes, do you stick with the latest trends or do you find inspiration from foods you’ve tried?

It is definitely a combination of latest trends and previous experience. I think that trends help guide my creativity. When it comes to food I’ve already tried, I would say that it is more about the experience and less about the actual food. The smells, the company, the energy around you are all key players in how I interpret them into recipes.

3. What is the biggest challenge when it comes to creating a new recipe?

Without a doubt the biggest challenge is reigning in my “enthusiasm.” When I cook for my friends and family it is all about that moment and using ingredients I have on hand. However, when I create a recipe it is all about helping home cooks and creating a recipe for that their friends and family will love. The goal is to set the framework for a great experience and help cooks build confidence in the kitchen. So creating a recipe for others is all about precision. Funny, it’s more like a science experiment because for a recipe to be “good” it has to be able to be recreated again and again by other cooks.

4. What do you enjoy the most about creating recipes?

Creating recipes has been a passion of mine since I was fourteen-years-old. I love being able to share my recipes and hear about my friends and fellow Food Lovers making them at home. Creating recipes and cooking videos is the reason I started The Hot Plate (www.thehotplate.com) back in 2009! I love inspiring culinary confidence and launching an online Community where Food Lovers can learn and share new recipes. The reward of hearing someone making one of your recipes is worth the hours, days, and sometimes weeks it takes to develop a single recipe.

5. What are some of the best chicken recipes you ever have created?

My top three are:

My signature Goat’s cheese stuffed chicken breasts, which I think is the best starter recipe for new cooks looking to develop confidence in the kitchen.

Fried chicken with my signature rosemary wildflower honey (I don’t think that recipe needs much explanation since well, its fried chicken!)

An Ultra simple roast chicken with little lemon and a little butter is a dish that every cook should know how to make. It is a great Sunday meal and leaves you with delicious leftovers for sandwiches during the week!

6. Which do you prefer, white meat or dark meat and why?

Contrary to many cooks I’m a white meat lady. I love the flavors and richness of dark meat, but when I’m carving a bird it is always white meat. Now, I’m not taking about tough dry chicken breasts. A perfectly cooked chicken breast should be juicy, plump and ultra tender. If you aren’t comfortable cooking by touch then go out and buy a meat thermometer. A thermometer takes the guesswork out of cooking meat and means you don’t have to cut into it to check for doneness.

Well, where do you start when you have been asked to write about something you have been enjoying for most of your life?  Naturally, you start at the beginning.   My family immigrated to Canada in 1970 when I was four years old.  Food memories didn’t really start for me until the mid-70’s, and when they did I distinctly remember smelling and then tasting Jerk Chicken.  As a Jamaican native, chicken is something you’ll eat almost every week of your life.

Chicken is a staple in most homes across Canada.  I’ve witnessed the ingenious ways people cook with chicken.  From Fricassee to Jerk to Cordon Bleu, chicken is incredibly versatile.  Mature chickens generally can grow from 2-5 kgs easily feeding a family of four.  I like the fact that there are two distinct types of meat in one bird; the breast is the white meat and the dark meat comes from the legs and thighs.  For best results roast chicken with its skin on and use simple seasonings such as salt and pepper.  It is so delicious, full of flavour and an ideal way to eat healthy.  If you want to be more adventurous, butterfly the breast and stuff it with sundried tomatoes and a bloomy rind cheese such as Brie. The traditional time honoured classic is Chicken Cordon Bleu filled with ham and Emmental cheese.  Dark meat tends to be easier to cook with despite being an underrated cut and often not the first option.  I’m a big fan of using dark meat for JerkChicken.  It tastes great especially when you try it with my special jerk marinade.

When I began working professionally in a kitchen I was expected to hone my culinary skills with poultry preparation.  This may seem like a fairly benign action to take but not in the traditional culinary world.  I started cooking in the 1990s and to become a serious professional chef it was expected to learn the classics like Coq Au Vin (which of course I did).  That being said I also made time to fiddle with recipes from my childhood and yes that did include attempts at KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).  My grandmother was a force to be reckoned with setting some pretty high standards and fortunately her influence helped me along.  Every chance I had I would experiment and would test on my fellow chef friends.  Believe me when I say this, I made some great friends with that fried chicken. 

It was in 1988 when I fell for another part of the chicken - the wings.  There aren’t many people who wouldn’t devour 20-30 of those bad boys (I know many people who also wouldn't necessarily admit to that).  I would often find myself frequenting this relatively well-known hot spot for wings in mid-town Toronto.  I even took my wife there on one of our first dates (don’t tell her this but it was a bit of a test; if she didn’t like wings we weren’t going to get married).  Well, maybe that was a bit of a stretch, but needless to say she enjoyed them as much as I did and I’m happy to say we’re going into our 14^th year of marriage.  This just goes to show you that from gastronomic Haute Cuisine to casual pub dining to a Sunday family dinner, chicken is a staple and is something that will be on menus as long as Canadian farmers and farms continue to raise them.

Outside of wings and fried chicken, my wife and girls absolutely love whole roasted chicken, especially on chilly Fall or winter Sundays.  My favourite stuffing includes a mirepoix (mixture of onions, carrots and celery), half a head of garlic and lemon rub; the skin rubbed with a little olive oil, and sprinkled with kosher salt, black pepper, rosemary and thyme;  and roasted in a 350°F ( 177°C) oven.  My girls adore roasted potatoes and asparagus to accompany Dad’s chicken.  It’s quick and easy and we get to do that thing we love most: bonding as a family over Sunday dinner.   And that, like chicken, is a wonderful thing.

Grilling in the Fall and Winter?  You bet!

Guess who’s coming to chicken for a while? Rob Rainford, Food Network celebrity, chef and cooking instructor with a world-renowned reputation, has joined with Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) to share his cooking secrets, thoughts, insights and some new flavours for the meat that he loves working with the most.

Over the next few months on www.chicken.ca, Chef Rainford will create 10 tasty new chicken recipes, write sensational chicken blogs, and participate in a series of interviews that will give chicken lovers across the country a glimpse into the man behind the “Q”.

Throughout the rest of this year, Chef Rainford will be featuring recipes like Peri-Peri Chicken and BBQ Chicken Calzones; he’ll also be adding extra-special seasonal recipes, too, like Christmas Truffle Chicken, New Year’s Foie Gras Chicken and Scary Chicken Cordon Bleu Fingers for Halloween.

With his natural charisma, Chef Rainford’s over 20 years of experience with grilling, teaching and working as a television personality have shown Canadians and people around the world to create dishes with flair and to add their own, unique twists to traditional dishes.

We can’t wait to show you what it’s all about!

Stay tuned!

About Rob Rainford:

Who knows where talent comes from? Is it nature or nurture, innate or learned? For Rob Rainford it just feels as though he was Born 2 Grill™. He has always loved cooking and the mysteries that unravel when working with various foods and cultural themes; his one consistent theme has always been his love of the grill and his passion for BBQ.

Rob Rainford is a Canadian chef with a world renowned reputation. Born in Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica November 30, 1966, he moved to Canada with his family when he was three. Rainford enrolled in culinary school at George Brown College in 1994 and after completing his formal training, began his professional career.

After hosting Licence to Grill seen on Food Network Canada, Discovery Home in the U.S., Asian Food Channel across Asia and now in syndication, Rainford has spent the last two years quietly perfecting his signature style The Rainford Method and is now preparing to unveil his new brand to the world.

With a new television show in the works and cookbook Born 2 Grill™ being released across North America in spring 2012 the future looks bright for this talented Chef. “I have a lot of exciting projects lined up for 2012 which I am working on right now…it’s all moving along very well,” says Rainford.

Don’t be mistaken by Rainford’s success. Even though he’s seen on television around the world on Licence to Grill and has cooked in some of the finest establishments, he feels that as a chef he’s “always on a perpetual learning curve”, and is humbled by the talent around him. Now an instructor at his Alma Mater George Brown College, he is sharing his knowledge as a world class Chef with the chefs of tomorrow, Rainford is beginning to hit his stride and is very thankful for the opportunity to continually explore the mystery that is food.