New television series pits rival hobby chefs against each other in a heated culinary challenge
Jun 30, 2009 - 10:11 AM
By Parvaneh Pessian
BROOKLIN -- When chef Christine Rivard had the opportunity to meet former U.S. presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, there was one burning question she had waiting on the tip of her tongue.
It was during a brief public interview at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in May where she asked them what they desired as their last meal on earth.
"Everybody knows so much about them so I thought it'd be interesting to find out what they would want because they've probably been all over the world and experienced everything," says Ms. Rivard of Brooklin, admitting that both swore her to secrecy before revealing their answers.
The 34-year-old will soon appear on an episode of a new series on the W Network called Chef Worthy, which features culinary rivals going head to head in cooking challenges.
Ms. Rivard decided to face off with her friend, Ben Land of Toronto, after years of hearing mutual friends compare dining experiences at her home with his.
"It's always been like, 'Well who's the better chef?' because we were getting sick and tired of hearing about the other's food being so great so we wanted to clear the air," she laughs.
Ms. Rivard first developed a taste for a wide variety of foods while growing up with parents who exposed her to meals from various cultural backgrounds.
"One day it would be Chinese food, another day would be seafood and another day would be curry so they really taught me to enjoy various (foods)," she said, adding her all-time favourite is seafood.
Chef Worthy, airing in August, will feature everyday cooks from their home kitchens who also juggle a career in another field. While Ms. Rivard's day job is at Scotiabank where she works as a financial adviser, she also runs a private catering business called dinner john, offering chef service to couples looking for an evening of fine dining at home.
She speaks lovingly about some of her favourite dishes to whip up from sweet coconut curry to a Rosemary garnished chicken breast that she calls the "juiciest chicken breast you're ever going to have" and describes her cooking as an attempt to maintain the essence of a food without altering the natural quality too much.
"I don't make a lot of stews or things that are cooked for a long time and I tend to do things that are very fresh and zesty and stay true to the original flavour that a food has."
As for Ms. Rivard's preference for her final meal on earth?
"Just basically a seafood feast -- everything from the sea on one plate."
Visit the website for dinner john at:
http://sites.google.com/site/dinnerjohnclub/Home
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