EDMONTON – Two Alberta food lovers are savouring prairie heritage with the launch of a new magazine.
Writer Jennifer Cockrall-King and jewelry designer Terry Juzak hope to convey their enthusiasm for prairie food and with it, recognition of the region’s uniqueness in The Edible Prairie Journal.
Writing about the prairie food scene has been a dream of Juzak’s for more than 10 years, but it wasn’t until the two teamed up in 1999 that their project started to become a reality.
Originally they planned to write a book. They spent two years driving around the Prairies collecting stories about good restaurants, hotels that offered great home cooking and farms that produced unique prairie food and chasing old recipes from childhood memories.
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“There’s little culinary gems everywhere,” said Cockrall-King.
But the couple realized by the time the book was published, restaurants may have closed or menus changed, and farms may have taken down the visitors’ welcome sign. They shifted focus to a prairie magazine published three times a year.
“We started out with a huge project and now it’s a never-ending product,” said Cockrall-King, who believes there is a growing demand for mini-vacations centred on a farm or a small-town restaurant offering interesting local food like bison or saskatoons.
“There’s this move towards agritourism and people are starting to get the idea that food and travel in your own region is a valuable way to spend your time,” said Cockrall-King.
Each week there’s a new book launched about foreign cooking or travel vacations centred on food. The pair wants Canadians to realize there’s just as much to celebrate on the Prairies.
“We see potential in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba for that same phenomenon because Canadian products are so widely regarded,” said Juzak.
“People are really aware of food and going on food vacations and wanting to discover great places to eat.”
One day the couple drove 600 kilometres on the backroads of northeastern Alberta in search of great hide-a-ways.
They headed for the salt factory in Lindbergh and ended up in Glendon, home of the giant perogy. In the journal is a simple recipe for this prairie staple.
“It’s the unexpected, taking the fork in the road. The stories are there,” said Juzak.
Food has always been a part of the pair’s life. Growing up in Edmonton, Cockrall-King remembers her grandmother’s homemade sauerkraut and travelling abroad and missing saskatoon pie.
Juzak grew up in Winnipeg and often accompanied her family on hunting and fishing trips where she learned to appreciate roast duck and wild rice. In the magazine’s first issue is a story about Du Bois Wild Rice, a fourth generation Manitoba rice producer.
The magazine is supported by subscription and some help from general food organizations like the canola associations that want to promote prairie food.
Peppered throughout the magazine are photos giving a taste of the pair’s travels. One shows the pair holding up a platter of perogies with Cockrall-King’s eyes closed.
They printed the photo as a permanent reminder for Cockrall-King to keep her eyes open for the camera, but also to show they’re not glamorous food gurus.
“We’re not hair and makeup. We’re just people who like to cook and have fun with it,” said Cockrall-King.
