Lana Zadvirna bears no resemblance whatsoever to Hell’s Kitchen chef Craig Ramsay when it comes to demeanor with a group of cooks wanting to learn more.
When the International Kitchen project hit the halfway mark on March 23, Zadvirna was on hand with patient smiles and lots of friendly advice for eight female culinary students who wanted to learn how to craft and cook Ukranian pierogies and Russian pelmeni.
The project, supported by the Southeast Newcomers Services and the Family Centre, sees wannabe chefs gather in the Family Centre’s kitchen on Wednesdays to experience various dishes from around the globe.
“All you need is the right ingredients, the right dough and some love,” said Zadvirna, with a wide smile as she began “pinching” some pierogies into the malleable dough while cooking partner Volodymyr Ryaboshopko was busy kneading dough on a counter right behind the demonstration table, hoisting the flat sheets of pastry onto the commercial counter where they were cut into rounded pierogie sized bites that were soon to be filled with potatoes and onions. The students also dived into the ground beef and pork along with the fried onions, garlic and pepper to build the pierogie-sized pelmenis.
“I’m just doing potato and onion tonight. You can add cheese, or really, any filling you like,” said Zadvirna, referring to the pierogie experience.
One student cook, Michelle Wilson, said she has made up berry-filled pierogies in the past which suits her daughter, who has allergies to certain foods, which can make cooking a challenge.
Student cook Kathryn Roberton said she had attempted pierogies too, before, but found it absorbed a lot of time, so she enjoyed the opportunity to make a batch among friends that could be frozen and consumed later.
While Elaine Popova of Southeast Newcomer Services and Brianna Wilmot from the Family Centre cast hungry looks at the growing results of the evening, the eight fortunate student cooks, Sandra Dutton, Cassie Bonokoski, Angela Burgess, Andrea McCutcheon, April Gustafson Sam Thiessen and Oksana Miller along with Roberton and Mitchell tried their hand at shaping and pinching pierogies and pelmenis.
“In Western Ukraine we would generally use potatoes, onions and sauerkraut, while Eastern Ukrainians seemed to prefer sweeter ingredients like fruits or they’d use cottage cheese,” said Zadvirna, a native of the western side of that country but now a fully certified Estevanite who cooks and creates in the kitchens at the Tower and Eleven 24 Restaurants, and has been doing that for about three years.
Some students like Miller were back for a second or third round of learning cooking techniques just so they could add to their baking and cooking repertoire.
Those who had attended the Asian cooking experience talked about the fascinating ingredients and how they eventually came around to preparing won tons, among other things. Some ingredients had to be scouted out at local grocery outlets.
Other Ukrainian dishes like borscht (red soup, she called it, the base product being beets) are popular in North America too, Zadvirna observed.
A Mediterranean evening is planned next with the feature dish being tabouli with ouzi and cucumber and yogurt salad. That will be followed by a Peruvian night that will feature chicken and potato dishes con Pollo y Papas a la huancaina.
The East Indian night will focus on chicken Shahi Korma while the Jamaican evening will also feature fowl in the form of jerk chicken.
Popova said the International Kitchen project has been very successful in terms of bringing new citizens in touch with local residents to share not only recipes but also knowledge about their respective cultures and histories.
“We’re happy to be a part of this, it’s a great experience for all of us,” added Wilmot.
So, while the participants weren’t nearly as rowdy as Ramsay’s selected crew on reality television, they certainly weren’t shy about sharing some laughs and experimental movements that would have drawn a frying pan throwing fit from Ramsay, but only drew a patient and knowing smile from Zadvirna, along with a helpful suggestion.
After the construction business was completed, the team had the opportunity to take the finished products home as their reward, and the right to declare themselves expert pierogie-makers South Saskatchewan style, thanks to the Southeast Newcomer Services and Family Centre and their sponsors.
