Sauerkraut
Stew
serve with perogies,
gnocchi or boiled
potatoes
/2 cup smoked bacon, diced
1
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 lb pork shoulder, cubed
(or any meat)
/2 cup white wine
1
1 lb kielbasa or other
smoked sausage, cut into
large pieces
2 bay leaves
Chef Brad Smoliak
in his Edmonton studio
1 tbsp garlic, chopped
1 tbsp paprika
3 lbs sauerkraut, drained
1 lb cabbage, chopped
Locavore
Food for Thought
chef Brad smoliak cooks up classic ukrainian comfort food
curtIs trent
by JenniFer CoCkrall-king
“Food brings people together,” says
chef Brad Smoliak. “Nothing fancy,
nothing pretentious—just comfort food
and good conversation.” Growing up in
Edmonton, Smoliak was surrounded
by butter- and sour-cream drenched
Ukrainian family feasts. In his twenties, culinary curiosity took him to
Greece and Turkey, where family-style
platters reign supreme.
Upon returning home, Smoliak
worked his way through some of
the city’s top kitchens and became
chef-partner at Hardware Grill, the
wildly successful outpost credited
with launching Edmonton’s local food
movement.
But sixteen-hour restaurant days
eventually took a toll, so Smoliak
sampled other cooking careers: corporate chef at Edmonton’s Little Potato
Company; VIP cooking gigs during
the 2010 Winter Olympic Games
in Vancouver; and author of two
bestselling cookbooks.
In 2012, he opened his own place:
Kitchen by Brad Smoliak in downtown
Edmonton. The cozy 1,500-square-foot
culinary studio serves as headquarters
for Smoliak’s recipe development business for major food companies across
North America. The space also hosts
cooking classes and private dinners for
up to 28 guests.
“I’m a big believer that good food is
just the catalyst for a great evening,”
Smoliak says. “It’s really about the
people.” It’s that connection between
food and people that drives Smoliak
to teach new twists on tried-and-true
recipes, like his