We at foodiePrints are very lucky to be able to call Chef Andrée Riffou and Paola St-Georges of C'est Bon Cooking friends. These two entrepreneurs are actively lending their voices to a growing chorus, singing the praises of Ottawa's evolving culinary scene.

Their walking tour of the ByWard Market is groundbreaking. The first of C'est Bon Cooking's "Foods of Ottawa" tours, it lets residents and visitors alike "experience the city through our award-winning restaurants and ethnic, gourmet, and fine food shops."

They recently launched a combined tour and cooking class that begins with a shopping trip to the ByWard market to meet some of Chef Riffou's favourite merchants and purchase ingredients. Afterward, you prepare a seasonal menu and sit for a delicious meal. The fee, $125/person (HST included).

Here are sample menu items:

• Local Charcuterie and selection of Ontario and Quebec cheeses.
• Mme Rochon's tender salad greens garnished with Mme Cadotte's edible flowers.
• Gaspacho or Ratatouille.
• Scallops Crudo.
• Grilled Sirloin or fish served with savoury melon salad.
• Pavlova with seasonal berries

Earlier this week, Chef Riffou and Paola took some time out of their schedules to respond to some questions by e-mail.
1. Tell us a little about yourselves and your ties to the food industry in Ottawa? Chef Riffou, you are a Cordon Bleu trained chef?

Food is my passion. I have been on a quest to eat well all my life and am always digging to find out more about food and how to prepare it. Cordon Bleu was on my radar for a number of years and I finally accomplished my dream by studying there in 2008-2009. The Cordon Bleu Grand Diplome program also allowed me to practice in the school production kitchen, to observe cooking and pastry in a five diamond restaurant: Signature, to do apprenticeship in France and in Canada. I studied in Canada and in Paris. It was a fantastic experience.

2. What had you come up with the concept of food tours? Have you participated in food tours in other cities?

I was always asked by my friends in Ottawa to take them along to show them where to buy specialty foods. I loved taking them on my very own gastro-tour and share tidbits of local goodness. I had the chance of experiencing the New-York Food Tour 6 years ago and last summer and a Paris food tour 2 years ago and though it would be great to have it in Ottawa as well.

Paola here: On my side of things, I was catching up with what was going on via Twitter and came across a very interesting tweet from none other than @foodiePrints (do you know of him?). This tweet basically went something like: "Oh, look at what they do in New York" and provided a link. I promptly followed the link and discovered this concept of food tours. I was instantly captivated by the idea and realized that Ottawa was ready to offer this type of tour as well. When Andrée and I sat down last fall to chat and catch up we realized that both of us were hoping to bring food tours to Ottawa and decided to join forces.

3. What tours have you have setup?

Paola here: The Foods of the ByWard Market Tours were launched in May and I will offer special Beechwood Avenue and Wellington West Tours before the end of our outdoor season in October. We’ll also participate in La Vendemmia and will offer a special Preston Street Food tour on September 25th. We’re very excited about these opportunities to share Ottawa’s best food with our guests!

4. Do you concentrate on specific neighbourhoods?

Paola here: Yes, we hope to give our guests a sense of life in a particular neighbourhood so as the food scene develops and expands into different areas of the city, we bring our guests along to experience the "flavour" of that particular area. We currently have the ByWard Market, Beechwood Avenue, Wellington St. West and Preston Street tours planned for this summer and fall.

5. Are all the tours walking tours?

Paola here: All the tours are walking tours so far. We are hoping to organize a local farm tour in the fall - we haven't decided whether this tour will be by bus or in a "rendez-vous" format yet (people driving their cars and meeting at the various stops). I'm also planning a very special tour at the end of November with a theme: Christmas shopping for your favourite gourmand. (transportation will be included for this tour).

6. Have you considered incorporating wine/food tastings into tours?

Paola here: Food tasting is a big part of our tours and although we have thought of adding a wine tasting component, it remains to be implemented. We’ve done a private event with a sommelier centered on wine and food pairings and are chatting with other sommeliers as well-there is a natural synergy between our interests.

7. Your newly launched website says "one of the best ways to understand a people and its culture is to explore local food markets, experience local specialties and meet with local Chefs and food
artisans." What sets Ottawa apart from other cities?

Ottawa is well surrounded by local farmers. The proximity of food supplies is such that access is easy. The past 10 years have been particularly great: fruit, vegetable, cheese, wine, duck, pork, beef, veal, chicken ...pretty well everything you need is within reach.

Do we have a characteristic food or food style? Over the past few years, with the economic downturn, Ottawa, like many other North American cities, has focused on upscale comfort food. There has been an increase of upscale restaurants, with extremely good chefs, transforming comfort dishes into gourmet food.

8. What other services does C'est Bon Cooking provide?

C'est Bon Cooking also offers Cooking Classes and Team Building events. Cooking Classes are centered around French-inspired cuisine where participants learn popular French recipes based on essential cooking principles and techniques. The team building events are focused towards leadership development and team building in a kitchen setting. Participants get to learn about themselves and their colleagues while cooking up some fun and camaraderie at the same time.

9. What do you see in the way of Culinary Tourism in Canada's Capital?

In Ottawa and in general, there is a keen interest in food, whether it is eating better quality food, eating in better restaurants, events around food such as cooking shows, cooking competitions, food festivals, food associations: Just food, Savour Ottawa,..... many organic groups are forming as well. Ottawa has seen the number of food markets increasing throughout the city. There are many great neighborhood markets offering excellent quality food. That said, we think Ottawa is becoming a destination for people who like to plan their travel around a specific interest such as wine, food etc.

Sounds like we will be hearing about some great upcoming events from C'est Bon Cooking. Do check their website for updates!

Update: Chef Riffou was recently interviewed by Paula Roy for the Kitchissippi Times community newspaper. A full page article was published in the August 19, 2010 edition.

A Chef Follows Her Passion

Particulars:
C'est Bon Cooking
560 Churchill Avenue N.
(613)291-9155

The gourmet deli and food shop La Bottega Nicastro is a staple source of Italian fine food from olive oil to cheeses, balsamic vinegars, in-house made pickles, and the odd in-house made artisan cured meats. An Italian grocery for over 30 years, it has been owned an operated by Pat Nicastro for the past 15. Pat is the son of Joe Nicastro, the proprietor of Nicastro's Food Emporium on Merivale Road (1558). According to Paola St-George (@cestboncooking) of C'est Bon Cooking, the owners of the Bank Street (792) and Wellington Street W. (1355) Il Negozio Nicastro's are also related, though more distantly.

Speaking of C'est Bon Cooking, Jenn and I took the following photos at La Bottega Nicastro during one of their ByWard Market tours.

Signage

Sandwich Sign


Nicastro Brand Olive Oil

Italian Soda and Olive Oil

15 Year Old Balsamic


Fine Italian Food Stuffs, including Lots of Dry Pasta

Fresh Bread

More after the jump...