The new chef in residence at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) is hoping to leave students with a greater appreciation of the history behind what we eat.
Chef Quentin Glabus, from Frog Lake First Nations, has returned to his alma mater after 25 years spent cooking across Alberta and the world to share his knowledge and outlook with NAIT culinary arts students.
Glabus started his professional career in Alberta, working as the chef of Edmonton’s first Indigenous restaurant Homefire Grill, before representing First Nations cuisine in countries including Brazil, Singapore, China, Japan and Taiwan.
On Tuesday, the new Hokanson Chef in Residence held live cooking demonstrations on wild rice. He said students learned how to cook with the grass seed (not a cereal grain like other rice varieties), as well as appreciate its history and cultural significance.
“A lot of people think, ‘Well, wild rice is just an ingredient.’ But it’s also an ingredient that’s been here in North America since time immemorial,” Glabus said.
“It’s a major food ingredient that a lot of Indigenous communities rely on, but with a lot of other Indigenous communities, it’s cultural, it’s ceremonial.”
Glabus said the same applies for many foods across the world, and he hopes to teach students the importance of being informed and appreciative of the context within cooking.
“I’m trying to get across to the students that, when it comes to cooking it’s not just, ‘Here are the ingredients, let’s make something with it.’ You need to take a look at cuisine culturally,” he added.
“It’s a way to show respect for the ingredients you’re using, do a little bit of research, because depending on where you are in the world, there are different rules, different guidelines you have to follow.”
NAIT’s chef in residence program started nine years after Glabus graduated. Notable former chefs in residence include Massimo Capra, Lynn Crawford, Susur Lee and Chris Constantino.
Glabus said it feels surreal to hold the title after chefs of that calibre.
“To me, I’m just little old me from Alberta doing the best that I can to represent, not just Indigenous people, but Canada as a whole,” he said, adding he hopes students realize they too can achieve anything he’s accomplished – or more.
“Hard work, put your head down and do it, be adaptable and anything is possible,” he said.
Glabus will be leading students in a three-course lunch and a four-course dinner on Thursday at NAIT’s on-campus restaurant Ernest’s. Reservations can be made by calling the restaurant.
