Flavours of Edmonton

CBC Edmonton launched a special new fundraiser in support of the Edmonton Food Bank. It’s a cookbook, called Flavours of Edmonton, that features recipes from the public, local personalities and CBC staffers. Every recipe also comes with the story behind why the dish is special to the contributor.

We wanted a legacy project to CBC’s soccer coverage and our station’s Regional Director –Judy Piercey –  recalled a cookbook idea we heard about from the West Coast.

I was asked to lead the project and get our TV, online and radio audiences to submit their favourite recipes and the story behind each dish. The catch – there always is one – is that the recipe could NOT have been previously published.

Now I was entering new territory. Finding recipes, finding a tester for the recipes to make the cookbook legit, and of course, finding a publisher who would help us out. Who knew the publisher question was the easiest to answer. Lone Pine Publishing stepped up once they heard the cookbook was a fundraiser for Edmonton’s Food Bank. The tester was easy as well. Lovoni Walker has her own cooking show and a test kitchen.

The biggest challenge was finding recipes that covered the gamut. At first they came flooding in – Portuguese Octopus Stew, Transylvanian Sauerkraut, Tandoori Chicken on Your Home Grill – and then, we had a slowdown. Recipes trickled in and then we had too many desserts, not enough vegetarian dishes and some communities were under-represented.

Let’s just say we primed the pump with CBC personalities and local chefs who contributed some wonderful yarns and eats. And now a year and a bit later, we have a published cookbook that celebrates the Flavours of Edmonton. In the first two weeks we sold more than a thousand copies which means money is being deposited into Edmonton’s Food Bank.

- Andrea Graham, Program Manager – Radio, English Radio Administration