A Taste of Guelph: Cooking in Season encourages readers to cook with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients while learning the stories behind each dish.
Food often brings back memories of good times, good friends, and good memories.
With that in mind, the University of Guelph has released a new cookbook, “Flavours of Guelph: Cooking in Season,” created by the culinary team in the university's Hospitality Services program.
Organized by season, the book's recipes inspire readers to create dishes using seasonal and locally sourced ingredients while also learning the stories behind each dish.
U of G is known for serving fresh, innovative food and has been ranked as the “best campus food in Canada.”
The cookbook includes recipes from U of G's award-winning chefs, who recently won top prizes at international cooking competitions.
Executive chef Vijay Nair, who oversees 20 dining outlets on campus and the main dining halls in the four residence halls, writes in the book's foreword:
“We advocate for food with a conscience, creating indulgent seasonal menus that align with Canada's Food Guide. Our made-from-scratch dishes tell a story of respecting our land, ocean, farms and the flavors of the world.”
Ranging from comfort food to more inventive dishes, recipes include U of G classics such as ginger-flavored butternut squash soup, Creelman Bake Shop banana bread and herb roasted chicken with honey.
“All of our recipes are tried and tested on campus,” Nair said. “They are the most popular and have become staples on the UGuam menu.”
Niall says the chard and asparagus salad is easy to make, especially now in the summer.
“A summer tomato salad is delicious, as is a grilled vegetable salad with feta. Rhubarb and raspberry crisp is also popular – choose according to the season,” says Nair.
Nair said the idea for the cookbook came from putting together a collection of recipes as a keepsake for the campus community, since Glendale is so well known for its “delicious” food.
“Our students and staff have requested these recipes. There are a lot of recipes that are favorites for a lot of people. We wanted to put together something as a keepsake and by making it into a book it will reach a wider readership. It will also generate funds for the student food bank,” Nair said.
A portion of the proceeds from the cookbook will be donated to the Guelph Student Food Bank, which supports students' access to nutritious meals.
“For me as a chef, this book is a dedication to my hospitality team. It has been a challenging time during the pandemic,” Nair said.
“Behind the scenes we have a large team working hard for long hours, including late nights and weekends. Our team goes to great lengths to give back to our community.”
The Guelph Urban Organic Agriculture Centre, a one-hectare “living laboratory” for the plant agriculture sector, supplies thousands of pounds of vegetables, reducing the environmental footprint of food products required of suppliers.
The chefs also operate the U of G Chef's Garden, located next door to the Edmund C. Bovee Greenhouse, where they grow a variety of herbs and fresh produce, including cherry tomatoes, eggplant and chili peppers.
A partnership with Glendale’s Office of Sustainability has helped prevent over 500,000 pounds of food waste from ending up in landfills through an on-campus composting program.
The Guelph Food Innovation Centre in the Faculty of Food Science is utilising a 300-litre kettle in their production facility to help chefs scale up to serve dishes to students at the university.
U of G’s hospitality sector is prominent in its collaboration with local farmers and across all U of G operations, with much of the food grown on campus and 45 per cent of purchases spent on locally sourced produce.
“In Guelph, our philosophy is to support local farmers and the community. It's an essential part of what we do. We're so grateful for our local producers and farmers,” Nair said.
“It's a testament to their efforts. It takes all of them to make sure we have good food on campus.”
Flavors of Guelph: Cooking in Season is available for purchase at the U of G bookstore and will also be available for sale during Alumni Weekend.
