Alberta's top chefs enjoyed Lac La Biche stay

Renowned chef Alessandro Porcelli says there’ s something “magical, really very special” about the Lac La Biche community.
Porcelli and a number of Alberta’ s top chefs were in the area from May 19-21, filming a culinary retreat for Porcelli’ s popular online show “Cook It Raw.”
Porcelli says he was struck by the beauty of the Lac La Biche region, which surpassed his expectations.

The area’ s colourful history and cultural diversity are also very impressive, he says. One of the focuses of “Cook It Raw” is teaching chefs to understand and appreciate the cultural significance of the foods they prepare.
For the first several days, the chefs made camp on Cucumber Island, north of Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park.

The retreat ended with an Aboriginal-inspired meal of bison at Beaver Lake Cree Nation.
Porcelli and the other chefs also participated in a traditional sweat lodge ceremony.
“It was so inspiring, so spiritual,” he said.

By coupling food preparation with traditional teachings, the chefs had a real bonding experience and gained a true sense of community, Porcelli says.
“I think the biggest thing (we learned) was respect for the land and each other,” he said. “It was spiritual learning more than anything.”
Cook It Raw episodes have been highlighted by international TV chef Anthony Bourdain on his Travel Channel show Anthony Bourdain:; No Reservations. The Lac La Biche visit was part of an Alberta theme for this season’ s Cook It Raw program. The Alberta cooks who were in Lac La Biche will be joined by international chefs at the second part of the program in Kananaskis Country in September.

The end result of the summer-long program is to create a unique, Alberta dish that brings together the food, culture and history of the province. To see more, go to www.cookitraw.org