Jackie Oswald shares her European cooking experiences

By Joan Janzen

One activity that people generally avoid while on holiday is cooking, but that’s not the case for Jackie Oswald of Kindersley. When at home, her calendar is solidly booked with catering engagements for Jackie’s Delicious Delights. Nevertheless, on her recent travels to Belgium, Holland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Paris, Jackie took every opportunity to cook.

Her love of cooking motivated the trip, and she found a like-minded friend to accompany her. “I wanted some different experiences cooking, something out of the prairie bubble,” she explained.

Jackie eating crepes made from blood. Yes you read that correctly - blood. The locals at Tuscany, Italy thought the crepes were delicious. PHOTO SUBMITTED

Jackie Oswald shows off her freshly made Biscotti while attending classes in Tuscany, Italy. PHOTO SUBMITTED

It was a proud moment when the French chef had the entire class look at Jackie’s perfect eclairs! PHOTO SUBMITTED

Jackie receives her certificate after completing cooking classes at LeCordon Bleu in Paris. PHOTO SUBMITTED

While touring and visiting a distantly related cousin in the Netherlands, Jackie was there to cook a delicious meal for her relative. After touring Amsterdam, they enjoyed munching on street food, which consisted of tiny, fluffy pancakes called pofferjetes. “They were so light; I could have eaten those all day,” Jackie said.

However, a not-so-tasty local delicacy of Holland consisted of raw herring covered with onions and pickles. “My girlfriend had a struggle eating the raw herring, but I said, ‘I’m taking it for our team,’” Jackie laughed. But that wasn’t the only incident when Jackie was faced with something hard to swallow.

“In Tuscany, we went to a popular crepe place. The crepes were made with blood and were bright red when they were cooking them. “I lathered it with nutella and drowned it down. I don’t recommend it, but the guy who took us there thought they were the best thing going,” she said.

While visiting Paris, she ordered grilled pork and was completely surprised to have a pork foot placed in front of her. “Not quite what we were expecting,” she confessed. When she ordered a hamburger, she was asked how rare she would like it.

“I said well done, and they looked mortified. We are a little more safety conscious in Canada,” Jackie observed.

Their time in Brussels began with a chocolate-making workshop, which was followed by a lengthy chocolate, beer, whiskey, and waffle tour. The highlight was tasting the award-winning “best beer in the world” Westvleteren.

Jackie attended her first cooking class at LeCordon Bleu in Paris, where the students made eclairs. Each of the sixteen students had their own numbered workstation. The eclairs were put in the oven to bake, while the class made everything that goes in the eclair. Some of the students struggled with the piping, but Jackie didn’t have any trouble because of her extensive cake-decorating experience. Although Jackie has made eclairs many times, she did pick up a few new tips and tricks to try out.

When the cooking project was completed, the class was told some of the eclairs didn’t turn out. So, when the chef called out Jackie’s workstation number, she was a little nervous. However, the French chef was excited and totally thrilled with Jackie’s perfect eclair!

Jackie said, “It was a proud moment when he called out the whole class to look at my work.”

Another class at Cordon Bleu was specific instructions on how to make a French cheesecake. “We made a sable crust (shortbread and butter), a raspberry coulis infused with black pepper and balsamic vinegar, which was frozen and inserted into the middle, and then the cheesecake batter went around and over the top,” Jackie explained. The concoction was finished with more sable crumbs, fresh fruit, and a simple syrup for dew drops. The end result was perfection!

The following two days were dedicated to making sauces, garnishes and salad dressings. “We had lots of live crabs around us and made a crab dip. It was really interesting, and I learned a lot. Everything was made from scratch,” Jackie said. “We made our own hollandaise sauce and it was wonderful!”

They made different sauces for fish and poultry and a variety of sauces for different meats, which Jackie said she would definitely be using back home. “The sauce for fish was so lovely; I can’t wait to try it,” she said. “I cook for different farmers during seeding, and the farmers can’t wait to try out my new discoveries.”

Her cooking pursuits included making all kinds of pasta while in Tuscany, Italy. The class was held in a vineyard, where the three participants made ravioli with a homemade filling and a vegetable flan. “I can’t wait to try that out on our guys at home,” she said. “The gnocchi was so delicious! That one was a favourite.” There were many favourites, including strawberry Tiramisu.

“We made plenty of friends and really enjoyed the international camaraderie,” she said. “It was awesome to see other people as excited about preparing food as I am. The like-mindedness was great. It was so good to see someone so excited about a fresh ingredient and how they can make it work.”

Now that Jackie is back home, she is eager to see what she can create with the fresh ingredients available in Saskatchewan. And it didn’t take her long before she was back at work. She arrived home on Wednesday, had a catering job on Thursday, and prepped for four jobs over the weekend.

Jackie says she came home with renewed confidence in her skill set. And as seeding time approaches, not only are her farmer friends anxious to get the seed in the ground but also to have Jackie’s new culinary discoveries pass by their lips.