Occupation: Speech-Language Pathologist with K.I.D.S (Kindergarten Inclusive Developmental Services)- Edmonton Public Schools. I help Kindergarten kids that may have difficulties understanding or producing language.

What did you eat today?  

Had a pack of Thin Addictives (these cranberry – almond cookies) on the drive to work. Also had some strawberry yogurt somewhere in the morning. For lunch, I had half a donair from High Voltage. Still good, even though it was left-overs. The tzatziki sauce over meat, lettuce, tomatoes all wrapped up into pita, then grilled with a special spice on top is incredibly tasty! Dinner was pretty simple as I was in a rush. I toasted a sun-dried tomato ciabatta sandwich with provolone, smoked turkey slices, tomato and cucumber as I had just gone to the Italian Centre for groceries.

What do you never eat?

Cilantro. I cannot bear the taste of this herb. It’s strong and way too pungent. I feel it takes away from the taste of whatever it was supposed to garnish.

What is your personal specialty?

My personal specialty would be baking desserts. Banana breads, chocolate-chip granola cream-cheese, chocolate spice and ginger-bread cookies, brownies,and creme brulee to name a few.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you will always find: 

A chunk of Piave Vecchio (my favorite cheese!), romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, a dip from the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market and my home-made salad dressing.

What is your weekday meal standby?

A salad made with the above ingredients and usually with some sort of meat on top such as chicken, steak, or pork. 

What is your favourite kitchen item?

My glass mixing bowls by Anchor. I got them for my birthday and they are amazing. They are quite heavy, but the weight is perfect so they don’t move around too much when I’m using the hand mixer. They are also great for baking, mixing a salad or even marinating meat.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

It would have to include salmon sashimi from Sushi Wasabi, smoked salmon with lemon juice & capers, calamari (probably the way Milestones does it), Dadeo’s sweet potato fries, a beautifully done steak, chicken shawarma (from Barakats in London, ON), a plate of macarons, Haagan Daaz Vanilla & Almond ice cream bar, creme brulee, a scoop of green tea ice cream and finally, two or three Ya pears depending on how much room I will have left!

Where do you eat out most frequently? 

This depends if it is a sit down or take out meal. If I’m heading out somewhere, then I will take out from Dadeo’s, High Voltage, or Maki Maki. If it’s a sit down meal then it would be any of the previous 3, along with Manna Noodle and Famoso. Oh and of course Transcend and DaCapo for coffee!

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

This is hard to decide. I would say Culina is the best for brunch, lunch and dinner. However, if you wanted sushi, then Sushi Wasabi would be my pick. Oh and of course the Duchess Bake shop for their pastries and macarons.

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

While I would enjoy the food in Italy, I would pick Paris mainly for the fresh baguettes, breads, pastries, cheese, wine, all their desserts, but especially the macarons!

Lillian blogs at Beyond Umami.

Occupation: Officially I’m the Business Planning Manager for Alberta Justice. Unofficially I bake cakes and cupcakes.

What did you eat today?

French toast and a latte for breakfast, cheese quesadilla for lunch and grilled chicken with spinach/mozzarella ravioli for dinner.

What do you never eat?

Fruit and fresh tomatoes. Seriously, no fruit! I’ll eat raisins but not grapes and I’ll  eat banana bread but not a banana! My mom told me I’d get scurvy not eating fruit but I’ve made it this far so I think I’m in the clear!

What is your personal specialty?

My chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you will always find:

Eggs, butter and milk (gotta be ready to bake in a blink of an eye!)

What is your weekday meal standby?

If time is really limited, it’d be grilled cheese and soup otherwise I like making a stir fry or curry over rice.

What is your favourite kitchen item?

I love my Kitchen Aid mixer!

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

Tough question. My mom’s breaded chicken, a baked potato with butter and roasted corn on the cob followed by a slice of my chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. Basic, clean, but absolutely delicious food!

Where do you eat out most frequently?

I don’t think I play favourites…I cater to my moods more often than frequent one restaurant. But a few of my favourites are OPM, Mikado, and New Asian Village.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

My favourite dish is at the Cactus Club in WEM. I love their butternut squash ravioli with scallops and fried sage leaves!!! Making myself hungry…

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

I’d like to go to Thailand and try some authentic green curry…and of course ride an elephant (maybe not at the same time though)!

Sarah blogs at Thoughts about Things and Cake Sarah Sera.

Occupation: Professional Educator (BEd) in my 30th year of teaching with Edmonton Public Schools. I am an Early Childhood Specialist (ECE Diploma), with two other “majors”, or specializations: English Literature, and Fine Art (drawing) I am currently teaching Foods, or cooking to about 200 grade 7-9 students every 2 days, for the second year. It was an invitation I could not refuse after watching my students come to school at 7 am eating chips and drinking Coke.

What did you eat today?

Baby Bocconcini (from the Italian Centre Shop South) with Olive Oil and black salt. It’s Saturday. I’ve been running, and I haven’t had dinner yet, which will probably be soup. Homemade in my Thermomix, of course 🙂 I tend to eat a lot of soup and yogurt.

What do you never eat?

Fried liver. I love liver pate, but not fried liver. I have thought about the latest “taste” sensation in our Edmonton Blogging Community (EatingistheHardPart and TheBruleeBlog): balut. I am drawn to this delicacy as I am so intensely interested in cultural foods. Maybe one day.

What is your personal specialty?

Vanja says “improvising”. Really, I haven’t a clue. I am always trying new things. I think appetizers and desserts. That first bite is so important, and I love that. And, the finale – well, what is a meal without something luscious? And, a little bite of chocolate?

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you will always find:

half eaten jars of homemade canned goods, homemade yogurt, Gull Valley tomatoes (unless they are on holiday), Sunworks Farm fresh eggs, red peppers, onions, garlic, charcuterie and cheeses from the ICS south, whipping cream, and a jug of orange juice with pulp.

What is your weekday meal standby?

I cook a completely different meal every night for Vanja than I eat myself. A typical standby for him is pasta. I will fry onions, peppers, sausage (casing removed) or ground meat of some sort, add herbs, mushrooms if I have them, lots of fresh chopped garlic, tomato paste and canned diced tomatoes and leave it to simmer on the back of the stove until he gets home. I put on the penne 15 minutes before I expect him home, and that is it.

What is your favourite kitchen item?

My Thermomix. I never thought it would change my life as it has. It has enabled me to accomplish so much more with so much less effort! After that, my wooden cutting boards and my sharp knives.

I am more into tasting and cooking part except when it comes to chocolate and ice cream! I would love a professional kitchen staffed with really capable sous chefs, and I would have a ball working with them and learning from them to create something from whatever is in the pantry!

Where do you eat out most frequently?

We like change and usually eat out every Friday, or every other Friday, at a different place. I prefer the small independent restaurants in our city: love Zenari’s for lunch, and Duchess Bake Shop for coffee and a treat!

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

I guess I would have to say my mom’s! I cannot get enough of her meatloaf!

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

I would eat at a large rustic table with my family, extended family, and friends out in the Alberta countryside sans wind, rain and mosquitoes. A home-cooked potluck meal where everyone has contributed their personal specialty. And, beside the Atlantic Ocean, near Cape Cod, eating shell fish would be a strong second.

Valerie blogs at A Canadian Foodie.

Occupation: I write, edit, do public relations, design websites, and dabble in a little bit of photography.

What did you eat today?

Breakfast, snacks and lunch were made up of oatmeal with soy sauce, leftover Chinese food from a banquet dinner (chicken and yi-mein/e-fu noodles), 2 bananas, and a handful of clementines. Not sure what dinner will be yet. Probably a salad.

What do you never eat?

Durian. I have tried it frozen, in ice cream, as candy, and fresh off the street in Malaysia, and I have given up trying to like that nasty, stinky, worse-than-dirty-gym-socks-washed-in-a-sewer fruit.

What is your personal specialty?

I don’t really think I have one.

Complete this sentence:

In my refrigerator, you will always find: vegetables and fruit, soy milk, a jar of The Jam Lady’s most excellent jam. Oh and processed cheese. I know, I should hang my head in shame.

What is your weekday meal standby?

An egg and cheese sandwich or a grilled cheese sandwich, both made with the aforementioned processed cheese and whole grain bread. If I am feeling guilty I will have a salad instead.

What is your favourite kitchen item?

My Le Creuset french oven.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

Assuming that I would eat until I burst, I would have a big bowl of Penang assam laksa, a plate of roti canai, beef chow fun, har gow, turkey congee with the cooked heart and gizzard, grilled black cod with teriyaki sauce, a plate of salmon sashimi, smoked salmon, prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, lamb with rosemary, roasted beets, a bison cheeseburger, sweet potato/yam fries, a grilled cheese sandwich, a vanilla milkshake, and some chocolate mousse for dessert. (Did you notice the total lack of fruits and non-root vegetables?)

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Probably Moxie’s. There’s a location near my home, and I’m a sucker for their steak and goat cheese salad.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

I would have to say The Blue Pear. The food isn’t always absolutely perfect, but it is always innovative and interesting.

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

Definitely Georgetown, in Penang, Malaysia. And I would eat my way through all the hawker stalls. In my opinion, street food always trumps fancy food.

Check out BruleeBlog’s website here.

Occupation: Food writer

What did you eat today?

Apart from chocolate, you mean? While I do derive a significant amount of my daily caloric intake thanks to the stash of dark chocolate in my kitchen, today was a good food day. Breakfast was some peanut buttered toast with  tea. I’m not very motivated in the morning. But my husband and I had rack of lamb for lunch (!! I know) that we seared off in a frying pan and then plastered with a mash of chopped parsely, garlic, black olive tapenade, lemon zest and olive oil. We put the pan into the oven and let it cook some more until it was about medium. I don’t like rare lamb. We had a parsley salad with capers, thin onion slices, lemon juice and olive oil. (That’s a Nigella recipe from one of her shows and we simply call it “Nigella Salad” in our house.) We kind of eat big lunches in our house. Dinner was just soup because we were running out the door to see the Olympic torch relay.

What do you never eat?

I don’t think of myself as a picky eater, but neither am I a fearless omnivore. I don’t really like steak tartare. I detest liver. I’m not fond of foie gras, but I will eat it if it arrives on a plate and I’m at a dinner party. No brain, ever. No kidneys, heart, and other offal. I also don’t eat beef / beef products unless they are grassfed and grass-finished if possible. (I eat a lot of bison.) Oh, and I try really hard to not eat tuna, especially Blue Fin, and other absolute no-nos in the commercial fishing world. The fact that it tastes like heaven is not an argument to eat irresponsibly.  Most food I don’t eat are on a taste or texture ground, but I have a few items that I just don’t eat on moral or ecological grounds.

What is your personal specialty?

You can’t tell because this Q & A is not done in real time, but it is taking me a long time to answer. I guess I’m a generalist. I am better are savory dishes than sweet. I’m not a baker or a dessert-maker. I make a good French onion soup from scratch, because I’ll take hours to simmer and caramelize the onions. In the summer I make a really great roasted beet, fresh apricot and goat cheese salad with a shallot vinaigrette. It’s the best of summer all in one bowl.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you will always find:

…half-full / half-empty jars of “impulse buys” like gourmet pestos, strange mustards, and pickled things and such. It’s a bit of a disaster because I have difficulty throwing stuff like that away, even if I don’t really like it as much as I thought I would when I bought it.

What is your weekday meal standby?

Caesar Salad with chicken. We make it from scratch so often that we usually just make a big jar of our homemade Caesar salad dressing and good quality Parmesan ready to roll. I’m pretty addicted to salads of all kinds because they are easy and I’ll use up little bits of leftovers — quinoa, green beans, steak, cheese — in my “salads.” They’re not just a few delicate leaves artfully arranged on a plate! Basically salads in our house may or may not contain leaves, but almost always contain cold leftovers.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

A wine-bottle opener for obvious reasons. After that, a good, sharp, heavy cleaver. It’s really satisfying to split a squash in half  in just one whack.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

Well, if the world really is coming to an end, then Blue Fin Tuna it is!!! (Under those circumstances, I’m sure it would be OK.) My last meal — on the eve of global collapse — would involve several bottles of good (French) Champagne, a raw oyster buffet, pan-fried baby eggplant and baby artichokes with Maldon sea salt, Poplar Grove Bench Blue cheese, tree-ripe Okanagan peaches, plums, cherries, …

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Somewhere within walking distance of our condo. We’re lucky, we’re close to the new Skinny Legs and Cowgirls, Matahari, Famoso Pizzeria, La Shish-Taouk, Cafe de Ville and such. Further afield I like to try new places and I definitely prefer smaller places or independents like Culina, Wild Tangerine, Blue Pear (though it’s been waaayyy too long since I’ve been there) and many of the other “Original Fare” restaurants. The food is better, the atmosphere is better and the money goes into the pockets of other Edmontonians. That’s very important to me. Having worked at Hardware Grill for almost three years, the place is like going home.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

That’s totally impossible…and I’ll get in trouble if I name just one.

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

I would love to go to Turkey, Morocco, and southern Spain (are you listening, travel and PR companies???). Ha. No those are my dream culinary vacations and I would eat everything in my path while there. Except for brains and such (see above list of my ‘Don’t Eat” foods..) I was meant to live on or near to the Equator.

Occupation:  Journalist

What did you eat today?

I had granola with strawberries and raspberries for breakfast and a cheese sandwich with a side of organic carrots from Sparrow’s Nest for lunch, plus an apple and a glass of milk.

What do you never eat?

Liver, unless it’s in pate.

What is your personal specialty?

I make a buttermilk chocolate cake with a gooey fudge icing for all family birthdays and it is, if I do say so myself, quite a hit.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you will always find: 

organic eggs, because they taste better.

What is your weekday meal standby?

Because I eat out a lot for work, I often like a simple bowl of home-made soup for supper. I always have a couple of different kinds in the freezer. Right now there is a Portuguese Green Soup. Chef Lino from Sabor Davino gave me the recipe and I just love it. I’ve also got a Fennel and Potato Soup in the freezer, made with a recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook.

What is your favourite kitchen item?

This changes regularly. I just bought a beautiful larchwood cheese board from Janice Beaton‘s cheese shop in Calgary, so that’s sitting proudly on my counter top and I’m planning a nice charcuterie for the next time I have people over. I also love my Braun food processor and my waffle iron.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

One of my mother’s Sundays suppers with a standing rib roast of beef and Yorkshire pudding,  draped in  hot gravy, and her fresh apple pie for dessert.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

One of my regular spots is Culina in Mill Creek, partly because it’s in my neighbourhood and partly because I love the combination of good food, a cozy atmosphere, reasonable prices and friendly service. And I love the wine bar down the street, Passa Tempo, which is also owned by Culina chef Brad Lazarenko and his partner Ed Donszelmann. The bartender at Passa Tempo, Diana, sets the tone. She manages to be both sophisticated, and down-to-earth, in her approach.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

This changes from time to time, depending on my most recent experiences. I’ve eaten a couple of pretty so-so meals at very expensive restaurants in Edmonton, so I don’t think that eating at one of the better restaurants in the city necessarily guarantees a top meal every time. Right now my favourite restaurant, however, is The Blue Pear. I think Chef Darcy Radies does a dynamite job of coming up with creative combinations and flat-out surprising flavours, and I really like the prix-fixe concept. I think Viphalay is the best place in town for Thai food.

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

I’d eat some fresh bread, along with some cheese and pate from one of the small shops along the Rue Montorgueil in Paris.

Liane’s weekly food column can be found in the Bistro section of the Edmonton Journal every Wednesday. She also blogs at Eat My Words.

Occupation: I’m a journalist. I work for CBC Radio as a researcher/producer. I think I like writing about food best of all! Someday I’d love to be a full-time food writer. 

What did you eat today?

I had a very strange breakfast: some leftover waffle batter that I had turned into cake because it wouldn’t stop sticking to the waffle iron. I spread it with almond butter so it actually tasted pretty good, despite a strange texture. And half a grapefruit.

For lunch I had some leftover roast chicken and sweet potato fries. Supper was a green salad with cucumber, chick peas and almonds on top.

What do you never eat?

I’ve tried to like oatmeal so many times … just ask my husband. I think it’s a texture/taste combination, but I just can’t get into it.

I’m also not a fan of anything gelatinous or soggy … like any form of Jello, or bread in soup. And I really don’t like Miracle Whip or Cheez-Whiz … I’m a bit of a food snob.

What is your personal specialty?

I don’t think I really have a specialty … although I love making scrambled eggs and they were the first thing I learned to cook, from my Dad. I think I’ve been making them long enough that I’ve mastered the technique! I also make a mean cornbread, and a delicious chocolate vegan cake.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you will always find:

Fresh vegetables, soy milk, a heel or two of Parmesan, a jar of jam, half a lemon stored in a ziploc and shoved into the door, and a bunch of leftovers.

What is your weekday meal standby?

Something with eggs. Usually fritatta because you can throw lots of different kinds of vegetables and cheese in it.

I’m getting healthier with time … in university my go-to if there was nothing good to make was frozen french fries with ketchup and grated cheese. Unhealthy, but delicious! I still crave it sometimes.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

I love wooden spoons. We have a lot of them, including some that are warped and and one that I took from my Mom’s house a while back. It’s starting to get a crack in it but I just don’t want to throw it away. I also think I would find it hard to live without our microplane grater.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

Brunch the way my Dad used to make it: scrambled eggs, biscuits, Lunenburg pudding, bacon, fresh grapefruit, lots of sharp cheddar cheese, toast, peanut butter. (One of my favourite food combos ever is toast with peanut butter, cheese, and bacon.) Maybe throw in a bowl of creamy mashed potatoes for good measure. In a perfect world, I would eat this meal on a sunny Sunday morning with my family.  

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Probably the Blue Plate Diner. It’s close, has an interesting menu and most of all an awesome atmosphere.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

I don’t know if I can pick just one. There are still so many restaurants I want to try, but of the places we’ve gone the Red Ox is one of the best. It’s elegant and special, yet simple and cozy. The food is wonderful too! We’ve been trying a lot of ethnic places that we love too, especially Padmanadi, Langano Skies, Boualouang, and this great Chinese hot pot restaurant in Chinatown. It’s called King’s Noodles and Hot Pot (I didn’t even know what it was called so I just googled it!). I would, however, recommend eating there with someone Chinese. It’s a lot to take in for a Westerner!

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

I would definitely go to Paris and gorge on croissants, pains au chocolat, and baguettes. And probably visit all the city’s chocolate shops too. I would love to visit Italy – never been there – and discover all the food it has to offer. And I would for sure find out the best places to eat in Asia and visit all of them. I think I would pretty much go on a world food tour if I could.

Isabelle blogs at The Little Red Kitchen.

Occupation: I work in the newsroom for 630CHED/iNews880. I write, report, and do web site stuff. Basically, if it’s in the newsroom… I probably do it at one point or another. I also run the @iNews880 Twitter account.

What did you eat today?

So far? Just two cups of hot chocolate. I’ve had my vanilla yogurt sitting beside me at work for about 4 hours now… so, hold on one second. Okay, I’ve had two cups of hot chocolate and a spoonful of vanilla yogurt.

What do you never eat?

I don’t ever eat nuts or peanuts due to allergies. But I also try to never eat onions or potatoes. I have a hate for green onions which I find places tend to add onto EVERYTHING. It’s not a welcome surprise on my plate.

What is your personal specialty?

I can cook a mean Mu Shu spin off. I use chicken instead of pork and add peppers, mushrooms, and rice noodles.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you will always find:

Ketchup. Which goes perfectly with my weekday meal standbys.

What is your weekday meal standby?

Either Chicken Nuggets, Fries, and Green Beans or Mac and Cheese. Both easy and fairly cheap.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

My dishwashing brush. I hate washing dishes, but don’t have a dishwasher… this handy brush is efficient and allows me not to touch gross dishwater.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

Chicken Mushroom Lasagna, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, a slice of carrot cake (without nuts) and a glass of ice wine. Alternatively, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk. The world ends tomorrow — if I die from my allergies, it’s only speeding the process.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Probably the southside location of Silcilian Pasta Kitchen. My family discovered it a few years back and we go there for family dinners from time to time.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

I would have to say the Bul Go Gi House. I’ve been going since I was a little girl. Service is almost always fast and friendly, and the food is absolutely delicious!

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

I’ve never given it much thought. Maybe I’d go to Hell’s Kitchen… I would order scallops and risotto. Those always seem so difficult to cook, but I’d love to try the finished product.

Follow Brittney on Twitter here.

Occupation: I’ve just recently moved back to the city and picked up contract work at IKEA, where I was employed while I worked on my business degree, until I find a position in Human Resources to continue my career path.

What did you eat today?

Breakfast – banana and fiber one smoothie
Lunch – slow roasted chicken sandwich on homemade whole wheat bread, with a side of carrots and cauliflower.
Supper – braised lamb shank on a bed of green lentils at Culina.

What do you never eat?

I can’t think of any thing, besides balut maybe, that I wouldn’t eat.

What is your personal specialty?

Nice rustic loafs of bread and slow roasted pulled pork.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you will always find:

Yogurt, apples, carrots, lettuce, kimchi, various mustards and hot sauces.

What is your weekday meal standby?

A roasted chicken or tuna salad.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

My KitchenAid stand mixer.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

It would be a meal of foods I have strong memories connected to. Starting with cinnamon french toast with real maple syrup – melted fontina cheese on a Montréal bagel – a bison burger with guacamole – tacos al pastor – sashimi – and finish with my mom’s chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of milk.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Sushi Wasabi – the perfect place to indulge in my fish cravings.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

I’ve been away for a few years so I’m far from current when it comes to the finer things. Although I must say after having just enjoyed my first meal at Culina, that is definitely a spot people should hit up.

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

Puebla, Mexico – where the mole was created. With every aspect of Mexican cuisine available on the street, I think I’d spend a day walking while eating anything and everything wrapped in fresh corn tortillas.

Chris blogs at Eating is the Hard Part.