Home »Potato Pizza Recipe Gets Nod From Celebrity Chef
Potato Pizza Recipe Gets Nod From Celebrity Chef
Eastern Graphic
By Jonathan Charlton
jonathan@peicanada.com
Chef Michael Smith helped a Morell Regional High School student and her class prepare a recipe last Wednesday - a recipe she created.
Arin Douglas, a Grade 11 student, had submitted her "Mega Potato Pizza" to a contest by the Healthy Eating Alliance. It was chosen best of 35 entries from across the province, from Grades 2 to 12.
Arin was excited about the chef’s visit, but also surprised her pizza won. At first she didn’t think it was very good, as she "threw it together" one day when she was bored.
She got the idea of using potatoes from her 4-H Club, where she’d tasted a chocolate cake made with potatoes.
Arin's feelings about cooking are simple. "I like the food when it’s done. And the smell of the kitchen."
As a reward, Mr Smith visited the school’s kitchen classroom and met the Student Nutrition Action Committee, of which Ms Douglas is a member.
There, they prepared the pizza from scratch using as many local ingredients as possible. Mr Smith bounded between groups preparing different elements of the pizza, offering tips and encouragement.
The recipe called for grated potatoes to be added to the pizza dough before it was cooked. The top was loaded with a cheese sauce, lean ground beef, peppers, onions, cheese - and more potatoes.
When it came out of the oven it was obvious why the Healthy Eating Alliance had rated it so highly in the categories of appearance, nutritional value, use of local ingredients, taste and uniqueness.
Mr Smith had used potatoes in bread dough before, but never in pizza dough. It was a good idea, he said.
The chef also talked to the class about the importance of nutrition. He said North American society spends too much money on health care and not enough on food, eating far too much on poor quality processed food.
Mr Smith's seven simple words of advice to the class: "Cook food, not too much, mostly plants."
He said it falls to Ms Douglas’ generation to fix the mistakes of their parents.
Mr Smith stressed the importance of making a personal connection with food and he played down his TV celebrity status, saying fewer than 50 per cent of the people who watch his television show actually make the recipes they see.
"TV is not real. This is real."
Mr Smith said he hoped to raise awareness of proper eating with the visit, which begins with engaging people.
"It’s cool, everyone is here for the right reason ... It’s fun. It’s got to be hands on and fun."
This was the first such contest the Healthy Eating Alliance had done. The goal was to help students learn the benefits of buying local, to improve eating habits and develop food preparation skills, said coordinator Jane Caiger.
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For more information on the Healthy Eating Alliance Celebrate the Island Recipe Contest, please email info@healthyeatingpei.ca or call 620-3881