Meet Hamilton Chef Raine Laing
Languishing" has entered our coronavirus vocabulary ever since the New York Times outlined how it best describes our pandemic funk. They define it as a sense of stagnation and emptiness ... as if you're muddling through your days."
This is the last word that comes to mind when talking to Chef Raine Laing. Describing herself as a globally-inspired chef, aspiring cookbook author and culinary instructor she radiates vitality, ambition, and spirited enterprise.
Growing up in Mississauga, with Jamaican roots, she attended McMaster and has now returned to Hamilton, embracing the city she loves for its entrepreneurial spirit. Comparing it to Toronto, she says it has a small-town feel with amazing amenities - and friendly, inviting people.
Laing is excited about her new role as a chef instructor at Liaison College - the culinary training school that has, for 24 years, trained cooks - many of whom have worked at Hamilton eateries. Laing hopes to enhance her role by building bridges to the local restaurant community, and exploring the idea of a Hamilton restaurant association.
In between the last and current Hamilton chapter in her life, Laing completed an MBA. The most important thing she learned was that she hated office work and began the next chapter - cooking a variety of cuisines in many kitchens - from fine dining to golf clubs - acquiring Red Seal certification, and cooking for the Raptors and Maple Leafs. To this day, she remains a consultant to My Holy Perogy, using her business/MBA side and creative flare.
Laing credits her love of cooking to her family, especially her mother and sister, describing them as a bunch of foodies. Food is at the centre of who we are. We celebrate with food. We show love with food."
Her new family is comprised of her students. As an educator, she stresses that restaurants are a people business" - caring about diners as well as staff. She admits they need to be prepared for the reality that some kitchens still demand cooks to be tough, especially when it comes to women in kitchens run by men. While acknowledging positive changes, she says there is still more work to be done and there shouldn't be gender, sex or colour barriers.
There are not enough women, black women, gay black women," she says.
Laing says she likes tradition, but also likes to improvise, to push the envelope. On the whole, she aims for a flavourful cooking style, often with unexpected combos. She caught my attention with her post of a schnitzel - yes, I am a sucker for schnitzels. She added a cherry sauce which traditionally I associate with duck and then the unexpected. In her own words, nutty sesame seeds and Asian inspired spices were added to the breading. Tart five-spice cherry sauce brightens the dish and makes it sing."
We chatted a bit about her photo on her website. She's wearing a Vans Off The Wall" cap, but laughingly admits that while she doesn't skateboard, she often wears hats. In the photo, she is standing in front of some cookbooks. I recognize Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck Cookbook." Laing says she devours books about food and cooking and likes books from Michael Ruhlman, Yotam Ottolenghi, Marcus Samuelsson and David Tanis.
Currently testing recipes for her own cookbook, she shares photos on Instagram with delightful descriptive comments.
There's her Boujee fried chicken sandwich, white bean puree and caramelized braised leeks with lemon honey bread crumbs and lemon spinach chicken fricassee. This recipe is a riff on a Jamaican chicken fricassee my mom use to make for me when I was young. I've removed the Caribbean spices and went for a more traditional flavour profile of garlic, lemon and thyme."
In her post on kimchee and beef fried rice, she says I know a recipe is a success when Rebecca can't stop singing its praises and does a delicious food dance' while eating ... The yokey (sic) sunny-side-up egg provided a terrific texture and vessel for all of the flavours set sail to my tastebuds."
Laing describes her wife - Rebecca Laing as her Jeffrey" - a reference to the husband of Ina Garten, celebrated cookbook author and television personality. Of Rebecca, she says She's the best sous chef ever, a food enthusiast and instrumental to my story."
Laing's cookbook will focus on globally inspired dinner ideas. She says she takes inspiration from anything. While she does not have a lot of travel under her belt, she is well-read and well-fed. Laing says she has done plenty of dining out (much of it in Toronto) and countless hours sitting at the dinner tables of a diverse group of friends, eating their authentic foods.
To tempt and tease you, Laing just began posting some of her recipes to her website hoping you'll be one day lining up for her book. I can't wait to try her Jamaican patty-inspired bao. Once lockdowns are behind us, watch her Instagram account for news about how to enjoy her cooking.
Diane Galambos is a food writer who shares stories and recipes at her blog kitchenbliss.ca. Follow her on Instagram https://instagram.com/kitchenblissca
Chef Raine Laing