This week’s episode of Recipe to Riches featured a show first that also happens to be a show last: a Toronto contestant. It also featured a little sparring between marketing judge Tony Chapman on the one side and Laura Calder and product developer Dana McCauley on the other over the appropriate brow-level for the products: the latter two wanted to see food they might serve at a dinner party, leading Chapman to declare, “Neither one of you is the mass market!” As with any reality show, it’s always more fun when things get heated between the judges. After the jump, our recap of the savoury pies episode and the results from our tasting panel.
Mini-Recap
Burnaby’s Melaney Gleeson-Lyall took the win this week for her hazelnut bannock pie, a part of our heritage that has zeitgeist written all over it at the moment (Oliver and Bonacini recently opened a restaurant named after the Scottish-cum–First Nations flatbread). But the climb to the top for this mild-mannered charity administrator wasn’t easy. First she had to vanquish Toronto’s Tikka Smiley, a bubbly kiddie entertainer (she arrived at the tryouts wearing balloons) who brought her recipe for a vegan pot pie. Sadly, she was eliminated in the batch-up challenge after she replaced her biscuit crust with a dry-as-a-bone whole wheat version “for the esthetic value.” Gleeson-Lyall’s other opponent, Brampton’s Wayne Reid, seemed like he was invented for TV. The good-natured reggae singer bounced around the screen dropping phrases like “I a rub-a-dub it in” to explain the cooking process for his moon-shaped salt fish and ackee pie. After the marketing challenge (whose relevance to the eventual outcome is starting to feel questionable), the judges found themselves faced with a choice between two visions of Canadiana: Aboriginal and multi-culti. Galen Weston Jr. noted in his trademark adorably stiff way that the native heritage of the bannock pie had “an enormous amount of romantic appeal,” but Chapman was clearly in love with the grab-and-go potential of Reid’s pie for the 99 per cent who eat most of their meals on the go. In the end, the win went to the dinner party set (who, in McCauley’s words, “might not be confident enough to make a First Nations recipe” from scratch).
Tasting Panel
This week’s winning recipe took a lot more effort to put together than any of the previous winners on the show, necessitating an off-site, out-of-office tasting. First, the frozen bannock-less pie filling spends half an hour in the oven during which time you combine a pouch of dry ingredients with water to create the bannock dough. Then you place a flattened ball of dough on top of the half-cooked stew-like filling and put it back in the oven for another half hour. The results of all that labour and time were mixed. Most of the panel found the bannock component much more interesting than the filling. One taster compared it favourably to a “slightly sweet scone,” while another pointed out that it was the only component to elevate the dish beyond so many frozen veggie pot pies (sadly, it doesn’t get cooked in a pan like real bannock). Everyone agreed that the root vegetables and squash filling, while better than the usual pot pie goop, needed a lot more salt. The verdict? Worth a try if the novelty appeals to you. See how we put the dish together in our box-to-plate gallery »
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- The purple box features a cartoon Gleeson-Lyall decked out in aboriginal garb beating a drum with a spatula
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- Inside the box: a packet of bannock mix and some frozen pie filling, which goes straight into the oven
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- A closer look at the pie filling with the plastic removed
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- The bannock packed mixed with three tablespoons of water
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- The surprisingly credible looking bannock
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- After half an hour, the pie filling comes out of the oven to be topped with the bannock
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- The pie filling topped with bannock, which goes back in the oven for another half hour
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- After just over an hour of cooking total, the bannock hazelnut pie is ready to eat
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- A slice of the bannock-topped pie. Notice the surprisingly credible bannock texture for something that’s only been cooked on top of pie filing
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- Gleenson-Lyall’s homemade version of her pie
Next week on Recipe to Riches: sweet and savoury snacks, with Whistler’s Sonya Walos, Natasha Langevin of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, and Calgary transplant Donna Feir.
(Images: Melaney Gleeson-Lyall and homemade pie, Food Network Canada; tasting photos, Andrew D’Cruz)
I can’t find the nutritional info on this … can you?
November 10, 2011 at 4:56 pm | by MrsPotatoPer 1/4 package:
520 calories
November 10, 2011 at 5:23 pm | by Toronto Life Staff25 g of fat
580 mg of sodium
Its too bad, I was more likely to buy the Jamaician Patty vs this…some of the runner up stuff sounds so good in these episodes that they should figure out a way to get some of them on the store shelves. Come on G2, figure it out!
November 11, 2011 at 12:35 am | by Pedrowow.
November 11, 2011 at 3:19 pm | by MrsPotatobased on the nutritional info, i’ll definitely pass!
The good news: It was great to see 2 of the 3 dishes be vegetarian. Good on ya! Also, really impressed that a vegan dish made it in the running. Congrats to the winner – I look forward to trying your dish!
SO disappointed that I won’t get to try the ackee and salt fish dumplings! Wayne Reid, where can we try those? Now, I’m going to have to go get some ackee and salt fish this weekend. Patty King in Kensington Market has Ackee and Salt Fish Patties! Best place I’ve found in Toronto for ackee and salt fish is Ritz Carribean at Yonge and College. They even have boiled dumplings and boiled bananas! Yums.
November 12, 2011 at 1:53 am | by SamOh, and I agree – let the home viewers vote on a few recipes they would like to make it into stores.
November 12, 2011 at 1:54 am | by SamI saw the 4th episode last night and bought the bannock hazelnut pie today. Being Canadian-Jamaican, I was hoping that Wayne Reid would win with his ackee and salt fish pie (yum!), but I still had a big interest in this First Nation’s dish, too. I wasn’t expecting to mix the pie topping myself, but it was easy. The only issue I had is that the instructions state that only 45ml or three tablespoons of water is all that is needed to mix the sweet potato bannock topping, but I found that I had to double that amount otherwise the topping is just a crumbly mess. As for the nutritional information, the high caloric count and fat count is surely due to the vast amounts of crushed hazelnuts. Nuts are high in good fats and they can also be high in calories. Other than that, there is not that much fat in this dish other than the dairy in the actual pie. I am very conscious about what I eat and I exercise 5 times a week, so my body will use the nutrients in this dish. If you are active, then this type of meal with a lot of vegetables and nuts will do your body good. It tastes really good and is not salty. This will do well in the winter as this is definitely a comfort dish. I will purchase this meal again, for sure.
November 12, 2011 at 11:35 pm | by MelissaI was disappointed with the results. Galen Weston seemed to go with the political choice (support the aboriginals), but I would have purchased the ackee and saltfish dumplings. I dont want no bannock.
Like most people, we want a snack that we can either sit down and eat, or bring with us to eat on the go. And the ackee and saltfish pies met both those market segments. When Wayne Reid decides to sell these, I’ll buy em.
Last 2 Recipe to Riches products I bought were disappointing. Peach Bliss Cheesecake, and Chicken Grenades. I think these products may have been good fresh, but not made to be frozen.
November 12, 2011 at 11:48 pm | by Kevini am sooo proud of my aunt <3 you
November 13, 2011 at 12:11 am | by arielI went to MAXI to purchase the Recipe to Riches newest addition. Every week I like to go and buy the product and try it out. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found. Last week I did find the Rock n’ Roll Peach cake (which we loved and will purchase again)but could not find the Bannock Hazelnut Pie. Is it because I live in a VERY french area which might not watch the show? I was disappointed NOT to find it! Maxi is on Sherbrooke street in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec
November 14, 2011 at 1:14 am | by Sophiai watched the episode lastnight. I am an a pround aboriginal. unfortunaltly we have only two grocery stores whick i doubt will carry this product. so unless Northern store decides to sell the product i will have to wait for the 6 hr drive to the closest city to try it.
November 14, 2011 at 10:58 am | by TerriI’ve watched all episodes thus far. The Bannock pie is the only dish I’ve purchased. I too was surprised that I had to mix the topping. It was fussy. I think it would have been better as a crumb topping vs. a pastry-style topping after fighting with it for a few minutes. The end result was tasty, but I wouldn’t buy it again. Too fussy and took an hour in the oven. Not exactly a quick-home-from-work-feed-the-trooops kind of dish.
November 14, 2011 at 4:02 pm | by Jane PPolitical??……Original! and I’m sure taste was a factor in the decision making process. Savoury Bannock Pie is on the menu for my family tomorrow evening; sounds delicious and healthy, I’m looking forward to it.
November 16, 2011 at 11:29 pm | by DeeI would also like to try and make this dish myself using the recipe on Foodnetwork.ca. All recipes from the show can be found there, I’ll attempt a few including the “Grab ‘n Yum” Jamaican Pies.
I really liked the Bannock pie a lot and actually plan on buying a couple more today to keep in the freezer. I’m not lazy, so didn’t mind the 4 minutes it took to prepare the Bannock, and I don’t mind sticking something in the oven and leaving it for an hour either. I am VERY impressed by this product. It’s unique for a frozen dish, and I liked it a LOT. It tastes like a nice stuffing, with a little sweetness. The filling stays firm and is not too golly or startchy, and the Bannock part was very nice in texture and taste. It’s actually my favorite product so far by a long shot (although I have yet to try the cheesecake, which I hear is really good… the chicken grenades were gross, and the lemon tart only mediocre) . I can see that the Bannock pie isn’t for everyone’s pallet maybe, but if you enjoy a good nutty and slightly sweet stuffing, you should like this. I can’t wait to have it with roasted chicken or pork tenderloin.
November 17, 2011 at 1:49 pm | by Allipurchased the bannock pie to try for supper tonight…I really like the idea of a first nations dish and hope its a tasty as it sounds. we also purchased a box of the chicken grenades so we will see how they go over too.
November 17, 2011 at 6:45 pm | by Lorna-Mae van Kley