Food for Thought with Alex Bielak- Family Meals - An interview with Chef Michael Smith

Family Meals - An interview with Chef Michael Smith

Michael Smith. You may know him as the Inn Chef, Chef at Home, Chef Abroad, Lentil Hunter or Prince Edward Island’s food ambassador. Or as a challenger to Bobby Flay on Iron Chef, judge on Chopped Canada, or author of eight cookbooks. Perhaps even as "World's Tallest Freestanding Chef", a description he’s coined in acknowledgement of his 6 feet 7 inches frame.

I remember him from the late nineties when I lived in Halifax. My wife and I went to his top notch restaurant, Maple, for date night. The only table available was one overlooking the kitchen, directly where he was expediting. Though he’s not a “shouty” chef (think Gordon Ramsay), the instant responses from his brigade of “Yes Chef,” acknowledging his every call, showed that he certainly had their respect and attention. So instead of spending the evening gazing soulfully into each other’s eyes, we were mesmerized by the ballet of the kitchen and the careful
plating all presided over by Chef Smith’s commanding, focused presence.

At 47, Smith seems a lot more laid back now, though still imposing: a friendly giant with a ready smile. It’s clear he’s found a comfortable niche. His new book, Family Meals, published by Penguin, is currently the top-selling cookbook in Canada. It’s an attractive book filled with great photos and a range of recipes, many quite simple, or easy to make and adapt. Smith says his “life’s work is in this book.”

His key message, he tells me, is trying to show a healthy food lifestyle is not a big deal. He wants to show kids that cooking is fun. “One of the best ways we can engage kids in a healthy life style is to engage them in food,” he noted, as he steadily signed a giant stack of books. “At a bare minimum eat dinner with them four, five, six, seven times a week.”

During his public talk, at Springridge Farm – where I interviewed him – and which he peppered with funny and self-deprecating stories, he spoke about the importance of local food connections, claiming they made him a better and more responsible cook. In his earlier books he noted he spent time adding steps and increasing the complexity of the recipes. Now he’s making things simpler, taking steps out. “It’s just cooking dinner. Forget perfection,” he says. “Sit down and eat dinner with your family.”

He’s certainly on topic. Recent research has shown what most of us intuitively know. Eating together as a family leads to healthier and better adjusted kids, ones who do better at school and are less subject to being bullied. (See The Family Dinner project, as well as two pertinent articles on the topic, here and here for more information.)

Smith’s been to Springridge on several occasions. This time – a meet and greet and book signing, part of a 9-day cross-country book tour – the parking lot is filled with literally hundreds of cars, attesting to his popularity. Niki Hilton, who handles PR for Springridge, says “Chef is a family man and the farm is a family-oriented place so it’s a good match.” She added his visit is one of many events this fall at the farm which she noted is not just a family focussed but is also a good foodie destination. (September 20th sees another chef, Stefano Faita, talking about his book. See the Springridge site for details.)

Smith says, “I love this place… we asked to come here. This is my style… I only wish I could bring my kids.” Fans come clutching other books he’s authored for signature and Smith ends his talk by noting he will not leave until every last cookbook is signed.

When I ask about his busy schedule and what gives him the most pleasure the response is instant. “Just going home, cooking for my kids, just being Dad. That’s the anchor, that’s the base.” He gets how lucky he is to travel and do “all these wacky things,” but says he’s “not drinking that Kool-Aid.”

He notes he lives in eastern PEI and takes the garbage down every Friday morning. “It’s just life,” he says, “don’t let it become something it isn’t.” As to being Ambassador for PEI, he’s done it for “six. Seven, eight years now, it’s hard to remember.” It’s an honorary position, he adds, official recognition from the Premier’s office on down of what he does, and that it’s basically forever.

Quite the gig. Quite the chef, Quite the man.

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Alex (Alex can be reached at fft@thehamiltonian.info or on twitter @AlexBielak)