Panini's Italian Cucina's healthy thin-crust pizza was a favourite at Jason Gregor's Pizza Pigout. GRAHAM HICKS/EDMONTON SUNEdmonton
By GRAHAM HICKS
It was a splendid fund-raising idea for Kidsport, albeit borrowed from Calgary.
Jason Gregor’s Pizza Pigout, hosted by the popular TSN radio show host, was held last week in The Molson Canadian Hockey House (in Ford Hall, in turn in Rogers Place).
In the “best pizza” contest, 30 pizzerias donated six or more pizzas each, in return for bragging rights if named to any of the nine “people’s choice” categories. Plus four judges – ex-Oiler Andrew Ference, CBC reviewer Twyla Campbell, Phil Wilson the Baconhound and yours truly – each picked our three pizza favourites.
Several hundred folks showed up – and why not? The Pigout was an inexpensive way to help a charity ($50 for one drink and all-you-can-eat pizza) enjoy an early-evening social gathering with entertainment, and discover new ...
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Chef Shane Chartrand, SC Damn Good Food Restaurant at River Cree Resort & Casino, holds a plate of pan-seared strip loin steak, fingerling potatoes and broccolini.Larry Wong / POSTMEDIA NETWORK
By GRAHAM HICKS
Many years ago, at the opening of the West Edmonton Mall Cactus Club, mall owner (with his family) Nader Ghermezian couldn’t stop singing the praises of a young indigenous chef recently placed in charge of the dining room at the mall’s Fantasyland Hotel.
It culminated, a few weeks later, in one of the best multi-course chef’s dinners I have ever eaten. All kinds of wonderful edible things were going on – like meats literally being smoked at the table.
The chef was none other than Shane Chartrand, barely out of his ‘20s and already making his mark on the city’s culinary scene.
Chef Chartrand’s story was all the more interesting, as he is Cree First Nation, adopted into loving Metis family from Southern Alberta at the age of six.
ST ...
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Musical Theatre review
Class of '63 Rockin' Reunion
Mayfield Dinner Theatre
November 5, 2019 to January 26, 2020
Review by GRAHAM HICKS, HicksBiz.com
Tickets: MayfieldTheatre.ca
Don’t expect a plot line, or anything the least bit serious for that matter.
Just sit back at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre and drink in all the great (and silly) pop songs of the pre-Beatles ‘60s, laugh at the silliest of costumes from the Fabian/Elvis Presley/Nah Nah Nah days. Those outfits must have been worn by our grandparents when they were high school hipsters of their day! Okay ... our older sister and brothers!
As always with these classic Mayfield pop medleys, the eight musical actors – Mike Zimmerman, Brad Wiebe, Stephanie Pitsiladis, Melanie Piatocha, Kieran Martin Murphy, Pamela Gordon, Simone Denny and particularly possible-rising star Jahlen Barnes – are without peers when it comes to musical fun and interpretation.
Likewise, the under-appreciated Mayfield house band, co ...
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