Calgary’s Gifts to the World
The edible, sensual and spiritual pleasures of Calgary (2 upscale + 5 mid-range to casual restaurants, 6 cocktail bars, hotel, bakery, market and more)
They call it “God’s Country,” and when you drive outside Calgary towards Banff through rolling cattle pastures and farmland, mountains and blue sky, you can see why. Though land-locked, the province of Alberta is rife with wonders, from Canadian Rockies reaching 3,747m/12,293 ft (Mount Columbia), to its bodies of water, like glorious Lake Louise.
Calgary is Alberta’s heart and largest city at over 1,400,000 population, the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in Canada (Edmonton is the other larger city in the province). Sitting at the confluence of the Bow River and the Elbow River in the southwest of the province, Calgary’s perch between the Rocky Mountain foothills and the Prairies ensures a wonderland of ingredients from game meat to lake/river fish and produce, including the deep range of mushrooms I went foraging for in local forests. Emphasizing it’s mountain to water offerings, Calgary was the first Canadian city to host the Olympic Winter Games.
The city ultimately still feels small, though bustling and a Canadian hub for everything from tech to aerospace, film and TV. It’s walkable and urban, but with easy, close nature all around it. With roughly 33.3% of its population immigrants, heavily from the Philippines, India, China, the UK, Pakistan and Vietnam, this influences the cuisine and “wide open country with Asian influence” spirit permeating the region’s vast lands that feel akin to Montana or Wyoming in the U.S.
The Moment I Fell in Love With Alberta
With a home base of the city, I traveled between Calgary and Banff during my stay. It was a privilege being part of Calgary native and chef Darren MacLean’s (also known for competing on Netflix’s The Final Table) Cultural Chef Exchange series, in which he invites and collaborates with leading global chefs. The visiting chef was Ronald Hsu from Atlanta’s Michelin-starred Lazy Betty, formerly the executive sous chef at Eric Ripert’s three Michelin Le Bernardin in NYC. Hsu and MacLean met as competitors on The Final Table, and have been friends ever since.