Fearless on the Grill

After graduating at the top of her class at École de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris, France, Christine Cushing worked at the Four Seasons Hotel and Scaramouche Restaurant in Toronto, before jumping into entrepreneurship – teaching, developing recipes, food styling and demo cooking. It was while demo-ing that she was ‘discovered’ and wound up hosting shows on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) as well as her own show Christine Cushing Live and making regular appearances on The Marilyn Denis Show.

Whether it’s hosting several television cooking shows, writing award winning cookbooks or developing her own line of food products, Chef Christine Cushing is passionate about sharing what she knows and loves about food.

“Some people are great chefs and some people are great talkers, but they can never mix those two worlds. Doing demos and cooking shows, I got to blend both – to find the right balance of attention you’re giving to the dish and the attention you’re giving to the audience or viewer at home. I’m kind of designed for that and I’ve found the right balance.

“I believe that cooking and food is a story. It’s a performance. For me, it’s all about a comfort with everything to do with cooking… it’s almost second nature. I’m always keeping my eye on the food. But regardless of what’s happening with that, I always have to convey an energy and a fun and that I’m really loving that moment.

I never give people just a play-byplay, ‘now I’m doing this, now I’m doing that’ especially on a stage. Because that’s just a set of directives and people aren’t captivated by that or don’t remember it. You really have to ‘wow’ them by bringing them into a story. I always try to start from something about me that connects to what I’m doing and try to involve the people who are watching me. Something from when I was at culinary school or catering or whatever. To kind of put it into their ballpark, what’s going to make it interesting for them.

For me, it’s all about a comfort with everything to do with cooking. When you trust the equipment you’re working with, that it’s not going to let you down, then you can focus on what you’re going to do and say. Because when you’re second-guessing your equipment, you’re not going to feel at ease.

For the grill, I think simplicity is a great philosophy. It’s also a challenge. Simplicity means you’ve got to know what you’re doing – you’ve got to have great technique. People really hide behind sauces and really rich marinades, lots of really complex flavours, lots of sugars and lots of acids. I think you really need to be fearless in really understanding how your meat or anything you’re going to grill behaves. That means understanding temperature, how it works and when something is done. You have to use all your senses when you’re cooking, learn to touch, to see, and also use thermometers.

The key message for me, both as a chef, but also as a developer of food products, is that you’ve got to have a product that people believe in, are loyal to and will go back to. When you get to the heart of it, there has to be something there. And when you’re grilling you have to start with good quality meat, fish or poultry, everything quality, so that you can do your job well.

I think some grill chefs are all about high temperature but I think some things need a lower temperature. The temperature of the Crown Verity can go very high, which is a good thing, but you need to be able to control that temperature. I believe learning that finesse will make you a great griller.”

Get Christine’s recipe for Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Red Onion Relish here. Check out Christine’s website for more great recipes or follow her on Twitter @ccfearless!