In Aisle 4? Fine dining from the grocery store (with video)

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With more chefs working in grocery stores, the line between restaurant and grocery store is becoming blurred

When Josh Drache was just 25 and working as an apprentice chef at the French embassy in Ottawa, one of the first things he remembers being cooked for the ambassador was a soup made with roasted eggplant, cherry tomatoes and coconut milk.

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Next week, that soup — or at least a soup inspired by that soup — will debut as April’s “soup of the month” at Farm Boy.

Want to taste the cuisine of the chef who went on to cook at 24 Sussex, Stornoway and Les Fougères? Head to Farm Boy. How about the chef who owned Fitzgerald’s in Almonte, the one who helped open Erling’s Variety, or one of the key talents behind the late, lamented ZenKitchen? They’re all at the new Whole Foods Market at Lansdowne.

These Ottawa chefs are part of a trend that’s putting top cooks in grocers’ aprons and blurring the distinction between grocery store and restaurant. Known in the industry as “home meal replacement,” it’s a global trend worth an estimated $2.4-million movement in Canada that’s seeing grocery stores gain revenues and expand their prepared-foods options even as restaurants shrink and struggle.

“People want to cook at home and eat healthily, but they’re just so pressed for time,” says Lisa Slater, the head of the Ottawa Whole Foods store who has watched the trend expand at stores across North America.

While grocery stores flirted with prepared foods as early as the 1970s, in the last few years ready-to-eat dishes have heated up — literally.

“Now the trend is away from the cold counter to ‘I want to buy it hot and I want to eat it now,’ ” says Carolyn Trudel, director of marketing for the Ottawa-based Farm Boy chain, which next month will open its 17th store, with, as in all of its newest stores, a generous eat-in area.

“I like to eat here because it’s healthy, and most fast-food isn’t really healthy,” said Steve Alexopoulos, who works in real estate and eats lunch regularly with four or five colleagues at the Farm Boy at Ottawa Train Yards. “It also costs less than at a restaurant.”

While he’s a regular at lunch, last week he was buying breakfast there for the first time. “I’m pretty excited about this,” he said as he surveyed the hot, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs and baked beans.

The Train Yards  Farm Boy store — located next to a large health club — sells lunch to about 600 customers every day.

“I’d say in the last four to five years, sales of prepared foods have probably quadrupled,” says Drache. He estimates that about 15 per cent of store sales are now in prepared foods. “Before 1 or 2 p.m., it’s more like 18 per cent, and the customers are predominantly male.”

Loblaw’s too has added eat-in areas at most of its urban stores and tests chef-prepared recipes for “home meal replacement” dishes at its 90-seat café in its flagship store at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens.

Ottawa’s Whole Foods has seating for about 100 in a sunny area just past the cash, as well as a smaller café on the ground level. It’s busy at lunch and dinner, but busiest for the weekend $9.99 all-you-can eat brunches.

“Maybe if people haven’t been here, they might not know that chefs are in the kitchen,” says Brent Pattee who formerly owned a critically praised restaurant in Almonte. “But I think when they come and eat here, they get the idea that there must be some talent.”

Jason Brault, also at Whole Foods and formerly of Erling’s Variety, says the quality of the prepared foods “is the exact same and the attention to detail is the same” at the grocery store as at top restaurants.

“The main difference is that it’s healthier. At restaurants, you’re always adding the extra cream, the butter, the salt, to make it taste better. You can eat that way once a week, but not every day. I believe there’s a huge change happening right now. I think people will always go out to restaurants, but they want to eat healthier.”

Dat Tran, formerly at the vegan ZenKitchen, says “a lot of the principles are the same,” in his new job, with an emphasis on whole foods that are good for you, and organic if possible.

“We’re making the same food we made for ambassadors and prime ministers,” says Drache, who oversees a team if about 50 chefs at Farm Boy.

“We have people who worked in embassies and in Michelin-starred restaurants and we recently hired (Chopped Canada winner) Stephanie Brewster,” says Drache. “The nice thing for me is that I can tell you the name of everyone who has made the food here.”

Last month, Farm Boy pushed the frontier further with an experimental “Fresh X-Press” counter at the store in the Train Yards where chef Neil Dhawan, recently poached from Earnscliffe, creates hot made-to-order meals at lunch and dinner each week day. Tuesday lunches feature fresh-made tacos, for example, Thursdays shwarmas and Fridays feature pho.

“We’re raising the game,” says Drache. “I don’t know of anyone else in Canada making food to order in a grocery store. It’s a restaurant-quality experience. I’d put our tacos up against any in the city.”

His store will have some new competition soon.

“We’re going to launch a taqueria on April 1,” says Pattee at Whole Foods. “We’ll be making tacos and nachos every day from 11 a.m. to close.”

Five foods you might not expect to find in a grocery store

1. Kimchi Pork Arancini

(Loblaws on Isabella)

2. Cubano Sandwich, made with slow-roasted pork butt, ham, Swiss and pickles

(Whole Foods, Lansdowne)

3. Thai Blackened Tilapia Tacos

(A Tuesday special at Farm Boy Train Yards)

4. Loaded Potato Cupcakes, made with mashed potato, bacon and cheese

(McKeen Metro in the Glebe)

5. Neopolitan Pizzas, made with 00 flour and baked at 700 F

(Whole Foods, Lansdowne)

Farm Boy’s Mushroom Kale Soup

One of the biggest successes at Farm Boy are the delicious soups, developed by executive chef Josh Drache and made daily. About a dozen flavours are available chilled in take-home containers, while five to eight flavours (depending on the size of the store) are usually available hot in cauldrons for eating right away. This one, inspired by a soup Drache tasted at an Ottawa restaurant, is one of the most popular.

Makes: 4 to 6 servings

Preparation time: about 40 minutes

2 tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 cup (180 mL) Spanish onion, peeled and chopped

3/4 cup (180 mL) carrots, peeled and chopped

3/4 cup (180 mL) celery, chopped

1 large yukon gold potato, diced

1 tbsp (15 mL) garlic, minced

1 lb (454 g) button mushrooms, chopped

3 cups (750 mL) water

One 14 oz/400 mL can coconut milk

1 bunch curly kale, stems removed and leaves chopped

2 tsp (10 mL) salt

1 tsp (5 mL) pepper

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and sauté for 5 minutes.

2. Add the potatoes, garlic and mushrooms to the pot and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes.

3. Turn heat to high and add the water and coconut milk, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer until all vegetables are tender.

4. Add in kale and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Use an immersion blender or regular blender to purée. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Whole Foods’ California Quinoa Salad

“The reason I came to Whole Foods was that, way back, when I stumbled across the store in Chelsea in New York, I loved the composed wheat berry salad,” says Lisa Slater, manager of the Ottawa store. “All the ingredients were listed, so I copied every ingredient down so I could make it at home. I couldn’t believe they were so transparent.” She says this popular quinoa salad, one of several different quinoa salads on offer most days, is similar to the wheat berry one she remembers.

Makes: 4 to 6 servings

Preparation time: about 40 minutes

1 cup (250 mL) dry red quinoa

1 ripe mango, peeled and diced

1/2 cup (125 mL) seeded diced red pepper

1/2 cup (125 mL) raisins

2 tbsp (30 mL) red onion, chopped

1 cup (250 mL) frozen edamame (soy) beans, thawed

1/4 cup (60 mL) fresh-squeezed lime juice

3 tsp (15 mL) balsamic vinegar

One quarter bunch fresh cilantro, washed, spun and chopped fine

2 tbsp (30 mL) dried unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup (125 mL) sliced unblanched almonds

1. To cook the quinoa: Rinse the quinoa under cold water in a fine mesh strainer until water runs clear. Place in a small pot, cover with 2 cups (500 mL) water. Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes, until quinoa looks transparent and appears to have a tail separating from the grain. Drain any excess water and cool.

2.  Combined cooled quinoa with the mango, red pepper, raisins, onion, edamame beans,  lime juice and balsamic vinegar. Top salad with chopped cilantro, coconut and almonds.