Now last time I told you all about the high end of Jasper, Canada. How about the fun and wild side of Jasper? One that has me donning buttless leather chaps (no perhaps not what you were thinking ), eating “evil” food and visiting a brewery for a beer sampler that looks a bit like this?

Papa George’s

I was still jetlagged and with the start of laryngitis, it was a hard night sleeping and the alarm sounds at 6am. Prying open my eyes and getting out bed I get ready for this morning’s breakfast at Papa George’s on one of the two main streets of Jasper called Connaught. Even though it is Summer we should have packed more warm clothes and worn double socks because it is cold! In fact you can tell the native Jasperites or Canadians because they’re the ones wearing shorts and short sleeved tshirts

Papa George’s has a few tempting items and I’m having trouble narrowing it down but thankfully Tina and I have paired up and we share items. I try the Papa Skillet Carnivore and order an orange juice. Service wise, there’s one lovely New Zealand born waitress and a couple not quite as cheerful and we seem more of an annoyance to her than anything else.

Orange juice, small $4

The freshly squeezed (well not to order but freshly squeezed that morning) was wonderfully sweet and I downed every sip.

Papa Skillet Carnivore $13

Well the menu did warn that this dish was mountain sized and it absolutely was. About 20 cm in diameter (silly me, I didn’t bring my ruler along with me) it was piled high with chorizo sausage, bratwurst, capsicum and little hash brown nuggets smothered with cheese, green onions and a scrambled egg omelette as well as a serving of salsa and sour cream. And whilst it may look a bit too much, it was absolutely delicious. It was the undeniable favourite at the table (and at that size I shared it around) and the salsa and sour cream meant that it was a little bit spicy and a little bit creamy. I’m getting hungry thinking about this now and this has got to be the best value breakfast ever.

Breakfast burrito $12

I try some of Tina’s breakfast burrito and the tortillas here are more corn burritos whereas we usually tend to see the softer flour tortillas in Australia. This warm corn tortilla is filled with two scrambled eggs, cheese, green onion and tomato and is also served with the sour cream and salsa. It’s good but when you compare it to the Papa Skillet, size triumphs in all arenas! Like the Papa Skiller it is huge and most can only finish half of their burritos.

Our driver from SunDog, Carolyn with her floppy eared dog hat

Maligne Lake Tours

We are next off to Maligne Lake (pronounced Maleen) for a cruise out to tiny Spirit Island. It’s about an hour’s drive and on the way who better to show up for a curtain call than a black bear (which incidentally can come in all sorts of colours apart from black including white). We are alerted to this as there are cars up ahead that have themselves slowed down for a look. All wildlife, including things like Elk are best left alone and the recommend a distance of at least two buses away when interacting with wildlife (we learned that from a taxi driver ).

We make it to Maligne Lake and wait to board our boat and by now I have lost my voice if not my will to food shop.We spy some Nanaimo bars, that uniquely Canadian bar hailing from Nanaimo in BC.

We board our boat and our guide and driver proceed to entertain us with stories and information. It’s their personalities and the killer view that make this a great trip and the perfectly aqua green water stuns us (although the guide tells us that it is an optical illusion).

We make it to Spirit Island which is a small island actually connected to the land for some photographs before heading back for some BBQ. There are freshly cooked bison and beef burgers with a drink for $10 (or $8 by themselves) and they are self assembly so you can add your cheese (yellow or orange slices), onion, pickles, tomato, lettuce, sauce and mayonnaise. It’s actually very good with a nice moistness and char to the burger and the bun is also toasted.

We were supposed to go for a hike but I needed to see the doctor so Mariam and I went back into town to see a GP and test out the health care system for a complete change in itinerary. I’ve never really gotten to test overseas health care systems so this is a first. At the clinic in Jasper (the only one) they work by appointment only and to see the doctor it was $120CAD plus the cost of the two medicines ($38). Thankfully I have trusty travel insurance!

Jasper Brewing Company

So, what else do I need to show you? Oh that’s right, beer! Lunch is at the Jasper Brewing Company or what they call a “roadhouse” and this is where we are confronted with a beer tasting that would make any beer lover happy. Many order the six beer sampler and expect small glasses of the beers. But no that’s not what they had in mind and six beers are delivered in a wooden carrier.

Mini road side sliders $11.99

The menu, surprisingly, has an Asian influence to it in some of the menu items crossed with roadhouse favourites. I do love a good slider and these are three small cheeseburgers with sauteed onion and “the usual fixings”. The buns are soft and fresh, the patty juicy and sweet with the onions and they are the perfect size for sharing.

Monkey fingers $11.99

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A kangaroo hops across the pathway as if on cue. He’s a large, dark grey and brown beast and Danish chef and current winner of the Bocuse d’Or and the World’s Best Chef Rasmus Kofoed sits up to have a look. He has been flown over from Denmark to Australia to cook for Princess Mary and Prince Frederick at an exclusive dinner on Monday night at Doltone House. But for now, he’s watching an enormous kangaroo bound across the path and disappear into the grass, the last remaining inches of the head bobbing away until it disappears.

The portion of the leek that he uses

Currently Denmark has the World’s Best Restaurant (Noma) and the World’s Best Chef (Rasmus Kofoed). It also has more Michelin stars than many other European capital cities. So how did this compact country with a population of just over 5.5 million become the latest culinary superstar? Twenty years ago, it wasn’t known for anything more than traditional Danish fare but now the smallest out of the Scandinavian countries is emerging as a culinary powerhouse. And why? Part of the reason is right before me.

Rasmus is at the Emirates Airline owned resort Wolgan Valley. This is his third visit to Australia having once lived in Sydney’s Maroubra and Bondi for three months. The number of places that he has visited in Australia probably outrivals most Australian’s but this trip has less of the beachside relaxation and more of the inspired perspiration-after all cooking for Danish royalty and 400 guests isn’t an easy task.

For now, he is relaxing, having landed in Sydney only two and a half days ago and he is walking around the vegetable garden near the 1832 heritage homestead which was once visited by Charles Darwin. During the height of Summer almost 90% of the vegetables that they use on the premises will come from the gardens here.

What is interesting is seeing our produce through an outsider’s eyes. Rasmus looks at some leeks and asks Wolgan Valley sous chef Sharon if she uses the green parts which we often don’t use. “They’re the best part of the leek” he says and I ask him how he uses it and he says that it is used rather much like asparagus. He picks at the various plants and walks around tasting them. Wolgan Valley GM Joost Heymeijer offers him some chocolate mint and he takes a sniff. He tells me that they do have that in Denmark but they tend to treat ingredients differently.

Showing the size of the green strawberries in Denmark

Case in point is the strawberry. “Have you tried  green strawberries?” he asks. In Denmark, they now eat green strawberries, that is strawberries just before they turn red, with a starter or with fish to give the dish a good acidity. Rasmus says that there is still sweetness to it but it has a different flavour to the red strawberry. And in the stores, you now can buy punnets of green strawberries.

Born to a vegetarian mother he has never wanted to be anything but a chef. He started cooking at age 12 originally doing so “because as my body was growing my body needed meat”. As his mother wouldn’t cook it, he started cooking meat for himself. Interestingly when he plans dishes, he starts with the vegetables first with the meat and fish as the secondary consideration. And today when he eats at home with his girlfriend, he eats vegetarian food.

He still maintains Danish traditions like pickling berries and vegetables but gives them a modern interpretation such as his “luxury porridge”, a take on everyday porridge. He presents them at Geranium, his 45 seater restaurant where there are two menus offered: a 15 course degustation and a vegetarian version the former menu costing around 1000 krone (about $180AUD at time of publish). The Geranium kitchen was all designed by Rasmus and features a glass front so that diners can be only two metres away from the kitchen.

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It seems I’m trying but failing spectacularly to eat healthily. Perhaps just before Christmas isn’t quite the time to instill a healthy eating regime. Even typing out the words makes a voice inside my head shriek “destined to fail!” but nevertheless, when faced with a meal in front of me, I try and at least make an imitation at resisting. A pale imitation mind you…

I’m standing in front of the Carriageworks at Eveleigh with bucketfulls of rain falling and the odd cyclist speeding by in a rush to beat the rain. I’m trying to carry a camera bag, handbag and an umbrella while cursing my sartorial choice of open toed heels in the rain. And thankfully John and Peter Canteen is right near the main entrance and only requires a short sprint in the rain.

John and Peter Canteen is a catering business that has expanded to serve lunch and dinner and looking around, it appears quite full this Wednesday evening. There are theatre patrons that want a quick drink as well as couples and groups that look like they’ve settled in for the night. White fringe trim hangs from scaffolding and studio lights and there are striking black and white print cushions and stripey banquettes.

Yoshiko is already sitting there and she has had a good look at the menu already. As a vegetarian she’s happy with the choices, three entrees and one main. Me, I’m quite smitten by much of the menu from the sounds of things. We take some recommendations from the waitress and service throughout the evening is friendly and deferential. We start with entrees, both vegetarian, as I am trying to eat healthily-well I did mention I was trying

Roman beans, bagna cauda and pangratatta $15

I had no idea what to expect from this dish and it is a finely shredded green and yellow bean salad tossed with bagna cauda (a garlicky anchovy dip) and a sprinkling of crunchy, golden, rough breadcrumbs which tickle my fancy immensely. The beans have a lovely crunch to them and the bagna cauda gives the salad flavour while the pangratatta breadcrumbs gives it crunch.

Baked brown onions, burrata $18

If I see burrata on a menu, I will inevitably have to order it. I know, I only just mentioned that I was trying to eat healthily and then I’m eating a cheese with a mozzarella outer and an oozy cream centre paired with soft, sweet baked onions. The burrata and onions are a good pairing and all that I think is missing is a piece of bread to mop up the juices left. I do try not to embarrass my dining companions by licking the plate!

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