Eden Grinshpan might be a seasoned hostess, but there’s one thing about entertaining that always stresses her out. “My biggest fear is not having enough food,” the chef, cookbook author and host of “Top Chef Canada,” 39, said with a laugh. “I’m a Jewish mom so I never feel like there’s enough, even though I do this for a living and I should know by now when I’ve made enough food for my guests. I still always over-prepare.”
A Mother’s Day brunch spread at the Toronto home Grinshpan shares with her husband, Ido, and their two daughters, Ayv, 9, and Romi, almost 5, takes the form of an “elevated buffet.” There’d be a variety of spring-forward salads, maybe “a beautiful tabbouleh” and the crispy chickpea crunch salad with pomegranate seeds from her second book, “Tahini Baby.” A couple of seasonal vegetables (za’tar asparagus, anyone?) will be served alongside tons of tasty dips and sauces, like babaganoush and tahini vinaigrette.
The pièce de resistance: An impressive but easy to assemble egg frittata filled with more seasonal veg like ramps, popped right onto the table out of the oven. “We eat with our eyes first, so a bountiful, colourful table is always the goal,” said Grinshpan.
Vibrant, fresh dishes packed with flavour and texture have become Grinshpan’s trademark, seen throughout her website, Eden Eats, and her two cookbooks, “Eating Out Loud” and “Tahini Baby.” But she’s also known for her energetic, extroverted personality that shines through on her popular social media feeds.
Grinshpan is the middle of three sisters, and grew up putting on shows with her siblings around the dinner table. It’s something that her mom, Riva, recalls fondly from her girls’ early years when there were three generations of women in the family home. “When my mother lived with us, my daughters always performed for my mother even though we were at the table. This made my mom very happy, and of course me too!”
Grinshpan and her sisters inherited their unabashed joie de vivre from her mother. “We’re all super outgoing and have really big personalities and we 100 per cent got it from her. (She taught us) to always have fun and to live big and loud — loud in the best way.” Riva also passed down her love of entertaining, of leaving guests with full hearts and bellies. “I’ve done that my whole life — sit around a big table with my family and friends,” said Grinshpan. “My mom always created a really open, welcoming table.”
In fact, Grinshpan grew up having supper at the family dining table almost every night, right until she moved out. “I feel really, really fortunate. The dinner table is such a special place to connect as a family. So many of my favourite moments from my childhood are from around the table,” she said. When asked about the family’s meals, Riva said, “the dynamic is always dynamic! And fun and full of laughs.”
Grinshpan’s top advice for throwing a celebratory gathering is to send guests home with leftovers, if you over-index on food like she does. That, and do almost everything beforehand. “As someone who hosts a lot, time management is very important and prepping in advance as much as you possibly can is key.” That means making dessert the day before, whipping up the vinaigrettes and dips in advance and doing any marinating ahead of go-time so you mostly just have to assemble on the day. “Do as much mise en place as possible,” said the Cordon Bleu-trained chef, invoking the French phrase for prepping a meal’s ingredients and tools.
Despite her fastidiousness and organization, Grinshpan’s approach to “getting food on the table” is very approachable. “My food is less about hard techniques and more about layering bold flavours, condiments, dips and sauces,” she said. She favours simple grilling and roasting techniques. “And I try to cook as seasonally as possible.”
Riva had signature dishes she’d often make for gatherings, including a lemon olive chicken from the classic 1982 cookbook “The Silver Palate” and a cheesecake so prized, Grinshpan put it in her second cookbook. “My mom always made a point to carry on traditions, like with the Jewish holidays. And there are so many dishes she’s known for that bring back amazing memories,” said Grinshpan. “That’s something that I’m going to carry on as a mother with my family.”
Grinshpan’s daughters regularly request Grandma’s special dessert. “My kids love that cheesecake, too. So it’s already passed down to the next generation.”
The concept of family seasons every aspect of Grinshpan’s life and work, from her palpable closeness with her actual family and her preferred way of feeding guests “family-style” to the bond she shares with the crew of ”Top Chef Canada,” which she started hosting in 2017 and calls a “gift of a job.” “It’s so fun to walk onto set every time we get picked up and to see all of these faces and catch up,” she said. “We’ve been through so much together. The first season I booked the show, I was early days pregnant with my eldest!”
Grinshpan’s own wishes for Mother’s Day are simple. “For me, it’s about the sweet moments and being with my family. My daughters draw me pictures or make me breakfast — just something that shows that they’re thinking of me. And it’s also about doing something for my mother,” said Grinshpan. “After you become a mom, the way you look at your own mom changes in such a beautiful way.”
This year, in addition to the family gathering, Grinshpan plans to take Riva out for brunch, just the two of them. “I want to be with her, raise a glass to her and thank her. I think it’s really important to show people that you love and appreciate them.”
Eden Grinshpan’s Asparagus, Ramp and Fontina Frittata
Ingredients
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
6 ramps (can sub with scallions) finely sliced, greens removed and kept to the side
1 bunch asparagus, bottom of stalk removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/3 parm, grated, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F
Heat a large pan and add the butter and extra virgin olive oil. Add in the bulb part of the ramps and the asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for a couple minutes and add in the garlic and green part of the ramps, season again and mix.
Mix the eggs and cream, pour into the pan and shake a bit to make sure all the asparagus and ramps get mixed in. Keep on low heat and shave the fontina in.
Sprinkle over the grated parm and place the frittata in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. When it’s almost set but still has a little jiggle, remove.
Finish with freshly grated parm and a little cracked black pepper. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe from edeneats.com.
