P.A. author receives national award for culinary book

Celebrity chefs Ricardo and Vikram Vij presented the award to Kirkby at a gala.

“In a word, it was ‘delicious,’” said Kirkby. “They were very warm and inviting.”

Kirkby said they even took her out to a very memorable dinner to celebrate.

“I’ve never quite had a dinner where you go out with someone and they just order everything off the menu,” she said. “They just order for you, they don’t even ask.

“And, it was the best kind of way to experience a restaurant.”

Kirkby, who grew up in a Hutterite colony in Manitoba, wrote the sequel to her award-winning national bestseller I am Hutterite.

To prepare for her second book, she travelled from colony to colony for two years, working with head cooks at each.

Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen became a #1 national best seller as well, garnering major attention and positive reviews, leading to her award.

“It meant a great deal to me, and I think what I loved the most about it is that (the award) recognizes the value and beauty of my Hutterite culture,” said Kirkby, who explained the Hutterite way of life is not well known in many parts of the country.

Kirkby said she isn’t sure why her book was picked out of all the ones in Canada, but she did receive some pretty stunning praise that could be considered a giveaway.

“I was told that people couldn’t put my book down,” she said. “Several of the judges spoke with me and were completely fascinated with Hutterite culture, they’d never heard of it, and that’s what they said to me, they couldn’t put my book down.”

Kirkby said she was inspired by the oral story telling she grew up on, a major component of their traditional society.

“When (a grandmother) told a story it was impossible not to be swept away into the tide of their words and see the pictures in front of you,” she said. “They were honestly very masterful.”

While many people assume her latest book is a cookbook, it’s really much more.

“It tells the present-day story of Hutterite life through the lens of the community kitchen,” said Kirkby. “So, while every chapter certainly makes people hungry, it also tells you why we live the way we live, how it came to be, it shares the juicy gossip, the stories of our ancestors, a little bit of our history.

“So it ties everything in together and I think there’s nothing better in this world than great food and a great story, and that’s what I tried to create.”

She said when she hears feedback on her book, she knows she’s reached her goal.

“As a writer, my motto is, ‘If you can make people laugh, and cry and hungry, you’re good,’” she laughed.

Recently, Kirkby was in Moravia, a large region in the Czech Republic, where 104 Hutterite colonies once stood.

“I was there for a month and I had the incredible privilege of being there with scholars and archeologists who have excavated our Hutterite communities … the stories they told me about my forefathers were so amazing,” she said. “I’m still swallowing hard to take it all in.

“But I hope that will be my next story, my next book; I’m still chewing on it, as they say.”

Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen: Unveiling the Rituals, Traditions, and Food of the Hutterite Culture is available in bookstores.

asoloducha@panow.com

On Twitter: @alex_soloducha

by Alex Soloducha

P.A. author receives national award for culinary book

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