From Ukrainian pastries to Filipino dishes to Jamaican culinary, the Prince Albert Exhibition has a bountiful array of international dishes for the community to enjoy.
Zenik Rabiej, president of the Veselka Ukrainian Club, and his team have a booth with freshly-baked goods—all baked inside a traditional clay oven.
“Years ago in the Ukraine, a clay oven was part of every household. That’s what they cooked with,” explained Rabiej. “And even when Ukrainian immigrants came to this country, many of them had a clay oven in the yard and they would use that for cooking.”
The day starts with placing the pre-made dough into bread pans, and building a fire within the oven.
“We built a fire in there, brought it up to temperature, and then when the dough had risen or the bread had risen high enough in the bread pans, then we just put it in there,” said Rabiej.
An essential part to the process is ensuring the temperature of the fire was just right.
“It’s not like your stove where you can crank it up,” he said.
After 40 to 45 minutes, the bread is golden-brown, removed from the oven and exudes a delicious, warm, and toasty smell.
Rabiej said showing this way of baking was a way to preserve Ukrainian culture.
“It’s in honor of my ancestors, and it’s to keep the culture and language and stuff going forward and not forgetting where we came from and even though we’ve become Canadians,” he said. “It really, really means a lot to myself and to the people working here.”
In terms of response from the Ukrainian community, he said the feedback has been positive.
“They really like that. And they, they kind of like the fact that they can come here and you know, and some of us still speak the language and that,” said Rabiej. “So it gives them a good feeling to know that there’s some people, I guess maybe preceded them.”
Rabiej said the next Veselka event will be the Ukrainian Day in the Park at Little Red River Park on Sep. 12 from 1 to 5 p.m, and will feature live music, freshly-baked bread, and Ukrainian food.
Across the oven-fresh pastry goods, a Filipino restaurant renowned for their corn dogs, were awaiting their next batch of customers.
Liza Austria, owner of Chow Queen, viewed her business as “retention.”
“I always look at the way of retaining immigrants,” she said. “I started an Asian store in PA then because people should be aware of the diversity of the culture because what we need is retention. How can we retain immigrants after they get their permanent residency?”
As for her menu, she loves to showcase her Filipino heritage through integrating it into Western taste buds.
Lexi Saldaña / Daily Herald
“I created my own recipe for items, you know, different foods,” explained Austria. “My goal is to have fun and at the same time use my skills. Because Filipinos are very resilient, no? And we always try to, you know, all our food are from the Spanish, from Chinese. So fun food—I can do that too. So I said, ‘Okay, corn dogs.’”
Customers can choose between a normal delicious corn dog, or a gooey corn dog filled with mozzarella cheese.
For Liza, her day started at six in the morning.
“I was sleeping and I was dreaming of the spring rolls I had to make,” she joked. “So at six o’ clock in the morning I got up, started making spring rolls. So until nine o’clock, I finished one batch and then went to get all the stuff. And of course started prepping. Everything has to be fresh, right?”
After ten years of running a business, Austria continues to stay motivated due to the community support she has been receiving.
“People are kind. See how nice they are? And their excitement to see us because they always say, ‘Oh, we waited for you for a year to have your corn dogs.’”
The Chow Queen booth offers an array of classic Filipino foods including chicken adobo, as well as drinks like Ube-flavoured bubble tea.
Behind the Filipino restaurant is M&T Jamaican Cookout—a family-run business specializing in Jamaican culinary.
Created by husband-and-wife duo, Michael and Tara Gray, the business also operates as a catering company for birthdays, graduations, funerals, and other events.
With their third year vending at the exhibition, the couple are excited to be able to display Jamaican culture to the community.
“We like being at the exhibition because this is a family event. It’s a community event. And we want to bring our own flavor to this event and to the city,” said Michael.
“This is our third year at the exhibition, so we’re absolutely excited,” said Tara.
Michael added that having the booth was a way to show gratitude to the city.
“I’m from Jamaica, and last year in October when we went through a category five hurricane in Jamaica, Melissa, the community really came together.” explained Gray. “We had a fundraiser and the community came together and they helped us so we were able to send back stuff to Jamaica. And we appreciate that. So we just give a part of ourselves to the community and just to say thanks.”
He emphasized that “[they make everything from scratch.” including their own special seasoning.
Jerk chicken, jerk pork, curry goat, Jamaican patties, and fries and gravy were some of the mouthwatering eats available on the menu.
For the family, the preparation for the exhibition started on Friday with grocery shopping and ensuring the best yet affordable ingredients for their customers.
“You know, inflation has gone up, so we gotta find the right price food so we can give our customers a cheaper price at a minimum because of inflation. You know, so we just want to keep it low for our, our people, our customers,” explained Gray. “We have a lot of customers here in PA and at this time, we just want to say thank you to all of our customers that have supported us over the years.”
As a family-owned business, all hands on deck is essential.. Their 14-year-old twins, Ryland and Ryder, and their 17-year-old daughter, Siobhan, help prepare, serve customers, and overall assist in the operation.
The community support continues to be a main motivator for the couple as they remain enthusiastic to serve the city for a third year.
“The best motivation is to see the smiles and the customers who come here, you know, know that we, especially me being from Jamaica and seeing people kind of delve in the culture and want to know more about Jamaica,” said Michael.
Those interested in booking M&T Jamaican Cookout, visit their Facebook page under the same name.
For foodies and lovers of food alike, the Prince Albert Exhibition has plenty of options to try and explore—from Ukrainian, to Filipino, to Jamaican, and many more—there is a menu for everyone.
The Prince Albert Exhibition will be held at the Prince Albert Exhibition grounds until Aug. 9.
