Repas de Deux

Barbara Lokach was a social worker and freelance writer based in Toronto.

The Alberta Ballet Company presents Repas de Deux, a cookbook of tempting recipes contributedby the company and their friends (Karen Kain, TheHon. Mr. Peter Lougheed, and RacletteRestaurant, to name a few).

Appetizers, soups/breads, salads/vegetables, entrees, and desserts comprise the main fare. There is an interspersion of colorful, tempting photographs of some of the dishes; and even an introductory letter by Dame Margot Fonteyn, who laments that she no longer knows how to cook. Though the dishes are tasty, intriguing (“Sex in a Pan”), and downright practical (“Casserole for Underpaid Artists”), they are, nevertheless, not as creative and original as their contributors.

However, Repas de Deux can be a useful, colorful supplement to one’s cookbook library. And, for the balletomane in particular, the included biographies of the dancers are quite interesting to read.