Cooking at My House

Patricia A. Myers is a historian at the Historic Sites and Archives
Service, Alberta Community Development, and the author of Sky Riders: An
Illustrated History of Aviation in Alberta, 1906–1945.

It’s always delightful to peak into the personal kitchens of great
chefs. John Bishop, the well-known founder of Bishop’s in Vancouver,
has followed his highly successful Bishop’s: The Cookbook (1996),
which took you into the kitchen of the restaurant, with this lovely
book, which takes you into his kitchen at home.

Bishop acknowledges that putting interesting and nutritious food on the
table on a daily basis for your family is challenging and occasionally
tiresome. His solution is to be open to possibilities, asking, for
example, what’s freshest at the market. Bishop also pays attention to
presentation. Treasured serving pieces and beautiful pottery bowls and
casseroles all add that warm dimension to food served at home.
Black-and-white photographs of pottery and serving dishes accompany the
recipes.

Some of the recipes are family favorites handed down from ancestral
cooks. Other recipes show the lessons the author learned cooking in
country hotels, lessons that stressed simplicity and freshness. Bishop
begins with starters, soups, and salads and then move on to starches,
vegetables, and side dishes. An entire section is devoted to savory pies
and casseroles. From starters (try the Grilled Asparagus with Sundried
Tomato Vinaigrette) to finishes (try the Country-Style Fruit Custard
Tart), Bishop’s love of cooking shines through.