Chef Talks: Fresh, local and straight off the wood-burning fire at the Jonny Blonde food truck
Aicha Smith-Belghaba, Indigenous story teller, journalist, chef and owner of Esha's Eats talks with chef Jonathan Tjerkstra, as he prepares steaks and burgers on the wood burning oven inside Hamilton's Jonny Blonde food truck.
This is the third part of a spring series where Aicha Smith-Belghaba talks with local chefs
Chef Talks: Fresh, local and straight off the wood-burning fire at the Jonny Blonde food truck
2 years ago
Duration 5:26
Aicha Smith-Belghaba, Indigenous story teller, journalist, chef and owner of Esha's Eats talks with chef Jonathan Tjerkstra, as he prepares steaks and burgers on the wood burning oven inside Hamilton's Jonny Blonde food truck.
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At Jonny Blonde's food truck in Hamilton, chef Jonathan Tjersktra promises that every penny he spends on food goes to local producers.
He says "it's no joke. 100 percent of our money that we spend goes to local farmers and producers."
Aicha Smith-Belghaba, Indigenous storyteller, journalist, chef and owner of Esha's Eats spoke with chef Tjerkstra, as he prepared steaks and burgers on the wood burning oven inside the truck.
His commitment to local food goes beyond the money he spends for ingredients. He's planning Cook Camp 2023. It's a farm feast coming this summer or fall that is designed to bring local chefs together.
Layal Al-Haidari, co-owner and operator of Jonny Blonde, says the last Cook Camp was held in 2020 organized by Tjerkstra and chef Salar Madadi and hosted by Manorun Farm.
Have you been to Jonny Blonde's? What did you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
The Jonny Blonde food truck features an applewood-burning oven that cooks meat and vegetables bought entirely from local food producers. (Conrad Collaco/CBC)
Aicha Smith-Belghaba is Mohawk Wolf clan and Algerian from Six Nations. She is an associate producer working with CBC Hamilton as part of the first cohort of CBC's Indigenous Pathways to Journalism program. She is also the owner of Esha’s Eats, and passionate about content creation, community and food sovereignty.
