Chefs Lynn Crawford and Lora Kirk dish about a new cookbook, moving back home and the importance of family

This interview originally aired on Dec. 4, 2021.

Chefs Lynn Crawford and Lora Kirk are partners in life, love, parenting and food. It's through food that they first met — they both worked at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. Later on, they went on to open Ruby Watchco, their very own restaurant in the city's east end.

But there was a new adventure waiting for them — and it's a story they share in their cookbook Hearth & Home, which is full of food, recipes and chef tips to try at home.

Crawford and Kirk spoke with Shelagh Rogers about writing Hearth & Home.

Lynn, when we last spoke, you and Lora were running the restaurant and you were making a lot of television — Top Chef, Iron Chef and Pitchin In. How has your life changed now?

Lynn Crawford: That's a great question. I mean, whose lives haven't changed in the last couple of years? I can only tell you that my life has just changed for the better. We made the big shift. Shelagh, as you know, we love Toronto. We sold our restaurant actually a year ago and we moved out to an area just outside Peterborough, where Lora's family all resides and this is where she grew up. Essentially, we've come back home.

We moved out to an area just outside Peterborough — essentially, we've come back home.

Lora, what's it like to be home again?

Lora Kirk: It feels amazing! It's so nice, especially during this time to be so close to family. I'm literally one country road over from my aunt and uncle, my parents and my bubka, who still lives by herself at 97 years young. She's a five-minute drive, my brother's four fields over, my cousin and my aunt live on the property behind our property — which used to be my grandparents' farm, and they're on about 350 acres. Those are the fields and the woods that I ran through as a child. I can't wait for the girls to get a little bit bigger before they are running free by themselves. But it's good to come home.

LISTEN | Chef Lynn Crawford speaks about the Kids Food Nation cookbook:

Are you also farming your land?

Lora Kirk: We are very new to this, but we grew a garden and it was such a learning curve. It was such an amazing experience to have with the girls. We grew everything you can imagine: carrots, tomatoes, leeks, onions, potatoes, peas, eggplant.

Lynn Crawford: You name it! I think we bit off a little bit more than we could cook with, but it was only to the benefit of our friends and family.

It's such a departure from the day-to-day of two chefs running a city restaurant. But to be able to go out there and just take it one step further to know where your food comes from and reap the rewards of such a wonderful harvest that we've had, it's been an incredible journey and we're going to do it again next year.

You have dedicated Hearth & Home to your two daughters, Addie Pepper and Gemma Jet Aubergine. How has their arrival in your lives shaped the way that you both cook at home?

Lynn Crawford: Well, I'm going to tell you, the two girls — Addie's our eldest, who is now five, and Gemma is three — they love the kitchen. I think I'm speaking for you, Lora, but it has really, truly been the most magical moments during these crazy pandemic times to have the girls in the kitchen and being excited about it.

It has truly been the most magical moments during these crazy pandemic times to have the girls in the kitchen and being excited about it.

They're hands-on, whether it's icing on the cupcake or rolling up the pie dough or whatever they're in it, they love it. We're thrilled about that, for sure.

Lora, what are your memories of food from your own childhood? What comes to you, when you see your daughters in action?

Lora Kirk: Well, it reminds me of being in the kitchen with either my grandma, my bubka or my mom. We were always cooking, baking together. We had a garden growing up as well. All that preserving — if you grow it, you have to find a home for it, right? The goal was always to preserve it and keep it to have during the winter. 

All of the trees in our forests in Canada — in fact, all over the world — have this symbiotic, mutualistic association with fungi.

To see the girls be part of that and how excited they are in the kitchen ... I mean, they have favourite tools, like the measuring spoons and the measuring cups and the stainless steel bowls with wooden spoon — a drum kit. The newest thing now is that they each have their own little chef's knife. So watching them chop has been pretty amazing. Not quite the fine knife skills yet, but we'll get there.

WATCH | Lynn Crawford Kitchen Q&A:

Lynn, when did cooking and food first seem like it could be a career path for you?

Lynn Crawford: That goes back many years to when I was attending the University of Guelph in the fine art department. Living with my roommates and knowing that a wonderful meal after a great shop at the farmer's market was something that I thoroughly enjoyed — as did my roommates. I think it was then when the spotlight shone on the wonderful world of culinary arts.

Food should be celebrated and everybody should come together and cook together and gather around that table.

I went for it, and I'm so glad I did. That's many, many years ago now. Wow, what a great career I've had. But I think that one thing that we know for sure is that food should be celebrated. Everybody should come together and cook together and gather around that table. At the family table with friends and family, it's the one common thing that we share. It's the love of food and stories and togetherness. I don't know what else I would do.

We're thrilled with Hearth & Home because these are family-inspired recipes. So it goes back to that. It's full circle.

Lora, I want to ask you about one particular recipe, June's Famous Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting, because there's a lovely story to that.

Lora Kirk: That's my mom's carrot cake recipe. She was kind enough to let me borrow it when we first opened Ruby Watchco. Then I took it as my own. It became a very popular item that was always asked for at the restaurant. That's why it's June's Famous Carrot Cake, because of how great it is, and it's so nice that I get to pass that down. One day the girls will be making that carrot cake too, I hope.

Is it always easy to share these really personal family recipes with the public — with strangers?

Lora Kirk: Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Of course, all chefs, I think, keep a few of those recipes up their sleeves that they don't share. There is one that didn't make it to the book, and I feel bad I haven't shared it with my mom, but you have to sometimes hold them back a little bit. Keeps it interesting, right?

Lynn, in the acknowledgements, you recognize women that you've worked with on this book and in kitchens. How important it was to create space for female chefs and bakers and vintners? When you began as a chef, what was it like for women?

Lynn Crawford: The number of women compared to men in the kitchen I believe was less than five per cent. Thirty years ago, when I started cooking, those professional chef's positions were held by men.

We're thrilled with Hearth & Home because these are family-inspired recipes. So it goes back to that. It's full circle.

When you did read about those women chefs that were breaking the barriers, the glass ceilings — or the ramekins — it opened up the floodgates for more women to reach their dreams and their goals. Things have certainly changed from when I started out. I don't see those obstacles exist nearly as much as maybe some of those obstacles that I had when I was starting out. It's a different place, it's a different time — so that's a great thing.

Lynn Crawford and Lora Kirk's comments have been edited for length and clarity.