Rod Butters is one of the country’s most celebrated chefs.
He’s been called the consummate Canadian-born, Canadian-trained chef.
For Butters, cooking boils down to one thing: Passion.
“When you cook with passion, you feed the soul,” said Butters, who co-owns Raudz Regional Table restaurant in downtown Kelowna.
Butters has recently poured that passion into print with his new book, The Okanagan Table: The Art of Everyday Home Cooking.
“The heart of this book was to get the person at home cooking again,” said Butters. “Actually sitting down for dinner again. We kind of lost track of that.”
The Okanagan Table is a visual feast and a testament to Butters’ commitment to the farm-to-table movement.
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Long before it was fashionable or trendy to serve regional fare, Butters was a staunch champion of local fare.
What is Raudz culinary philosophy?
“Support local, buy local, eat and drink local,” he said.
It’s the guiding philosophy at the four restaurants that Butters co-owns in the Okanagan.
Butters has won many culinary accolades throughout his career. Now he can add an award-winning cookbook to his already storied resume, as Okanagan Table took home a silver award at Taste Canada.
The Okanagan Table is available at various book stores.
“If I can put the focus on the Okanagan, where I live and the incredible things that are happening here in the food and beverage industry, I’ll do it,” said Butters. “And to have the book be recognized is icing on the cake.”
Unfortunately, there are no cake recipes in the Okanagan Table, but I can guarantee your taste buds won’t be disappointed by the ones that are.