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Chef's Choice: Jules Laporte

At just 26 years with a degree in commercial photography, Jules Laporte is clear about a few things. He loves cooking, snowboarding and photography. He grew up in Victoriaville, Quebec, where he says kids either play hockey or snowboard.
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YOUNG AND WISE Whistler called out to Jules Laporte while he lived in Quebec and Laporte answered with his snowboard in hand.

At just 26 years with a degree in commercial photography, Jules Laporte is clear about a few things.

He loves cooking, snowboarding and photography. He grew up in Victoriaville, Quebec, where he says kids either play hockey or snowboard. But skates and hockey sticks never really appealed to the sous chef at Ric's Grill, so he took to the hill.

"I've been riding since I was 12 years old," says Laporte, smiling through his soft French accent.

He explains that Whistler is a very popular place with people he knows from Victoriaville.

"I know at least a thousand people came here to spend a full season," he says.

Laporte gets high praise from his boss because the young chef pays close attention to details. His training started with health and nutrition education in Quebec. While in school he worked at restaurants. Laporte explains that his work became a passion so he focused on learning to cook.

While he has training in both photography and cooking he doesn't mix the two. He has some experience in photographing food commercially, but he says he didn't really enjoy it. This is a guy who likes to prepare food for eating, not photographing because photo food needs to be able to look good for hours.

"I assisted on a few shoots for the SAQ, which is the liquor store in Quebec, and it usually lasts for a good 12 to 14 hours of shooting the exact same plate," he recalls. "It's fun but it's really not my aim to do only that because it kind of goes against what I love in food and what I love in photography. I still think it's fun doing it but it really isn't the thing that I'm passionate about."

He likes to photograph the landscapes around Whistler and the people of Whistler. He also likes preparing food for the people of Whistler.

The people he works with are a key ingredient at Ric's. When Laporte first came to Whistler his first job was at The Mix by Ric's.

"I always have a blast working with people here," he says while seated in one of the comfortable chairs at Ric's Grill well before opening time on a Monday. "I always meet amazing people and the food is great. I come from a background of fine dining and I was used to working split shifts — 16 to sometimes 18 hours on the split — and when I decided to move here it was to be able to snowboard and enjoy living in Whistler, so this allows me to cook great food and to actually make sure that I can go onto the hill in the morning and come here and work with some amazing people."

With a look that is wise beyond his years he says that he gets to work with great ingredients like fine steaks and seafood for diners who demand quality.

"It allows me to be happy on a different level," he says of where he is.

"I think it is, really, what Whistler is all about. Most people that I know are professional first and ski bum second. I moved here for those exact same reasons. Whenever we are at work, we work hard and don't necessarily live for work."

After saying that he notes that he started his day with a quick morning trip up the mountain after working a long shift the previous day on Sunday, March 3, a day many say has been the best one of 2013 so far with blue sky looking down on more than 30 centimetres of fresh snow from an overnight powder-coated gift from Ullr.

"My aim today was to get just one good run and then come here," Laporte says.

He got his epic run in on the second bluebird day in a row.

Back in the kitchen the young chef says one of the things he enjoys about his job is training the new people who come into the kitchen.

"To be training over and over again is also a good way to learn about your self," says Laporte.

Lamb Tagine

Ingredients

  • 600 grams stewing lamb
  • olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 bunch of fresh coriander
  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained
  • 400 grams can chopped tomatoes
  • 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 small squash, deseeded and cut into chunks
  • 100 grams prunes, stoned and roughly torn
  • 2 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted

For the spice rub

  • sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp ras el hanout spice mix
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp ground ginger
  • 1 tbsp sweet paprika

Method

Mix all the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl. Put the lamb into a large bowl, rub it with the spice rub, then cover and put into the fridge for a couple of hours.

Put a generous splash of olive oil in a casserole pan and fry the meat over a medium heat for five minutes. Add chopped onion and coriander stalks and fry for another five minutes. Tip in the chickpeas and tomatoes, then pour in 400ml of stock and stir. Bring to boil, then put the lid on the pan and reduce to a simmer for one-and-a-half hours. Add squash, the prunes and the rest of the stock. Give everything a gentle stir, then pop the lid back on the pan and continue cooking for another one-and-a-half hours. Keep an eye on it and add a splash of water if it looks too dry.

Once the time is up, take the lid off and check the consistency. If it seems a bit too runny, simmer for five to 10 minutes more with the lid off.

The lamb should be really tender and flaking apart now, so have a taste and season with a pinch or two of salt. Sprinkle the coriander leaves over the tagine along with the toasted almonds then take it straight to the table with a big bowl of lightly seasoned couscous and dive in.