As you stroll through Sanagan’s your eyes hungrily survey our prepared foods; the pies, sandwiches, soups, salads, condiments, pickles, etc. Unseen are the creators of this cornucopia, Chef de Cuisine Anne Hynes and her kitchen team who toil on the second floor of our Kensington shop, industriously stirring, simmering and baking up a storm directly above our customer’s heads.
Anne describes the kitchen squad as, “an interesting split of young people starting out in the business and career cooks who look for a change of pace out of the restaurant world. They act as mentors to the younger people“
What may not be immediately apparent to Sanagan’s customers is the truly homemade nature of
our prepared foods. The stuffing and gravy that will be pouring out of the kitchen this December is a case in point. Excepting the quantity, your grandmother would happily recognize the entire preparation. Our from-scratch ethic is also expressed in our pie crust which consists of nothing more than flour, butter, house-made lard, salt, a touch sugar and a lot of expert rolling. And the two most important things that go into our bone broth are a pot load of bones and 24 hours of slow, slow simmering.
Anne emphasizes a sense of staff ownership in all they produce. “We all work very hard on our
recipes, as it is the heart of how and why the kitchen works the way it does. That is the reason why we make such consistent food.”
It’s during the holidays that the Sanagan’s kitchen really kicks into high gear, as our Holiday Menu will attest. And Anne oversees it all. “You need to have a plan to make 200 tourtière”.
If you’re thinking of adding tourtière to your Sanagan’s shopping list for the holidays be sure to place your order soon. It’s an old-time favourite that sells out fast.