It sounded like fun. Both Jordan and I were up for the challenge and we immediately started formulating the perfect chowder recipe in our heads. Unfortunately, as soon as we started listing off the ingredients we would use, it became apparent that we might need two separate pots and perhaps even two kitchens.

            Jordan’s idea of chowder runs along the traditional line: clams, potatoes and cream, while I say “Tradition, smadition!”  Chowder should be about creativity and adventure.

            Chowder can be any chunky stew containing fresh fish, clams or other seafood, vegetables, especially onions and potatoes, a good soup stock seasoned with salt pork and cream. French fishermen, arriving back to port, would toss some of their fresh catch into cauldrons brewing along the wharfs. Other ingredients were added depending upon time of year and availability. These three-legged black stewing pots were called chaudières. It was from this word that the term chowder arose. Similar dishes were being made in other fishing villages around the world. Each region has their own version of this dish, but in all cases it is a hearty meal intended to be eaten from a bowl with a satisfying chunk of bread or loaded with crackers. Comfort food at its finest.

            In North America, we are most familiar with the creamy Boston or New England clam chowder, or the tomato version called Manhattan. In the Caribbean, you are most likely to find conch chowder made with coconut milk. Other dishes such as the French bouillabaisse or Italian cioppini are just tomato-based versions of this workingman’s lunch.

            Chowder has also come to mean any thick, hearty soup filled with chunks of vegetable. There are many vegetarian versions of chowders such as corn or bean. The smoked flavour can be accomplished using smoked chipotle peppers or even soy bacon products.

            Above all, chowder is improvisational cooking. Who knew that Jordan was such a traditionalist?

The first thing I have learned about sharing a kitchen with Jordan is that it works better if one of us stays in another room, yelling out suggestions and encouragement, while the other wields the knife. In this case, I was the one who stayed at my desk, while Jordan sliced and diced. Our first “discussion” was over whether we needed a roux. Jordan insisted that we needed to thicken with a flour and butter roux. If we had been using potatoes, an easy way to thicken is to remove some of the cooked potato, puree it and blend it back into the cream. I had convinced Jordan to try a somewhat Indonesian approach for our chowder, while still using a traditional mixture of seafood. We used sautéed and pureed shallots, vegetable broth and coconut milk as our soup, flavoured with red curry paste, star anise and saffron. No pork for me, thankyou! We then added in roasted corn, carrots, celery and sun-dried tomatoes. What we ended up with was truly amber ambrosia.

            As with any soup or stew, it is better to make it the day ahead and allow the flavours to marry overnight in the fridge. The next day, I learned an important lesson about creams: don’t allow them to cook on high heat for too long, or they will separate. We were somewhat dismayed to see a layer of orange-coloured oil at the top of our crock-pot, but the chowder still tasted delicious and looked fine as long as you stirred it.

            We arrived at the school right on time, only to see there would be stiff competition. We saw Michael from Silva Bay dropping their entry off. Even if we hadn’t seen him arrive, the professional chaffing dish was a give away. We knew that there were also entries from Suzy’s and Café Provençal, but there were some terrific looking “amateur” efforts as well. I didn’t have the stomach to stay for the actual tasting; I don’t take to criticism well. Jordan braved it and reported back confidently that people were enjoying our dish and even writing down the ingredients. He also admitted that there were some other really delicious tasting chowders. I was now getting excited about going to the salmon barbecue and dance, where the winner would be announced.

            As you all may know by now, we didn’t win. Jacqui Braid won not only first prize as determined by the judges, but the People’s Choice. The smoked Alaskan Black Cod she had managed to procure was a secret ingredient too delicious to beat. Second prize went to Suzy, or more accurately, her morning cook, Jenna. Or her “Soup Goddess” as Suzie calls her. Jenna has the inherent knack for knowing what flavours will meld well. She had used such non-traditional flavourings as balsamic vinegar, cumin and tarragon. 

            Jordan and I did hear later from one reliable source that we were second in the People’s Choice and also did well with the judges.  This has inspired Jordan to already start planning his secret recipe for next year. You will note that I say “his,” because he is determined to do it his way next time. All I know for sure is that by next fall, we may be in the market for a second crock-pot and perhaps lease space on a second kitchen. I’ve just had this strangest thought that chowder might be an apt metaphor for marriage!