Townsman, 1992-03, Page 21International
treat- for a
good cause
BY THE LENTZ-MCGREGORS
Tucked away in the heart of London
on Dundas Street east of Adelaide is a
restaurant that will provide you with a
pleasingly unique dining experience.
We set out for the Abyssinia on the
advice of friends, looking for the
adventure of sampling the cuisine and
presentation of the world's oldest civi-
lization. And we enjoyed every
moment.
The atmosphere is warm and homey
and welcoming as you enter, greeted
by owner Barry Snow. Barry and his
wife Monica have been sponsoring
Ethiopian refugees for seven years
and felt that a restaurant could provide
not only employment but also a meet-
ing place for Ethiopians suddenly
immersed in a new culture.
An Ethiopian programme played on
the TV in the background as our
young waitress explained the menu.
With full translations and explana-
tions in English, the choices were
easy to understand and intriguing to
contemplate. The Abyssinia wisely
offers a special that includes four of
the main menu items — Yedoro Watt,
Atkilt, Kai Watt and Tibbs. These are
a chicken dish, vegetable medley, and
two beef dishes. To these we added
Shuro, a split pea flour mixture that
was wonderful, as was the Ambasha,
the traditional bread of Ethiopia.
We had explained to our two 16 -
year -old guests that the Ethiopians
traditionally serve their food on injera,
a flat sponge -like bread that acts as
both plate and eating utensil. We dis-
covered the injera is also used to line
the huge communal serving platter
where every dish has its own corner.
There was no dish we all didn't
enjoy. Berbere, a hot peppery spice
indigenous to Ethiopia was used in
several Watt or stews, enhancing the
flavours but not overpowering. The
adults enjoyed the traditional honey
wine known as Tej but we strongly
advise you to choose another if you
are at all sensitive to sulphites.
Of course there were desserts and of
course we had to try their Baklava,
which was delicious. It was disap-
pointing to hear that their fresh fruit
basket was not available.
Barry and Monica Snow have
accomplished what they hoped, a
restaurant that would be a welcoming
centre for London's Ethiopian com-
munity and a vehicle through which
their culture might be shared with the
people of their new country. We
applaud their vision and dedication
and encourage your to enjoy their
fare. In order to make the restaurant as
accessible to new immigrants as pos-
sible, prices arc very reasonable. Our
bill for four, before wine and taxes,
was only $38.00. It was a bonus on
top of a very satisfying evening.
Celebrity chef sometimes helps out
Continued from page 11.
ple to 15 or 16 helping out. When a
big event is coming up Jeff and Cathy
get the help of neighbours, friends and
relatives. Betty Cardiff often lends a
hand and if father Murray, M.P. for
Huron -Bruce, is speaking at the event
he'll likely soon have his jacket off
and an apron on to help carve the
meat.
Because most of the demand is for
beef, Jeff says it's not often he can
make use of produce from his own
farm. If someone wants a whole roast
pig he will use one of his own pigs
but he has no beef, and even if he did,
he uses only roasts so there'd be the
problem of what to do with the rest of
the cattle beast.
One food that he does grow on the
farm has been finding its way into
meals more and more. The last couple
of years they've set up a bean pot
along with the barbecue at some
events and won raves for the taste of
the beans cooked over an open fire.
The equipment they use was devel-
oped by themselves over the years.
There have been many modifications
along the way.When Cardiff and
Campbell started out, Murray carted
around a pick-up truck load of cement
blocks on which to set the barbecue,
he says. Now the barbecue is all made
of steel, and comes apart easily for
trucking.
In 1990 the Cardiffs modified part
of their driving shed into a catering
area they can drive their trailer right
into for easy cleaning and sterilizing
of equipment. This year they've
bought a 20 -foot trailer which con-
tains a compartment for hauling the
equipment and a room for refrigera-
tion, equipped with cupboards. The
trailer also provides somewhere to get
out of the rain when the barbecue has
to be done in inclement weather. The
barbecuing goes on in good weather
and bad and there's often more than
wanted of the latter.
The catering business makes for a
hectic summer as they try to juggle
cropping on the 200 acre farm, the
weaner operation with a 150- sow
herd and family obligations. Jeffs
brother Scott helps out by keeping on
with duties like combining while Jeff
is off on catering business. It makes
for a hectic time: last year they had
only three weekends when there was-
n't catering to be done. Some days
there was more than one event on the
same day in different places. This
summer the biggest event may be the
Usborne Twp. 150th anniversary
homecoming when organizers are
hoping to feed 1500 to 2000 people
and the Cardiffs are to provide every-
thing but the dessert. "We've got our
work cut out for us," Jeff says, who
also will be without the help of Cathy
who is expecting an addition to the
family this spring and is taking the
summer off. Just to organize the help
for such a big event will be a collosal
task, Jeff says.
Still, he says, they always get a lot
of good comments at such an event.
"That's what makes it all worthwhile."
TOWNSMAN/MARCH-APRIL 1992 19