Eat To The Beat With Mijune Pak

To raise funds for breast cancer this month, KitchenAid and the Canadian Cancer Society are hosting Eat to the Beat, nationally, on October 23. All Canadians are invited to tune in for a live virtual hands-on culinary experience with some of Canada’s top female chefs, including food personality and Top Chef Canada judge Mijune Pak, who will be making her signature Petits Farcis Niçois. Read more in our interview with Mijune below! —Noa Nichol

Hi Mijune! So nice to chat with you again. How are you, and what have you been up to lately?

After having my wings clipped for over a year like everyone else, I finally started travelling again. I spent the summer months in France exploring Nicoise cuisine, Bordeaux and revisiting Paris. From there I went down to San Diego to visit my 20-month-old, niece who was born right before lockdown. It’s been heart-warming seeing my family and friends abroad again. On the work side of things I am currently hosting a Year in the Life of BC Wine with Wines of BC—a four-part online series interviewing winegrowers in B.C. I’m also the host of Wine Vikings, a wine club which launched this year which interviews sommeliers and educates people about wine. I just finished judging Vancouver Magazine Awards, Enroute Canada’s Best New Restaurant Awards and am gearing up for the Retail Council of Canada best new retail product awards in Montreal next year. On top of that, I am always working on products and collaborations and am hoping to have my next surprise product out early next year.

Tell us about the upcoming Eat to the Beat event, and your involvement in it this year?

I’m thrilled and honoured to be one of the four featured chefs and food personalities taking part in Eat to the Beat this year, in partnership with KitchenAid Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society. Participants can cook alongside us this Saturday, October 23, and all Canadians are invited to tune in for Canada’s biggest kitchen party! Each of the featured guests, including myself, will be demonstrating our favourite recipes and all funds raised will benefit breast cancer support programs through the Canadian Cancer Society. We’re supporting women affected by breast cancer in this fun, interactive and delicious event.

 How can all Canadians, across the country, participate?

Canadians can purchase tickets online. On Saturday, October 23, attendees will receive a private livestream link to join the online cooking masterclass and a live Q&A session with each chef and food personality.

We hear you’ll be making your signature Petits Farcis Niçois; these sound fancy and challenging, but will we all be able to re-create them in our kitchens?

They probably sound fancy because the name is in French, but they’re actually super easy to make and put together—almost no harder than meatballs. It’s even easy for kids to follow along. I was introduced to this recipe this past summer in Provence and was amazed by this family recipe. It requires few ingredients, it’s inexpensive to feed a family or a crowd, it’s delicious, and presents nicely!

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