Top chef Jayawickreme donates recipe to cookbook in support of foodbanks

A top Winnipeg chef is going digital for a good cause. 

Chef Eraj Jayawickreme, executive chef at the Fairmont Winnipeg, is among 15 Canadian chefs contributing recipes to the new digital cookbook, Pasta to the Rescue: Hot Summer Dishes for Busy Families, in support of Canada's food banks.

The cookbook is part of the Help Us Feed Hope campaign started by Catelli Foods — for every download or share of the cookbook's recipes, Catelli will donate pasta to food banks across the country.

Those who visit the website will also have the chance to win a pasta dinner cooked by Jayawickreme or one of the other chefs involved.

The Sri Lankan-born chef, who has been in Winnipeg for nearly two years, offered up his recipe for herbed shrimp truffle capellini pasta that includes "trending" ingredients such as kale, rapini and dark chocolate. 

"Be it in the use of bitter greens in salads and savoury dishes, or dark chocolate in desserts, experimenting with bitter flavours is an emerging trend," he explained in a news release. "Bitterness is a taste that is often alienated, but is an essential flavouring component that adds balance and sophistication to dishes — just as bitters are the seasoning that makes cocktails satisfying."

The cookbook can be downloaded for free on the Catelli website or Facebook page.