Food, family, and community

Windsor Park

St. Vital

Silver Heights

Headingley

St. Norbert

South Osborne

Karen Tusa’s latest project has a distinctly made-in-Manitoba flavour.

The Windsor Park resident is the producer of The Diabetic Kitchen, a six-episode lifestyle and cooking TV series, which premiered on Bell Fibe TV1 on Jan. 29.

The series, which was filmed last summer, was directed by George Orallo and hosted by Kevin Beaulieu. Lisa Shostal and Keri-Lynn Turney wrote and researched the series.

The Diabetic Kitchen is intended to inspire and empower people living with diabetes — as well as others interested in healthier, balanced meals — by featuring practical recipes without sacrificing flavour. The series also features appearances by registered dietitian Bailey Lakusta, who explains how meals can be balanced to support blood sugar management and overall health.

Another key ingredient is the show’s collaboration with local food producers — as part of the process, the production team visited different communities in the province to interview producers and farmers. The list includes Fabiola Della Pria (Unique Brazilian Dairy) in Blumenort; Bev Penner (Prairie Oils and Provisions) in Steinbach; Andreas Zinn (Zinn Farms) in Springstein; Leonard Epp (Rockwood Bison Ranch) in Stonewall; and Bruce Berry and Marilyn Firth (Almost Urban Vegetables) in St. Norbert.

“We wanted to involve local food producers,” said Tusa, who is also a location scout and location manager in the film industry.

She said the team had a fascinating experience visiting Rockwood Bison Ranch, when it was surrounded by bison while out in a truck.

“This was very much part of the idea,” she said. “We wanted to showcase the faces behind the food.”

Orallo and Beaulieu have been close friends since high school, and both have diabetes. Beaulieu said the part of the inspiration for the series was that Orallo used to come over for Sunday supper sometimes.

“The series is about cooking easy-to-prepare meals, and talking about the ingredients,” said Beaulieu, who lives in Silver Heights and sells Freightliner trucks as a profession.

“We wanted the show to be relatable to people, and to show that we can cook family favourites in a non-intimidating, approachable way that’s easy to watch.’

“And in our case, it’s also about people, about the people you meet along the way, and the importance of food and family and community,” he added.

Another local business, Jardins St-Léon Gardens in Old St. Vital, was also featured in the series, as it was used as a location for interviewing Della Pria, Tusa said.

The kitchen for the series is located in a home in Headingley, which has an island with a gas range, and enough available space to shoot around.

Tusa said a premiere screening of selected episodes of The Diabetic Kitchen will be held at the Park Theatre (698 Osborne St.) on March 10 at 7 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m.)

The event will give attendees the chance to meet members of the cast, crew and local producers, and will include a post-screening Q-and-A session. There will also be food sampling of recipes used in the episodes screened, and swag.

Tusa said prospective attendees can both register in advance or attend on the night. Email ktusa@mymts.net to register in advance.

The series is airing in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces on the Bell Fibe TV1 app and Channel 1, Tusa said.