Celeb chef Kostick always put people first

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This article was published 04/05/2011 (5459 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Even though celebrity chef Ken Kostick created tens of thousands of dishes duri­ng his life, there was one recipe even he couldn’t duplicate.

“While he lived in Toronto, Ken would often would take a taxi from the airport to Pizza Place in Grant Park Shopping Centre for a quick fix of their pizza before heading off to appointments,” said former Canstar food columnist Janet Nixdorf.

Kostick, who grew up in Winnipeg’s North End, died April 21 as a result of pacreatitis. He was 57.

Nixdorf said one of the things she admired most about Kostick was his ability to reinvent himself over the years as a TV host, cook and author.

“He kept busy and had a sincere love for people, food creation and of course he still loved his hometown,” she said.

 Kostick’s personality made a big impression on current staff and students at his alma mater. He served as host and emcee of St. John’s High School’s gala evening that was the culmination of the school’s 100th anniversary celebrations last summer.

Anniversary committee co-chair Carole Kurdydyk said Kostick’s giving personality rubbed off on others during the planning of anniversary events.

Kurdydyk graduated with Kostick from St. John’s in 1972, but admits she didn’t really get to know him until the past couple of years.

“After one conversation with you he really was your best friend,” she said.

“He was always more than willing to help with anything St. John’s had on the go.”

Kostick visited the school in December of 2009 to conduct a live cooking demo for students. Home economics teacher Kerri Mannall said Kostick’s dish of bow tie pasta and his life stories were both hits with the students.

“Ken talked about growing up in the neighbourhood. He said since the North End had such great diversity and character, the food was as cultured and rich as the people and should be appreciated,” Mannall said.

Nixdorf said Kostick was ahead of the curve when it came to promoting healthy eating.

“He was ahead of the times, expounding the attributes of  low sodium, low fat – while still managing to keep cooking fun by incorporating cutting edge ingredients,” she said.

Nixdorf said she doesn’t expect that food fans will forget Kostick or his work any time soon.

“I’ll be making a few of Ken’s recipes in his honour this week,” she said.

Ken Kostick hosted CBC’s What’s for Dinner with Mary Jo Eustace and wrote more than a dozen best selling cookbooks, including The $10 Gourmet.

rob.brown@canstarnews.com