Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Anna and Michael Olson aren鈥檛 strangers to Christmas in November, which featured interactive classes and festive dining experiences at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge over the weekend.
This was the 16th time the chef couple have attended Christmas in November, with Michael saying its the people that are the main highlight.
鈥淚 know that sounds corny, but the staff is awesome, the presenters are a lot of fun and (it鈥檚) so great to see guests that we know from years gone by,鈥� Michael said.
鈥淥ver 16 years, we鈥檝e seen a lot of repeat guests, and I especially love to see generations where you鈥檒l have a grandmama or daughter or the whole family together here.鈥�
The couple met and worked together at Inn on the Twenty in the Niagara region, where Michael was executive chef and Anna was pastry chef.
Anna and Michael both collaborate and work independently.
Michael teaches culinary arts at Niagara College, and Anna is the host of numerous cooking shows on Food Network: 鈥淪ugar鈥�, 鈥淏ake鈥� and 鈥淔resh with Anna Olson鈥�.
The couple has seven cookbooks, two of which were a team effort, with more in the works.
Anna also has a YouTube channel called
They were two of over a dozen presenters at this year鈥檚 Christmas in November.
Anna noted how the event has evolved since they started coming, when it was equally focused on cooking and decorating.
However, with Food Network and the popularity of cooking at home, Christmas in November has become more food orientated with more culinary talent coming in and wine tasting being added to the program.
鈥淚t鈥檚 evolved to be more about the food, even though the d茅cor is still very, very important,鈥� Anna said.
Anna and Michael gave attendees the inside track on what to cook this Christmas season, which varies each year.
鈥淭here鈥檚 always an interesting appetizer, and, of course, Anna does incredible desserts, and we鈥檒l have a main course that puts them in a position when they get ready for that holiday season, they鈥檙e not wondering what to do,鈥� Michael said.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e prepped, ready to go and they know some new techniques or some new ingredients, and our ambition is they can be successful at home cooking these recipes.鈥�
Anna described Christmas in November as a positive event where people can enjoy being at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and admire the festive decorations.
鈥淲e call it going on a cruise in the Rockies when you come to Christmas in November package, because you just forget about everything else and you鈥檙e looked after for three days,鈥� she said.
鈥淏ut then part two of that is making people feel confident and excited about their own family celebrations when they go back home.鈥�
This year, Michael showed how to prepare a main course for the fancy dinner while also hosting an outdoor grill class for less-complicated flavours that are nonetheless crowd-pleasers.
Anna made sponge toffee and shortbread cookies, and later s鈥檓ores at the grill class.
Along with the classes and festive dining, Christmas in November featured a Christmas sweater reception, photos with Santa, live music, a gala dinner with dancing and more.
