Resa Solomon-St. Lewis is first Ottawa Chef in National Arts Centre culinary residency program
January 25, 2025
For culinary artists, preparing food for consumption is a rewarding art form.
Resa Solomon-St. Lewis could hardly contain her excitement after learning she was in this year’s National Arts Centre (NAC) Resident Chef program.
Under the leadership of Executive Chef Kenton Leier, the NAC’s 1 Elgin Restaurant hosts four outstanding Chefs from across Canada annually as part of a culinary arts season.
They collaborate with Leier to create special menus featured for four to eight weeks.
The host of her cooking show on Rogers TV, Solomon-Lewis brought her creativity, enthusiasm and talents as the first resident chef of the 2025 season.
“I don’t have a sit-down restaurant which means I don’t have as many opportunities to present my food in a fine-dining environment,” said the owner of Baccanalle which specializes in Caribbean cuisine and offers catering services. “Our food stood out in that space and was positioned to be on par with the other fine-dining dishes they have had in the past. That was a goal I had in terms of representing the food inspired by my community.”
Solomon-St. Lewis learnt about the NAC program in 2023.
“I noticed that the NAC was ramping up its Black programming on the theatre and music side,” she pointed out. “Being an entrepreneur, I saw an opportunity to pair food with programming. I was looking at preparing tapas (appetizers or snacks) before or after a theatre performance featuring a Black playwright or something like that. At the time, that seemed unlikely to happen because the NAC is unionized and everything has to be prepared by their culinary staff. Around that time I found out about the NAC culinary resident program.”
For the residency, Solomon-St. Lewis led the creation of the menus for January and February that reflect her culinary perspectives.
Because the NAC is unionized, she was not allowed to cook at their 1 Elgin restaurant.
“I proposed the menu and about 90 percent of it was accepted,” said Solomon-St. Lewis who is the first Ottawa Chef to participate in the program. “I had a jerk chicken Caesar salad, but because they wanted another vegetarian option, they suggested it be tweaked to a jerk tofu which I was fine with because I like to have a lot of vegan options.”
She also provided recipe guidance, in-depth direction on certain Caribbean culinary techniques and provided feedback on finished dishes so they could be adjusted.
“For something like saltfish buljol that is made differently, depending on the island or the style, I wanted them to make it the way my family does which is not usually how you would get it in a restaurant,” said Solomon-St. Lewis. “This is an important dish for Trinbagonians and it needed to be correct. I went in and made a small batch, and they observed what I was doing. They were able to use that as a frame of reference to make the rest which is what they did. I went in the day before the event to see where they were at with the saltfish buljol because it had to be successful on the plate. On the day of the event, I went back and adjusted the seasoning because it needed to be right.”
Coming up with the menu was a balancing act.
“I wanted people to have an amazing culinary experience and those of Caribbean origin to be proud of and relate to the menu,” the 2015 Embassy Chef Challenge champion said. “But I know that is not the NAC’s Chefs expertise. You don’t learn how to make Caribbean food at chef school and you are not sure what you are going for if you didn’t grow up cooking that food.”
On January 9, she collaborated with Leier to present a delicious three-course menu at the NAC’s launch event with the Resident Chefs.
“I wanted to use this opportunity to showcase my Trinbagonian heritage because the Black restaurants in this city focus on Jamaica, Nigerian and Haitian food,” the former Ottawa Specialty Food Association board member said. “I make Jamaican dishes that are on the menu, but I am excited that they accepted my menu as presented. I was also thrilled that I could be very authentic with certain dishes which was my intention.”
Black lentil dahl soup, 1 Elgin Caesar salad, watercress & mango salad, mushrooms on toast, tuna crudo, curry crab & lobster ravioli, Caribbean chickpea fritters and 1 Elgin Charcuterie – a selection of cured meats served with house pickles, mustards, chutneys, preservers & toasted baguette -- were the starters.
The main course comprised jerk salmon with sauteed greens, coconut rice & peas, crisp plantain and rum tamarind sauce; spice-roasted pheasant with pelau rice, Trinbago callaloo and hibiscus glaze; gheera crusted lamb chop with dasheen provisions duchesse, Trinbago callaloo and plantain chips; garlic pepper steak with mashed provisions, seasonal vegetables and Caribbean chimichurri; boneless short rib with white bean cassoulet, togarashi kale and stout demi; curry vegetable with longhi, chickpea, squash, zucchini, roti and pelau rice; and orecchiette with cauliflower cream, pinenuts, herb pesto, garlic chips & parmesan.
Rum baba – a combination of chestnut crème fraiche ice cream, raspberry crumble & chocolate sauce – along with mango cheesecake, strawberry-pineapple trifle parfait, chocolate hazelnut millefeuille, 1 Elgin cheese plate and a selection of sorbet and ice cream were the sweets and cheese selections.
Icewine, Courvoisier VS, Espresso martini and specialty coffees were the drinks served before and after the meal.
Each dish was paired with a selection of Stem wines to complement the menu.
“That was a bit challenging because our food is not from a wine-producing region,” Solomon-St. Lewis said. “It takes more effort to pair the food. In the end, it was great to have that exercise because I have access to a wine pairing that goes with my menu.”
Until March 1, her lunch and dinner menu will be available at the 1 Elgin restaurant.
Growing up in Winnipeg before relocating to Ottawa 43 years ago, Solomon-St. Lewis’ passions were cooking and chemistry.
She often performed chemistry experiments with her father, Dr. Andrew Solomon, who passed away in May 2018 at age 82.
Leaving Trinidad & Tobago in the 1960s, he successfully pursued Bachelor’s and Master of Science degrees and a PhD in Microbiology before completing medical school in France and returning to Canada to practice.
When not with dad, Solomon-St. Lewis spent a lot of time in the kitchen assisting her mother.
“Cooking was a stress reliever for me when I was in university in a very difficult academic program,” said the University of Ottawa Chemical Engineering graduate.
After just over a decade working with the federal government in engineering and environmental management, Solomon-St. Lewis was a victim of the Canadian government’s massive job cuts in 2013.
“I had a very difficult time with that because I felt I had given more than my blood, sweat and tears,” she said. “I felt I needed to completely change what I was doing and be self-employed. I also think it was time for me to be more immersed in my community.”
Solomon-St. Lewis completed Algonquin College’s Culinary Skills Chef Training Program.
“I wanted the credibility and a certain amount of knowledge so that I would have the confidence to be on par with my peers,” she said.
Who are some of the Chefs that Solomon-St. Lewis looks to as role models?
Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association Culinary Ambassador Creig Greenidge and St. Lucia-born Nina Compton, who owns the award-winning Compere Lapin and Baywater American Bistro in New Orleans, are at the top of the list.
The daughter of late St. Lucia Prime Minister John Compton was the runner-up in Bravo’s Top Chef Season 11: New Orleans in 2013.
“In her food, you can see she was inspired by dishes from the Caribbean,” noted Solomon-St. Lewis. “At the same time, she could cook other dishes at an extremely high level. I have a lot of respect for her competency, creativity and her vision.”
She met Compton twice at the Food & Wine Show in Ottawa and was a guest at one of her New Orleans restaurants.
Greenidge was the Caribbean Tourism Organization Rum & Rhythm Chef of the Year in 2016.
“Not only has he excelled in preparing Caribbean cuisine, but he has a firm foundation in the traditional ways of cooking,” noted the married mother of two children.
Always seeking entrepreneurial opportunities, Solomon-St. Lewis and younger sister Tracey Solomon co-founded Afrotechture to help consumers shop and discover Black artisans.
Their mother, Huldah Solomon, was the inspiration for them starting the venture.
“Our mom was deeply involved in the community doing a lot of volunteering,” said Solomon-St. Lewis, the sister-in-law of University of Ottawa law professor Joanne St. Lewis. “We saw that involvement as we were growing up.”
