LOL - well I've had my 15 minutes of fame now. I've been interviewed by a couple of news papers and for my work's newsletter. Since Topical is an internal newsletter only I thought I'd post it here - can you believe this is me?
OPSer may have the 'Recipe to Riches'
Posted on: October 15, 2012
If your weakness is chocolate or sweets of any kind, you wouldn’t want to sit next to Tracey Rigden. The Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs (MAA) law clerk does most of her baking on the weekends and brings her batches of brownies and cookies to the office for constructive criticism.
Needless to say, the sweet treats don’t last very long on her desk.
Tracey Rigden with her Dulche de Leche Brownies.
“I’ve been baking since I was a kid, with my grandmother,” said Rigden, who recalled making pocket pies with berries she had picked. “I find baking and cooking soothing and relaxing."
It would only seem fitting that the self-declared food network junkie would audition for one of their shows.
“I watched the first season of Recipe to Riches and when the auditions come up in Toronto, I was encouraged to venture out of my comfort zone and try something new.”
The winner of each episode receives $25,000 and moves on to the finale, where Canada votes for their favourite product. The grand prize winner receives $250,000 and the product is added to the President’s Choice brand at Loblaws’ stores.
Rigden also thought the prize money would come in handy. “My family means everything to me and we had just found out my aunt had cancer. I wanted to gift my parents with the airfare. They could do it themselves but I didn’t want them to have to worry about it. They put me through school and have given me so much. I looked on the contest as an opportunity to give back to my family.”
The recipe has to be original. Rigden used a generic brownie recipe and reinvented it batch after batch making it what it is today.
“I had never baked brownies from scratch, until this recipe,” said Rigden. “I used to always make them out of the box.”
She baked batch after batch until she was confident they were good enough to present to the judges.
And she was right. It was her dulce de leche brownies that landed her a finalist spot under the cookies and squares category, airing Oct. 31 on Food Network Canada. The show starts its new season this Wednesday, Oct. 17.
Rigden describes the brownies as rich and dense. “Someone once said they were the perfect border between fudgy and cakey. I cut them in one inch squares because they are so rich. You only need a tiny piece.”
“My office is great,” said Rigden, “They are a bunch of foodies, and offer suggestions. And with these brownies, I had nothing but positive feedback. People kept asking about them.”
Rigden herself has to keep quiet now that she’s taped her show – the network had her and other contenders sign confidentiality agreements. “I’m a huge talker, talk about everything and anything. It was the hardest secret I ever had to keep.”
Would she ever consider baking as a career? Although she says never say never, Rigden shared, “I love my job at MAA. I feel like I’m making a difference. This ministry is so incredible and does such important work and it’s up and coming. We’re making a big difference.”
For more information about Recipe to Riches visit the Food Network site or for great recipes and photos of Rigden’s baked goods, visit her blog.
