When Said M'Dahoma reached out to Bhu Chana, suggesting they pool their culinary talents into a pop-up, Chana only had one answer: 'Yes!'
M'Dahoma has long cultivated a following online as The Pastry Nerd, where he shares approachable French pastry recipes on Instagram and TikTok, and on national television appearances.
'I was shocked because I (know) who he is,' said Chana, who teaches math at Bishop McNally High School. 'When I met him, he was so down to earth and so willing to work together. And I was just so excited that I got this opportunity to work with him.'
Chana brings an impressive culinary background of her own to the table. She previously competed on Season 8 of MasterChef Canada, where she made it to the Top 5 before being eliminated.
'I was really impressed by her skills and by what she was bringing to the table, Indian food mixed with Canadian,' M'Dahoma said. 'That's why I reached out to her.'
Pop-Up Goodness
On Saturday, the two curated a pop-up brunch venture, fusing North American bites with French and Indian inspirations.
Chana took care of the savoury, creating a cucumber raitha sandwich and a lemongrass Thai chili paneer chou, while M'Dahoma opted for a mango cheesecake chou and a pain au chocolat.
'The raitha is a classic,' Chana said, referring to a traditional Indian side dish combining diced cucumbers, yoghurt and spices.
The second dish is a vegetarian twist on the classic shrimp toast, inspired by Chana's growing circle of vegetarian friends.
'I wanted to do something that was a take on the shrimp toast, but expose it to my friends,' she said.
M'Dahoma chose a mango cheesecake dessert as tribute to his memories of receiving boxes of mangos and lychees from his grandmother during mango season in Comoros.
'We would eat everything in almost two days,' he said. 'I wanted to have that kind of flavour in the choux pastry and as cheesecake because everybody loves cheesecake.'
The pop-up venture may be the first time M'Dahoma and Chana got to meet and collaborate, but the two share much more in common than their love of food.
Chana, of Indian descent, grew up in Calgary and throughout her childhood often felt caught between her heritage and the country she grew up in.
'I couldn't fit in with the kids who had immigrated here, I couldn't fit in with the kids who were born here,' she said. 'So as I've grown up, I evolved to make my own identity.'
It's what drew her to her signature fusion cooking style that won her the spot on MasterChef Canada.
'I didn't want to eat Indian food,' she recalled of her childhood. 'I didn't want to do anything with it. And every day, my mom would cook Indian food and I (decided) to cook my own food.'
She taught herself classic recipes like making the roux and bechamel sauces, 'techniques my parents had never been exposed to,' she said.
Slowly she became in charge of dinners at home. And yet when she moved out — 'the first thing I was craving was Indian food,' she said.
