Since she started out cooking on a pink four-burner stove in the basement of Toronto's Bohemian Restaurant, Karen Barnaby has been creating food that inspires. Always at the vanguard of culinary trends, she believes in fresh, seasonal, and preferably organic ingredients and uncomplicated techniques.

She wrote her first cookbook, Pacific Passions, in 1995, followed up by Screamingly Good Food in 1997, and co-wrote and edited three Girls Who Dish! cookbooks. The Passionate Cook presents more than 200 of her favorite recipes from these books, plus new recipes. Karen creates dishes that will impress dinner guests, but her recipes are simple enough to enjoy anytime.

There are recipes for appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, vegetarian dishes, and desserts, as well as a selection of sauces and dips. A mix of all-time favorites such as Sour Dried Cherry and Chocolate Pound Cake, and Flat Roasted Chicken with Sweet Carrots, Prosciutto, and Almonds; and new classics such as Lemongrass Lamb Satays and Salmon with Asparagus Sauce, make The Passionate Cook a cook's first choice for delicious food.

Karen Barnaby is an author, chef, and teacher from Ottawa, Ontario. She started her cooking career in 1979 on a pink, four burner electric stove in the basement of the Bohemian Restaurant. Moving to Toronto in 1981, Karen was a Chef at the Rivioli where she learned about Thai and Laotian cooking from Chef Vanipha Southalack. After 3 years at Rivioli, Karen worked at David Wood Food Shop, opened two more shops in 5 years, and co-wrote the David Wood Food Book and the David Wood Dessert Book. During that time, she discovered she had an aptitude for teaching and put it into practice at Duffletâ??s Great Cooks Cooking School.

In 1995, she was offered the position of Executive Chef at The Fish House in Stanley Park, and has been happy there ever since.

Karen Barnaby's profile page