Laura Calder

The Path

The route into cooking ran through other disciplines first. Laura Calder trained at Concordia University, York University, and London School of Economics, education that initially pointed toward different professional work before food became the center. She started in journalism as a sports reporter at New Brunswick newspaper in New Brunswick, Canada, then moved into public relations, keeping communication at the core while the setting changed. Formal kitchen training followed at Dubrulle Culinary Institute in Vancouver, Canada and at École de Cuisine La Varenne in France. Those schools placed technique and French cooking in the same frame. Calder later brought that training to television as host of *French Food at home* at Cooking Channel, where the material moved from private practice to public teaching. She later appeared as guest judge on *Top Chef Canada* at Top Chef Canada and guest judge on *Iron Chef America* at Iron Chef America, using a trained palate in a setting built on speed and pressure. Today, Laura is judge on *Recipe to Riches* of Food Network Canada and writer of *A Breath of French Air*, working across instruction, evaluation, and food writing.

The Work Today

In *A Breath of French Air*, Calder treats French cooking as a system with internal order. Asked what draws her to it, she said, “I think what’s nice about it in the modern world right now is it’s a very coherent cuisine and it’s not all over the place.” Coherence is the operative idea: a cuisine that holds structure, memory, and proportion without excess noise. She has also put it more directly: “It’s really solid back-to-basics cooking.” That preference shows up in the way she writes and speaks about food. The work does not chase effects; it returns to clarity, utility, and steadiness. On the page and on screen, Calder’s approach is built around good ingredients, reliable technique, and food that reads as practical without losing refinement. The register is plain, but the standards are high.

Signature

Laura’s signature dishes include *French Food at Home*, *A Breath of French Air*, *Kitchen Bliss: Musings on Food and Happiness (with recipes)*, *French Taste: Elegant, Everyday Eating*, and *Dinner Chez Moi: The Fine Art of Feeding Friends*. Taken together, these titles map a clear working territory: French-influenced everyday cooking, written with attention to home use and to the social mechanics of feeding other people. The emphasis is on utility, pleasure, and domestic repetition rather than display.

In Their Words “I think what’s nice about it in the modern world right now is it’s a very coherent cuisine and it’s not all over the place.” “Well French was easy for me because… I grew up going to French school so I spoke French already, it wasn’t an intimidating place to go, and I love food. So to me there’s no better place.”

Acclaim

Laura’s honors include James Beard Foundation Award for Best Television Show, In Studio or Fixed Location for *French Food at Home*, James Beard Foundation Award for Best Television Food Show, National and Local, Order of Agricultural Merit (Chevalier / knight) (2011), and Taste Canada gold medal for Cookbook: *French Taste: Elegant Everyday Eating*. The recognition tracks both her television work and her writing, with awards attached to the same French-facing practice that defines the rest of her career.