The Southern Alberta Home, Garden and Leisure Show presents celebrity special guest and culinary master Anna Olson. Olson may be considered Canada’s baking sweetheart, but she’s also an accomplished savoury chef, YouTuber and author.
“I very much look forward to visiting Lethbridge for the very first time. While I am at the show, I have three demonstrations planned. I have different recipes I’ll be preparing at each demonstration, so there’ll be no repeats. But I will tell you, yes there are samples,” says the television chef.
Olson appeared for two decades on “The Marilyn Denis Show,” as well as on the Food Network Canada shows “Bake with Anna Olson” and “Great Chocolate Showdown.” Her “Oh Yum” YouTube channel features classic content, including “Food Travel Diaries.” Olson’s latest cookbook “Baking Wisdom” was released in 2023.
Olson has appeared at quite a few shows over the years, she says, and it’s nice to see shows like the Lethbridge show coming back after the pandemic. “It’s nice, there’s renewed energy. We want to get out and see things, learn new things and engage with people. That’s what I love about these sorts of shows. I can’t get the same contacts I do when I am just posting on social media or doing a YouTube video.”
According to Olson, she has the best fans, especially the multigenerational fans – the bakers and the moms or grandparents who come with their children to see her at the shows, watch her television shows or follow recipes from her cookbooks.
“There’s such a great connection you make through baking. Between meet and greets and cookbook signings, we have a great opportunity to connect. I’m coming to Lethbridge and I can handle all your baking questions,” says Olson.
As for books, Olson says “Baking Wisdom” came out a year ago, but is considered current by cookbook standards because it takes two to two-and-a-half years to write a cookbook. “I’m already working on the next project, but I’m excited ‘Baking Wisdom’ will be available, and I believe a few of my previous titles will be available at the show.”
On YouTube, Olson’s “Oh Yum” channel features new content with a combination of live streams and new recipe releases released on a regular basis. Olson is also hosting a few trips in the fall and winter, including a Christmas Market Cruise in December, where Olson invites fans to join her on a culinary trip.
2024, Olson adds, is certainly an interesting time for evolving technology and how people get information and entertainment. “I just hold true to the style I have followed for years. I create my own recipes and I have a group of recipe testers who verify them for me.”
Olson says she’s played around with Artificial Intelligence too, but admits “you don’t get quite the same results as someone who gets in the kitchen and plays with a recipe and shares that information in a meaningful and personable way.”
The Southern Alberta Home, Garden and Leisure Show runs from Thursday to Saturday at the Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre. Olson will be offering demonstrations Thursday at 6 p.m. and Friday at 3:30 p.m. and at 6 p.m.