first word the thinking behind it
first word the thinking behind it
Creativity is everywhere in a city. Sometimes it is obvious— in beautifully designed spaces, an artful plate of food, or a striking display that catches your eye from across a store. But often, it is happening behind the scenes, in the minds of people who are continually thinking about how to make something better, more useful, more beautiful or simply more interesting.
That is one of the things I love about Winnipeg. Creativity is woven into so many of the small businesses we discover and champion at Ciao! It is in the ideas behind a new restaurant, in the way a retailer creates an experience, and in the thoughtful merchandising details that may not be immediately apparent. It takes a certain inventiveness to develop a product, open a business, create a memorable meal or turn a familiar space into something that feels completely new. Behind the finished project is an unseen process of imagination, ingenuity and decision-making.
Our annual Ciao! Kitchen Design Competition is perhaps the most literal expression of design in this issue. Once again, Winnipeg homeowners and the professionals they collaborate with have transformed kitchens into spaces that are as individual as the people who live in them. The winning designs demonstrate that a kitchen can be both highly functional and beautifully considered, with materials, colour, lighting, storage and layout coming together in thoughtful ways. We are pleased to reveal this year’ s winners in these pages. The grand prize winner will also have the pleasure of welcoming Chef Yoni Mehari of Fabled Table into their new kitchen, where he will prepare dinner for six— a fitting celebration of a space designed for cooking and gathering.
Creativity takes a different form in food sources. Shelf Appeal looks at Manitoba food producers who understand that before shoppers can fall in love with what is inside a jar or package, they first have to be tempted to pick it up. Good design can be the beginning of discovery, and local producers are finding imaginative ways to make their products stand out.
IntheKitchen shines a light on a creative culinary process. In A Table in Season, Chef Cameron Hornby turns his attention to ingredients that define this time of year. Behind the beautifully prepared wild rice risotto is a chef considering how to make the most of what is fresh and plentiful, and finding a new way to present something familiar. This combination of skill and curiosity is what keeps dining interesting.
Last course wraps up the issue with a tribute to a local artist. Autumn’ s Flame showcases a work by Heather Gillespie, reminding us that inspiration can come simply from looking closely at the world around us. An artist can make us pause and see the brilliant fall colours of the trees in a new way.
Perhaps that is the greatest gift of imagination. It can begin with a clever idea, a thoughtful detail or a decision to approach something familiar differently. It changes the way we experience the things around us, whether at home, at the table, in a store or in a gallery.
For us at Ciao!, discovering those moments is part of the fun of publishing this magazine. We get to look closely at the people and places that make Winnipeg interesting and then share those discoveries with readers who appreciate the ingenuity happening all around them. This issue is our invitation to notice a little more of what makes this city special.
Laurie Hughes, Publisher
ciao! / oct / nov / two thousand twenty-six 3