Ty Kotz
© PAUL CHENEY

Cooking with Costco

The holidays often mean a surge in cooking and baking. Whether you’re a professional chef, recipe developer or home cook, you need fresh, reasonably priced ingredients. Here’s a look at some recipes from chefs and recipe developers who use Costco products. Try them out for your holiday table and discover a new favourite.

by Jen Madera

Looking for something new to cook this season? How about a gourmet meal made with Costco products, featuring curated recipes provided by Costco members. Plus, get to know the experts behind the recipes. Whether you’re cooking for yourself, your family or a crowd, try a dish or two from food industry professionals.

Private dining

Ty Kotz, a professional chef based in Charleston, South Carolina, shops at Costco regularly for fresh ingredients to use in his cooking. “What I love about the Costco products is the quality. The price too, but mainly the quality,” says Kotz. With more than 30 years of experience, Kotz has cooked in New York City restaurants, and now offers high-end dining experiences in people’s homes as a private chef. “Costco offers some great items around this time of year,” he adds.

Briny delights

Bryan Fordham of St. Andrews, New Brunswick, shops at Costco for salmon because of its size. “When selecting salmon to smoke, it is important you buy salmon that is thick,” he explains. Now retired, Fordham has been a professional chef for 60 years. In 2010, he volunteered with the former Canadian Executive Service Organization to teach students at the Nizhny Novgorod Hotel School in Russia. “I was assigned for three weeks to teach the culinary students Western culinary skills,” Fordham adds. While there, Fordham taught the students his recipe for salmon brine. He promises the recipe will be a crowd-pleaser: “Friends will ask you for your method of curing.”

The meat of it

“Costco often carries unique and specialty items that can add flair to my dishes,” says Ilan Dagan, a chef based in Kanata, Ontario. “I usually find imported cheeses, gourmet sauces, international ingredients or specialty cuts of meat at Costco. These items can elevate my recipes and introduce new flavours and textures. The possibilities are endless. I love being creative and having fun experimenting,” he says.

Dagan is an alumnus of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, has 25 years of professional experience and has cooked in several five-star restaurants around the world. Dagan calls his recipe for lamb “a perfect cut for your holiday dinner … the end result is a juicy piece of meat that’s almost falling off the bone.”

From top left: Ilan Dagan, Debra Borchert, Bryan Fordham, Kasyndra O’Kane
© FROM left: © XAMTIW / STOCK.ADOBE.COM; ANDREW FOGG; BERRY EDWARDS; BRYAN FORDHAM; KATRINA BISSON

Good eats—and good reads

Debra Borchert praises one of Costco’s most popular items: the rotisserie chicken. After she’s enjoyed it as a meal, she repurposes what’s left: “I simmer the remains in water overnight in a slow cooker and strain the liquid for a rich, robust stock I use in most of my soups.”

Borchert is a novelist and cookbook author based in Bellevue, Washington. She even developed soup recipes to include in her book series, Château de Verzat (debraborchert.com/recipes; not available at Costco). “I rely on Costco for most of the ingredients,” Borchert explains, detailing how she roasts organic vegetables from Costco in Kirkland Signature™ Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil to make a puréed base for her soups.

As sweet as pie

As a pastry chef with 11 years of experience, Kasyndra O’Kane says shopping at Costco warehouses ensures high quality—at an affordable price. “I can trust that the ingredients I purchase from Costco meet my stringent standards for taste and freshness. This assurance allows me to plan my holiday menu with confidence, knowing that I’m serving delicious dishes while staying mindful of my budget,” O’Kane says. “Costco’s dedication to affordability and quality aligns perfectly with my approach to budget-conscious meal planning during the festive season.”

O’Kane, a graduate of The Culinary Institute of Canada who lives in Rusagonis, New Brunswick, particularly enjoys using fresh fruit in her holiday baking: “From juicy berries and luscious stone fruits to zesty citrus varieties, Costco’s seasonal fruit selection offers both variety and affordability.”