Kary Osmond will have you chopping, stirring and grilling in no time.
This bubbly brunette with big blue eyes blends cooking know-how with passion and flare.
She’s the host of CBC’s new show Best Recipes Ever, airing every day at 3 p.m.
Osmond, 30, grew up in a home where cooking was like breathing. Her parents owned a Ukrainian deli and catering business in Mississauga, Ont., so almost everything they did revolved around food. It was natural for her to help out, chopping vegetables and rolling Swedish meatballs, even as a child. To this day, she thinks about cuisine all the time. “I sleep with cookbooks,” she laughs.
In fact, Osmond thought all kids cooked, until she went away to school, where she realized none of her roommates had the faintest clue how to cook rice. So she taught them.
Osmond attended George Brown College Chef School and has worked as a chef. She always wanted to do a cooking show, but realized it might never happen. “I thought: How will I get started? I have no credibility. No one knows me.” She took a job in marketing.
On the side, she planned a website for beginner cooks. She posted a temporary page showing her picture and bio. A recruiter for the CBC saw it and asked her to come in for an audition.
Believe it or not, the audition was Osmond’s first time in front of a camera. That freshness and spunk is what got her the job. “It’s a dream come true,” she says.
She was somewhat humbled after rehearsals, when CBC producers sent her home with a tape of herself, which she excitedly showed her husband. “I looked like a cooking show host on speed,” she laughs. “I wasn’t breathing or pausing. I was nervous.”
Osmond taught herself to simmer down. She’s now a veteran, with dozens of shows under her belt. Each show has a theme, such as Soup for Dinner or Best Three Appetizers. She chooses dishes from Canadian Living’s 30-year-old recipe library “Tested Till Perfect.”
“I’m having the time of my life,” says Osmond. “I’m so excited to teach Canada to cook. The recipes will turn out every time. I promise.”
