What the hell have I been doing?

Author's avatar Shawn Genge
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I’d like to apologize for lack of content the past 6 weeks, we have been extremely busy between a cruise in Mid November, to my 60th Birthday, and Christmas. The past 6 weeks have been a whirlwind . Over the holidays, I will try and post some new recipes that include Christmas favorites and tell you about a couple of adventures that myself and Monica have been on. The reviews will begin again in the new year, my regular job that pays the bills has been keeping me busy and this has been on a slow simmer. I ask those who have tried my recipes please post on my Facebook Page. I appreciate all the feedback and any suggestion you might have. As I am writing this, I am 38,000 feet somewhere in Ontario on our way to Nova Scotia

Coming in 2025, we are spending 4 days in New Orleans and attending the Mardi Gras festivities, this is a bucket list item for me, from the food to the parades and the entertainment. In May we travel to Spain to spend time in Barcelona , Rome, Naples and Florence another bucket list item.

As we get close to Christmas , hoping all our families, friends and followers have a great Christmas and Happy New Years. To all the people supporting on this, I say “Thank You”. To Monica, I couldn’t do this without you and your support.

I am fortunate enough to have had some amazing Chefs to work under and some that were challenging to say the least. But I have one gentleman who will always be near and dear to me. Bob Mulrooney was a chef I worked with in my early years as an apprentice. It was in 1984 when I first worked for Bob, we were working at the Cluff Lake Uranium Mine in Northern Saskatchewan. We worked together for 18 months before I left to attend Hotel School, the knowledge I learned I still use today. Those who knew Bob, he was gruff, cantankerous, but he had the biggest heart in the world. If you worked hard for Bob he would look after you no matter if you fucked up, he would always have your back, he would be annoyed with people who didn’t pull their weight. He liked me I guess because of my work ethic, skills and loyalty, which is hard to find in today’s Kitchen brigade. One of the things that I will always remember, the first Christmas I worked way from home at Christmas I was feeling kind of shitty not being with my family but he told me about his Christmas as a child, “ Shawn if we didn’t have Christmas Hampers and help from the community I wouldn’t have Christmas “. That always stuck with me, I think a donated 50 dollars that year to the Christmas Hamper program Bob was donating to. Some of you that know me, also knew Bob, those who don’t he was bigger than most with his generosity and his heart. And he was a gentleman that lit up a room every time he entered . Fast forward to 1998 I once again was working with Bob and I suggested to him to keep the tradition alive and we adopted a family, we raised money at work and bought gifts and food and made 1 or 2 families a good Christmas experience. We continued to work with Edmonton Edmonton Catholic Services until 2010. In 2010 I had a discussion with Edmonton Catholic Services and they changed the hamper program and we opted out. I am a member of Edmonton Iron Indians Pontiac Club, with discussions with our club president Dave Scragg with combined our efforts to donate to more families with my work family and my car club family and with Holiday Hamper Program. It was a success , this year we had donations close to $13,000 dollars. From that one conversation in 1985 ,39 years later Bob’s legacy is still living

Bob Mulrooney 2005


Adopt a Family/ Holiday Hamper.

Usually the end of November at our Pontiac Club Meeting, we decide on how many families we want to help and the size of the families. This year it was 7 families, 3 small, 3 med and 1 large family. A group email was sent out to my work families this years some of our vendors who normally drop off of Christmas gifts at our office we asked them to donate to our Adopt a Family’s.

Fast Forward to a week before Christmas, the Pontiac Club goes shopping for gifts for the families. My work team goes food shopping and then a day before delivery we put together the hampers. It’s a crazy busy, stressful, but heart warming day. Delivery day we load up 7 trucks full of groceries and toys and head to Northlands to pick up our Turkeys and get the addresses of our adopted families.

Adopt a Family though the years

2016

  • 2017
  • 2018
  • 2019
  • 2020 Fuck Off Covid
  • 2021
  • 2022
  • 2023
  • 2024

Some great memories of the past few years of Adopt a Family. Bob hope you are smiling down on us this Christmas, we have kept it alive. Merry Christmas Everyone!