CALL THEM PURISTS , craftsmen or just plain flavour-crazy, but chefs and bartenders across the West are giving up the convenience of pre-made condiments for the artistry of making their own. And what may
be bad news for the folks at Kraft is good news for foodies who are discovering that a special condiment can take a dish or a drink from everyday to extraordinary.

Still, you may wonder why anyone would take the trouble to make Worcestershire sauce when Lea & Perrins already does it so well.
"You have full control of your ingredients and you know what you’re serving your patrons," explains Mark Brand, co-owner of Vancouver’s Boneta(1 W Cordova St., Vancouver, 604-684-1844, boneta
.ca), where the house-made Worcestershire adds piquant spice to handcrafted Bloody Marys. "You can have a drink here that you
cannot have anywhere else in the world, because the only bottle
of this is right here."

There are other pluses, too, for restaurants: saving money, reducing waste, learning new skills and rediscovering historical tastes-from quince to sarsaparilla to neroli oil. "There are a lot of old flavours out there that people have forgotten about," marvels Stephen Quigley,
bar manager at Stage (1307 Gladstone Ave., Victoria, 250-388-4222, stagewinebar.com), who uses all of the above exotic house-made flavourings.

Everything that can be made in-house is, at Mark Brand’s newest venture the Diamond, a speakeasy/restaurant recently opened in a historic Gastown building (6 Powell St., Vancouver, di6mond.com). There’s a house Worcestershire sauce as well as handmade syrups, herbal tinctures and exotic bitters, including star anise, clove and cumin. "I’ll add two little drops of my own bitters," Brand says, "and it will make the entire drink explode."

Guests can experience a wholly different sort of taste explosion at Madison’s Grill in the Union Bank Inn (10053 Jasper Ave. NW, Edmonton, 780-401-2222, unionbankinn.com), where executive chef Blair Lebsack has skipped the Heinz to go his own way with condiments that taste powerfully of the fruit and vegetables they’re made with. "We make our condiments to go with our lunch burger," he says-including homemade ketchup. Pickled vegetables, compotes, onion marmalade, fig jam and buttermilk crackers for his cheese board are also on the house-made list.
Chef Cam Dobranski is cooking up unique flavours to go with the cheese and charcuterie platters he serves at Winebar Kensington (1131 Kensington Rd. NW, Calgary, 403-457-1144, winebarkensington.com): think sweet yellow tomato ketchup, fragrant white-peach-and-balsamic compote and quince butter with its distinctive flavour of not-quite-apple, not-quite-pear.

In fact, charcutiers like Salt Tasting Room (45 Blood Alley, Vancouver, 604-633-1912, salttastingroom.com) are known for their creative ways with compotes, mustards, pickles and other sweet-tangy-spicy accompaniments for cured meats and cheese. And why not, when a chef’s other main outlet for culinary creativity is his skill with a slicing machine?

Even something as mundane as the salt you sprinkle on your frites can be improved with a chef’s innovative hand. At C Restaurant (1600 Howe St., Vancouver, 604-681-1164, crestaurant.com) the kitchen has created a line of flavoured sea salts, including jars of cold-smoked sea salt. Just a small sprinkle adds a whiff of beachside bonfire to any dish.

For chefs like Bernard Mirlycourtois, who grew up and studied his craft in Burgundy, learning how to make their own condiments is nothing rarefied, but simply part of the art of cooking. In his eponymous restaurant (188 Princess St., Winnipeg, 204-942-7332, mirlycourtois
.ca), the care with which he makes his own rich, lemony mayonnaise and cocktail sauce for crab keeps his loyal customers coming back.

For other chefs, including bar chefs, making condiments is an eye-opening experience that links them to the history of their creations. When Quigley decided to make his own cola for a truly handmade Cuba Libre at Stage, his batch came out citrusy, floral and altogether more interesting than "the real thing." The high-concept cola was Quigley’s imaginative response to the Cuban trade embargo. He winks: "I just thought it would be fun." And that’s the best reason of all to start whipping up condiments from scratch. wl