Meet Chef Jenny Burthwright and her wife, business partner and occasional sous-chef, Adrienne Keith

In celebration of Valentine’s Day and all things romantic, we caught up with the saucy couple behind Jane Bond BBQ for this month’s In My Kitchen feature. Chef Jenny Burthwright and her wife, business partner and occasional sous-chef, Adrienne Keith sizzle in and out of the kitchen. As their home kitchen is set for a renovation, we grilled them at their restaurant instead.

Photo by Mitch Kern

How well do you cook together?

JENNY: When we do cook together, we cook like a team – and by team, I mean Adrienne is my sous-chef (laughs.)

Who cooks at home?

ADRIENNE: Jenny mostly prepares the weekday meals in advance. Then I put it together while adding small touches to keep it interesting. A meal on a day off or a more special occasion is a combined effort: Jenny cooks the protein and I make the salads or other filler.

What does a romantic dinner look like for you?

JENNY: Eating with our hands and finishing off with a bike ride by the river with our two dogs.
ADRIENNE: Picnic meals with simple and rich ingredients, the winter version would be eating next to a fire.

What ingredient couldn’t you live without?

JENNY: Jasmine rice. It’s the base for most meals in our house.

What food is your guilty pleasure?

JENNY: Kraft Dinner. Although recently moved to a gluten-free version so it’s not as guilty….or at least I don’t suffer as much when I eat it.
ADRIENNE: Copious amounts of British and French cheeses.

What is your favourite go-to meal in under 10 minutes?

ADRIENNE: Ribeye steak and stir-fry. It helps having someone with knife skills in the house and premade sauces ready to go in the fridge to make it a 10-minute meal!

What’s your favourite restaurant in town (other than your own, of course?)

JENNY: In keeping with the theme of eating with your hands, we love Abyssinia Restaurant featuring Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. If you want to be transported to another place the ambiance, decor, loud warm music and coffee culture there will do it.

How do you cook differently at home than you do for the restaurant?

JENNY: BBQ has many processes from brining to rubbing to smoking for up to 12 hours. At home we keep it simple by mostly grilling and eating our veggies. Veggies can be a bit of a dirty word in BBQ culture (laughs.)

jenny