Rouge executive chef Jamie Harling on sourdough perfection

Real, legit sourdough starters those living jars of kitchen-foraged wild yeast bubbling away as they nosh on flour and water are often referred to as "mothers".

The name could more aptly describe those who nurture and feed them, keeping them alive as they produce crisp-crusted, chewy-crumbed offspring.

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Bakers who breed and keep their own sourdough starters such asJamie Harling, executive chef at Rouge for the past three years tend to be overly devoted to them, timing their feedings and coddling them at just the right temperature.

Comparing bakers' notes

Harling has spent his past year or so at Rouge, since visiting Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, on a quest for the perfect sourdough loaf.

"Ive always been interested in bread, but we never baked our own in any other kitchens I worked in," Harling said.

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A chef friend gave him some tips, and the two began comparing notes and photos of their starters in various stageslong distance.

"Id send him a text at two in the morning,and hed respond at four," Harlingsaid.

The two sorted out issues of overfeeding and tweaked bakers ratios until he began producing a consistent loaf, with feeding and storing worked into their near-daily baking schedule.

All in the family

Growing up in Toronto, Harlings grandparents were enthusiastic cooks, hosting big family meals at their house.

"My grandmother is the one who taught me etiquette and manners and all that stuff," Harling said.

"My grandfather did everything. He made sausage, he was a hunter, he kept bees.

"They had a sailboat and wed spend most of our summers out on Georgian Bay, picking wild blueberries and fishing, so that had a huge influence on me. The more I cook, especially here, the more I see how much he has influenced me."

Every few months Harlingwould make sausage from scratch with his dad and grandfather.That recipe, tweaked slightly, is now on the menu at Rouge.

Cooking became Harlings part-time job while he earned a degree in sociology at the University of Guelph and attended George Brown College for a year, anyway.

Coming to Calgary

He left to move to Calgary fouryears ago, again following his older sister, chef Andrea Harling (previously of Brava Bistro, shes now vice presidentand executive chef at Made Foods, a new concept offering healthy, local, seasonal prepared meals to go from three locations that opened this past fall).

"My plan was to come out here for a bit and make some money before going traveling and doing some stages (stage is a French term for a sort of internship, where a chef or cook works for free in another chefs kitchen in order to gain experience and learn new techniques and cuisines)," he saidof his move.

He was the opening sous chef at Craft Beer Market, then traveled around Europe for sixmonths before heading back to Toronto.

"I moved home for a weekend, but it didnt last," Harling said. "I was there for threedays before I bought a plane ticket and came back to Calgary."

After working in a handful of Calgary kitchens, Harling was offered a job at Rouge three Decembers ago. By the following January he was sous chef, and took over as executive chef by June.

"It just kind of happened," he laughed. "It worked out well. Very well."

Sourdough is always in season

Harling has been a great fit for one of the citys most iconic and well-respected restaurants, allowing chef and co-owner Paul Rogalski, whom most associate with the Cross House, to get Bistro Rouge, their more casual location, settled in Signal Hill.

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Harlings sourdough is just one new contribution to the menu, which changes frequently.

"In Alberta, ingredients come in and out of season so quickly.You think something is going to be around for a few months, and its there for two weeks, so we need to showcase it the best we can," Harlingsaid.

"When asparagus is in season, we use it in everything, and then its gone."

As for the sourdough, its always in season - and now consistent enough to be part of the daily menu.

"Its fun," Harling said.

"In the three years Ive been here its probably the thing Im most proud of. When we get it right, its pretty fantastic."