Chef returns to the kitchen for program that saved his life

Brad Smoliak will help organize a perogy meal as a fundraiser for the Mazankowski Heart Institute. The money will be used for a program that once saved his life

A retired chef is back making perogies, or varenyky, again in support of the program that saved his life.

Little Don’ya on Jasper Avenue is hosting a perogy meal on Feb. 10 as a fundraiser for the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute’s ventricular assist device (VAD) program.

Organizer Brad Smoliak, founder of Edmonton’s Hardware Grill, was born with a congenital heart defect and later received a VAD, or mechanical heart, when he developed late-stage heart failure.

“I”ve been a patient at the Mazinkowski … since my life started, so 60 years, almost," he told CTV News Edmonton on Monday between scoops of potato filling.

“They don’t let me pinch anymore,” he joked.

Nonetheless, he called it a “perfect” way to spend a Monday.

“Everybody’s sitting around the table telling stories.”

In his early retirement, Smoliak coached Don’ya staff – many of whom immigrated from Ukraine – on Canadian food production standards.

“He’d come here every single Wednesday and volunteer with our team…. We’re so grateful to him,” said Don’ya co-founder, president and CEO Janice Krissa.

“The women in the kitchen are overjoyed to be part of this because they’re really starting to become part of Edmonton. They want to contribute back. So many people helped them when they first came here.”

Smoliak said, “Ukrainians have huge hearts…. You think about everything that’s happened to them, but they’re still willing to give, and I think that’s pretty amazing.”

Tickets to the Heart Month Fundraiser Lunch cost $40, with 100 per cent of the ticket price being donated to the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute.

Smoliak and his family have set out to raise $1 million for the facility.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Klippenstein