True Patriot Love - How a Small Alberta Restaurant Raised $134K for Nepal ft. Chef G & Tara

00:00:00.000 well it's been almost a year now since i enjoyed yak in the very restaurant that we are looking

00:00:10.880 into the window of right now in cochran alberta a beautiful place to dine in an amazing restaurant

00:00:17.280 uh and joining us the proprietors chef g and tara thanks for taking the time the restaurant is ama

00:00:24.240 Nepalese Cuisine, a beautiful restaurant.

00:00:27.480 Thanks for being here.

00:00:29.720 Namaste.

00:00:31.060 Namaste.

00:00:32.540 Thank you for having both of us on your show,

00:00:37.380 True Patriot Loves.

00:00:38.540 You know, it was great chatting you a year back.

00:00:42.360 And we are very happy to host you

00:00:45.600 and also to be on your show finally.

00:00:48.720 Thank you.

00:00:49.200 Awesome.

00:00:49.800 Well, thank you.

00:00:50.640 You've been on our mind.

00:00:51.600 I'm not going to lie.

00:00:52.560 It's one of my fond memories.

00:00:54.240 Alberta visiting Calgary not too far outside of the city core is this really

00:00:59.340 wonderful restaurant and now it's part of that experience we get to meet both

00:01:03.600 of you at which kind of harkens where this interview begins you know you came

00:01:09.140 to Canada from Nepal what was that journey all about why did you leave

00:01:13.240 Nepal and why Canada well I have to start on that part because she joined

00:01:21.240 me so canada was not on my head in the beginning you know i went to europe to do my cooking school

00:01:33.400 because that was something always uh whoever you ask europe is epicenter for a culinary hub you

00:01:41.880 know so i went to vienna doing my three years diploma i finished my course i was working with

00:01:49.640 different restaurants hotels just to shape my career around but I was I was very exploring

00:01:57.320 mind and looking for more excitement more opportunity and you know learning about where

00:02:05.720 to go next I think kicked myself a little bit on the back and someone while I was working

00:02:14.040 uh met somebody from canada you know showed me the pictures of rockies and and and and how beautiful

00:02:21.080 it is kind of gave me a little little bit of itchiness to explore more and also looking into

00:02:30.360 seeing north america was always on my head because i was starting to look uh you know ski lake louise

00:02:38.840 and all those things, and that, I think, brought me to Canada.

00:02:42.120 That was my initial stage.

00:02:43.720 I didn't know how it looked like.

00:02:45.640 I never knew what my experience would be.

00:02:49.220 So just thinking about Canada kind of made me, okay, pack my bags

00:02:54.640 and let's see what everything brings ahead of my move.

00:03:01.560 Hey, before we go any further, please hit the subscribe button right now

00:03:05.520 If you want the raw debates, the full uncut conversations you won't see here, head straight to tplmedia.ca, subscribe, and lock in your membership.

00:03:14.220 Trust me, you don't want to miss what happens behind the paywall.

00:03:17.200 All right, back to the show.

00:03:19.620 And so now you've studied in Europe, Vienna, of all places, but you hang on to your Nepalese roots for opening your own restaurant.

00:03:29.500 And, Tara, I haven't forgotten how you got to this place.

00:03:32.480 But I just find it striking that that was the choice that you made.

00:03:36.900 So now take me from arriving to Canada to where you are now with your very own restaurant.

00:03:43.780 Yeah, you know, I mean, I came here, did a little bit of travel and work in particularly for every immigrants, I would say.

00:03:56.060 You know, I started my journey in Toronto, in a bustling city, the busiest city in whole Canada.

00:04:05.100 I did enjoy it thoroughly. However, you know, immigration was very tough at that time. So,

00:04:09.820 I had to move to a smaller place. And all of a sudden, we went from Toronto to the East Coast,

00:04:18.060 Newfoundland. And also, I was not in the mainland. I was not in Ireland. I was more into the mainland,

00:04:24.300 which was labrador city a mining town very small town 34 35 100 people sorry and uh amazing place

00:04:34.380 uh you know we we stayed there three years uh worked in a small uh lodge with 22 rooms

00:04:42.140 uh a restaurant vlt machines and a lot of catering we used to do uh that's where i saved my

00:04:49.420 canadian journey uh you know where i did my permanent residence uh you know that's where i

00:04:55.660 called uh tara as well so she joined me in labrador so not a bigger city a small town uh it was

00:05:03.100 february month of february when she left oh my goodness uh minus 47 when she was there

00:05:09.820 oh and and there are the things we do for love my goodness wow that's that's how it all started with

00:05:17.740 us you know living fears in labrador did teach me a lot how difficult it was for even canadian

00:05:28.140 people to survive on such a harsh weather and also so isolated place yet being very happy

00:05:36.780 i think you know that was something very great lesson i learned from being on a small small town

00:05:43.980 And our beautiful daughter was born there, so she is always be called a Labradorian.

00:05:51.980 Newfie.

00:05:52.980 Or Newfie.

00:05:53.980 Yeah, that's the term.

00:05:54.980 Oh, that's, you know what, that's an endearing term.

00:05:57.980 To be able to be born in Newfoundland I think is a real charm actually in life.

00:06:03.980 So now I meet up with you in Cochrane, Alberta, which is also a very beautiful place to live.

00:06:10.980 What was the calling to take you to Alberta?

00:06:14.940 yeah we uh you know again i think that the opportunity uh being in a small town i did

00:06:23.020 what i had to do and opportunity did strike me one more time with a big brand hotel fairmont

00:06:31.660 in lake louise now see everything is connecting because i thought that when i was in europe

00:06:37.500 and now when i was in labrador lake louise actually uh you know they they had an opening

00:06:44.220 at the fairmont property and i did apply and i got accepted within two weeks so that that vision that

00:06:51.900 vision board in your mind of what canada might mean for you suddenly snapped into place exactly

00:06:57.500 off to alberta you go yeah and packed our bags again uh with two-month-old daughter

00:07:05.420 Tara had to go on a mat leave to Nepal just to see family as well until I settled in properly

00:07:13.400 in our new home in Alberta so that's how it all started so Cochrane was much later but I would

00:07:21.940 say Alberta was first and then you know shipping our way around she came back from Nepal she

00:07:30.540 started working with bank and i was still doing my thing in the hotel as a chef so i climbed my

00:07:37.820 ladder bit by bit and then we had to move from lake louise to uh to calgary that was our kind

00:07:49.180 of you could say almost like a permanent home that's when we we had our second born my son

00:07:57.980 there as well so this has become now you you are way more canadian already than i am i think and

00:08:05.740 i've been here several generations but you've covered a lot of canada in a short period of time

00:08:10.860 uh and you've had children in various parts of the country with various experiences very different

00:08:19.020 backdrops i actually think that's a a really incredible story that you're building here

00:08:23.900 and now i find you in cochran in a restaurant i mean if you're a chef at lake louise you could

00:08:30.540 choose any cuisine you like but you actually made an effort to bring your culture to alberta and

00:08:39.580 i must compliment you it is a very whole cuisine nepalese experience but

00:08:44.780 tell us why why did you do that why make that choice

00:08:47.500 we yeah i mean that's that's the very personal and emotional part of our story because uh

00:09:02.060 living your home country and coming to a new uh country uh building your life

00:09:08.700 as all newcomers to Canada can attest to is not easy it's it's very challenging and it lots of

00:09:21.180 questions come you know about who you are what is your identity you know what are your vision or

00:09:29.280 what are you passionate about what are your values right so you know we we're here we have kids we

00:09:37.560 have our jobs, you know, it's great. But at the back of our minds and in our hearts, we still miss

00:09:48.780 home. I can understand that. It is that uprooting that it's a spiritual uprooting, not just a

00:09:58.940 physical uprooting when you go and lay down roots someplace else. Ask your children when they

00:10:04.620 sometime might leave canada they'll have that same feeling where you're born is is how you feel first

00:10:13.100 the restaurant is a beautiful uh tribute to your mom amma yeah true is there a special item on the

00:10:21.900 menu dedicated to your mom uh i would i would have to go with the the platter i think you guys also

00:10:29.980 enjoyed that we did a goat platter so nick you recall producer nick we're just sitting here oh

00:10:37.100 yes it was delicious uh we had a lot of uh we had a lot of yak that day too so maybe maybe the yak

00:10:43.340 the goat platter became uh second uh second favorite probably yeah okay okay but i will

00:10:51.580 it is with the with the platter because you know growing up we always had staple food which is

00:10:59.180 your rice your lentil your curries your protein which could be chicken or goat or anything other

00:11:06.780 else so you know that was like a daily meal your lunch your dinner so we call it the soul

00:11:15.420 we call it soul soul food of nepal so also called known as dalpat and i think that is that is what i

00:11:24.620 ideally say that the speciality of ama now now we're going to talk about something wonderful

00:11:31.260 that you've done uh during such a terrible time for nepal and we'll get to that in a second but

00:11:37.020 just on on the restaurant note for one moment one if if you have not had yak and you're thinking

00:11:44.540 i'm not sure if i'd have yak have yak but it's difficult because you actually had to make an

00:11:50.620 effort to make yak available to you tell me how you had to do that you know what it's a very funny

00:11:58.220 story um when so again um we decide to do the restaurant and we say okay no we have to do

00:12:07.660 Nepalese because we want to represent Nepal, our heritage, our country, the culture.

00:12:15.180 And so on the menu, we kind of have a representation of different ethnic groups.

00:12:23.820 The Momo is from Kathmandu, the Niwari culture, right? The Tavi is kind of national, but can be

00:12:29.900 different in different parts of the country. Taruwa Ekwant is from the Tarai, from his family.

00:12:37.660 And then when we came to the north, to the Sherpa people, we're like, oh, I tell him they only have potatoes.

00:12:46.420 And of course, we have like aloo chili and potato salad on the menu. 0.99

00:12:51.080 And he said, they have yak.

00:12:53.140 We can do yak.

00:12:53.840 I was like, how are you going to get yak here?

00:12:56.440 Right?

00:12:57.200 It's like, it's impossible.

00:12:58.480 It is a bit of a far-fetched order.

00:13:00.720 I have to be honest, Chef G, you know?

00:13:03.100 Absolutely.

00:13:03.540 Absolutely. So now where do you go into the deep woods of Alberta to find yak?

00:13:10.600 And then we found the yak farm just two and a half hours away from here, just north of Cog.

00:13:16.680 And we're like, yeah, in Canada. Right. And then we call the farm. Hey, we want to put some yak on our menu. 0.72

00:13:26.640 do you do meat uh so he mostly did uh you know like yak wool and uh he has yak hides and then

00:13:34.880 he did a small shelf at a like a community natural food store uh in calgary and then we call him up

00:13:42.880 and said we want to take yap and put it on our menu and he's it's it was like such a happy find

00:13:49.120 and a connection especially because we don't eat beef in nepal cow is our national animal

00:13:57.760 and majority of nepali people are also hindu people so cow is a national animal plus a sacred

00:14:04.640 and to find yak here and then have a beef alternative on the menu for our local people

00:14:11.200 to explore and it's local so we're adding the sustainability part of the business model

00:14:21.360 it has been great and i keep telling people our yak farmer is not a sherpa as you would think

00:14:30.080 he's actually a cowboy okay so that's a different spin on the whole yak experience yeah absolutely

00:14:37.520 So it's well, that's fantastic. I love that. You know, you might know that I recall that story from having eaten there and thought, where do we get yak? Fantastic. Now, let me just let me make a sidetrack and take a moment and say, you know, on behalf of everybody at TPL Media.

00:14:58.020 And because we have so many Nepalese people that work among us, luckily, and that's how often business goes, we were shocked and saddened by the recent events in Nepal, as many people around the world were.

00:15:15.660 But you made a response that had a real impact. 0.97

00:15:19.260 You did something called the Momothon.

00:15:22.280 Tell me how this operated and what the net results of it were.

00:15:28.020 Enjoying the conversation on TPL?

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00:15:43.240 We are, as you said, very, very deeply saddened by what happened.

00:15:48.700 And it has, I don't think we've seen the scale of damage that any natural disaster has done

00:15:58.920 like it has done in Nepal and how fast and how furious that glacial collapse was.

00:16:05.920 It looked like the story from Bible of the flood that came and washed away all civilization, right?

00:16:14.160 and we made our donation to the prime minister's disaster fund that the government of nepal

00:16:23.920 created and we felt very sorry and this is what we can do we'll donate and we'll pray and hopefully

00:16:32.800 you know we will um that that was it you know in the beginning because that was that was how

00:16:39.600 we felt but we could not speak for many many days and many many nights thinking

00:16:47.840 and looking and watching the videos and what came out on social media and we

00:16:52.380 said we have to do more we have to step up and you know do more contribution than

00:17:03.060 what we could absolutely and this is something that you know while having dinner we just decided

00:17:11.060 and said okay how can we do it and we have something called momo thorn trek to everest

00:17:21.860 that we started a couple years ago since since the opening of our restaurant so this is something

00:17:27.860 you know somebody comes to the restaurant buys that momo phone trick to Everest menu and then

00:17:36.420 they get a draw into you know in all expenses all expenses paid trip to Everest base camp so

00:17:45.620 this is something like saying thank you to our community our guests our clientele that they

00:17:53.060 could experience uh you know on our behalf of our country culture food at the same time and

00:18:01.540 this was still running and what we said why don't we bring this into a fundraiser theme that you

00:18:10.420 know we could bring more uh more donations that we can raise and then send it back to

00:18:17.620 back to the affected families so this is how the whole concept is started for us so on the weekend

00:18:24.100 how did this how did the mobile thon take place explain the uh the physicality of it and then

00:18:30.740 let's talk about how well it did because it's very impressive it was amazing and cochrane is such a

00:18:36.420 special place you know it's it's a community that really comes together and supports each other and

00:18:42.500 and we're very, very lucky to be here.

00:18:44.880 So for the Momathon Trek to Everest, the fundraiser part,

00:18:49.500 we actually added the iconic Trek to Everest experience

00:18:53.880 at a horizontal scale here behind us

00:18:58.360 in the community we live in.

00:19:01.420 So it was 3.5 kilometers family-friendly walk.

00:19:06.060 And interestingly, without intention, again,

00:19:10.160 just the way the universe works and makes things happen the total uh walk beacon 3.5 kilometers

00:19:16.720 which translates into 11 000 and change in feet now the height of mount everest from everspace

00:19:25.340 camp to the summit is 11 000 and change feet so basically people who did the marathon check to

00:19:33.360 everest here summited mount everest on the flat uh that's incredible the same steps that's a very

00:19:42.960 now that's how you make a real connection with why you're there you know uh that cultural connection

00:19:50.160 just in footsteps alone is a really beautiful way to represent what you're doing absolutely

00:19:57.120 and people had lots of fun they came they had already pre-ordered the momos so we had about

00:20:04.160 319 319 yeah ordered the momo so that so that many entries went into the trip to nepal contest

00:20:12.080 we have yet to do the draw and announce who that lucky winner is and then the people who went on

00:20:19.360 the walk we had shelter box who is the beneficiary uh of all these funds that we have raised because

00:20:26.480 they're doing amazing work on the ground already in Nepal helping so many families and so all in

00:20:34.240 all the trip to Nepal the momathon the online donations and auctions we have raised $134,000

00:20:45.680 thanks to the community coming together that's correct Cochrane way to go way to go and fantastic

00:20:53.280 Thank you, TPM Media, for being part of that, too, and for your donation and support.

00:20:59.760 Delighted.

00:21:00.340 Now, for anybody who's just seeing this, of course, the event is over.

00:21:04.780 That's incredible.

00:21:05.920 Congratulations.

00:21:06.620 Well done.

00:21:07.660 What a beautiful gesture you've made for your country.

00:21:10.660 People still want to get involved.

00:21:12.040 Is there any way that people can still donate to the cause?

00:21:15.640 Absolutely.

00:21:16.300 Our donation page on Seltabox is still live.

00:21:19.180 is there a way for us to send a link you can put it in the description in the description below for

00:21:26.700 sure and it's just you just click a button and then you donate every dollar you donate is going

00:21:33.540 to go back to the people who need help right now because winter is coming and we have found out

00:21:41.960 now that uh most of the families or people who are missing or have been declared dead were men

00:21:50.600 already working in the factories along the riverbank uh in the hydro tunnels that got buried

00:21:56.840 and now the women and children that are left behind do not have the homes they used to have

00:22:02.760 and they don't have the land that they used to work on so basically they have nothing so

00:22:08.280 So they need more help.

00:22:12.000 So if anybody can donate and support us, we will be very, very grateful.

00:22:17.640 We are grateful to you.

00:22:19.680 And on behalf of the staff, the Nepalese staff here and my partnership, also from Nepal,

00:22:26.080 what you did really struck a chord in us.

00:22:29.840 And then to have the connection that we love your restaurant so much, by the way,

00:22:33.580 AMA Nepalese Cuisine, Cochrane, Alberta, I recommend you go.

00:22:38.080 Nick, double thumbs.

00:22:39.860 Yeah.

00:22:40.560 And the platter, both of the platters are delicious.

00:22:43.840 The momos are incredible.

00:22:45.200 In fact, just start on one side of the menu and make your way down the other side after a short break.

00:22:51.680 Chef G, Tara, I thank you for joining us and for your efforts.

00:22:57.320 You are great Canadians.

00:22:58.480 We appreciate this.

00:23:00.120 Thank you.

00:23:00.560 Thank you for having us.

00:23:01.260 Thank you very much.

00:23:01.740 Thanks for having us.

00:23:03.180 We'll encourage you to make a donation and help out the people of Nepal.

00:23:06.360 All the link will be found in the description below.

00:23:09.880 We'll see you next time.

00:23:11.100 Thank you.

00:23:11.680 See you next time.

True Patriot Love - October 12, 2026

How a Small Alberta Restaurant Raised $134K for Nepal ft. Chef G & Tara

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