Kim Franklin opened Highlevel Diner in 1982 with the goal of sourcing healthy and organic local ingredients for a menu of hearty meals, right down to the condiments.
In addition to being one of the first restaurants in Edmonton to focus on local and organic foods, Highlevel Diner was also one of the first to make its own ketchup, which Franklin explains has been an integral part of the restaurant since it opened 32 years ago.
The original ketchup recipe was developed by the restaurant’s first chef, Jon Christoff. Though some aspects of the recipe have changed over time – it’s now gluten-free and vegan – essential ingredients such as red peppers, garlic, onion and red wine vinegar have remained the same. The popularity of the ketchup quickly grew, and it was even featured when the Food Network show You Gotta Eat Here! paid a visit.
“We had customers asking for the ketchup to go, and we would fill soup containers with it for our customers,” says Franklin. “That’s when we had the idea to start bottling it.”
Highlevel Diner began bottling its ketchup in 2011. It sells for $7 a bottle in the restaurant. The ketchup has become a popular holiday gift.
The popularity of homemade ketchup has spread around Edmonton, with long-established restaurants like Tasty Tom’s on Whyte Avenue and relatively new ones like Daravara and Dovetail Delicatessen on 124th Street developing their own recipes.
Daravara chef and owner Shane Loiselle explains that he likes his house-made ketchup to taste closer to what people expect ketchup to taste like, though his ingredients are less than traditional.
“I actually use whiskey in my ketchup and it gives it an extra bite,” says Loiselle. “We also use tomatoes that we smoke in-house that are normally used for our sandwiches. It took me a few weeks to come up with the recipe, but I was able to create a nice flavour balance that people have responded well to.”
The concept of in-house condiments has even spread to Edmonton’s food trucks.