Sensory Adventure and Foodie Show & Tell

On Wednesday I attended the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals ) Toronto Grassroots Event, Sensory Adventure and Foodie Show & Tell, hosted by Arlene Stein and Dana McCauley.

Cheese from About Cheese

After some wine and schmoozing, Cole Snell from About Cheese started us out with a little presentation of cheese followed by a tasting. Liking what I was hearing while the cheeses were being presented, I turned to my friend David and joked (well, half joked) that I was having a “cheesegasm”. I enjoyed most of what I tasted but what stood out was the sweet butter (from Thunder Bay?), an aged cheddar, the Figaro and the Celtic Blue- if that’s the cheese I’m thinking of, brie-like with a blue vein.  There was no Red Leicester, Red Windsor, Camembert or Venezuelan Beaver Cheese (in case you didn’t pick up on it, that’s Monty Python’s Cheese Shop sketch).

I wish I’d taken notes because there was a lot of interesting information presented. For example, which cheese you’re not allowed to transport from Quebec to Ontario, artisan cheese makers in Ontario and Quebenc, and pasteurized milk cheeses vs. unpasteurized milk.

Charcuterie

Lots of cheese later, we were schooled on charcuterie by Mario Pingue of Niagara Specialty Meats (Pingue Prosciutti). In an article at Gremolata, Carlos Fuenmayor referrs to Pingue as the “go-to guy for local prosciutto”. Beautiful prosciutto was wrapped around thin bread sticks, and small rounds of three types of salami lay a plate. I didn’t take notes on the varieties, but there were two that I liked, one that I wasn’t crazy about. All three were better than those kosher salamis I ate as a child. Incidentally, I told someone about the prosciutto in an email yesterday and when it ran the spell check, Outlook didn’t recognize “prosciutto” and instead suggested “prostitute”.

Local, fresh ingredients

I had some great conversation and felt inspired. It was great to finally meet Arlene – who I’d exchanged emails with in the past – and Dana. Wish I’d had more time to talk to Dana but she had to fly off to Winnipeg for a day. Met and briefly chatted with Dana’s husband, chef Martin Kouprie of Pangea Restaurant. It’s one of those restaurants that’s close to where I live – about 4 blocks away – but I’ve never been. I guess I should now.

Also chatted with Peter of kalofagas.ca, who brought out a small sample of …?, a thin meat product that had a sheen to it and tasted of cumin, curry, allspice and other spices. “Kalofagas” is greek for “gourmet”.

Cookbook author Margaret Webb told my friends and I (well, mostly my friends) about her new book Apples To Oysters, and made us guess which farmed food product she associated with which Canadian province in her book. Jodi scored admirably. I had recently read something about the book.

The lovely Rebecca LeHeup-Bucknell told me about her organization, The Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance. What a fantastic organization. Reading the organizaton’s website made me giddy because it is so inline with my interests and speaks to the Ontario government employee in me and the former non-profit professional/professional advocate in me.

As I said, I left inspired. (And with cheese and bread.)

Foodie Tweetup

Oh, the many uses of Twitter. One of my favourite uses is for the planning of social events.

@spotlightcity (Suresh Doss) of Spotlight Toronto and @TOfoodie (Andrea Chiu) recently had the idea for a “foodiemeetup”. What was an idea grew into something big (search “#foodiemeetup” on Twitter). Nearly 100 people, mostly Twitter users, gathered on the patio of Brassaii on what turned out to be a gorgeous day.

Beer tickets were handed out for pints of Steamwhistle beer and raffle prizes were up for grabs: A Day At Elbulli signed by Ferran Adria, two Tea Emporium prize packs, a Nikon digital camera, and a gift basket from Pantry. I was two numbers away from winning that and it’s the prize that I really wanted, filled with fleur de sel, maple syrup, maple vinegar (an upgrade replacement from the cider vinegar), and two other items that I’m forgetting. Suzanne was the lucky winner.

I spoke to Pantry owner Greg Bolton for awhile over at the wine table and promised to come over to his end of College Street some time. It’s an easy streetcar ride away, but it feels far. I’ve been aware of Pantry for awhile and see them represented at food events, where they sometimes sample their products. Greg and I spoke of food blogs, food writing, food writers, running a store and more.

“Wine table”? Oh yes. There was a wine tasting courtesy of @liffordwine & Craggy Range Winery. I tried a half dozen wines- 2 whites and four reds (?) and liked the Sauvignon Blanc the best. A light wine with notes of straw and citrus.

But the food! How about the food?! (Or, this is a food blog, isn’t it?)

I opted for the “pre-theatre” prix fixe menu. Choice of daily soup or Brassaii Salad, choice of main course, choice of White Chocolate Orange Crème Brûlée or flourless chocolate torte.

The soup was a Moroccan chickpea with crème fraiche (at least, I think it was creme fraiche). The Brassai Salad, a lovely mixture of mixed greens, pear, stilton, walnut, and honey lemon vinaigrette.  Among the entree options: The “vegetarian special of the day”, which was mushroom risotto,  seared salmon with lemon crème fraiche with green beans and fingerling potatoes, roasted chicken with piri piri sauce, basmati rice and green beans, and brassaii bistro steak with shallot jus and fries.

Moroccan chickpea soup

I chose the soup and the risotto, although I also considered the salad and the salmon. The risotto came with greens (arugala? I forget) on tops, which is why I chose the soup. Both were excellent. Nice, earthy mushrooms in a creamy risotto. I tasted the salmon. It was cooked more than seared and looked dry but it tasted really good.

The highlight of the meal? The Crème Brûlée. I could smell the burnt sugar before I tasted it, which made it more of a sensory experience. The torched topping always looks beautiful. And then the perfectly creamy interior that contrasts with the crunch of the burnt sugar layer. I’m getting excited thinking about it.

Crème Brûlée

The food was outstanding and the service impeccable. My server, Drew, managed to find me most of the time even though I was flitting about.  Even when there were slight mixed ups with orders they were taken care of promptly and with a smile and sense of humour. No one seemed to mind when the wrong plate was set in front of them.

The restaurant isn’t cheap, with appetizers running from $8 for the soup to $13 for the Crispy Shrimp (though they gave a special price for this event) and mains starting at $13 (for mussels and fries) to $39 for the ribeye. It couldn’t become a regular habit for me. However, as a special treat it was worth it and for those who can afford to go regularly, I say do it.

More photos:

Crab cake

beef tartare

flourless chocolate torte

I look forward to more food events like these.

Eat well, be well.