I don’t know about brunch. It’s neither one thing nor the other. It takes up the heart of a day and callously obliterates the need for afternoon tea. Then again, a really first-class brunch party is pretty splendid. We threw such an event on Sunday in Jamie Kennedy’s event space at the Gardiner Museum, as part of the VISA Infinite Dining Series. The sun shone; the Kevin Cody Trio played mellow jazz; three California wine houses from the Central Coast provided a broad array of rare and delectable wines, some of which could be guaranteed to please a late-morning palate while others seemed like much more unlikely candidates. And Chef Kennedy did us more than proud. All in all, I would say this was the best brunch I’ve ever eaten.
From the outset, I was reminded of the words of English journalist Guy Beringer, writing in 1895 in a magazine called Hunter’s Weekly: “Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” That was the first ever use of the word “brunch” and it’s interesting how the concept caught on – and how the mood of it hasn’t really changed very much in the intervening 115 years. From the beginning, brunch was as much a party as a meal, which is one good reason why bubbly is the drink most associated with it. We served a good one – Bogle Vineyards Clarksburg Brut Blanc de Blancs 2009 – crisp, biscuitty, with a citrus edge. It worked beautifully with the little hors d’oeuvres Kennedy created before our very eyes – blinis made with Red Fife wheat flour fried at the station in the dining room and topped with a dab of crème fraîche, a teaspoonful of a salad made from finely shaved radishes and onions, a slice of lightly smoked local pickerel and a garnish of whitefish roe from Georgian Bay – gorgeous apricot-coloured caviar that is one of Ontario’s finest home-grown treats.
Then we sat down and I began to eat my weight in Chef’s freshly baked Viennoiserie of croissants, scones and brioche with crème fraîche and blueberry jam while our wine guests introduced themselves – Jody Bogle, charming proprietor of Bogle Vineyards; Walter Whyte, Sales Director of Peachy Canyon Winery (his wry wit had the room in stitches); and Scott Montgomery now regional manager for the Americas of Delicato Family Vineyards.
Kennedy’s next gambit was a fabulous oyster stew made with plump, demurely flavoured Caraquet oysters from New Brunswick simmered with sliced fingerling potatoes and onion in a broth made with Delicato’s Fog Head Highlands Chardonnay and cream, all seasoned with chives, black pepper and nutmeg. It was beautifully judged, luxe but not too rich, the nutmeg lifting the hint of minerality in the oysters’ flavour. We tasted two wines with it – the Chardonnay, which was full-bodied, ripe and oaky, and Bogle’s 2009 Chenin Blanc, lighter, aromatic and crisply acidic. Somehow the soup enhanced the fruit in the Chenin, making it an even more inspired choice. The crowd was unanimous in their appreciation of Kennedy’s skills as a sommelier but wondered about the next course – a bright spring salad that Chef had decided to pair with Bogle Vineyards 2009 Pinot Noir and Peach Canyon 2009 Viognier.
We showed have known better. Kennedy was batting 1000 that morning. The salad was basically made up of anything Jamie could find at this dormant time of year – some leafy lettuces from local hydroponic greenhouses, some crisp radishes and juicy, bittersweet endives from Cookstown Greens. He tossed the leaves in a creamy vinaigrette, scattered brioche croutons over them, and finished with a strewing of finely chopped, crisply fried, unabashedly salted shallots. If bacon ever needs an understudy in the garnish department, those shallots would win the role. They lifted the salad into the same league of flavour intensity as the wines. The Viognier (the only white Peachy Canyon produces) turned out to be massive – off-dry, very alcoholic, with plenty of acidity and a nose of ripe star fruit and yellow plum. The Pinot Noir seemed delicate by comparison, smoky, earthy, a blend of Russian River and Clarksburg fruit with an elegant structure under its merry cherry greeting.
The next dish brought in two inevitable bruncheon ingredients – eggs and cheese. In this case, Kennedy had made a quiche-like tart featuring Monforte Taleggio cheese and little flecks of smoked bacon from his bacon guy, Fred Martinez in Sebringville. He surprised us all by adding another component to the course – a perfect chicken galantine stuffed with chopped leeks. But it was the sauce on the plate that picked up the gauntlet thrown down by the wines – a rich, smooth, fiery red sauce made from last summer’s red peppers and tomatoes. It came out with its dukes up ready to fight Peachy Canyon’s suave Westside 2007 Zinfandel and Delicato’s complex 2008 181 Merlot but ended up hugging them both. None of us could decide which wine worked better so honours were shared.
Debbie Levy from the Dairy Farmers of Canada borrowed the mic to introduce the next course – a little plate loaded with creamy, unctuous Bella Casa Burrata, drizzled with honey, and a fine nippy 8-year-old cheddar from Maple Dale. Kennedy had chosen to serve Peachy Canyon’s inky, extracted, 2007 Petite Sirah, a wine full of deep dark thoughts about the soul of blackcurrants and blueberries. Maybe it was the salted crackers and toasted hazelnuts but the wine worked magnificently with the creamy burrata – a total surprise for many.
After that it only remained to finish off the finale, a strudel made with the last of the autumn apples from 2010 and the first baby-pink forced rhubarb of 2011 paired with maple ice cream.
There are still some Dinner Series events left, though you have to be a VISA Infinite card holder to qualify for tickets. I’m looking forward to emceeing dinner at Fabbrica with Mark McEwan on April 26 and a more casual Chef Experience with Langdon Hall’s Jonathan Gushue at The Market Kitchen at St. Lawrence Market on June 15. More details at www.visainfinite.ca.