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Archive for the ‘Gold Medal Plates’ Category

Vancouver Gold Medal Plates

17 Nov

On the podium in Vancouver – thanks to Ron Sombilon for the image

Go west, young man! That was the gist of my upbringing in the old country. How appropriate, then, to finish the 2012 Gold Medal Plates campaign in Vancouver. It was a fine affair, with Adam van Kouverden, our emcee, coaxing touching tales and much hilarity from a host of athletes, the direct beneficiaries of the room’s largesse through the Canadian Olympic Foundation’s Own the Podium program. The music was equally inspiring, thanks to Jim Cuddy, Dustin Bentall and two (count ‘em) dazzling violins (one each) in the hands of Anne Lindsay and Kendel Carson. What will become of us all now there are no more Gold medal Plates to look forward to until the cut and thrust of the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna next February 8 and 9?

Ten chefs competed last night to join us there, four of them from out of town, and the gastronomical standards were remarkably high – one highly original and delectable dish after another, paired with some splendid wines. But before we get to the nitty-gritty, I’d like to thank the eminent team of judges who worked with me to determine the medallists. We have two Senior Judges in Vancouver, both alike in dignity: the international wine and food judge, Sid Cross, and the esteemed restaurant critic, editor, author and educator Andrew Morrison. With them, we sat down alongside a mighty parliament including author, chef, entertaining expert and Raincoast cracker queen, Lesley Stowe, all-star gastronome and proprietress of Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks, Barbara-Jo Macintosh, chef, restaurateur and culinary icon John Bishop, and last year’s gold-medal-winning chef, Rob Feenie. A potent posse indeed. In the end we all agreed on the four best dishes, then the three best, and finally the winner, though the marks separating those chefs who reached the podium were separated by mere percentage points.

Chef Angus An’s awesome bronze medal dish

Our bronze medal was awarded to the first dish of the evening, created by chef Angus An of Maenam. He offered a Vancouver version of a classic southern Thai dom gati but using salmon instead of the traditional dried and salted flakes of kingfish. And what salmon – so delicately smoked with coconut so that the fish was as soft as a silk pillow! The plump fillet lay hip-deep in a broth of coconut milk spiked hot and sour with fresh tamarind leaf, tamarind paste, fresh herbs and hanks of julienned green mango. Chef An had taken the fish’s skin and deep fried it to a crisp, enhancing the effect with powdered lemongrass that echoed the tang of the broth. On top of that he spooned salmon roe and green kaffir lime pearls and he found a brilliant wine match, pairing perfectly with the acidity of the dish – a tangy, intense, slightly off dry 2011 Riesling from Cedar Creek.

Chef Quang Dang’s divine silver medal dish

Our silver medal went to Quang Dang of West Restaurant and Bar who chose to work with duck. First he made a finely chopped confit of the tasty leg meat which he rolled into a drum and seared in a pan to give it a crispy surface beneath a subtle Pinot Noir glaze. He cured and smoked the breast and sliced it as thin as silk, setting little curls of the meat around the plate. There are apricot trees at the Foxtrot winery and Chef Dang picked the fruits in their season, using them last night – a half apricot preserved and then scorched to add a fascinating bitterness to the sweetness, little crisps of apricot as crunchy decoration. The third component was a smooth, savoury purée of Agassiz chestnuts, bridging meat and fruit, and there was a wee mound of breadcrumbs fried in the duck fat in the traditional English accompaniment to a game bird. Scrumptious! And also beautifully matched to the splendid 2009 Pinot Noir from Foxtrot.

Chef Mark Filatow’s luscious lamb took the gold

And then there was the gold medal… The winner was Mark Filatow of Waterfront Restaurant & Wine Bar in Kelowna (I can only imagine the local support he can expect next year at the Championships!). Reading the description of his dish, the judges were excited to see he was cooking lion – a first for Gold Medal Plates – but it turned out to be a typo for loin – part of the tender little lambs from Bar ‘M’ Ranch that provided the protein on the plate. The loin was simply but perfectly prepared, grilled over charcoal but still pink and juicy. Close by on the plate was a thick chunk of merguez sausage made from the lamb’s shoulder and the neck meat cooked sous vide in chef’s chosen wine. The third component was a dainty lozenge of lamb belly braised with a subtle touch of Moroccan spices. We had a piece of roasted baby heirloom carrot and a tiny “doughnut” of deep-fried mashed potato the size of Cleopatra’s pearl – and no sauce to mask the elements. None was needed, the meats being so moist and intricately spiced. Chef Filatow’s wine was another remarkably accurate match – the 2010 Syrah from Orofino’s Scout vineyard in B.C.’s Similkameen Valley.

So there you have it – the tenth chef has been chosen for the  Championships next year. It’s going to be a battle royal in the Okanagan and I can’t wait to see what our competitors come up with!

And now here is the wine report from Gold Medal Plates National Wine Advisor, David Lawrason:

The Okanagan’s Shining Moment

The wineries of the Okanagan have been the backbone of Gold Medal Plates events this season, certainly at all six events west of Ontario.  And so it was fitting that Okanagan winemakers and chefs were in the spotlight at the last Gold Medal Plates event of the regular season in Vancouver. Chef Mark Filatow of Kelowna’s Waterfront Restaurant & Wine Bar waltzed off with the Gold Medal, and the wonderfully natural, compact yet elaborate Nichol Vineyard 2010 Syrah from Naramata was the unanimous choice of four wine judges for Best Wine of Show.  Made from only 17 rows of syrah nestled below a granite cliff, Nichol Syrah will forever be an iconic wine in my mind, as the first syrah I tasted from the Okanagan (the 1995 vintage).

The Best of Show Award was created to highlight the generous donation by Canada’s wineries to the chefs and to other programs within Gold Medal Plates. The wines are judged on their own merit independent of the food pairings. In Vancouver I was joined by three fellow Canadian Wine Awards judges. Treve Ring, of Victoria is one of the rising stars on the west coast wine scene, an accomplished writer with three local food and wine magazines.  DJ Kearney is one of the great wine educators in North America, living in Vancouver where she is undertaking the arduous task of studying for her Master of Wine designation.  And we were also joined by good friend Anthony Gismondi, wine columnist for the Vancouver Sun, and co-host of the Best of Food and Wine with Kasey Wilson on AM 650.

It was a particularly difficult judging with some of the region’s best wines uncorked for the 400 guests. The silver medal wine – Le Vieux Pin’s 2011 Ava – is an intriguing, beautifully appointed blend of viognier, marsanne and roussanne given minimalist oak ageing by winemaker Severine Pinte, who was trained in the south of France where these grapes thrive.  In close third was the brilliant, barely off-dry CedarCreek 2011 Riesling with subtle nectarine, lemon and petrol flavours finely honed by Darryl Brooker.  This wine also carted off a bronze medal paired with an exotic Thai dish by Chef Angus An of Maenam.   The Chefs Silver went to Quang Dang of West Restaurant and Bar who paired with the very sensual Foxtrot 2009 Pinot Noir from Naramata,  and Mark Filatow’s golden choice was the profound and powerful Orofino 2010 Scout Vineyard Syrah from the Similkameen Valley.

At the VIP Reception guests enjoyed Trius Brut from Niagara, a consistent Canadian Wine Awards gold medal winner from Andrew Peller.  The company sponsored two other wines this night as well, a surprisingly delicate, poised Red Rooster 2011 Pinot Noir and the very refined, penetrating Sandhill 2011 Small Lots Viognier (both of which were on judges’ radar as finalists).  Andew Peller has been the largest winery supporter of GMP nationally in 2012.

The Okanagan Crush Pad, another national sponsor, provided the nuanced, dry and very pretty Haywire 2010 Gamay Rose to the Celebration portion in several cities.  The good folks at Burrowing Owl Vineyards chipped in with the well-constructed Figure Eight 2010, a blend of cabernet, merlot and syrah.  From Quails’ Gate, which has been most generous in multiple cities as well, we had the vibrant Quails’ Gate 2010 Pinot Noir. And from Hillside Vineyards in Naramata guests enjoy the very rich, impressive Hillside 2010 Syrah. As well, special guests at Deloitte sponsors tables enjoyed L’Acadie Vineyards Vintage 2010 Cuvee Sparkling, made by former Okanagan winemaker Bruce Ewart at his winery in Nova Scotia.

So it’s on to the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna for Orofino Syrah and the Gold Medal winners from nine other cities across Canada.

 

 
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St. John’s Gold Medal Plates

10 Nov

On the podium in St. John’s. Thanks to Maurice Fitzgerald for the image

We always fly into St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, knowing we can expect a mighty good party (followed by a fabulous after party (or two)) and we were not disappointed. The hospitality was open-armed and it was a pleasure to give a little of it back through our event, which seemed to delight the sold-out crowd of 400. Seamus O’Regan was our affable and witty emcee, ably assisted by Marnie McBean. Musically, we had one of the best, most rocking, awesome sets of the campaign with Barney Bentall, Anne Lindsay, Ed Robertson and Alan Doyle (you should see him in front of his home crowd – much dancing in the aisles). Jim Cuddy was away, playing a gig in Barcelona (that city may have been recently humbled by Glasgow on the football field but they deserve some fine Canadian music), but sent a phone message, allowing the good-natured but fierce banter between himself and Ed Robertson to continue even in absentia. Ed goes on our auctioned trip to Provence, Jim goes to Tuscany, and the rivalry is intense.

So was the chefly competition last night. Joining me on our adjudicatory panel was Senior Judge, television, radio and print journalist, Karl Wells, together with chef and educator Bob Arneil, restaurateur, food consultant and stylist Kitty Drake, columnist and all-round food guru Cynthia Stone, chef Todd Perrin from The Chef’s Inn and (coming next spring) Mallard Cottage restaurant, last year’s St John’s gold medal winner, Chef Mike Barsky, and a visiting guest judge, the Senior Judge of both our Saskatoon and Regina events, author and broadcaster CJ Katz who was in town promoting her new book and was invited to join the table. For once, in St. John’s, there was no clear runaway winner, with only a few percentage points separating our top four contenders.

Chef Roary Macpherson’s dish won the bronze medal

The bronze medal went to Chef Roary MacPherson of Oppidan. He called his dish “Cheek on Tongue” – and why not, since that was exactly what we found on the plate – a small, succulent and tender slab of beef cheek set upon a slim slice of braised tongue, both bathed in a rich brown gravy. On top of the meats lay a breaded and deep fried egg yolk and chef urged us to cut into it so that its yolk might seep down over the beef cheek. Across the plate stood a cuboid panna cotta nicely nippy with Five Brothers blue cheese and chef had hollowed out the top of it and filled it with tiny, sweet pink pearls that tasted of Ribena blackcurrants. A stripe of honeyed carrot purée fairly sang with flavour. For his wine match, Chef MacPherson chose a big, mature 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend from Blasted Church Vineyards in British Columbia.

 

Chef Mark McCrowe’s dish won the silver. Thanks to CJ Katz for the image

 

Our silver medal was awarded to Chef Mark McCrowe of Aqua Kitchen/Bar (and now also of The Club, his brand new spot for steak, oysters and beer). He too named his dish, hitting upon the title “Newfoundland duck at the pub.” There were three components, starting with half a sturdy Scotch egg made of finely ground duck sausage packed around a cooked quail egg, its yolk (deliciously) not quite set. Beside the Scotch egg were some ribbons of pungently pickled carrot, onion and beet and a broad stripe of roasted beet ketchup. The second component was a “shepherd’s pie” of juicy duck confit topped with a layer of parsnip-and-potato purée and crowned with a thick slice of very tender and flavourful duck breast that had been smoked with Tetley tea leaves. The final element was a suave take on the old Newfoundland tradition of a Jiggs dinner – normally a one-pot boil of salted meat and root vegetables with a pease pudding cooking in a bag inside the pot. Chef McCrowe turned the idea on its head by combining salt duck and vegetables into a dainty terrine and turning the pease pudding into an ethereal mousse with the infusion of a little foie gras to further ennoble its texture. It was a most original plate and a fine match to the fresh, fruity 2011 Gamay from Malivoire in Niagara.

Chef Shaun Hussey of Chinched Bistro won the gold

And so to our gold medallist, Chef Shaun Hussey of Chinched Bistro. Two major proteins shared the limelight on his plate, one a medallion of cod that parted into moist petals as I cut through the shoelace-thick ribbons of fried potato that encircled the fish. Beneath it was a hank of soft “braising greens,” a local term for beet tops or other tops that are slowly braised. The second element was a sort of timbale of ham hock, the hock slowly cooked until the fat melted and the flesh fell apart and the skin turned almost to jelly. Then chef chopped everything up, pressed it and cut out cylindrical portions. On top of this delicious mountain was a teaspoonful of a tangy and sweet smoked apple relish. Serving as sauce for both components, a cider-brown-butter vinaigrette was most successful. Chef Hussey’s wine was an equally smart choice, the lightly oaked 2010 Sketches Chardonnay from Tawse, in Niagara.

All ever so scrumptious and our congratulations to all the chefs. It’s Shaun Hussey who will join his fellow gold medallists from across the country in Kelowna next February together with the victor from our last and final event of the campaign, next week in Vancouver.

And now, here is the St. John’s GMP Wine Report, recording the Best in Show judgements of Tom Beckett (wine educator, wine taster, and wine writer with over 30 years experience professionally pairing wines with food), Steve Delaney (President of the St. John’s Chapter of the Opimium Society and regular wine columnist for The Telegram), and Karl Wells, who stepped in at the last minute to replace GMP’s National Wine Advisor, David Lawrason. Karl has been producer of the wine cellar segments for the Rogers TV program, One Chef One Critic, for five seasons. He also writes about restaurants, food and wine for The Telegram. And it was Karl Wells who penned this report…

The Gold Medal Plates St. John’s 2012 event featured a fifty-fifty split between whites and reds. Most whites leaned slightly to the sweet side, while most reds leaned toward the dry and light. As might be expected this meant there was also a fairly even split between seafood and meat dishes.

Our top three choices broke down this way. “Best in Show” was Trius Riesling 2009, paired with a de-constructed Newfoundland Jiggs Dinner prepared by Chef Chris Chafe of Magnum and Steins. Next came the boldest wine of the night, Blasted Church Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2008 served with Sheraton Chef Roary MacPherson’s dish of Beef Cheek and Tongue. Third place went to Tawse Sketches Chardonnay 2010, paired with Chef Shaun Hussey’s Gold winning dish of Potato Wrapped Cod with Pressed Ham Hocks, Local Braising Greens, Smoked Apple Relish and Whole Grain Mustard Jus from Chinched Bistro.

The remaining slate of wines at Gold Medal Plates St. John’s 2012 included Flourish Riesling Vidal 2010 paired with Chef Edward Farrell’s (Portobello’s) Duo of Halibut, Prospect Riesling 2009 with Chef Stephen Gugelmeier’s (Delta) Corned Duck in Juniper Brine with Cabbage Seedlings, Homemade Corn Bread, Foie Gras Mousse beside Mushroom Duxelles, Tarragon Mustard, Malivoire 2011 Gamay with Chef Mark McCrowe’s (Aqua) Newfoundland Duck at the Pub, Pelee Island Pinot Noir Reserve, 2009 matched with Chef Chris Riche’s (Oliver’s) Smoked Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin, Braised Pork Ravioli, Braising Jus with Cherries, Local Parsnip Puree, Local Beetroot, Roasted Cipollini Onions, Squash and Apple Relish and Parmesan Chip.

And, finally, Colio Estate Lake & Rivers River Rock Red 2009 accompanied Chef Peter Wedgwood’s Grilled and Glazed Black Tiger Prawn on a Soft Polenta and Peas Pudding Pillow with Lester’s Farm Carrot Butter and Goat Cheese Brûlée; Cod Wrapped in Moose Salami, Smashed Peas a la Fancie and a Turnip Chip; Wild Game Slider with Chanterelle Mushroom Ragout and Partridge Berry Chutney on a Salt Beef, Savoury and Balderson Biscuit.

Guests at the Olympian tables were also treated to L’Acadie Vineyards 2010 Vintage Cuvee Brut from Nova Scotia.

 

 
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Montreal Gold Medal Plates

08 Nov

On the podium in Montreal. Thanks to Julia Lehmann for the photograph

What a perfect venue we found for this year’s Montreal Gold Medal Plates – the sharply modern Science Centre in the Old Port with its splendid view of the old city! Van Houtte has one of its cafés in the building so the team did not have far to come to set up its coffee kiosk in our VIP area, alongside two of our other sponsors, Victoria Gin and Iceberg vodka, both offering fine cocktails to start the evening. Scores of athletes mingled with the crowd and the evening ended with great music from Alan Doyle, Sam Roberts and fiddler Jonathan Moorman. By then, celebrations were well under way at the stations of three of our competing chefs.

The root cause of all this joy was the panel of judges led by Senior Judge Robert Beauchemin, restaurant critic, food writer, author and professor of anthropology, very ably seconded by chef, educator, author and fine-dining critic of the Montreal Gazette, Lesley Chesterman, writer and restaurant critic Gildas Meneu, author, educator and broadcaster Mme. Rollande DesBois and chef, restaurateur and Canadian Culinary Champion Emeritus Mathieu Cloutier. Mathieu had volunteered to take the place of the man we had expected to share the judging – last Year’s gold medallist, Jean-Philippe Saint-Denis – for poor J-P was stircken with a throat so sore he was unable to swallow and was excused his judiciary duties. Those duties, though delightful, were not without a degree of ardour for the chefs presented us with a succession of highly original dishes. In the end, however, we reached a happy consensus.

Chef Marc Cohen won the bronze medal

The bronze medal was awarded to a Kentishman, Chef Marc Cohen of Lawrence. His dish is simply described though it was fascinating to taste. He began by baking a superb and entirely classical apple tart tatin, the pastry perfect, the caramelized apple almost as soft as jelly. On top of this he laid a thick slab of pig’s cheek that had been salted, rinsed and then confited sous-vide with a little cider vinaigrette. It was an unequivocably rich notion, the slice of almost pure fat on top of the sweet dessert, but it played wonderful games on the tongue, as sweetness and saltiness and occasional tangy moments flickered across the palate. Chef Cohen chose a fine match – the refreshing, robustly flavoured Trois Pistoles ale from Unibroue.

Chef Antonio Park took the silver

Our silver medal went to Chef Antonio Park of Restaurant Park who created a dish he called Iqaluk O-Nigiri. Imagine a giant piece of nigiri sushi piled high with extra toppings. At the base was a combination of several different rices – brown rice, both husked and unhusked, mountain rice and quinoa – delicately and sweetly vinegared. On top of that was a generous slice of arctic char that had been very briefly poached so that its texture was as soft as silk, dressed with a little maple syrup sauce. Then came a white purèe of tofu and cauliflower and a scattering of black Spanish caviar. Crunchy shreds of daikon kimchi and filaments of crispy nori were the crowning glory but there were more curiosities on the plate – capers that had been fermented for two years and a few drops of a remarkable soya sauce flavoured with blue crab. Chef Park explained that he creates this sauce by literally drowning a live crab in soya sauce and then fermenting the result. Indeed, it did have a uniquely benthic flavour. This was a dish of many subtle sweet and salty nuances. The wine Chef Park chose cast a benign smile over all of them without really engaging them, the well-balanced, limpid 2010 Pinot Gris from Blue Mountain in the Okanagan.

Chef Darren bergeron seized the gold medal

There was considerable emotion in the room as our gold-medal winner was announced. Chef Darren Bergeron, now running his own food emporium called Fou D’ici, has competed many times in Gold Medal Plates, winning several medals but none of them gold. Last night his dish was unassailable. On one side of the bowl was a thick slice of veal tenderloin, its edges slightly coloured from a few seconds in the pan but basically still red and raw. On the other was a white cylinder that we first thought must be a scallop but which turned out to be a cunningly disguised roll of white albacore tuna. A little sheet of house-made tofu lay under the veal and the two proteins were decorated by a hank of glistening golden filaments – threads of calamari jerky in a sweet-and-sour glaze. The sprouts and seedlings various pulses added some earthy flavours and Chef Bergeron finished the dish by appearing at our table with two brimming cafetieres and pouring a little broth into each bowl – a delicately sweet radish broth spiked with kimchee juice. A final detail was the dab of fiery English mustard high on the rim of the bowl – there if needed for the veal. Another complex dish but the wine match was very successful – the light-bodied, gently fruity 2011 Gamay from Malivoire in Niagara, Ontario.

Congratulations to Chef Bergeron! The Montreal judges reckon that he will be a hard man to beat at the Canadian Culinary Championahip next February in Kelowna!

 

 
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Ottawa Gold Medal Plates

06 Nov

Chef Jamie Stunt flanked by a pantheon of Olympians

Gold Medal Plates Ottawa was the best evening any of us could remember in the Nation’s Capital, a sold-out crowd of 400 filling the National Arts Centre, delighting in the company of a medal-crusted host of Olympians. Musicians were clustered onto the stage – Ed Robertson, Barney Bentall, Sam Roberts, Anne Lindsay and Alain Doyle all giving their all. Adam van Koeverden shared bilingual emceeing duties with Sylvie Bigras while the judges thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, presented with a series of fascinating dishes.

Our stellar judiciary in Ottawa consists of Senior Judge, author, editor and restaurant critic, Anne DesBrisay, author, television star and truly the culinary ambassador for Canada, Margaret Dickenson, Culinary Olympian, international gastronomic judge and executive chef of the House of Commons, Judson Simpson, food stylist, teacher, author and columnist, Pam Collacott, culinary guru and president of Thyme & Again Creative Catering, Sheila Whyte, and last year’s gold medallist from Ottawa-Gatineau who went on win it all in Kelowna, the Canadian Culinary Champion, Chef Marc Lepine.

This year, the line-up of chefs included several established stars and also many of the city’s coming generation; in the end, all three of those who reached the podium were new to Gold Medal Plates. Our bronze medal was awarded to Chef Jonathan Korecki of Sidedoor Contemporary Kitchen and Bar who took great pride that everything in his dish was sourced within 60 kilometres of his restaurant. In pride of place was wild turkey, farmed over the provincial border in Quebec. Chef made a brined ballotine of the breast, the sliced meat moist and pink with a surprisingly delicate flavour. He confited the leg meat and hid it inside a kabocha squash dumpling, propping it up against a fluffy mound of “doughnut bread pudding.” Brussels sprout leaves, perfectly cooked, were the accompanying vegetable but the big flavour on the plate came from “YOW curry,” named for Ottawa airport, which was less of a curry than a fairly smooth-textured chutney made with local ingredients such as spruce tips, apple and cranberry. Chef’s chosen beverage coped with this pungently tangy condiment very well – it was a hoppy IPA called 2012 Blonde Ale from local brewery Kichesippi Beer Company.

Chef Jason Duffy’s dish took the silver medal

Chef Jason Duffy of Arc Lounge.Dining won the silver medal. He presented an impeccably timed morsel of B.C. ling cod pan-fried in brown butter – a succulent and juicy piece of fish. Beneath it we found a mushroom cake – a breaded patty of farmed and foraged mushrooms from local purveyor Le Coprin – and a slender mushroom crisp for textural variation. There was a dab of green tomato chutney – the tomatoes picked in chef’s own family garden. Working as much more than a base were slices of a lightly smoked “porchetta” of cured and roasted pork belly. Dots of basil juice thickened with apple added colour to the plate and a scattering of “earth” turned out to be a mixture of dehydrated and powdered pickled cherries and fennel pollen, very tasty and tangy. A lot of flavours on the plate but Chef Duffy’s wine match was masterful – the 2010 County Pinot Noir from Norman Hardie Vineyards and Winery in Prince Edward County. Somehow the wine reached out and formed a separate but utterly convincing relationship with each component on the plate.

Chef Jamie Stunt and his yak won gold

Our gold medal went to Chef Jamie Stunt of OZ Kafe who achieved a number of GMP “firsts” last night. His principal protein, for example, was yak, raised at Tiraislin Farms near Lanark – the first time a chef has offered yak at a Gold Medal Plates event, though Chef Stunt puts it on his menu from time to time. For us, he rubbed the tenderloin with his own steak spice mixture and pan-seared the meat perfectly, leaving its crimson, almost ostrich-like character intact. A loose remoulade full of chunks of fresh prawn was a very successful sauce for the meat and beneath it was a thick slice of tomatillo, breaded and fried that contributed lovely, juicy moisture to the dish. Elsewhere on the plate we found a paper-thin slice of beauty heart radish, little mounds of pickled shallots and kohlrabi dressed in a smoked boar vinaigrette, hints of cilantro and Thai basil and a final dusting of dehydrated steak spice. Aiming for another first, Chef Stunt collaborated with Ashton Brewing Company and created a unique beer to match his dish – a beautifully balanced brew flavoured with Lemongrass and kaffir lime. Some of the spent grains from the brewing process went into the breading on the tomatillo slice, further strengthening the bond between dish and drink. It was a clever, original and flawlessly executed plate.

Congratulations to all the Ottawa competitors! Especially to Chef Stunt who will now be going to Kelowna in February to join the fun at the Canadian Culinary Championship. Tonight – Montreal!

And now… Here is David Lawrason’s Wine report from the Ottawa event:

County Wines Storm the Capital

As the six great Canadian performers and over 400 guests ended a grand night in the nation’s capital they sang O Canada as if it was the Game 7 Stanley Cup final between two Canadian teams. Never heard a better public rendition! Perhaps here in Ottawa they simply sing it more often. Or perhaps it was fuelled by a bit of pride in the offerings of the chefs, winemakers and brewers who came to play and compete on this most spirited Monday night.

The wine, beer and spirit selections hailed from producers from coast to coast, with the heart of the matter being wines from four producers in nearby Prince Edward County, and two small Ottawa brewers. And it was the vibrant, complex and concentrated Norman Hardie 2010 County Pinot Noir that shone, winning the Best of Show Wine, Beer and Spirits Award,  and also taking a silver medal for being so artfully matched with the excellent ling cod and mushroom cake creation by Chef Jason Duffy of Arc Lounge.Dining.  A profound and powerful Hidden Bench 2010 Chardonnay from Niagara’s Beamsville Bench came a very close second, unanimously, while Closson Chase 2011 Sans Chêne Chardonnay wowed us with its balance and depth for third place.

The Best of Show Award has been instituted to boost recognition of the great donations by Canadian wineries to Gold Medal Plates and our Canadian athletes. In Ottawa I was joined by two local judges –  well, sort of local. Michelle Rempel is our first-ever duly elected wine judge, an MP for Calgary Centre North who has completed her Diploma Level of the WSET program. She approached the task with enthusiasm, rigour and considerable charm.  And from Gatineau we were joined by the very earnest and good natured Martin Rémillard, a sommelier who has launched a very successful wine education and consulting career after having been an SAQ product consultant for many years.

As well as the award winning County wines from Norman Hardie and Closson Chase, guests were treated, during the sit-down Celebration portion, to another County Classic.  Caroline Granger, one of the driving spirits of PEC, arrived with her Grange of Prince Edward 2007 Diana’s Block Pinot Noir, a wine entering prime time with lovely harmony and maturing woodsy flavours around solid cherry fruit.  Also served during the Celebration was the very, elegant, sleek Sue-Anne Staff 2011 Riesling from Niagara called Loved by Lu, with Sue-Anne herself joining us for the festivities. Also from Niagara, Pillitteri donated a delicious, ripe 2010 Cabernet Franc, and from B.C.’s Okanagan Crush Pad the refreshing and surprisingly nuanced Haywire 2010 Gamay Rosé.  And to complete the coast-to-coast representation the Olympian tables enjoyed the lacy and racy L’Acadie Brut from L’Acadie Vineyards in Nova Scotia.

At the VIP reception, guests were treated to products from three producers who have so generously signed on as national sponsors – Trius Brut sparkling wine from Niagara, Victoria Gin from Vancouver Island, and Iceberg Vodka from Newfoundland.

Other wines and beers served with chefs included a pair of medal winning beers; the bronze chef winner Kichesippi 2012 Blonde Ale, and the gold medal chef winner Ashton Brewing Company Somerset Special. Elsewhere along chefs row, guests enjoyed Karlo Estate 2010 Quintus, Huff Estates 2011 Merlot and Lailey Vineyard 2011 Unoaked Chardonnay

With its gold medal win in Ottawa, Ashton Brewing Company earns a berth at Canadian Culinary Championship in Kelowna Feb 8 and 9.

 

 
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Saskatoon Gold Medal Plates

04 Nov

On the podium in Saskatoon! Thanks to David Stobbe for the photo

To Saskatoon yesterday for another triumphant Gold Medal Plates affair. Winter has already set in the heartland and the beautiful park around the broad and dignified South Saskatchewan river was shrouded with fresh snow. This did not deter our sold-out crowd of 500 eager guests who made their way to Prairieland – or the dozens of athletes who flew in to take part, led by emcee Adam van Koeverden, bronzed from a recent trip to Mexico. Jim Cuddy and Ed Robertson provided the music – and a deal of entertaining badinage besides – and as the judges emerged from their lair, all deliberations done, we discovered a gratifyingly energetic auction in progress.

The core of our judiciary had also judged in Regina – Senior Judge, author and broadcaster, CJ Katz, author, journalist and broadcaster, Amy Jo Ehman, writer, chef and poet, dee Hobsbawn-Smith, restaurateur and gastronomic guru, Janis Hutton, and last year’s Gold Medal winner, Chef Anthony McCarthy of the Saskatoon Club – who was clearly itching to compete again.

Nine chefs cooked for us, all but one of them working with meat and red wine and, as has been the case in every city so far, it was immediately apparent that culinary standards had once again risen. The marks between second, third and fourth place were really close – barely two percent separating the three chefs, but a clear winner emerged ahead of this tight and talented pack.

Chef Moe Mathieu won bronze

Chef Moe Mathieu of White Birch Catering won the bronze medal. He built his dish around excellent, moist duck confit, using some to fill a rolled crepe, the pancake streaked with savoury cocoa. The confit also centred a loose cassoulet together with tender, red-wine-braised beef, flecks of double-smoked bacon and three kinds of bean, including one heritage variety called Trail of Tears that chef had grown himself. A tuile arch spanned much of the dish, the delicate biscuit scented with lemon and stained with mustard. There was a mound of intensely flavourful carrot and cumin purée while a stripe of a tart, purple sour-cherry-cider reduction added dramtic colour to the plate. The finishing touches were a refreshing tomato concassé tumbled over the beans and decorative sprinkles of two kinds of powder, one made by crushing a parsley crouton, the other one liquorice dust. Chef Mathieu told us that he had begun by picking the wine he wanted to pour and built the dish around the fennel, cherry and spicy flavours he found in his choice, the robust and delicious 2009 Sangiovese from Sandhill Estate in B.C.

Silver went to chef Trevor Robertson

Chef Trevor Robertson of the Radisson Hotel won the silver medal with a particularly good-looking dish. At its heart was a thick slice of pan-seared foie gras and a small fillet of Chilean sea bass, its skin crisped, turned into a powder and then used as a crust on the fish. Backing up such luxe proteins was a soft risotto, also enriched with foie gras, and a tasty green pea purée that worked particularly well with the sea bass. A pretty little salad of frisée, beet shoots, baby nasturtium leaves and edible flowers brought in all kinds of subtle chlorophyl flavours while a truffled beurre blanc added a decadently earthy note. Bee pollen, a yummy lentil cracker and some beads of beetroot “caviar” finished the plate. Chef served the only white wine of the evening with his plate, the bright, tangy 2010 Chenin Blanc from Inniskillin’s Discovery Series, a fine example of Okanagan terroir.

Chef Darren Craddock’s gold medal dish

And the gold medal? Chef Darren Craddock of the Riverside Country Club was the victor, working with delectable prairies lamb. He cooked the loin sous vide with a hint of garlic and set a little drum of it on the plate. He braised the shoulder and used the forked meat in a croquette with truffles, chanterelles and mashed potatoes – served piping hot and nicely crisp on the surface, thanks to a crust of hemp seed, and sesame breadcrumbs. Moist and rich within, it was a show-stealer. Frisée dressed with cold-pressed camolina oil offered a bittersweet, leafy moment while a broad swathe of celeriac soubise contributed another autumnal flavour. Dots of fennel oil and a dusting of fennel pollen were delectable afterthoughts, as was a minted green pea foam that worked predictably well with the lamb. A classic lamb jus reduction sauced the meat and the final garnish was a lateral slice of tomato, roasted to a crisp and so delicate it melted on the tongue, spiked with a crumble of pungent goat cheddar. Chef Craddock’s wine was the 2009 Bordello from B.C.’s Dirty Laundry winery, a lusty Cabernet-Merlot blend: its tannins seemed a tad too young and strong at first but then the lamb and the fennel tamed them and brought the wine into perfect focus, just as Chef intended.

Chef Craddock will be coming to Kelowna in February to compete in the Canadian Culinary Championship. Meanwhile, the Gold Medal Plates team has a busy week ahead with events in Ottawa, Montreal and St. John’s.

And now here’s the Wine Report from GMP’s tireless Wine Advisor, David Lawrason:

Local Libations Star in Saskatoon

Saskatoon came to party on this Saturday night, as over 500 people enjoyed one of the most diverse and local selections of wines, beers and spirits yet to be served up at Gold Medal Plates events. As guests walked into the Prairielands convention complex, and stomped the fresh fallen snow from their boots, they were greeted with beer from Saskatoon’s Paddock Wood Brewing Co, a saskatoon berry cider from Saskmade, and Gambit Gin from a local distillery called Lucky Bastard. And they could also choose a martini made from Newfoundland Iceberg Vodka, a national GMP sponsor.

Wine didn’t begin to flow until the chefs stations opened, and they featured an impressive array of reds, most from B.C.  There was only one white wine matched to the only seafood dish on the docket, so Inniskillin Okanagan 2011 Discovery Series Chenin Blanc was the first wine tasted as we judges began our assessment for the Best of Show Award. 

This judging is run in each city to help acknowledge the generous donations of over 60 Canadian wineries from coast to coast.  I was joined in the judging this year by Rob Peterson-Wakeman, an avid student and taster of the grape and Saskatoon organizing committee member who was instrumental in assembling the evening’s wines. And making the journey from Regina was Rob Dobson, a wine educator and writer who contributes to a Saskatchewan publication called Savour Life that is published by C.J. Katz, the culinary Senior Judge in Saskatchewan.

The judging was closer and more difficult than I expected, but in the end there was a strong consensus on the top three wines. The third place vote went to Sandhill 2009 Small Lot Collection Sangiovese, an intriguing red that captured complex authentic Tuscan sangiovese flavour profile within a beefier B.C. structure.  The runner up title went to the aforementioned Inniskillin Okanagan Chenin Blanc, a bright and stylish and quite elegant wine with classic chenin character.  And the Best of Show Award, with two first place votes and one second, went to a fascinating, subtle but surprisingly deep and well balanced Clos du Soleil 2010 Vintage Red.  It was made by Ann Sperling from merlot, cabernet, malbec and petit verdot sourced from both the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys.

The Inniskillin Chenin Blanc earned a second trip to the podium paired with silver medal winning chef Trevor Robertson of the Radisson Hotel.  And the Sandhill 2009 Sangiovese also double-dipped in the awards pool with bronze-medal chef, Moe Mathieu of White Birch Catering.  The wine that accompanied Gold Medal Chef Darren Craddock of the Riverside Country Club was Dirty Laundry’s 2009 Bordello, a cheeky red blend of cabernet and merlot that indeed provided one of the best food pairings of the night. 

“The pairing element is often the tie breaker in very close races” said Head Judge James Chatto, “and that’s what happened here tonight”.  So Dirty Laundry has earned a berth in the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna Feb 8 and 9.

Other wines poured this night included an impressively rich pair of Reserves from Mission Hill – the 2009 Shiraz Reserve and 2009 Merlot Reserve.  See Ya Later Ranch 2009 Ping impressed me with its complexity and restraint; the youthful, fresh 2011 Road 13 Pinot Noir was brilliantly paired with Dan Walker’s chicken roulade. The sole entry from Ontario – 2009 Generation 7 from Chateau des Charmes – also proved a refreshing match with a dish from St. Albert’s chef Kevin Dahlsjo.

The evening wrapped up as locally as it began with the delicious fortified Frambosie from Living Sky Winery near Perdue, Sask.  It is a silver medalist at the 2012 Canadian Wine Awards, a big win for a fledgling and very serious fruit winery that has sought the winemaking expertise of B.C.’s Forbidden Fruit to get the ball rolling.

 

 

 

 
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Winnipeg Gold Medal Plates

28 Oct

 

Triumph on the Winnipeg podium!

Gold Medal Plates burst upon Winnipeg last Friday night with a spectacular show, some superb cooking and a first-class selection of wines and beers. Jim Cuddy and Sam Roberts had the sell-out crowd on their feet, and so did the parade of Olympic and Paralympic athletes, led by Adam Kreek who emceed the evening with his customary energy and charm. Adam was named the first ever recipient of a new award offered by GMP – the Stepping Stone award, honouring athletes who are embarking on a new career after retiring from competitive sport. In Adam’s case, embarking is the appropriate word – he and three friends are rowing from Dakar, Senegal to Miami, Florida in December.

Last year’s Winnipeg event was amazing but this year surpassed it. The chefs’ marks were incredibly close. Three judges had a tie for first place and there was much discussion between us all – Senior Judge, chef and chef-instructor at Red River College, Jeff Gill, writer, broadcaster and producer, Arvel Gray, writer, food critic and co-author of The Manitoba Book of Everything, Christine Hanlon and last year’s Gold Medal Plates champion, Chef Michael Dacquisto. In the end, we reached a contented consensus.

Chef Michael Schafer’s bronze-winning “eggs n bacon”

Our bronze medal went to chef Michael Schafer of Sydney’s at the Forks. He amazed us with a dish of “bacon n eggs” inspired by Japanese notions. There were three separate elements on his plate. The first was a peeled soft-boiled egg, glossy, white and wobbly on the plate, crowned with a crisply fried shiso leaf and a miniature salad of lightly pickled enoki mushrooms and sesame. When we cut into the egg we discovered that the yolk was gone and in its place was a rich, tangy chuka tare sauce that flooded out over the plate until it lapped against the other two elements. Here was a dainty roll of tamagoyaki omelette topped with chopped green onion, morsels of smoked bacon and crunchy red tobiko roe. And over there was a perfect cube of braised pork belly wrapped in crispy potato and touched by a second sauce of karashi mustard. It’s a bold move to use eggs as your major protein – so often a problem for wine – but Chef Schafer avoided that trap by pairing his dish with beer, a fabulous, heavy, bittersweet IPA from Microbrasserie Charlevoix in Quebec called Dominus Vobiscum Lupulus.

Chef Jamie Snow’s brilliant “manitoba on a plate” took silver

Jamie Snow of Amici at Nyakwa won our silver medal with a brilliantly conceived dish he described as “Manitoba on a plate.” At its heart stood a cube of incredibly tender, moist pulled pork from a local Berkshire pig, the meat turned into a terrine to hold its shape though it was as loose and rich as a confit. Chef Snow had crusted it with a crust of hot mustard and puffed wild rice and set it beside a small pond of borscht sauce made by endlessly straining classic borscht vegetables then applying modified tapioca starch to give it a satin mouth-feel without a trace of fat. The surprise was the hit of horseradish in the sauce which worked brilliantly with the pork. Next to the meat was a slender perogy, as tender as could be, filled with nippy white Cheddar cheese, nestled against a dab of crème fraîche. A third, contrasting sauce was a green pea purée spiked with dill and the dish was completed with some pungent pea shoots dressed with cold-pressed Manitoba canola oil. It was a flawless plate, utterly local and matched brilliantly with Bulldog amber ale from Winnipeg’s own Half Pints brewery, the beer’s innate hoppiness nicely brought out by the horseradish.

Chef Osten Rice’s stunning Scandinasian dish won the gold medal

Our gold medal was awarded to Chef Östen Rice of Wasabi Sabi. His dish had a personal narrative, inspired by the gravlax his Scandinavian grandmother used to cure but given a Japanese twist to reflect the style of his restaurant – call it Scandinasian cuisine. Instead of salmon, he worked with butterfish, curing the super-soft, almost creamy raw fish with beet juice that stained a vermilion rim around each slice. Contrasting the texture, he gave us a fresh, crunchy, sweet-tart slaw of julienned Fuji apple and golden beet tossed with a chiffonade of shiso leaf. There was another suggestion of shiso (and more subtle crunch) in the compressed cucumber pieces on the other side of the plate and another pickly moment in the mound of gently marinated sea asparagus. A scrumptious taro crisp with a hole punched out of its middle stood tall in a tiny hill of orange-coloured tobiko roe bound with a beautifully judged wasabi mayonnaise.It was going to take a wine of character to stand up to all those sweet-sour elements but chef found one in the 2010 Gewurztraminer from Gray Monk in B.C., a delicious gewurz’ with the acidity and the lush weight to perfectly balance the dish.

What a great night! And now we have another champion for our rendezvous in Kelowna next February. The competition grows ever more intense.

 

And now, here is David Lawrason’s wine (and beer) report for the Winnipeg event:

A Hearty Quebec Brew Takes Best of Show

The winner of the Best of Show Award surprised just about everyone because there were some excellent wines presented this night at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, and because we three judges were, after all, wine guys.  But Chef Michael Schafer who served the swarthy, yet impeccably balanced beer from Quebec’s MicorBrasserie Charlevoix, knew it was a winner. Fully called Dominus Vobiscum Lupulus the 10%-strength brew also helped the Sydney’s at the Forks chef earn a trip to the podium for a silver medal. The first runner-up for the Best of Show was a tight, compact and elegant Tantalus 2008 Pinot Noir from B.C., with a very fragrant orange-blossom-scented Gray Monk 2011 Pinot Gris taking the third spot.

The Best of Show Award is way to recognize the contribution of Canadian wineries to Gold Medal Plates, with over 60 donating their wines this year.  In Winnipeg I was joined for the very pleasant judging task by Ben McPhee-Sigurdson, wine columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press and member of the Wine Access Tasting Panel for the Canadian Wine Awards.  And from Banville & Jones, a leading private wine retailer, we were joined by Gary Hewitt, one of the most respected wine educators in the city.

We tasted eight wines or beers this night. The winery that will accompany gold medal chef Östen Rice of Wasabi Sabi to the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna is Gray Monk: their  2011 Gewurztraminer dovetailed beautifully with his complex butterfish sushi creation.  The aforementioned Dominus brew took the silver, and another beer called Bulldog Amber Ale locally brewed by Winnipeg’s Half Pints took third.  Two other pinot noirs garnered favourable comments from the judges, Quails’ Gates powerful, cherry and herb-scented Quails Gate 2010 Pinot Noir, and the more demure, complex Flat Rock Cellars 2010 from Ontario. The bone dry, powerful See Ya Later Ranch 2011 Riesling rounded out the wine roster.

For winning Best of Show, Microbrasserie Charlevoix will receive an inscribed certificate of appreciation and a chance to win a week in Tuscany at Borgo San Felice, the GMP international headquarters at Borgo San Felice in Tuscany.  And Gray Monk moves on to the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna on February 8 and 9.

 

 
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Calgary Gold Medal Plates

27 Oct

Calgary’s victorious chefs – photo: Alan Chong

Calgary was amazing! What a great party we had on Thursday night with incredible energy in the room, a sold-out crowd who were clearly having a thoroughly good time and a regiment of Olympic athletes who filled the stage. The Van Houtte coffee team was there in force. Jim Cuddy and Barney Bentall rocked the house, accompanied by the very talented singer-guitarist Matt Masters and none other than Theo Fleury, who sang one of his own compositions to great applause. Watching the auction from the wings, it seemed to me that we must have raised a tidy sum for Own the Podium and our elite athletes – the whole purpose of all our fun and games.

Meanwhile, sacrificing themselves to an evening of fabulous food and brilliant booze was our amazing panel of judges led by Senior Judge, author, broadcaster and educator John Gilchrist, accompanied by catering guru and owner of Red Tree, Susan Hopkins, renowned chef, now chef instructor and Food Network star, Michael Allemeier, food writer and editor and publisher of City Palate, Kathy Richardier, and last year’s Gold Medal Plates champion, Chef Michael Dekker. Sitting in splendour on a raised dais in the centre of the room as the dishes and wines were brought to us, we all agreed that this was Calgary’s strongest showing ever.

Chef Duncan Ly’s petite saddle of lamb won the bronze

Winning the bronze medal was a former gold and silver medallist, Duncan Ly of Raw Bar, Hotel Arts. “Things always happen to me on Gold Medal Plates week,” he confided. “Last year my son was born on the night itself; this year, I slipped and fell and knocked myself unconscious!” And indeed, he had a nasty gash on his eyebrow. But it didn’t stop him from performing like a star. His dish was a tour de force of classical technique – a “petite saddle” of lamb which he created by rolling the short loin around some braised lamb shank then wrapping the roll in the lamb’s tender fat cap. He cooked this sous vide then finished it in the pan so the meat was rare but spectacularly tender while the surface was as delectably crisp as the skin of a roast chicken. So much work! It was delicate and subtle, nicely paired with a tangy pearl-onion-and-raisin preserve and a little drum of apple-and-parsnip parfait topped with two postage stamps of goat cheese and a bundle of julienned apple sticks that set the whole dish off beautifully. A sauce of parsnip, apple and parsley mirrored the flavours of the parfait. Chef Ly’s presentation was impeccable and the wine pairing a nifty one – the rich, fruity 2009 Syrah from Sandhill in British Columbia.

Chef Cam Dobranski’s duck pastrami took the silver

Our silver medal went to another chef who regularly reaches the podium in Calgary – Cam Dobranski of Brasserie Kensington. This dish was “totally Cam” according to John Gilchrist – a simple open sandwich that really wasn’t simple at all. Sitting on a slice of baguette was a heap of sliced duck pastrami, very tender and ducky with just a hint of spicing. Alongside it on the bread lay a disc of silky foie gras torchon, its richness enhanced by a judicious suggestion of truffle oil. A chanterelle emulsion picked up the truffle and the duck flavours while a drizzle of excellent Turkish olive oil had its own fruity and soft-spoken comment to make. Topping the sandwich off, Chef Dobranski added a teaspoonful of his own stunningly good orange-peach-lemon marmalade which sent other flavour combinations ricocheting around the palate. His wine was a new discovery for me – a 2011 white blend from Black Hills Estate in B.C. called Cellar Hand White.

Chef Eden Hrabec’s masala-spiced sweetbreads was our gold-medal dish

And so to gold. A couple of years ago, Jan Hrabec, owner-chef of Crazyweed, in Canmore, won gold at the Calgary GMP, ably assisted by her daughter and sous chef, Eden. Last night, Eden Hrabec herself competed for Crazyweed, where she is now chef – and won the gold medal. Her dish was substantial, risky, subtle, clever and delighted all the judges. She chose sweetbreads as her protein and prepared them immaculately, serving a big lobe that was piping hot, perfectly timed and finished in a brown butter sauce spiked with garam masala spices. Beside it was an almost-bubble-and-squeak of smashed baby potatoes and wilted spinach lit up by coriander seed. A sauce of puréed apricots with more delicate masala spices had just enough spicy heat to slip from the sweet to the savoury side of the spectrum and a brunoise of preserved lemon had a sudden pickle-like intensity that brought everything to life. The final touch was a “papadom” that was actually made from crispy chicken skin flecked with black pepper. Chef Hrabec chose an accompanying wine that is a particular favourite of mine – the Alsatian-style 2011 Noble Blend White from Joie Farms in B.C., its weight just what the dish needed.

So, treats all round in Calgary and congratulations to all the chefs who competed. Eden Hrabec is coming to Kelowna in February for the CCC!

And now here is David Lawrason’s wine report for the evening:

Blue Mountain Peaks in Calgary

It was a unanimous and almost instant decision by three experienced Canadian Wine Awards judges – Blue Mountain’s terrific 2010 Pinot Noir is one of those wines that grabs hold at first sip and doesn’t let go. You search the nooks and crannies for weaknesses – a bruised hint of oxidation perhaps, a shard of acetic acid pricking the surface. But there was none of that here; just glorious, perfectly ripened cherry fruit flecked with herbs, stones and spices. So from the opening bell it was a shoe-in for The Best of Show Award in Calgary, and proprietors Jane and Ian Mavety can look forward to an inscribed certificate, and a chance to win a week at Borgo San Felice in Tuscany.

The Best of Show Award is a way to recognize the contribution of Canadian wineries to Gold Medal Plates, with over 60 donating their wines this year. For our walkabout judging of the wines and beers in Calgary I was joined by Tom Firth, a leading wine writer and educator who frequents the pages of Wine Access and other publications. The inimitable Brad Royale is the sommelier for Divino, and wine consultant to Divino and Rocky Mountain Resorts.

The voting for the runner-up positions was much more difficult. This was the strongest field of wines to date in the 2012 campaign, and wineries brought out some big guns to match with the chefs and wow the over 600 guests.   Second place went to Blacks Hill 2010 Viognier, a subtle, elegant, spare wine.  Third place went to Joie Farm 2011 Noble Blend, a very well-crafted blend of several aromatic varieties that has become a staple of fine dining wine lists in western Canada. 

Black Hills, perhaps the leading winery supporter of Gold Medal Plates in recent years, also poured their cracking good sauvignon-semillon blend called Alibi, plus a new wonderfully nuanced and complex blend 2011 Cellar Hand White.  Other delights included Laughing Stock 2009 Portfolio, Mission Hill’s top-rung chardonnay called Perpetua, a delicious, charming Gray Monk 2010 Merlot, the inky, powerful Sandhill 2009 Syrah, and Clos du Soleil’s 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Rose.

At night’s end, as the chefs took to the podium, the wines they matched also received medal hardware. Eden Hrabec of Crazyweed Kitchen in Canmore took the Gold medal paired with Joie Farm 2011 Noble Blend.  Cam Dobranksi of Brassiere/Wine Bar Kensington took Silver paired with Black Hills 2011 Cellar Hand White, and Duncan Ly of Hotel Arts Raw Bar took the Bronze paired with Sandhill 2009 Syrah.

With its gold medal win in Calgary Joie Farm earns a berth at the Canadian Culinary Championship in Kelowna on February 8 and 9.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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Edmonton Gold Medal Plates 2012

19 Oct

Chef Nathin Bye's dish "Breakfast for Dinner" won the gold

Edmonton has a special place in the hearts of the Gold Medal Plates team. The city has been one of our loyalest supporters since the beginning, it is the first to sell out every year and the party is always exceptional. Last night, 700 guests added to the ongoing legend at the Shaw Centre, waltzing to beautiful music from Sarah Harmer, Barney Bentall and Ed Robertson and giving a standing ovation to dozens of Olympic athletes led by the evening’s energized master of ceremonies, Adam van Koeverden. The purpose of these evenings, lest we forget, is only incidentally about pleasure and entertainment – it’s to raise money for Canada’s Olympic athletes through the Own the Podium program that paid such dividends during the 2010 Vancouver games. Gold Medal Plates has raised over $6 million so far – and counting. Last night’s contribution will have a direct and beneficial effect on the way our elite athletes perform in Russia in two years time.

Certainly, the ten competing chefs also played their role in the festivities, presenting a wide array of dishes that were highly imaginative, complex and visually stunning. The judges agree that the overall quality of the offerings rose yet again this year, and while the choice for gold medal was almost unanimous, only two percentage points separated it from the silver. Joining me on the judging panel last night were Edmonton’s Senior Judge, food and wine writer and wine educator Mary Bailey, chef instructor and international gastronomic judge Clayton Folkers (who had just flown home from Germany where he was judging the culinary Olympics), catering guru and culinary educator, Gail Hall, The Edmonton Journal’s food writer Liane Faulder, chef Chris Wood and last year’s Edmonton Gold Medal Plates champion, chef Jan Trittenbach.

Chef Paul Shufelt's Brome Lake duck won the bronze medal

The bronze medal was awarded to chef Paul Shufelt of Century Hospitality Group who presented Brome Lake duck in two ways. As he introduced the dish, Chef Shufelt explained that he grew up just ten minutes from Brome Lake (near Knowlton, Quebec) and always enjoyed working with the birds. He began by wrapping a drum-shaped piece of the marvellously tender breast in prosciutto, cooking it until the full flavour emerged but the meat was still moist and juicy. A wand of the duck’s sweetly glazed skin lay across the surface and beneath it we found a drift of roasted butternut squash purée subtly spiked with cinnamon and nutmeg. The plate’s other main component was a weighty arancini of forked duck confit, wild mushrooms and shortgrain rice, fried to a splendid crust in duck fat. Some pickled sour cherries added a sweet-sour fruitiness and a sprinkling of bull’s blood microseedlings finished the dish. The wine match was one of the evening’s best – a brambly, tangy, richly extracted 2010 Old Vines Foch from Quails’ Gate in the Okanagan.

Silver went to Chef Shane Chartrand's "Noir et Blanc"

The silver medal went to Shane Chartrand of Murrietta’s Westcoast Grill – like Paul Shufelt, another regular competitor at Gold Medal Plates. He offered a most dramatic, almost art deco presentation of sablefish “Noir et Blanc.” The sablefish was the principal component (its flesh slipping apart into petals that melted in the mouth) crusted black with onion ash that added an intriguingly deep and deliciously bitter flavour. Alongside the fish was a cod tongue, slippery and rather firmly textured, that was lent a buttery flavour by a teaspoonful of foie gras-Cognac potato crème, the better to complement the sablefish. A little crab bisque served as a second sauce while lightly pickled baby pearl onions added a moment of acidity. Crunch was provided by a tall, tissue-thin fin of crisply fried mashed potato. Smoked sea salt was discreetly used to season the fish and a squeeze-bottle atomizer of fruity verjus was presented separately, to be used acording to the taste of each judge. Chef Chartrand made a successful wine match with Lake Breeze Vineyards 2011 Pinot Blanc, not just because of his noir-et-blanctheme but because its shining fruit and forthright acidity enhanced most of the components on the plate.

Our gold medal was awarded to a young chef who has won it before – Nathin Bye of Wildflower Grill – who proffered a dish he called “Breakfast for Dinner.” Many of the judges raised an eyebrow as we read the description of the creation handed to us by Chef Bye in advance of the competition. So many components! So much going on! And when we saw the dish we were still not convinced it could all come together. But it did. An intricate knot of textural and flavour harmonies provided unexpected unity. Where to begin…? With an ornamental spoon that held a creamy bircher meusli of rolled oats, apple and quinoa, garnished with a tiny marshmallow, a miniature grapefruit jelly, a sun-cured blackberry and a half-inch-high tuile shaped like the 2012 Olympic symbol. A quail egg fried sunny-side-up, its yolk still runny, sat on a plinth of potato, golden beet and cheese pavé which served as the substantial point of reference for many of the dish’s more ethereal elements. There was a mushroom pop tart made with dried, powdered mushrooms in the flour that several judges (including me) found utterly irresistible. A triangle of buttery brioche and a puddle of spiced carrot purée were there to underline similar notes that Chef Bye had found in his chosen wine. The centrepiece of the whole affair was a maple syrup and bacon-infused panna cotta that contained a surprise – a meaty heart of Texas-barbecue-style pork paté that contributed a powerful meaty hit, as did a delicate vertical ribbon of crispy bacon. Chef Bye explained that many of the choices he had made while bringing this elaborate dish together were inspired by the flavours and aromas of the wine he chose, the delicious, complex, intense 2010 Chardonnay from Tantalus in the Okanagan.

So Chef Bye becomes our third champion of the campaign. Kelowna awaits him in February!

Now here is David Lawrason’s wine and beverage report:

It Was a Tantalus Night

In a field of very solid wines Tantalus 2010 Chardonnay from B.C.’s Okanagan Valley was the unanimous choice of the wine judges to receive the Best of Show Wine Award in Edmonton. And not only that, it carried home a Gold Medal Plates gold medal with Chef Nathin Bye of the Wildflower Grill. All agreed that it had fantastic depth, structure and complexity; attributes I first noted when I tasted it with Tantalus manager Jane Stewart at the Kelowna winery in August.

The second runner-up for Best of Show was surprisingly firm and intense Sperling 2011 Pinot Blanc, kindly donated for our enjoyment during the Celebration (as we listened to amazing Sarah Harmer in her first performance for Gold Medal Plates). Sperling is a neighbour of Tantalus on thebench lands of east Kelowna, and winemaker Ann Sperling is the only Canadian winemaker working in Niagara (Southbrook) and British Columbia. The runner up was Kettle Valley 2008 Pinot Noir, another wine of considerable structure and stature, well matched to the “Heart and Sole” combo of braised beef heart and terine of sole from chef David Omar of Zinc Restaurant.

I was joined in judging of the Best of Show Award by two prominent figures in Edmonton’s free-wheeling, privatized wine scene. Gurvinder Bhatia is a wine writer for The Edmonton Journal, owner of Vinomania, a leading fine wine shop, and a judge at the Canadian Wine Awards. William Bincoletto of Vines Wine Merchants is a wine educator and consultant, and also the kind donor of several fine lots in Edmonton’s very impressive fine wine silent auction.

On the chef pairing side of the ledger, silver-medal-winning chef Shane Chartrand of Murrieta’s West Coast grill wisely selected the pristine, subtle Lake Breeze 2011 Pinot Blanc for his delicate seafood medley. Bronze medal winning Chef Paul Shufelt of Century Hospitality Group served Quails’ Gate 2010 Old Vine Foch – an intense, wild, brambly red – with terrific Brome Lake duck.

One of the most adventurous food-and-beverage pairings in Edmonton was a cocktail combining Victoria Gin with the unique Fentiman’s Dandelion and Burdock soda, matched to a venison trio of carpaccio, tourtiere and pickled tongue.  Other paired beverages from B.C. included Road 13 2011 Honest John Rose, Red Rooster 2011 Chardonnay and Peller Estates 2009 Private Reserve Syrah. From Ontario, there were two lighter whites:  SpeckBrothers 2010 Sibling Rivalry White and Coyote’s Run 2011 Unoaked Chardonnay.

Thanks to all the wineries that helped make Edmonton a great success.

 

 
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Gold Medal Plates Regina

12 Oct

Chef Milton Rebello's gold medal-winning lamb dish

The Gold Medal Plates team did it again, with the dazzling support of local event planner Jennie Avram, creating an amazing evening at the Queensbury Centre, Regina, and delighting the sold-out crowd of 500. The city came to party and to play and, according to our vigorous and persuasive auctioneer, to set a fundraising target for Saskatoon to meet. Jim Cuddy, Kendel Carson and Dustin Bentall provided brilliant music and Adam Van Kouverden was the energetic and witty master of ceremonies. Bidding was brisk during the auction as the crowd was inspired by films of highlights from the summer games and of the trips on offer. All in all, it was a most successful evening, especially in the gastronomical department. The esteemed panel of judges led by Saskatchewan Senior Judge, CJ Katz, and featuring author, journalist and broadcaster Amy Jo Ehman, Chef of the Saskatchewan Legislature and Culinary Olympian Trent Brears, writer, chef and poet dee Hobsbawn-Smith, restaurateur and gastronomic guru Janis Hutton and chef and educator Thomas Rush, agreed that the dishes, without exception, were inventive and original and featured an unusually broad range of proteins from pickerel cheeks to beaver (the first time beaver had ever been served at a GMP event). In the end, only one and a half percentage points separated first and second place.

Chef Jonathan Thauberger cooked his goose

The bronze medal went to Chef Jonathan Thauberger of Crave Kitchen + Wine Bar. He chose to work with goose from a local source – Cool Springs Ranch – treating the meat three ways. First he hot-smoked the breast, slicing it fairly thickly, leaving the meat succulent and juicily sweet with the gentle smoke. He turned other parts of the bird into a firm chorizo-style sausage and sliced it obliquely alongside the breast. The tour de force of the dish was a cube of rich goose confit held together with a jellied consommé, crusted with a mix of cornmeal and lentil and chickpea flours. Crunchy, slippery local chanterelles were strewn about the plate, there was a little salad of organic lentil greens and a tangy Saskatoonberry glaze. The beverage pairing was brilliant – a malty, sweetish Baltic porter beer from Bushwakker Brew Pub that created a bridge between the smokiness of the breast and the sweet glaze. The judges loved it.

Chef Leo Pantel's awesome pork belly

The silver medal was awarded to Leo Pantel of Conexus Arts Centre. His presentation was decidedly dramatic with inverted wineglasses rising from the plates. Chef had filled them with applewood smoke, using an antique bee smoker and, when the food runners removed the glasses, a sweet smoky aroma began the judges’ experience of the dish. Beneath the glass was a cube of belly pork, barely touched by the smoke but glazed with cider and flattered by a sweet, woodsy birch syrup. The meat was a nicely judged balance of tender lean flesh and unctuous fat, refreshed by a delectable, loose-textured mash of apple and Jerusalem artichoke. A crisp Jerusalem artichoke chip was the jaunty garnish. Chef Pantel chose a red wine for his match – the light, subtle 2010 Gamay from Desert Hills Winery in B.C.

Our gold medal winner was Chef Milton Rebello of the Hotel Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza. He decided to prepare local lamb, setting a perfect pink chop on each plate, the tender meat full of flavour from time spent in a ginger marinade, enhanced by a crust of mustard and crumbled pistachio. Beneath the chop we found a streak of minted pea purée and beside it a soft-textured corn and potato hash. On the other side of the plate, Chef Rebello set a sweet lentil tuile biscuit shaped like a curling maple leaf and dotted with a single lentil. In the leaf lay a ball of soft, mild goat cheese crusted with a powder formed from vegetables cooked with South Asian spices garnished with a refreshing pear chutney. The final touch was a stripe of tangy, pungent sauce made from ginger-infused cherry port. The wine match was most effective, See Ya Later Ranch’s 2010 Pinot Noir flattering the lamb but sturdy enough to stand up to the sauce and the chutney.

So we have our first-ever Regina champion! Chef Rebello will be travelling to Kelowna in February to compete in the Canadian Culinary Championship against Toronto champion Marc St. Jacques of Auberge du Pommier and the winners of the competitions yet to come. Next week, Edmonton! I can hardly wait.

And now here is David Lawrason’s report on the wines, beers and spirits featured at the event:

The winner of the Best of Show honour in Regina was the seriously good See Ya Later Ranch 2010 Pinot Noir, and it also carted off a Chefs Gold matched beautifully to a spectacular lamb preparation by Milton Rebello of the Hotel Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza.  The silver went to the incredible, dark, nutty and very complex Bushwakker Palliser Port brew; the bronze medal went to the opulent, complex Foxtrot Vineyard 2010 Chardonnay from the Naramata Bench in B.C.s  Okanagan Valley.

The Best of Show Award enters its second season as a means to acknowledge the very generous donations of Canadian wineries, breweries and distillers.  In Regina I was joined in the judging by Head Food Judge James Chatto (also an accomplished taster and beverage writer), and the very talented Debbie Tetlock, who is on the product listing panel of the Saskatchewan Liquor Board. She has been studying and tasting wine for several years and manages one of the largest liquor stores in the province.

The first Gold Medal Plates foray into booming Sask capital brought an unexpected bounty of local beverages. I was reproached from the floor when I delicately mentioned that those Prairie winters are just a tad too harsh for tender vinifera vines; and I was later approached by a gentleman who said that chardonnay has been growing “in the particular terroir of  southwestern Saskatechwan” for several years.

But the local beverages this night were of the brew and fruit wine variety. Bushwakker Baltic Porter, brewed in  Regina, scored a bronze medal paired with Jonathan Thauberger’s dish from Crave. Another porter called Palliser, from the same brewery, also featured at chef Martin Snow’s station. Bushwakker, by the way, was named the “Best Brew Pub in Canada” by vaycay.ca.  Cherry and Framboise fruit wines by Living Sky Winery of Perdue, Sask, accompanied dessert, and chef Adam Sperling of La Bodega matched his dish to local mead mixed with cassis to create a  “Meadtini”

Other wines poured this evening included Desert Hills 2010 Gamay that was matched to silver medal chef Leo Pantel of the Conexus Arts Centre. And although Joie Farm 2009 PTG, a finely balanced blend of gamay and pinot noir, did not receive any hardware, it did receive a first place vote from Debbie Tetlock. And the chef’s pairings were rounded out by another brooding Bushwakker Porter called Baltic; this one containing 7% alcohol.

All in all a fascinating and highly successful night in Regina. Our thanks to all the participating wineries and breweries and those who came out to pour, and particularly to Cam Robinson of the Sask Liquor Board for quarterbacking the ordering and shipping of the wines.

 

 

 

 
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Gold Medal Plates Toronto 2012

25 Sep

Chef Marc St. Jacques and his team from Auberge du Pommier. (Big thanks to Brian Chambers for all these lovely images)

The chauffeur-driven, drive-around Gold Medal Plates Toronto event was a huge success and I only wish we could do it every day. Judges Sasha Chapman, Anita Stewart, Christine Cushing and I made our rendezvous at the Fairmont Royal York hotel at 10:00 a.m. together with 24 VIP guests who would join us on our gastronomical odyssey and Olympian Adam Van Kouverden, fresh from his dazzling silver performance in London. Then we all climbed into the limo bus – the sort of vehicle that has seen many a prom night party with disco lights, darkened windows and leather seats all around (if these old wheels could talk…).

The rules of the day were simple. We would visit the restaurant of each of the eight competitors (they were told when to expect us) where we would be given the competition dish and its accompanying beverage. The surroundings of the plate were irrelevent and the restaurant was not to offer us anything else. Then we would move on to the next location. Like a plane journey or train ride, the day offered all of us a measure of magical irresponsiblity – an enforced holiday – and we fully expected to eat very well indeed. What surprised the judges was how completely different all eight dishes were from each other! There have been years at GMP events where a number of chefs have chosen to work with the same protein or where the logistics of cooking for 750 have imposed a certain uniformity of style: not yesterday. Each dish was utterly distinct and delicious. We finally returned to the hotel at around 7:30 p.m. for Champagne and dessert and the crunching of the judges’ numbers. In the end, the gold medal was unanimously given, though only six percentage points separated the gold, silver, bronze and fourth-placed competitors. Here’s what we tasted.

Marc St. Jacques's magical foie

The first dish we tried was the dish that ultimately carried off the gold medal, created by first-time competitor and Toronto native Marc St. Jacques of Auberge du Pommier. There were some good-natured jokes en route to his restaurant when we saw that we would be starting the day with foie gras and icewine. We were not prepared for the elegance, finesse and imagination of the dish. The presentation was striking – all elements cleanly posed, the colour palette white, beige and pale gold with a dramatic sprinkling of green nori dust. The foie gras itself was a mousse, but as firm as a torchon, topped with a golden jelly of smokey dashi. Very thinly sliced raw matsutake mushrooms from northern Quebec leaned against the slice of foie beside tiny piped moments of intensely flavourful matsutake purée. Matsutake grow in pine forests so the other ingredient of whole toasted pine nuts and a pine nut crumble was entirely appropriate. Served separately were soft rounds of brioche fried in Monforte butter that had been spiked with more nori. All the flavours were pristine and powerful, the harmony between foie gras, mushroom, pine nuts and smoky dashi extraordinary. The longer we thought about the dish, the more radical it seemed. Foie gras with no fruit or sweetness or acidity on the plate?! But those components were brilliantly provided by the wine – the Peller Estates Ice Cuvee Rosé which hides its sweetness behind a cloak of acidity and rich fruit. It takes a brave chef to deliberately leave room for the wine in his conception of a dish – leaving it incomplete in the trust that the wine will fill the gap. It worked amazingly well in this thoroughly Canadian, woodsy treatment of foie gras.

Lorenzo Loseto and his team at George

Our silver medal winner was Lorenzo Loseto of George – the only Toronto chef to compete in every Gold Medal Plates event in the modern era. This is his third silver medal, which also puts him in a very small and exalted group of one. Yesterday he worked with black cod, timing the fish to moist perfection and crusting it with crushed cashews held together by an invisible beet tapenade that added a delightful earthy sweetness to the flavour of the nuts. Beside it was a tiny stack of soft juicy beet salad, a ½-inch mound of pungent avocado mousse and a scattering of minuscule pickled samiji mushrooms and wild leeks. A scattering of black beans and coriander seedlings boosted the earthy flavours and the whole dish rested on a tissue-thin magic carpet of shaved radish. The match with an exceptionally floral, fruity 2012 Teion Sakura Junmai sake from Toronto’s own Ontario Spring Water Sake Company was masterful.

Lorenzo's impeccable black cod

The bronze medal was awarded to Martin Kouprie of Pangaea who created another visually stunning plate. Here was a disc of bacon-wrapped venison striploin, incredibly tender and tasty, its red juices still held in the muscle. Beside that was a cube of venison liver cooked sous vide so it still had that almost crunchy texture that some rare offal provides; it was topped with a sweet potato and coriander crumble. The third major component was a blue potato polyhedron cooked sous vide in brown butter and topped with a perfect little toasted marshmallow spiced with a hint of nutmeg. Around these treasures, lightly pickled onion rings added a pleasing tang while a single white potato chip and a bed of silky sweet potato purée had us all thinking about Thanksgiving. Trailing down the side of the assembly a blueberry compote was perfectly judged in terms of sweetness. David Lawrason found the wine match the highlight of the tour – a smashing 2009 Pinot Noir, the 13th Street Essence.

Martin Kouprie's exemplary venison

Those were the podium dishes but there was so much to enjoy on our road trip. Michael Steh, now chef at O’Finn’s Irish Temper in Oakville, gave us a hearty dish of pan-roasted scallops with butternut squash purée, crisp apple and fennel salad and a generous mound of smoked bacon-and-shallot jam.

Donna Dooher of Mildred’s Temple Kitchen brought in some Sri Lankan ideas (and awesome spicy warmth) with poached lobster, a fluffy pittu filled with crabmeat and coconut and a sensational saffron sothy, like a spicy, buttery broth of coconut and fish stock.

Eron Novalski of Aria cubed raw bigeye tuna and tossed it in a puttanesca sauce then set the fish onto a super-rich olive oil purée. Strewn over it were fried capers, dehydrated black olive crumble, crispy cuttlefish, a single panfried anchovy and some crimson chili threads no bigger than hairs.

At Frank at the AGO, Anne Yarymowich cooked a whole duck egg en cocotte in a red wine jus reduction, leaving the yolk wickedly runny. There were thumb-sized cornmeal biscuits to dip into it and underneath a treasure of duck confit graisserons – the delectable bits left in the pan when the confit is done. A crisp of duck skin was the jaunty feather in the cap.

Our last stop was at Edulis where Michael Caballo had prepared a terrific dish of silky, finely sliced, seaweed-cured smoked pork shoulder and slippery Catathelasma mushrooms sliced and confited in cedar oil. There were clams – their syphons sliced raw, their bellies and skirts fried – and a brunoise of fresh apple. At the heart of the dish was a dark, tangy purée of pickled green walnut.

All in all, it was a spectacular day and our congratulations go out to all the chefs who took part. Only one will go on to Kelowna, however: Marc St. Jacques from Auberge du Pommier.

Martin Kouprie and the Pangaea brigade

 
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