EAT Magazine Sept | Oct 2012 by EAT Magazine

RESTAURANTS | RECIPES | WINES | CULINARY TRAVEL CELEBRATING THE FOOD & DRINK OF 速

BRITISH COLUMBIA

SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER

l 2012 | Issue 16-05 | FREE | EATmagazine.ca

& DRINK

Bite into this! Potato Love New Restaurants Elderberry Merlot Corn Beijing Now Wine on Tap Fall Festivals

Pork en Croute

Autumn on a plate

EAT m Local markets are all about freshness, fun, and community. Vendors of these markets make, bake, and grow everything. Farmers bring to you their farm-fresh, wholesome foods, from fruits & vegetables, organics,,meats, seafood, and eggs to specialty cheese, jams, salsa, donuts, and so much more. Artisan offer specialty, one-of-a-kind, locally-made pottery products .Connect directly with local farmers who personally bring their goods to your plate. or the Enjoy quality seasonal food, picked at the height of its natural harvest. Take time to support local farmers and artisans in an atmosphere of festivity and community to positively impact your environment by buying within the shortest distance to where you live. Good for you; good for everyone.

Main

RECIPES Get Stuffe Potatoes

FEATUR Organic F

Four Dess

FESTIVA Chef ’s Su Art of the

Jeremy Ferguson

Cover phot

Moss Street Market

T The he L Le e James C Creuset reBay use tS Stainless tainless Steel Steel Market Saturdays Cookware C(9am-3pm), ookwMay-Oct are Saturdays (10am-2pm), May-Oct Corner of Moss St and Fairfield Rd

EAT is delive in BC includ Kelowna, Th

Corner of Menzies and Superior

Downtown Victoria Public Market Wednesdays (12pm-5pm), Apr-Oct Market Square, 560 Johnson Street

Oaklands Sunset Series Wed, Jul 4, Jul 18, Aug 1, Aug 15 (6pm-10pm) Oaklands Community Centre, 2827 Belmont Ave

...savour the experience

Goldstream Station Market

Food Repo Tofino | U Victoria: Re Web Repor Deanna Lad Contributo Jen Dart, Jas Kusiewicz, An Morris, Eliza Tourigny, Sco

Saturdays (10am-2pm), May26-Oct Downtown Langford, Bryn Maur Rd

Peninsula Country Market

Saturdays (9am-1pm), May-Oct 1528 Stellys Cross Rd, Central Saanich

North Saanich Farm Market

Saturdays (9:30am-12:30pm), EnginJune-Oct eered for high performance, the Saint John’s United Church, 10990 Tri-P ly staWest inless Saanich steel haRd s a pure

aluminum Sidney Summer Market ensuring

core from base to rim,

quick and even heat Thursdays (5:30pm-8:30pm), Jun-Aug distribution. Beacon Avenue in Sidney B r i d a l R e g i sSalt t r y Spring Av a i l a bMarket le Saturdays (8:30am-4pm), Apr-Oct Centennial Park in the heart of Ganges

Broadmead VillaMetchosin ge, Victoria Farmers’ Market Sundays 130-777 Royal O ak Drive(11am-2pm), May-Oct 250-727-24450 110 Happy Valley Rd, behind the firehall

for people who love to cook

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

Publisher Pac

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Tel: 250.384 Email: edito

join us for the festival, for further information visit

Since 1998 | E

without the wri

Gourmet Publish

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the right to refu

Main Plates

Home

Tapas Food Matters . . . . . . . . . .09

FEATURES Organic Fair . . . . . . . . . . . ...37

Good For You . . . . . . . . .12

FESTIVALS + EVENTS Chef ’s Survial Challenge .....8 Art of the Cocktail . . . . .....43

year

Moss St. Market

RECIPES Get Stuffed . . . . . . . . . . . .....24 Potatoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .....30

Four Desserts . . . . . . . . . .....46

Concierge Desk . . . . . . . 06 Meet the Chef . . . . . . . . .10

tastes like comfort.

Get Fresh . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Eating Well For Less . . . .20 Wine + Terroir . . . . . . . .34 Liquid Assets . . . . . . . . . .36

Season starts April 7, 2012

Wine & Food Pairing . . .38 Jeremy Ferguson

e festival, ation visit

21st

EAT magazine september & october 2012

Donghuamen Night Market Lamb. Pg 44

News from around BC . .39 VINcabulary . . . . . . . . . .42

The corner of Moss St and Farifield Rd Rain or shine. MossStreetMarket.com

Epicure At Large . . . . . . .44 Chefs’ Talk . . . . . . . . . . .47 Cover photography: “Pork en Croute” by Michael Tourigny

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Editor in Chief Gary Hynes Contributing Editor Carolyn Bateman Vancouver Contributing Editor Julie Pegg DRINK Editor Treve Ring Senior Wine Writer Larry Arnold Okanagan Contributing Editor Claire Sear

Traditional Beef & Vegetable Stew Visit our recipe section for more of Metchosin Farmers’ Market your favourite comfort food.

Food Reporters Tofino | Uclulet: Jen Dart, Vancouver: Anya Levykh, Okanagan: Claire Sear, Victoria: Rebecca Baugniet Web Reporters Sundays (11am-2pm), May-Oct Deanna Ladret, Ellie Shortt, Van Doren Chan 4450 Happy Valley Rd, behind the firehall Contributors Larry Arnold, Joseph Blake, Michelle Bouffard, Ezra Cipes, Jennifer Danter, Jen Dart, Jasmon Dosanj, Pam Durkin, Gillie Easdon, Jeremy Ferguson, Nathan Fong, Tracey Michaela Kusiewicz, Anya Levykh, Ceara Lornie, Denise Marchessault, Sandra McKenzie, Saturdays (10am-2pm), May26-Oct MichaelLangford, Bryn Maur Rd Morris, Elizabeth Nyland, Julie Pegg, Treve Ring, Claire Sear, Elizabeth Smyth, Downtown Tourigny, Scott Trudeau, Sylvia Weinstock, Rebecca Wellman, Caroline West.

Goldstream Station Market

Publisher Pacific Island Gourmet | EAT ® is a registered trademark.

Sidney Summer Market

Advertising: 250.384.9042, editor@eatmagazine.ca

Thursdays (5:30pm-8:30pm), June-Aug Beacon Avenue in Sidney

Mailing address: Box 5225, Victoria, BC, V8R 6N4, Tel: 250.384.9042 Email: editor@eatmagazine.ca Website: eatmagazine.ca

Salt Spring Market

Since 1998 | EAT Magazine is published six times each year. No part of this publication may be Saturdays reproduced

(8:30am-4pm), Apr-Oct Park in the heart of Ganges

Centennial without the written consent of the publisher. Although every effort is taken to ensure accuracy, Pacific Island Gourmet Publishing cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions that may occur. All opinions expressed in the articles are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the publisher. Pacific Island Gourmet reserves

Customer Customer Service: Ser vice: 1 800 800 667 667 8280 8280 • thriftyfoods.com

www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

editor’s note

THE ARE SO MANY REASONS TO CELEBRATE THE RETURN OF AUTUMN FOR ME, SUMMERS are a period of rest. The tone is set for relaxed evenings outdoors and easy dinners on the barbecue. Languid days with trips to the farmers market, bringing home bags full of fresh-picked vegetables and fruits. If I can leave the office early, I go for a swim with my wife followed by G+T’s or white wine in mismatched glasses on the back deck. Casual and easy. Salty nuts are nibbled, books are read, and ice cream is devoured. Then, the sun begins to set earlier and the nights bring a welcome cool, making it easier to sleep. I get the spring back in my step and my cooking is more energetic. Market stalls, once filled with lemon cucumbers and strawberries, are now brimming with colourful squashes and various varieties of crisp apples. I anticipate creamy soups and hot chocolate in front of the fire. Cookbooks come out and new recipes are tried. My thoughts turn to slow-braised pork, pear tarte tatin and my addiction to cheese returns—runny Brie de Meaux or an earthy tomme are paired to baguette. Intense red wines are savoured in big Riedel

wine glasses. In September, I begin to anticipate October’s Thanksgiving with its roast turkey (free-range and ordered weeks in advance) and all the fixin’s enjoyed with family and friends. We always try to come up with a big feast to celebrate the occasion, and to set a fine table. It’s our custom in EAT to shine the spotlight on all things local and this autumn issue is no different. We visit a new crop of restaurants and cafes, share our recipes (the pumpkin squares on pg. 26 are awesome), bring you the latest food news, and recommend wines for you to drink. We hope that the best of British Columbia makes its way onto your table as the weather cools and a new season arrives. —Gary Hynes, Editor

Hi Toni,

My friend this place best food prepared passionate a very com 161 adds c to downto must visi regular sp

Love Ang

Hi Sara,

Just Jakes Great foo salads and Veggie B Jake's Cl Cowichan celiac me room for J Just Jakes were here

Love Ther

WILD FIRE

Hi Grace,

organic bakery & café

Proudly milling Vancouver island grown wheat Using 99% locally grown and certified organic ingredients 1517 Quadra Street Victoria, BC 4

www.wildfirebakery.ca

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

250.381.3473

Monday to Friday 7:30am to 6pm Saturday 8am to 5pm

You're go Firehouse firehouse It's got a last Wedne to jazz fo way, I had and tried s take you t

Love Rob

trips to the wed by G+T’s

king is more crisp apples. ed pork, pear in big Riedel and friends.

recipes (the its way onto

o Friday o 6pm day 5pm

Hi Toni,

My friend Bill Fedorev told me about this place. He said “...Some of the best food in this part of the Island prepared by talented, creative and passionate people, served right and in a very comfortable atmosphere. Bistro 161 adds character, charm and colour to downtown Duncan, making it a must visit place for tourists and a regular spot for locals." Let's try it! Love Angie

Dear Mom and Dad,

Bistro 161 161 Kenneth St Duncan 250.746.6466 bistro161.net

Love Theresa

Hey big brother,

Just Jakes 45 Craig Street Duncan, BC 250.746.5622 justjakes.ca

Love Robert

As an architect you'd appreciate this 1940's pub that was just newly renovated. It has exposed beams and a 100 year old bar that serves the best fresh hand-crafted brews. I had the Heff, Chris' new wheat brew and the BBQ pulled pork ciabatta. You'd love it. I'll take you there next time you're in town. My treat. Steve

Craig Street Brew Pub 25 Craig Street Duncan, BC 250.737.2337 craigstreet.ca

Dear Friends,

Hi Grace,

You're going to love this. The Old Firehouse is a wine bar in an original firehouse in the old town of Duncan. It's got a huge selection of wine and last Wednesday night I sat and listened to jazz for a couple of hours. By the way, I had the chicken pesto flatbread and tried several wines. I can't wait to take you there!

City Square Grill 281 Canada Avenue Duncan, BC 250.746.1700 citysquaregrill.com

Love Jaimie

Hi Sara,

Just Jakes is not just an ordinary pub. Great food - wings, pizza, burgers, salads and more. I had the Santa Fe Veggie Burger and Dave had the Jake's Club and their very own Cowichan Bay lager. And they have a celiac menu! Don't forget to leave room for Just Desserts. All I can say – Just Jakes is just awesome! Wish you were here.

It’s our first year anniversary at City Square Grill. Being a young entrepreneur, I never thought to accomplish my dream of owing a restaurant. I’ve introduced many local wineries, fresh local seafood, prime rib and feature live music. Also getting involved in the kitchen whether filleting a 40lb Halibut to baking our triple chocolate mousse tower has been an amazing journey. Can’t wait for you to visit!

The Old Firehouse Wine Bar 40 Ingram Street Duncan, BC 250.597.3473 theoldfirehouse.ca

If you like organic food, holistic health and sustainable living, you must check out the bright yellow funky building called the Duncan Garage. Inside you will find the most amazing health and whole food grocery store, vegetarian café, bakery and natural living marketplace on Vancouver Island. We even have a bookstore. It’s truly the hub of Duncan.

See you soon! Community Farm Store team

The Community Farm Store 101-330 Duncan St. Duncan, BC Store: 250.748.6227 Café & Bakery: 250.748.6223 communityfarmstore.ca

www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

Culinary intelligence for the 2 months ahead

the concierge desk

by Rebecca Baugniet

For more events visit www.eatmagazine.ca

SEPTEMBER

MORNING BAY'S WINESTOCK MUSIC FESTIVAL (PENDER ISLAND) Winestock is an all-day rock and roll festival at Morning Bay's oceanfront vineyard Dave Rave is one of the iconic pioneers (Teenage Head, The Shakers) of the 1977 punk explosion. Reserve Winestock tickets anytime. Contact keith@morningbay.ca. Rustic camping with access to washrooms is $10 per tent per night. Bring your own water and power. Sept 1. (morningbay.ca/Winestock-music-festival.php) THE GREAT CANADIAN BEER FESTIVAL (VICTORIA) The Great Canadian Beer Festival has become one of the worlds' must-attend beer events. People from all over the globe seek out Victoria and the GCBF every year; the event attracts brewers from Australia, volunteers from England and beer lovers from all over. In support of C-Fax Santa's Anonymous, the GCBF will be held Sept 7 – 8. (gcbf.com) EAT HERE NOW 2012 LOCAL FOOD HARVEST FESTIVAL (VICTORIA) Free, family-friendly harvest festival featuring local farmers market, toonie-a-taste from amazing restaurants that support local agriculture, huge Kids Zone, local musicians and DJs. Organized by the VDPMS. All proceeds will go towards the establishment of a year-round, indoor public market in downtown Victoria. Sept. 9 from 11am-3pm in Market Square. (victoriapublicmarket.com) FEAST OF FIELDS (METRO VANCOUVER AND VANCOUVER ISLAND) Metro Vancouver’s Feast of Fields is taking place at Golden Ears Cheesecrafters in Maple Ridge this year on Sept. 9. Vancouver Island’s Feast of Fields will be held at Alderlea Farm in Duncan, Sept. 16. The event highlights the connections between producer and chef, field and table, and farm folks and city folks. This is a gastronomic journey towards a sustainable, local food system. $85 (children 7-12: $15; children 6 and under: free). Buy tickets online at feastoffields.com. WINE & CULINARY FESTIVAL (COWICHAN) The 8th Cowichan Wine and Culinary Festival will take place Sept 8-16. The Festival offers an assortment of the area’s best wines and ciders, unique farm-fresh delights from organic farms, live entertainment, green Earth seminars, and hand-blown glassware. To spend your day at the festival simply follow the detailed map available on the official website, or pick up the festival brochure at local businesses and tourist info centers. Many WIVA wineries, cideries & meaderies will be pouring at this festival! (wines.cowichan.net) TASTES OF APRIL POINT (QUADRA ISLAND) September 14 - 16. Indulge your taste buds in everything from international and Vancouver Island wines and cheeses to exotic teas, gourmet cuisine, Mediterranean olives, succulent oysters, chocolate, biodynamic wines and more during this weekend of delightful indulgence. Weekend Packages start at: $389. For more information, call 1-800-663-7090 or visit aprilpoint.com/resort/events/tastes/ 2nd ANNUAL CORK AND KEG FESTIVAL (FRASER VALLEY) The second edition of this event is a showcase of international and local wines, craft and premium beer as well as local cheesemakers and chocolatiers. The consumer event runs from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm and ticket registration is available online. The Cork & Keg Festival will host 600 attendees from the Fraser Valley area and showcasing 55 wine and beer purveyors sampling over 275 products. Sept. 14 (corkandkeg.ca) FRASER VALLEY FOOD SHOW (ABBOTSFORD) The Fraser Valley Food Show will be held Sept 14-15 at the TRADEX Fraser Valley Trade & Exhibition Centre in Abbotsford, BC. Experience food both local and international, celebrity chef demonstrations, cooking competitions, sausage making competitions, cheese and wine seminars, Bite of the Valley participating restaurants and the Grapes and Hops wine/beer/spirits tasting pavilion. (fraservalleyfoodshow.com) CHEFMEETSBCGRAPE (VANCOUVER) 75 BC wineries will be sharing more than 300 BC VQA wines, perfectly paired with regional dishes from top Ocean Wise partner restaurants, and showcasing why BC food is designed for BC wine. September 20, 7:00 PM- 9:30 PM, Vancouver Convention Centre Eastwinebc.org/news

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

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FINDING FOOD IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES (VICTORIA) A panel discussion on alternative ways to buy local food and support a local food economy. Panelists include visiting UK Bread activist Andrew Whitley and Guy Johnston of the Michelle Rose Community Supported Fishery. In the Garry Oak Room at the Fairfield Community Centre. Entrance by donation. Sept 21 from 6.30-9pm. SIP AND SAVOUR SALT SPRING (SALT SPRING ISLAND) This festival brings together growers, food providers and chefs from Salt Spring Island and neighbouring Gulf Islands, Cowichan Valley and Saanich Peninsula with vintners representing the wine growing regions of British Columbia. On Saturday evening, at 6:30pm, talented local chefs and winemakers will create a five-course dinner to be held at Channel Ridge Farm in their heritage wooden barn. There will only be 120 tickets sold for this Gala Winemakers’ Dinner at $150.00 per person (taxes and gratuity included). Sept. 22-23. (sipandsavoursaltspring.com) THE NORTH ISLAND’S GOURMET PICNIC (COMOX VALLEY) Sunday Sept. 23 from 1-4pm. A culinary showcase of some of Vancouver Island’s finest chefs, vintners and producers. Takes place at Coastal Black Estate Winery and Meadery 2186 Endall Road For tickets and more info visit gourmetpicnic.ca TASTE OF NEW ZEALAND & TASTE OF GERMANY (VICTORIA) Sept 25 & Oct 23 at Paprika Bistro. $39 - 4-course wine & food tasting with Stuart Brown. For details visit or call paprika-bistro.com 250.592.7424 BC WINE AWARDS RECEPTION & TASTING (FRASER VALLEY) This event kicks off the 2012 Fall Okanagan Wine Festival and includes the announcement of the award winning wines from the 2012 Fall Judging Competition. This medal-winning wines competition is judged by world-renowned judges judging the wines produced by our member wineries. The announcement will be followed by a reception including fabulous tapas, canapés and the opportunity to be one of the few to taste a selection of some of these award-winning wines while you still can. Sept 29. (OkanaganWineAwards.com) MADRONA FARM’S CHEF SURVIVAL CHALLENGE (VICTORIA) The 5th Annual Chef Survival Challenge will take place at Madrona Farm on Sunday, Sept 30, from noon to 6pm. Tickets are $50 per person/ $100 per family, and are now available at the Madrona Farm Vegetable Stand, 4217 Blenkinsop Road. Cheer on the region's finest chefs as they compete to find the best ingredients on the farm, then bid on the meals they create. Prizes and gift certificates from participating restaurants will be given away as well! (chefsurvivalchallenge.com)

OCTOBER

JAMES BARBER FUNDRAISER FOR PROVIDENCE FARM (DUNCAN) This will be the second annual fundraiser for Providence Farm. The theme this year will be local honey with chefs preparing savoury and sweet dishes with this local treat. Tickets will be available through the office at Providence Farm and will be $125 for an afternoon filled with local food, wines, beers and mead. Last year’s event sold out, so make sure you get your tickets early. Oct 7. Call (250) 746 4204 for tickets. Or visit facebook: Cowichan Chefs Table. ART OF THE COCKTAIL (VICTORIA) The Art of the Cocktail is a special weekend long event fundraiser for the Victoria Film Festival. The Grand Cocktail Tasting returns and public tastings and special events will be held from Oct 13-15. (artofthecocktail.ca). BAKERS MARKET (VANCOUVER) A gathering of professional, amateur, student & mom bakers who get together to buy and sell their baked goods to the community. Inspired by farmers markets (no veggies please), just lots of sweet & savoury baked goodies. Saturdays, from 11am-3pm, at the Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre, 7646 Prince Albert Street, Vancouver. Oct 6 –Dec 8. (bakersmarket.com) THE 20TH ANNUAL BITE OF NANAIMO (NANAIMO) Oct. 19 from 4pm- 9pm at the Beban Park Auditorium. The 19th Annual Bite of Nanaimo is a tasty fundraiser for TheatreOne. Tickets available now. (theatreone.org). coming up... WINTER BLUES BBQ (UCLULET) Nov 3. Annual outdoor BBQ featuring live music by Headwater! and Marc Crissinger. Adam Protter of Big Smoke Mountain BBQ will be here again serving up his award winning BBQ meats and homemade sauces. Outdoor tenting, signature bourbon bar and all you can eat gourmet BBQ and side dishes. Black Rock Resort. Tickets available at 1-877-762-5011. blackrockresort.com

www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

BACK IN SESSION THIS FALL...

community causes — by Joseph Blake

food mat

Chef Survival Challenge

Buck

Madrona Farm’s popular harvest feast, now in its fifth year, proves the farm is surviving—and thriving.

Courtesy of Chef’s Survival

www.hestercreek.com

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

WHEN I VISITED Madrona Farm recently, Nathalie Chambers was out by the chicken house feeding her heritage hens and gathering eggs. A passionate, self-described “ advocate for agricultural ecology,” the young farmer was full of news about the Blenkinsop Road property’s upcoming Chef Survival Challenge on September 30 from noon to 5 p.m. The event, now in its fifth year, showcases the culinary art and physical endurance of two dozen of Victoria’s best chefs who insist upon local, sustainable produce. They compete in a farm-style obstacle course and forage for produce used in unique cooking demonstrations. Their culinary masterpieces are then auctioned off to the crowd, and the chef whose meal receives the highest bid wins the coveted Golden Broccoli Trophy. The event includes the by-now-infamous boat race to “condiment island,” an irrigation-pipe crawl, haystack hurdles and more. A catered meal, live music and children’s activities are included in the $40 admission ($100 for families; wine and beer for purchase). It’s been just over two years since the farm was bought by the Land Conservancy of B.C. after an outpouring of support that helped raise funds to conserve the 27-acre farm run by David and Natalie Chambers. David is a farmer following in the footsteps of his grandfather Lawrence, who began farming Madrona in 1951. Lawrence’s wife, Ruth Chambers, fought for decades to save Blenkinsop Valley’s agricultural roots, and Nathalie feels a strong kinship with her efforts. When David and Nathalie married and moved to Madrona in 1999, she began her own battle to save the farm through what she calls “agricultural ecology—creating high levels of biodiversity, which is the best way to create sustainability.” “We have the greatest bird diversity in Victoria, more than 50 species,” Chambers explained. “And you should hear the roar the frogs in our pond make at night. I’m working on a native pollinator enhancement project. We have 450 native species of bees in B.C. and that biodiversity is the solution to the disease created by imported honeybees. The event is an important fundraiser for the farm, which is clearly not resting on any laurels now it is owned by the TLC. “I’m not going to sit around and let the current recession dictate our food security,” says Nathalie. “I learned from our campaign to save Madrona Farm that I’m an agricultural fundraiser—4,500 people contributed $2.7 million to save the farm. I’ve created a new project, the Big Dream Farm Fund, for this year’s Chef Survival Challenge.” “Eighty percent of the Big Dream Farm Fund will go towards farmland acquisition, the other 20 percent for agriculture sustainability education,” Chambers explains. “We’re also planning a travelling road show to take the Chef Survival Challenge across Canada, and several networks are interested in turning it into a reality show. “Ever since David and I started our Roadside Chefs Cooking Demonstrations at the stand on Blenkinsop Road, I’ve thought of the farm as an imagination playground. The first Chef Survival Challenge in 2008 put Madrona Farm on the map, and it gets bigger and better every year.” For info and tickets, visit www.chefsurvivalchallenge.com or Madrona Farm Gate, 4317 Blenkinsop Rd. Wed-Sat 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

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FROM BEHIND THE CAR WASH in Pemberton wafts the sweet aroma of fresh baking. I follow it to the Good Life CafĂŠ and spy a wiry and energetic 70-ish woman taking a large cake pan from the oven. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fruit buckle. Bet you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know that term,â&#x20AC;? she says, slicing into the cake, then offering me a generous sample. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I do,â&#x20AC;? I say. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I used to live in New England.â&#x20AC;? (home of the buckle). Cynthia grins. She hails from Maine. A buckle is fruit-laden coffee cake. Good Lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s version is dense with lots of berries, yet possesses a delicate crumb. Sugar and cinnamon in the floury topping is neither too much nor too little. With a steaming mug of roasty java, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lovely dessert for breakfast. Buckles are in the same camp as grunts, slumps, cobblers, crumbles or crisps, betties and pandowdies. Most are mired in New England cookery and the best are made with ripe fruit at the peak of the season. Excepting buckle, which is made with cake batter, they are essentially no-pastry pies. Rather than a top and bottom pie crust, dumpling or biscuit dough is dropped onto sweetened fruit, or pieces of chilled butter pebble a mix of flour and sugar. Sometimes oats are added to sweetened fruit. Sometimes breadcrumbs are used. The pudding is then baked or steamed. Opinions vary widely regarding the difference between a cobbler and a crisp, or a slump and a grunt. Should a buckle be layered with fruit or have the fruit mixed in? Should it be served upside down? Really, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter a fig (or apple, or peach, or blueberry). Upside down or right side up, they are all pretty darn delicious. The crazy names mimic what happens in the pan during cooking. With a cobbler, side-by-side drop biscuits rise to look like cobblestones. Crumble toppings â&#x20AC;&#x153;crispâ&#x20AC;? in a hot oven. Fruit â&#x20AC;&#x153;bucklesâ&#x20AC;? in batter or â&#x20AC;&#x153;slumpsâ&#x20AC;? in the pan, or â&#x20AC;&#x153;gruntsâ&#x20AC;? as it stews in its juices. The etymology of â&#x20AC;&#x153;pandowdyâ&#x20AC;? is uncertain. I think it may be a corruption of â&#x20AC;&#x153;pain,â&#x20AC;? the French word for bread, and dowdy, meaning plain. Because tasty as it is, I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t call this pieâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;made with apples, brown sugar or molasses, and broken dough piecesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;pretty. Where the name Betty comes from escapes me, but it too relies on apples, spiced and layered amidst breadcrumbs. With some help from Google and A History of Food, I patch together how these fruit-and starch puddings likely came about. Colonial settlers did what they could with what they had in order to riff on their beloved steamed puddings. They brought the apple to America and planted orchards. Apples thrived. They also stored well. Blueberries and blackberries grew wild. The peach did particularly well in the South. The farmsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cows and chickens offered milk and eggs. Flour was no doubt milled from homegrown wheat. It seems sugar was easy to come by. I can picture poorer folk using stale bread for toppings, and lard instead of butter for fat when making biscuits or dumplings. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll bet, too, fancy bakeware was scarce. That would necessitate cooking sweet things in the same skillets, Dutch ovens and earthenware used to braise meat. These fruit stews were not just desserts. They provided the worker with ballast before a hard dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work in field or forge. My bookcase holds a well-thumbed copy of Fine Old New England Recipes (Culinary Arts Press) I bought in Massachusetts 40 years ago. Recipes for berry grunt and Hyannis slump, blueberry Betty and apple pandowdy with pudding sauce, which is a concoction of eggs, sugar and brandy, are as easy to make now as then. June Plattâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New England Cook Book (McClelland and Stewart, 1971) also offers easy methods for making slumps, buckles and crisps. These fruit and starch puddings soon made it to the Maritimes. Nova Scotia, known for its abundance of wild, lowbush blueberries, put its own signature on blueberry grunt. My favourite recipe for this dessert comes from Out of Old Nova Scotia Kitchens (H.H. Marshall 1981). I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think of a better way to celebrate a crisp fall day than a basket of firm, sweet apples or wild berries made into one of these early country desserts. Excuse me while I grunt and slump to the kitchen.

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SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

chef profile — by Jeff Bateman

View Finder

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Rebecca Wellman

The sumptuously simple cuisine of Vista 18’s Garrett Schack. GARRETT SCHACK’S WORLD is spinning fast even if his workaday domain high atop the Chateau Victoria is a stable city-view restaurant rather than a rotating one (contrary to what some tipsy customers may attest, he says with a chuckle). Schack and his young family of four have just bought a house. He’s shooting his first season as host

of CHEK Victoria’s cooking show Yum (airing Mondays at 8 p.m.). He’s putting in volunteer hours with the Pacific Salmon Foundation. And he’s into his fifth year of running the show at the hotel’s Vista 18 and its lobby-level sister establishment Clive’s Classic Lounge. “It’s a busy and full life, yet I’m comfortable with the pace and I’ve never been happier,” says Schack, 37. Relaxed and smiling in his starched whites, he’s a key part in Vista 18’s evolution from suit-and-tie formality to a more cosmopolitan vibe that matches the panoramic views with chef’s brand of Pacific Northwest cuisine. “The menu’s now about 80 percent local, and that’s a credit to the amazing suppliers around here—Saanich Organics, Eagle Paws Organics, Sea Bluff Farm, FAS and so many others.” Born in Prince George, Schack spent his teenage years as a military brat in Lahr, Germany, where he developed a taste for potato pancakes and the noodle dish spätzle. He landed in Victoria in his early 20s and studied at Camosun College under Gilbert Noussitou, one of his VIP mentors then and now. “The insights Gilbert gave me on how to cook, run a business and manage life as a chef were invaluable.” Mel O’Brien trained him in the art of preparing locally sourced food in his first postcollege job at the Marina Restaurant. Schack refined those skills at Canoe Brewpub when he was hired by chef (and now best friend) Kevin Gomes in 2002. His first test of fire as an executive chef was at Temple Restaurant and Lounge before Clive Piercy brought him to Vista 18 in 2007 for what has been a satisfying run in the city’s eyecandy aerie. “Simplicity” is one of the entrée categories on Schack’s dinner menu, and that says it all about his philosophy. “We keep things light and fresh in a way that allows the food to speak for itself,” he explains. “The quintessential dish here is my walnutcrusted halibut served with a savoury rhubarb galette and some lightly dressed arugula for that peppery bite.” While there’s no window in the kitchen, he says it’s always a 1SPVE 4VQQPSUFST PG #$ "MCFSUB 'BSNFST BOE 1SPEVDFST pleasure to wander out from backstage to encounter a postcard sunset. “I like to think the food is as good as the view, but some may disagree,” he says, looking out towards Beacon Hill Park and laughing again. Happy man, and a happily homegrown menu.

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

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www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

EAT magazine • September + October 2012 edition

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

good for you — by Pam Durkin

get fresh

B.C.’s New Nordic Diet

The latest diet trend is chockfull of healthy fare harvested right here in B.C.

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FOR YEARS, HEALTH professionals have touted the Mediterranean diet as the world’s healthiest eating plan. But regional cuisine from a much cooler climate than the sundrenched Mediterranean is poised to steal that distinction. The “New Nordic Diet,” based on traditional, local fare from Scandinavia, is wowing nutrition experts worldwide and has many declaring it even more beneficial to health than the much heralded Mediterranean diet. That’s good news for British Columbians, as there are striking similarities between the local fare harvested in B.C. and that of the Nordic countries. The New Nordic Diet’s preeminent proponent is Danish chef Claus Meyer, cofounder of the Copenhagen restaurant Noma, which was recently crowned “best restaurant in the world” for the third year in a row by British trade magazine Restaurant and its World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Long known for his artful presentation of local cuisine, Meyer sought to “scientifically legitimize” a diet he felt would be environmentally sound, beneficial to health and in line with the principles of sustainable agriculture. Working with faculty from the department of human nutrition at the University of Copenhagen, Meyer developed the New Nordic Diet based on the foods traditionally eaten in Scandinavian countries before McDonald’s and Starbucks became ubiquitous. The rustic diet emphasizes “home cooking” and uses such ingredients native to the Nordic region as cold water fish, wild berries, fruits like apples and pears, root vegetables, cold climate greens like cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts, grains grown in the region (barley, rye and oats) and lean game meats like reindeer, venison and rabbit. In addition, Meyer recommends the liberal use of condiments such as local honey, molasses, fresh herbs and artisanal vinegar. Cold water fish, berries, greens—is this sounding vaguely familiar? Though B.C. is undoubtedly a “reindeer-free” zone, the rest of this healthy bounty can easily be procured in B.C. Like the Nordic region, the province’s waters contain an abundance of cold water fish like salmon and halibut that are chockfull of heart-healthy omega3 fatty acids. And our choice of berries even exceeds that of our Scandinavian friends. Blueberries, blackberries, currants, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, salmon berries, black raspberries—they’re all readily available here—in the wild or cultivated by our local fruit growers. Root vegetables and cold climate greens are plentiful here too, as are apples and pears. Thanks to the Peace River Region’s B.C. Grain Growers Association, we can also enjoy “grown in B.C.” barley, rye and oats. And though game meats like venison and rabbit are not everyday items you can find in your local supermarket, they are becoming increasingly available at specialty markets throughout the province. Clearly, just like the Scandinavians, we have all the bounty we need to create our own, world-class, health-enhancing diet, without having to adhere to a diet plan better suited for sunnier, warmer shores. The problem is, not enough of us are eating these foods on a regular basis. We eschew local artisanal products for cheaper, massproduced fare flown in from afar or we grill asparagus from Mexico, marinated in Greek olive oil to toss in our Italian pasta because we’ve been led to believe Mediterranean cuisine is optimal for good health. But is it? Many nutritionists feel the Nordic diet supersedes the Mediterranean diet in several ways. First, it is much richer in omega-3 fatty acids—essential fats that have been proven to combat heart disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s and some types of cancer. And the whole grains in the diet provide superior nutrition to the refined wheat products—pasta, pizza dough and polenta—which form the basis for many Mediterranean dishes. In addition, the emphasis on antioxidant-rich berries, both fresh and dried, moves the Nordic diet to the head of the class when it comes to reducing the risk for heart disease and cancer. Furthermore, the Nordic diet provides more lean protein and complex carbohydrates than its Mediterranean counterpart, making it the winner when it comes to healthy weight maintenance. It’s evident that making our local, cold-climate fare the most dominant source of our sustenance is a healthy choice—whether we call it the Nordic diet or re-christen it the B.C. diet.

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get fresh — COOKING BY THE SEASON — by Sylvia Weinstock

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Corn on the cob is a luscious late summer ritual, but the sweet niblets have many other uses. CORN ON THE COB belongs to the same small elite food group as artichokes, crab and lobster: these four foods are the perfect juicy excuse to eat a lot of melted butter. Using butter spiked with garlic or herbs adds another dimension of tempting taste. Whether you use a knife to spread butter over steaming rows of niblets, or roll hot cobs in a communal slab of butter until each kernel is glistening and dripping gold, eating corn on the cob in the sunshine is the epitome of fall harvest delights. The maize plant, an ancient wild cereal grass native to North and South America, is the ancestor of sweet corn. Columbus brought maize back to Spain and from there it was introduced to the rest of Europe. Cultivated corn cropped up more than 3,000 years ago in the southwestern United States, where it was a staple food for Native Americans and played an important role as the “Sacred Mother” and “Giver of Life.” Most cultivated corn is eaten by livestock; only 17 percent is sweet corn, which is what we humans eat. Sweet corn was not widely available in North America until the 1850s. For local corn, check out Abby Lane Farm (Duncan), Smyth’s Market Garden and Galey Farms Corn Maze and Market (Saanich), Gobind Farms and Silverill Corn (Saanichton), Sluggett Farms (Brentwood Bay), Fernandes Fruit Market (Osoyoos) and McMillan Farms (Kelowna) as well as local farmers’ markets in September. Without corn, there would be no nachos, no bourbon, no moonshine. We couldn’t flip cornmeal johnnycakes, shove hoecakes into a wood oven on a hoe, or cook up a mess of samp, loblolly, hasty pudding or hominy grits. We couldn’t munch any suffering succotash—corn, kidney beans and dog meat cooked in bear grease—adapted by pilgrims from the American Indian dish misickquatash. (Locro de choclo, a delicious South American version, is made by simmering corn, grilled green peppers, tomatoes, onions, parsley, garlic, lima beans and squash, pumpkin or zucchini.) Without niblets, we couldn’t concoct hush puppies (cornmeal batter fried in a fish skillet and tossed to the hounds to keep them from drooling over their master’s fish fry). And no imaginative Italian would have invented polenta. Corn salads are a delicious way to take advantage of the fall harvest. Here are some ideas: corn, tomato, red onion, blue cheese and basil salad; corn and chipotle pepper salad; arugula corn salad with bacon; corn and black bean salad with basil lime vinaigrette; and quinoa salad with corn, edamame, cukes, lemon zest, mint, basil and red onion. There are endless ways to riff on corn chowder; adding lobster makes it super scrumptious. And here is a hot tip for removing niblets off the cob. Drape a towel over the hole of a bundt pan (to protect the pan), place a shucked cob upright in the hole, and cut the kernels off using downward strokes with a sharp knife. To grill corn, peel husks back, remove silk, replace husks and tie with kitchen string. Soak unhusked cobs in water for 20 minutes and drain. Grill cobs, covered, over medium-high heat for 20 to 30 minutes, turning several times, until husks are blackened and corn is tender. Corn is at its peak of flavour immediately after it is harvested, when its sugar begins converting to starch. Refrigerating freshly harvested, unhusked corn helps postpone the sugar-to-starch conversion. Don’t shuck the husks until the pot of water is boiling. Set the table with a slab of butter, corn on the cob-shaped corn holders, sea salt, plenty of napkins and a pillar of dental floss.

Corn Salsa

Serve this delicious salsa with seared scallops, seasonal fish, grilled meat, fish tacos, corn on the cob or corn chips. Using grilled corn instead of boiled corn adds a yummy smoky flavour. 2 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped Niblets from one ear of corn 1 shallot, peeled and cut into thin strips

1 clove garlic, minced fine 1 tsp lime juice 1 Tbsp cilantro, coarsely chopped Salt and pepper to taste 1 Tbsp walnut oil

Boil corn niblets in a small amount of water until tender. Drain. Mix corn with shallots, garlic, lime juice, cilantro and tomatoes. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add walnut oil and stir to combine.

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www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

reporter — Victoria & Vancouver Island Amusé

A Roost in North Saanich

Macchiato Caffe

Amusé on the Vineyard | Unsworth Vineyards, 2915 Cameron Taggart Rd., Cobble Hill, B.C. | 250.743.3667 | amuseonthevineyard.com

The Roost Farm Centre | 9100 East Saanich Road, North Saanich | roostfarmcentre.com | 250.655.0075

Macchiato Caffe | 780 Johnson St. (at the Juliet) | Victoria | 250.590.5985

Rebecca Wellman

Chamomile-lavender tea-scented scallops (from Island Wineries of British Columbia) A former Cobble Hill hobby farm graced by old fruit trees, Foch grapevines and a thriving garden is now home to Amusé on the Vineyard and Unsworth Vineyards. Chef Brad Boisvert and wife Leah saw the 1895 farmhouse on this beautiful property as a perfect replacement for his popular Shawnigan Lake location. Brad already had a connection to the farm; the previous owner had provided the restaurant with vegetables. Committed to preserving its sturdy bones, Brad retained the home’s original flooring and wainscotted sitting and dining areas. General contractor Tom Humber upgraded the house using local lumber. He also constructed the new airy Foch Lounge. The bar is made with Tahsis marble and the lounge’s iron chandelier was fashioned by a local artisan. The restaurant is a seamless blend of traditional and modern. Restaurant and winery (which was bought by Tim and Colleen Turyk in 2009) are now in full swing. Amusé’s menu is short—four appetizers and as many mains, and desserts. Ingredients are sourced locally. Included among the all-BC wine list are four reds and four whites by taster, glass or half-litre, including, of course, offerings from Unsworth Vineyards. Molasses bread, cheddar biscuits and caraway crackers are all made in-house. A velvety blend of potato and garlic scapes served chilled, riffs off vichyssoise (in a very good way). Napped with arugula pesto and Montana cheese, it is a splendid starter. Wafer-thin beet chips and raspberries add salt/sweet purpose to a salad of Little Qualicum Blue Cheese, quail egg and Morbetta Farm’s greens (mizuna, Pac Choy, pea shoots, dill and baby lettuce leaves) tossed with strawberry-green-peppercorn vinaigrette. Rhubarb and ginger chutney gives lift to rich duck pȃté. Salmon terrine is defined by its coarser-than-pȃté texture. Pan-roasted lingcod on a bed of nutty quinoa salad comes to the table piping hot. Slivers of baby zucchinis, juicy grape tomatoes and mini-patty pan add the grace notes—spot on with Unsworth Pinot Grigio. Coq au vin sausage in a lunchtime cassoulet, I have heard, is standout. There is also a promise of pork belly in the dish. It is a must on my next visit, when I will also leave room for panna cotta before nipping back to the winery for a sip of Ovation, a port-style wine made from those old Foch grapes. BY JULIE PEGG

The Roost Farm Centre is a visionary concept. The 10-acre North Saanich property was bought at auction by Hamish Crawford in 1989 when the federal government removed the acreage from the Saanich Peninsula’s Experimental Farm. The Scottish-Canadian farmer launched his own agricultural experiment, planting apple trees and a field of hard red spring wheat. For several years, he raised ostriches. Another couple started a garden centre at the Roost, and in 2002, a bakery was added using flour from grain grown and milled on the farm. Hamish’s daughter, Sarah, grew up there. And when she married Dallas Bohl, the son of one her father’s oldest friends, the young couple bought into the burgeoning Roost in 2007 adding a blueberry field, sheep, a wood-fired pizza oven and a winery showcasing the farm’s Siegerrebe, Marechal Foch, Pinot Noir Precoce and Leon Millot grapes. Next came a bistro with an ever-expanding menu of soups, salads, pizzas and seasonal main courses. During the summer, local bands play Thursdays to Saturdays, 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. I visited the Roost recently, sitting on the patio with Dallas Bohl, executive chef John DeBiens and one of the farm’s young cooks, Melanie Castle. Together we sample an artichoke dip and Roost flatbread, local roasted duck pizza, and the Garden Pizza (featuring a neighbouring farm’s shiitake mushrooms) accompanied by chilled Siegerrebe, the farm’s blended red wine, and one of the Roost’s signature cocktails, a red wine Caesar. A Danish couple dining nearby suggests we try the authentic Danish Kringels. The succulent pastries are a treat as are the bakery’s chewy chocolate cookies. (So is the savoury pulled pork pie I take home and sample later.) “We introduced full butter pastry and meat pies this year, and we’re already selling 400 tourtières a week,” says chef DeBiens. “Our customers and flexible menu based on fresh ingredients direct our growth.” My tour of the farm includes the wheat field, flour mill, sheep meadow and chicken yard, Hamish’s classic car collection, an exotic menagerie containing rabbits, turkeys and golden pheasants, and a vegetable garden where David “Mr. Organic” Friend mentors Kelset Elementary School students in organic gardening. In an open-sided greenhouse, Hamish is growing two huge pumpkins. He’s won the Saanich Fair’s blue ribbon four years in a row, his largest, an 873-pound giant. If there is any doubt that Hamish Crawford thinks big, Bohl shows me a model of The Roost’s current proposal—a Scottish castle with nine-room B&B, restaurant and special events hall. “Hamish keeps coming up with ideas to expand the business,” explains DeBiens. As we wrap up our tour, we encounter a bazooka-like air gun. Bohl demonstrates by loading a rubber chicken with gravel and stuffing it in the cannon. “Actually, the whole farm is a front for this gun,” DeBiens jokes as, with a resounding bang, the rubber chicken sails over the busy farm and into the organic vegetable garden. Proving that even a serious business like the Roost Farm Centre needn’t be too serious. BY JOSEPH BLAKE

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

In a day and age when food and coffee can be political, trendy and fad-focused, as well as a social-echelon indicator, Macchiato Caffe upholds deliberate attention and dedication to good food, appealing and comfortable decor and truly lovely coffee. Maurizio and Massimo Segato (Italian Food Imports) opened their first Macchiato Caffe at Broughton and Broad six years ago, before the onslaught of Victoria’s fervent coffee culture craze. They brought in Sean Sloat as co-owner shortly thereafter. The three opened Macchiato’s second location in March. There is much beautiful coffee in this town; theirs is Caffe Umbria. But it’s the food and decor that set Macchiato Caffe apart. The café offers a range of delicious, housemade food as well as outsourced baked goods. The Italian Mix salad with abruzzo salami, mild provolone, chickpeas, artichoke hearts, carrot and parsley in a balsamic vinaigrette is delicious, a mess of texture and solid flavour. The Caprese Salad—cherry bocconcini, grape tomatoes, pitted olives, artichoke hearts in a lemon-basil vinaigrette—was a delight to enjoy on the sunlit patio. (The owners will be looking for a license some time next year.) A Thai chicken soup, intense and rich, was a dissonant combination with the salads, but still lush. The Paris baguette with Tuscan ham, Swiss cheese, leaf lettuce and butter comes in a deeply seeded baguette, fresh and chewy. But I’m weak in the knees for the simple grilled ham and cheese croissant (Bubby Rose’s) for slower mornings after faster evenings. About the breads: Origin, Bubby Rose’s, Portofino, Il Forno di Claudio and Bond Bonds all have carefully appointed places in the gorgeous cases at Macchiato Caffe. “We like something from each of them,” explains Sloat, with a smile. His energy and sincerity match the aesthetic of this cool, chic and inviting venue. The seats, all-white, elegant, but cozy, are part of the alluring and soothing comingling of Old World and new: the best baguette from here, the best croissant from there, the best biscotti from yet another place with a mess of 30+ professionals and other fine folk nattering, laptopping or reading. Macchiato Caffe offers Old World attention to food and flavour in a welcoming urban setting. Macchiato means “marked” or “stained.” It is also the name of one of the barista’s more refined and careful espresso beverages. Macchiato Caffe is a distinguished, tasty place, so, to my mind, aptly named. Brava and grazie. BY GILLIE EASDON

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www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

The Gatsby Mansion

Indulge. Experience. Taste.

Ellie Shortt

The Gatsby Mansion | 309 Belleville St., Victoria | 250.388.9191 | bellevillepark.com

Chef Darcy Ladret in front of The Gatsby Mansion

BOOK YOUR WEEKEND NOW

1-800-663-7090 www.aprilpoint.com y Marine Group EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012 Eat 4.375” x 9.8125” prepared Aug 8, 2012

THERE’S NO QUESTION that Victoria’s an historic town with charming, old-world architecture making up the downtown landscape of our capitol city. Hard to miss are the statuesque parliament buildings and Fairmont Empress Hotel, but only blocks away from these fixtures of downtown lies another heritage building that has been somewhat overlooked lately. I’m speaking of The Gatsby Mansion, a hotel and restaurant seemingly stuck in time, and perhaps not in the right way, until now. The Gatsby is under new management and is in the process of a rather modern makeover. A large part of this makeover is local chef D’Arcy Ladret. Chef Ladret began his restaurant career at the Sooke Harbour House and then travelled around North America working in a number of restaurants, including Lucques in Los Angeles and The Barefoot Bistro in Whistler. He returned to work at Sooke Harbour House a few more times before finding his way to Royal Roads University. Chef Ladret began at The Gatsby Mansion as their new executive chef in May of this year. Chef Ladret still adheres to the lessons learned at Sooke Harbour House—the concepts of locally grown produce, sustainable farming practises, and the use of seasonal fresh food. Ladret insists on using as many local Vancouver Island ingredients as he can find, and strategically incorporates indigenous produce, and even recipes, into his dishes. An example is his hot smoked salmon served with sea asparagus, red quinoa salad and grilled bannock bread. Traditional yet inventive, dishes like this reveal one of the reasons Chef Ladret was selected to trail-blaze the new restaurant makeover and put The Gatsby Mansion back on the map. “I think this city needs to be shaken up a little” says Chef Ladret and adds that, in part, The Gatsby will be doing this through the use of innovative ingredients, such as local lemon verbena instead of imported lemons, as well a thoughtfully paired and mostly local wine menu. He’s added an afternoon tea, which perfectly melds the concepts of classic with contemporary. “Everything on my new menu might be based on traditional concepts, but with a personal touch” he says when reflecting on their choice to have loose-leaf Silk Road teas accompany the elderflower-infused berries, fresh mint and current scones, and white cornmeal shortcakes served with blackberry preserves, Devonshire cream and Sooke honey. The tea will also feature an assortment of sandwiches—devilled egg salad on pumpernickel bread, and baked ham with grainy mustard on a croissant—as well as a variety of signature pastries, including a flourless chocolate torte, lavender shortbread, and rosewater buttercream cupcakes. “I want people to enjoy great food in the setting of this beautiful building,” says Chef Ladret. There’s no question that these are recipes for a successful fine dining destination on Southern Vancouver Island, and Chef Ladret believes these are the reasons why The Gatsby’s legacy is only just beginning. For Chef Ladret, this legacy rests on a balance between traditional and current, as he’s adamant to keep the aesthetic of the building while bringing in a fresh menu. “I just want to use the best local products we can find, cooked in the best way possible,” explains Chef Ladret. As he faces a challenging road ahead, to bring a forgotten local landmark out of the red, it may be that simple wish that proves to be the defining feature of The Gatsby’s rebirth as a modern-minded restaurant, with of course, a traditional twist. BY ELLIE SHORTT

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Long a favourite of Summerland locals, The Vanilla Pod recently moved up to Munson Mountain in Penticton to become the new winery restaurant for Poplar Grove. With a stunning view overlooking the Naramata Bench and the lake, the first thing that hits you when you walk into the restaurant is the visual feast, especially with the smooth flow between indoor and outdoor dining. The food doesn’t get overshadowed, however, thanks to chef Bruno Terroso. Terroso’s menu is simple, but full of robust flavours. Latkes-style potato cakes ($10) made from Yukon gold nuggets are topped with a tomato and avocado salsa fresca and local chevre. The crispness of the cakes pairs perfectly with the creamy cheese and bright salsa, and is matched with the lovely Poplar Grove 2011 Pinot Gris. As a side note, although the restaurant naturally focuses on the house varietals, other wineries are well represented, with the likes of Blue Mountain’s Brut and Twisted Tree’s Viognier-Roussanne blend rounding out the bottle offerings. The daily flatbreads ($14 each), made in the stone oven, are also worth mentioning. Selections change daily, based on what comes out of the market and from artisan suppliers. A spicy sausage version with caramelized onion and fresh basil that is easy to finish, as is a penne dish with wilted spinach, tomatoes, sausage and parmigiano. There is a distinct Mediterranean/Spanish note to the menu. Besides the paella ($30), which includes prawns, scallops, chicken and chorizo, dishes like duck breast with beets and red onion marmalade ($26) break away from sickly-sweet traditions and focus more on licks of heat and hearty flavours balanced with bright aromatics and fresh ingredients. Beef tenderloin ($29) is served with a curry butter, while halibut ($26) is dressed with prosciutto and white balsamic vinaigrette. As for desserts, bread pudding ($10) may not have sounded extraordinary on the menu, but this New Orleans version with sour mash caramel sauce and fresh vanilla bean gelato is a comforting, rich and heady experience, especially when paired with Poplar Grove’s Late Harvest Riesling. And since the restaurant is open year-round, it doesn’t have to be a seasonal experience. BY ANYA LEVYKH

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Waterfront Restaurant & Wine Bar Waterfront Restaurant & Wine Bar | #104-1180 Sunset Dr., Kelowna | 250.979.1222 | www.waterfrontrestaurant.ca It’s technically not a new restaurant, having been around since 2005. But with their newly revamped and expanded space and menu, Waterfront Restaurant and Wine Bar is aiming for a whole new stratosphere in dining accolades (and it’s received quite a few to date). Despite its fine-dining label, the room is warm, cozy, comfortably loud and not even a little bit pretentious. The portions are ample and the prices reasonable. This is Kelowna at its best: fabulous wines, amazing food and cargo shorts for dinner. The blame for all of the kudos rests firmly on the humble shoulders of Executive Chef (and Sommelier) Mark Filatow, along with his team, led by Restaurant Chef Wayne Morris. There are not many chefs in Canada who are members of the Sommelier Guild, but Filatow is one of that small handful, and his expertise in food and wine pairing comes out oh-so-clearly throughout the menu. Filatow has an obvious and intense love for all things local and seasonal. French techniques and Asian flavours are used to enhance local ingredients without too much fuss or pomp. An amuse of mild soppressata (one of several made in Chef’s basement, by all accounts) is matched beautifully with tiny, cubed, pickled red and yellow beets that deliver enormous bursts of flavour. Lamb duo of Moroccan braised cheek and grilled tenderloin ($28) sits happily with potato “doughnuts” and carrot-honeyyogurt purée, but the genius is in the pairing with Church and State’s 2009 Cab Sauv, which I had previously thought middling, but, matched with smoky-sweet lamb and the cooling puree, became something lip-smacking. House-smoked wild salmon ($12) with shaved radishes paired with the 2011 Tantalus Riesling was another wake-up call to the buds, and got us ready for the next course, a crispy pork belly ($12). This was one of the stars of the night. A spicy miso glaze with ginger and rice wine notes was the base for a round of crisped, yet fork-tender belly, topped with lightly-pickled cherries and aromatic crackling. Paired with Nichol Vineyard’s 2011 Pinot Gris, it was a moment of mad wonder on the palate, one I can’t wait to experience again. BY ANYA LEVYKH

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

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Downtown Eastside, the less-than-trendy location hasn’t been a deterrent to the crowds of hungry hipsters who have flocked here during the first few months. The room is definitely a draw, with its heritage brick and giant wood-and-mirror-panelled dragon that undulates across the ceiling. But it’s the food—a unique mix of Asian flavour and American barbecue—that keeps people coming back.

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glaze that is garnished with fresh fried garlic and fresh scallions. For the more adventurous, items like the smoked lamb heart larb (a Thai-style meat salad) or the smoked and roasted half pig’s head are must-tries. As for the liquid refreshments, barman Matt Martin has crafted a cocktail menu that matches the flavour ethos of the food with a bold preciseness that leaves the palate eminently satisfied. The Fat-hattan ($10.50) is a neat twist on the classic Manhattan, with Maker’s Mark, bitters and some of that smoked vermouth mentioned above. Add in the solid selection of craft brews (mainly from Asia and B.C.) and the outstanding wine list—especially in the Riesling category—and you have a palate-happy marriage indeed. Open daily, 11:30am to late, reservations only for parties of eight or more BY ANYA LEVYKH

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www.cactusclubcafe.com

www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

Eating Well For Less Three places to eat in Victoria that are easy on the wallet —but still deliver — by Elizabeth Smyth

Kulu Restaurant | 1296 Gladstone Ave. | 778-430-5398

Elizabeth Nyland

Pictured left: The house made pork sausage on rice with kimchi and side salad. The local miso chicken with side salad also served on jasmine rice. right: Chef Hank Kao posing outside the restaurant 20

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

Elizabeth Nyland

Kulu is my go-to dinner place when I go to the Belfry, with its creative entrees and plentiful vegetables. The chef has now shaken up the lunch menu, doing quick and tasty, but still beautiful, rice platters for $9.50, which can be eaten in the restaurant or delivered to downtown offices or Camosun College Lansdowne. Chef Hank Kao should get credit as a top sausage maker in this city for his house-made Taiwanese pork sausage with its intriguing and assertive hits of vodka, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, Chinese five-spice and a Chinese herb that defied translation. The house-made kimchi is also well beyond what you should be getting for under $10, and I’ll go out on a limb again and say it’s the best I’ve had. This juicy tumble of Asian pears, apples and lemon is made fresh every two days and is nothing like the stuff in my fridge from the grocery store. This is served with rice and drizzled with delicious teriyaki sauce. A note for yummy Fernwood mummies: the baby taster with us loved the sauce with rice. The other Asian dish is local Miso Chicken marinated is a delicious blend of sake, soy, garlic, basil and miso. As with all dishes, this is served with rice and a generous salad with a light mustard dressing. For a bit of B.C, there’s the Smoked Salmon Don, with a very generous spread of salmon, and a perfectly seared Albacore Tuna Don drizzled with a light dressing of Japanese mayonnaise and lemon juice. This is a peaceful, soothing space for a meal, with very considerate service. If you are having a meal delivered, please note that you need to order before 5 p.m. the day before, with a $30 minimum.

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Herb slathered roast pork with local cucumber and feta cheese on Fol Epi bread. The Village Butcher | 2032 Oak Bay Ave. near Foul Bay Rd. | 250-598-1115 You know something interesting is going to happen when your butcher-cum-chef has this combination of cookbooks on her shelf: Texas Home Cooking beside the Larousse Gastronomique, and The Meatloaf Cookbook beside a book simply called Paté. Rebecca Taskey and partner in butchering Mike Windle at The Village Butcher are putting on Saturday lunches of two sandwiches and something on the barbecue (barbecue items will be available until roughly the end of September, depending on the weather). The menu changes, but I first enjoyed a Spiced Braised Brisket with pickled onion on a Fol Epi baguette. Brisket is the breast of the steer, smoked, braised and corned to get it tender. This one was spiced with cinnamon, cumin, red wine, garlic and onion. The sandwich was then smeared with fluffy aioli and topped with blanched pickled onions for bursts of flavour in every mouthful. The other sandwich was Herbed, Slathered Pork Roast served with local cucumbers and sheep’s feta. The word “slathered” is no exaggeration; the Berkshire pork from Still Meadow Farm is absolutely encrusted and infused with herbs. Cucumbers provide an interesting crunch and the Greek sheep’s feta acts as a slightly salty condiment rather than a main ingredient. The charcoal barbecue set up outside the butcher shop creates community curiosity and an informal meeting place. On my visit, I had a dish with a French twist—two stubby mutton and pork sausages in a ciabatta bun (from Fol Epi, of course) covered in heirloom white beans in lamb stock stewed with onions and carrots. The porous bread absorbed the juice and fat from the sausage, which made it all messy but succulent. The sandwiches come out at 11 a.m. and are often all gone by 1, so consider yourself warned. The barbecue starts at noon and usually lasts until 1:30.

www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

Sabhai Thai | 2800 Jacklin Rd. at Goldstream | 250-590-5039

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

Already beloved by Sidney residents for its authentic, grandma’s-recipe-based dinners, Sabhai Thai has now opened in Langford, and the focus of this report is the quick lunches on offer for $9. Happily, these are not only weekday offering; they’re also available weekends. So Superstore and Costco runs just got a lot more rewarding for our family. The pad thai is a standout for what it does not have, which is not a hint of oiliness. Each noodle has a silky integrity, and the nutty flavour comes from lots of sprinkled nuts, not the gummy peanut butter you get in lesser versions. The tofu is firm and flavourful and the vegetables crisp. To enjoy the signature Thai flavour of basil, try the Grapaow Goong ($12), a large stir-fry of crisp green and red peppers, onions and tender shrimp in a sauce of fish sauce, oyster sauce, sambal, soy, sugar and garlic, all sprinkled with sesame seeds. The most-ordered dish on the menu is the Gaeng Gai, otherwise known as the Chicken Curry Plate, otherwise known as Combo A. For $9, this is a crazy amount of food, and, if you’re travelling with a toddler, shareable if he will eat the two spring rolls, leaving you the rest. The spring rolls I found bland until dipped in the vinegar sauce. The soup is a light chicken broth with plenty of cabbage and carrots, and the coconut-based chicken curry is creamy, velvety, and smooth. Sabhai Thai does a fancy drink of blended mango juice, coconut milk and ice, a fun add-on for $3. Despite the low prices, they don’t stint on presentation, and portions are served on attractive, square, deep-dish plates. The restaurant is spacious, made of brick and wood, and brightened by skylights and a tapestry depicting the benevolence of the Buddha.

Elizabeth Nyland

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BC Bites & Beverages A series of food and drink expressed by chefs and historians

Bounty from the Harvest With a focus on preservation and pre-war practises, explore the history of the food and beverage industry in BC through guest speakers, tastings and samplings. Thurs, Sept 27, 2012

Food from the Home Front War-time food pairings from BC Archive’s recipe books and a presentation, by author Carolyn Herriot, on the history of ‘Victory Gardens.’ We pay tribute to those who endured the domestic home front. Thurs, Nov 8, 2012 Tickets available online or at the box office. Members $35 + HST Non members $40 + HST 7 – 9 pm, Clifford Carl Hall #bcbevs

www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca

WE TRAVEL TO SOURCE SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO... WWW.OUGHTRED.COM www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

local kitchen Recipes and food styling by JENNIFER DANTER • Photography by MICHAEL TOURIGNY

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

Stuff your food, stuff your face, it’s all good! Fall is about bounty and plenty. Approach it with a “more the merrier” attitude when cooking and filling your table with friends and loved ones.

Get Stuffed

Pork Tenderloin En Croute Stuff, wrap and roll. This is like a giant sausage roll gone mad! 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 large leek, thinly sliced 1 apple, cored and chopped ¼ cup butter 11/2 cups bread cubes (day old or toasted) ½ cup chopped parsley 2 pork tenderloins 6 to 8 slices prosciutto 397 g pkg frozen puff pastry, defrosted 1 egg + 1 Tbsp milk, lightly beaten

Sauté garlic, leek and apple in butter until soft (but not browned), 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in bread cubes. Cool, then stir in herbs. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Using the tip of a knife, slit pork tenderloins down length but don’t cut through completely. Open the cut meat and lay flat. Using a meat mallet or the flat side of a chef knife flatten slightly. Season each with salt and pepper. Lightly pack stuffing down centre of 1 tenderloin. Cover with remaining tenderloin (like a sandwich). Lay prosciutto slices on counter in shape of a rectangle. Place pork on long edge, then roll up, pressing and squeezing to form a giant log. Don’t worry if bits stick out. Cut a strip from pastry to save for decoration. Roll remaining puff pastry into a rectangle larger than the pork. Brush edges with egg mixture. Place pork along bottom edge of pastry, roll up and tuck in pastry edges to form a big log. Roll out saved pastry strip; cut out decorative shapes (make leaves, hearts, apples – whatever you fancy!) Stick on pork roll and brush with egg. Using the tip of a knife, make a few steam holes or slits in roll. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in preheated 400F for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and continue to cook until pork is still slightly pink in the centre, 15 to 20 more minutes. If pastry starts to turn too dark, loosely cover with a piece of foil. Pork is cooked at 160F. Let stand at least 15 minutes to rest before slicing. Make Ahead This dish loves the freezer. Prepare pork but don’t bake. Bake from frozen. Increase cooking time by about 15 more minutes.

www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake Squares When it comes to making dessert, squares are easy and very forgiving. Try these as a replacement (or a pumpkiny extra) for Thanksgiving or any harvest dinner. 1 and 1/4 cups chocolate wafer crumbs ¼ cup butter, melted 1 egg ¾ cup pureed pumpkin or squash ½ cup brown sugar ½ tsp each ginger and cinnamon and cardamom 250 g brick cream cheese, cut into cubes 1 cup chopped chocolate 3 Tbsp whipping cream 1 Tbsp cold butter Line 8-in square baking pan with parchment paper (it will make serving much easier!). Stir crumbs with butter, then pat into pan. Freeze while preparing filling In a bowl, whisk egg with pumpkin, sugar and spices. In another bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in pumpkin mixture. Pour over crust and bake in preheated 325F oven until filling is set, 25 to 30 min. Cool completely. If you have time, refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 minutes. Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Whisk in cream, then whisk in butter until evenly mixed. Pour over chilled cheesecake base. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm. Slice into squares. Cut Like a Pro: Warm knife tip with hot water. Wipe dry. Cut squares. Repeat heating knife and wiping dry between cuts.

+ 26

When it comes to making dessert, squares are easy and very forgiving. Try these as a replacement (or a pumpkiny extra) for Thanksgiving or any harvest dinner.

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

KITCHEN THERAPY & KITCHEN GARDEN everything for the well dressed kitchen

2443 161A Street #10 Surrey BC T 604.536.6005 www.kitchentherapy.ca (Cooking Classes Available)

15355 24th Ave. #540 Surrey BC T 604.536.6066 www.kitchengarden.ca

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EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

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Market Value At last, a year-round indoor public market in Victoria. Victorians and visitors will soon be enjoying the pleasures of a year-round indoor public market not 100 yards from the site of a similar venture that began in the late 1800s. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Victoria Downtown Public Market Society over the past three years, and the supportive vision of Townline, developers of the Hudson District, the as-yet-unnamed market will open in the spring. The newly renovated 18,000square-foot space is on the ground floor of the Hudson building at the corner of Douglas and Fisgard streets. For eight years, Philippe Lucas, the society’s co-founder, has endeavoured to establish a permanent venue for an indoor market that will enhance Victoria’s food experiences. “This market is by the community, for the community,” says the enthusiastic Lucas, who coordinates the annual Eat Here Now Harvest Festival in Market Square. “It will be right at the intersection of two emerging trends: shop local and eat local.” Up to 12 permanent vendors in 1,000-square-foot and 500-square-foot spaces (vendors can opt to take more than one space) and an ever-changing array of 15 temporary vendors will showcase their wares. An onsite community kitchen, sponsored by Vancity, will be available for non-profit groups to demonstrate food preservation techniques and for food demos by local chefs. “The kitchen will be the heart of the market and create a lively atmosphere,” says Lucas. The family-friendly space will offer kid’s programming, live music and special holiday events. A seasonal outdoor market will operate in the carriageway on the building’s east side. Other enticing perks will include free two-hour parking for market shoppers in the building’s parkade, bike courier delivery of purchased goods and covered bike parking. The society is actively seeking vendors for the market.

“We want to offer a diverse mix of local bakers, cheese makers, butchers, fishmongers, fresh produce from local farms, specialty stores and locally made ready-to-eat foods,” says Lucas. “An interesting thing about this venue: it’s within 100 yards of an indoor Victoria public farmer’s market that ran from the late 1800s to around 1960,” Lucas explains. “It was the city’s social hub, with centralized access to local farms. “Local food and urban agriculture movements are forward-looking, concerned with the long-term sustainability of our region and food security, but when you look backward all agriculture was organic,” says the food devotee. One of Lucas’s motivating factors in working toward this goal is his appreciation of the delights and insights gained from visiting food markets on world travels. “It’s a way to understand other societies, a sense of what matters to a culture, what they value,” Lucas explains. Soon tourists, Victorians and Vancouver Islanders will have a beautiful space where they can discover the creativity of local food artisans and the extraordinary bounty of our region. —By Sylvia Weinstock For more information, contact Philippe Lucas at 250-588-1160 and philippe@victoriapublicmarket.com. Check the society’s Facebook and Twitter pages and www.victoriapublicmarket.com for updates. Info on the permanent market will be available at the Eat Here Now Harvest Festival, Sunday September 9, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Market Square. The Victoria Downtown Farmer’s Market runs 12 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays in Market Square until October, and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting in November.

Black Rock - Eat Mag August 2012 • Size: 9.125” (w) x 4.75” (h) • Rough 3 • Aug 01/12

TH ANNIRD UAL

JOIN US FOR THE B ACK ROCK

S E U L B R E WINT SATURDAY

Come and celebrate the arrival of winter NOVEMBER 3 • 2012 & enjoy great food, friends & good times!!!

Presenting: Live Music by ER HEADWAT

WINE PAI Call 726-4800 to reserve your tickets today or purchase at Black Rock Toll Free: 1-877- 762- 5011 www.blackrockresort.com

Featuring: Award Winning BBQ Master Adam Protter (Big Smoke Mountain BBQ)

www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

Halibut en Papi with Olive and

The flavours of th Mirror these pu unoaked, crisp driven Chardonna almond Verdicchi —Treve Ring

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master cooking class

Spud Savoury potato gratins can be prepared in advance and reheated when guests arrive

Love Text and food styling by DENISE MARCHESSAULT Photography by CAROLINE WEST 30 EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

FIND THE RECIPES ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES

Denise Marchessault deliciously delineates some of the infinite possibilities of the lowly tuber.

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Spicy potato croquettes flavoured with ginger, garlic and hot peppers www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

went on a potato spree at culinary school, dragging home bag after bag of potatoes each night to practice my knife skills. Potatoes were cheap (still are), and I learned all the classic knife cuts with them. What I didn’t slice, dice or carve, I mashed and stuffed into pastry bags to practice my piping skills. My potato crusade left me with pounds of leftover potatoes, which I diligently consumed, experimenting with every cooking technique imaginable. (Adjusting the button on my chef’s pants seemed a small concession.) Potatoes are simple to cook, but it helps to know which ones to select because not all potatoes are created equal. High-starch, low-moisture potatoes like russets make light and fluffy baked or mashed potatoes. They’re also the best for deep-frying. Thin-skinned waxy potatoes, like fingerlings or new potatoes, are dense with a firmer bite and tend to hold their shape well. They are best boiled, roasted and pan-fried and are delicious in salads. Of course, you can always fall back on the ubiquitous all-purpose, medium-starch variety, but I prefer potatoes with a purpose. Whatever potato you choose, show your tuber a little respect by cooking it properly. Over-zealous boiling, for example, can rob potatoes of their texture—leaving them soggy and shaggy edged. If you place (cleaned) potatoes in room temperature salted water and bring them to a gentle boil until a knife easy pierces them, you’ll have perfect potatoes every time. It’s not difficult but, like all cooking techniques, it takes a bit of patience and a watchful eye. However you enjoy your potatoes, cut them in relatively uniform shapes to ensure even cooking. It’s a common sense technique that’s often overlooked. I’ve provided three simple recipes that will have your guests lining up for seconds: mashed potato croquettes spiced with ginger, garlic and peppers; crispy grated potatoes with bacon and goat cheese; and sliced potatoes baked in cream and topped with cheese. Croquettes are my favourite way to use up leftover mashed potatoes, but my family loves them so much I sometimes skip the plain mashed and move directly to croquettes. I rarely make the same croquettes twice because my inspiration comes from whatever happens to be in the fridge or pantry at the time. In this recipe, I combined the mashed potatoes with Indian-inspired flavours of ginger, serrano peppers, garlic, lemon, turmeric, coriander and cumin. The potatoes are portioned and shaped into disks or logs and dredged in flour, dipped in beaten egg, then covered with panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and fried until crispy. Rösti (a Swiss-German word pronounced ROOSH-tee) is as straightforward as it gets: grated potatoes pressed into a sizzling, well-oiled pan. Traditionally, rösti potatoes are flat and crispy, but I nudge them into a little potato nest with a ring of chopped bacon and a coin of goat cheese. The trick to rösti is making sure both top and bottom are crispy, which involves flipping (gasp!) the potatoes. This is easy with the help of a plate. Cover the pan with a dinner plate, flip the pan onto the plate to release the rösti, then slide it from the plate back into the pan and voila! Smaller pans make the task more manageable than larger pans. If you’re craving comfort food, a potato gratin is like sitting by the fire, wrapped in your favourite blanket. If you don’t mind splurging on calories now and then, a potato gratin made of sliced potatoes baked in cream and cheese is worth the extravagance. A mandoline or hand-held vegetable slicer (available at kitchenware stores) is a handy tool for cutting the potatoes in thin, even slices. Gratins can be baked in individual ramekins (pictured) or made into oblong terrines. Grab a bag of potatoes this fall and discover the infinite possibilities of the mighty spud!

Individual Potato Gratins Serves four. 5 new potatoes (about 1½ pounds), peeled and washed ¼ cup butter, melted ¼ cup cream 1 tsp salt ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 4 ramekins, 3-inch-by-2-inch Preheat oven to 350F° Slice potatoes thinly with a mandoline or a sharp knife. (A mandoline will make the job much easier.) In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the melted butter, cream and salt. Stack the potato slices into the ramekins, sprinkling them with grated Parmesan every third layer, or so. Press the potatoes firmly into the ramekins to form even layers, ending with grated Parmesan on top. Place the ramekins on a tray and bake for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender when tested with a knife. If the gratins begin to brown too quickly, cover with foil and continue baking. Allow the ramekins to cool slightly and pour off any excess fat. Run a knife around the ramekin and invert the potato gratins onto a plate or serve directly in the ramekins. Leftover gratins can be cooled in their ramekins, covered with plastic and stored in the refrigerator for three days. To reheat, remove the plastic, place the ramekins on a tray, cover with foil and reheat in a 325F° oven until warmed through.

Spicy Potato Croquettes Makes about 18 croquettes, 4-inch-by-¾-inch 2 pounds of russet potatoes, about 3 large potatoes, peeled and diced 1 tsp whole coriander seeds 1 tsp whole cumin seeds ¼ cup butter 2 tsp salt 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice ¾ tsp finely grated fresh ginger ½ tsp finely grated fresh garlic (a microplane grater works well for both ginger and garlic) 1 finely chopped serrano pepper, seeds removed (use less if you don’t like too much spice) ½ tsp turmeric For the breading: 2/3 cup flour 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs or regular bread crumbs) Vegetable oil Kosher salt

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

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Place the potatoes in a saucepan with enough room temperature cold water to cover the potatoes by one inch. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender when tested with a knife. While the potatoes are cooking, toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a small dry skillet just until fragrant. When they have cooled, grind them together using a mortar and pestle or a spice blender. Drain the water from the potatoes. Mash the potatoes in a large bowl, using a ricer, food mill, potato masher or fork. (A ricer or food mill yields the smoothest texture.) Add to the potatoes the ground spices, butter, salt, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, pepper and turmeric and blend until well combined. Taste to adjust seasoning, adding more pepper, lemon or salt if desired. Scoop about 3 tablespoons (about 1 ounce) of the potato mixture onto your work surface and gently roll into a 4-inch log with the palm of your hand. Trim the edges and place on a parchmentor wax-paper lined baking tray. Repeat with remaining mixture, being careful to roll logs into even sized shapes. Refrigerate the potatoes about half an hour—this will firm them up and make them easier to coat. Using three shallow bowls (glass pie plates work well) fill one each with flour, beaten eggs and panko (or breadcrumbs). Remove the potato logs from the refrigerator and, one at a time, dredge each log in the flour, then CONT’D ON NEXT PAGE

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roll it in the beaten eggs, and then in the panko or breadcrumbs. Once the breading is complete, the logs can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a day before shallow frying. Fill a medium-sized cast iron or heavy-duty skillet with enough oil to cover the croquettes halfway with oil. Heat the oil until an instant-read thermometer reaches 350°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, test the oil by adding a small cube of bread: if the bread sizzles and turns golden in about a minute, the oil is ready. Carefully add the croquettes to the oil, one at a time, being careful not to crowd the pan. Rotate the croquettes with tongs or a fork, making sure all sides are golden. Drain the croquettes on a baking rack covered with a paper towel and sprinkle immediately with salt. Place the croquettes in a warm oven while you continue cooking the remaining croquettes. Serve immediately.

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Crispy potato Rösti with bacon and goat cheese Potato Rösti Serves one person as a main dish or two as a side dish. 1 large new or Yukon Gold potato, washed (no need to peel) ½ shallot, grated Pinch of kosher salt 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, rendered bacon or duck fat 1 Tbsp goat cheese 2 slices cooked bacon, drained on a paper towel and diced Freshly ground black pepper In a medium saucepan, add the potato (whole) and enough water to cover the potato by one inch. Bring the water to a gentle boil and parboil (partially cook) the potato for about 8 minutes until it is still firm when pierced with the tip of a knife. Remove the potato from the hot water and plunge into cool water to stop cooking and cool the potato. Grate the potato into a bowl and combine it with the shallot and kosher salt. In a 8-inch non-stick pan (cast iron is ideal) heat the oil until shimmering. Add the grated potato, levelling the mixture with a spatula. When the bottom is well browned, place a plate on top of the skillet, flip the pan onto the plate to release the potatoes, then slide the potatoes from the plate back into the hot pan. Cook the potatoes until well browned, then nudge the sides of the potato into a little nest with your spatula. Slide the rösti onto a clean plate, season with kosher salt and garnish with goat cheese, chopped bacon and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.

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www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

Grow Gro Gr ow It

Eat It Eat

Drink Dri rink k It

the next big thing — by Michelle Bouffard and Michaela Morris

Wine on Tap Wine …in kegs? Why not? A brand-new wine delivery system is coming to a restaurant or bar near you.

A Farm Winery & Roost Bistro 9100 East SSaanich aanich Rd R oost B istro 250 655 0009 Roost Bistro N orth Saanich, Saanich, BC B akery 250 655 0075 North Bakery www.roostfarmcentre.com www.r www .roostfarmcentre.com /TheRoostFarmCentre /TheRoostFarmCentre /TheRoostF

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

A trip to Châteauneuf-du-Pape years ago proved a revelation. It was the town’s annual festival, and a fountain that usually streamed water was dispensing wine. This is the stuff that dreams are made of. Recent visits to the U.S. have been reviving this memory for us. Some restaurants in New York and San Francisco are now serving wineon-tap. Yes, wine! Not beer. The bartender turns a knob and the wine flows until the tap is turned off. Genius! The dream became a reality in B.C. when we ordered a glass of Nichol, Nine Mile Red at Edible Canada on Granville Island. Not only was the wine fresh, it arrived with a pleasingly slight chill as it was drawn from a temperaturecontrolled keg. Wine on tap doesn’t flow from heaven but from two prevalent types of kegs. The first, KeyKeg, is a bag-in-ball system in which pressure between the ball and the bag compresses the bag, forcing wine out without letting air in. It was developed in Europe and introduced to B.C. in June 2011 with the Montelvini label. The most prevalent offering in local restaurants is the sparkling wine. The second type, FreshTAP, works a lot like a beer keg. It consists of a stainless steel tank that holds the wine under pressure with an inert blanket of gas that sits on top (most commonly nitrogen but it can be argon) to prevent oxidation. FreshTAP is the invention of entrepreneurs Mike Macquisten and Steve Thorp. They have partnered with the U.S. company Free Flow Wines to bring the technology to Canada’s West Coast. Wine is shipped in bulk from wineries to FreshTAP’s kegging facility in Vancouver, the Vancouver Urban Winery. Here it’s packaged in 19.5-litre stainless steel kegs. Winemaker Kelly Symonds (BSc Oenology) oversees every step of the process. Once kegged, wine is delivered to restaurants on demand. Empty containers are returned, properly cleaned and refilled. Both types of keg reduce waste—eliminating cardboard boxes, glass bottles, corks and labels. Furthermore, the larger containers lessen the weight of what is being shipped, which translates to lower fuel emissions. Though it’s not reusable, KeyKeg is fully recyclable. As for FreshTAP, the stainless steel kegs can be reused countless times. The concept of wine-on-tap was first introduced in the ’80s, but it didn’t take off. Today, updated technology, better wine and dynamic champions are all keys to recent success here in Canada as well as in the U.S., Europe and Australia. The number of restaurants installing wine taps is growing at a rapid pace. Driving this growth is one of the key advantages of the on-tap system—a more efficient and profitable by-theglass program. Once a regular bottle of wine is opened, it will start to oxidize. Restaurants often build in the cost of spoilage to the by-the-glass price. The keg promises to prevent oxidation and problems associated with corks. The idea is that the first glass is as good and as fresh as the last glass. Macquisten says the wine can keep for up to six months or more, but most restaurants report going through a keg in anywhere from two to three weeks. We’re hopeful that as restaurants save money and eliminate spoilage, they will pass on some of the savings to consumers, making wine by-the-glass more affordable. Beyond profitability, Christian Matifat at Killjoy in Yaletown calls it “sexy and romantic.” Charlie Christensen at the Village Taphouse in West Van cites the environmental benefit: “People are going green and working on their carbon foot print. This provides a great opportunity.” Both note that their staff is really behind the idea, and by educating their patrons, customers too are embracing it. Education is a huge part of the program. Macquisten and Thorp try to make staff training mandatory, encouraging new clients to bring as many of their staff to the facility to see the whole process. The indoctrination is working and customers are welcoming it. From the perspective of the restaurants, one of the biggest drawbacks currently is the range of wine available, which is almost exclusively B.C. Furthermore, local wines are not eligible for VQA status because the larger format is not recognized by VQA regulations. A range of opinions exists on the subject among winemakers in B.C..

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David Paterson, for example, winemaker at Tantalus, agrees with the VQA’s position. He doesn’t like the idea of the Okanagan pouring premium wine from kegs, feeling it “cheapens the brand.” He currently has no plans to keg any wine, saying there are too many variables that cannot be controlled by the winemaker. Ann Sperling from Sperling Vineyards concurs: “It is hard to dictate quality control, which is the VQA’s responsibility.” However, she does embrace the technology and offers wine-on-tap. Michael Bartier, head winemaker at the Okanagan Crush Pad facility, has a different view on the VQA status altogether: “It’s absolutely insane that it [wines-on-tap] should be treated differently.” The Okanagan Crush Pad has been a strong leader of wine-ontap technology. The immediacy and accessibility of wine-on-tap has seduced us. We have a secret desire to have our own tap at home. It also brings wine down to earth. Bartier loves the lack of pretense too: “Wine is one of the everyday joys of life. It’s special and it isn’t. Wine-on-tap brings it to an everyday level.” Wine-on-tap is not about wines destined for aging. Conversely, it doesn’t mean that kegged wines are plonk. It’s all about fresh, young and vibrant wine. And drinking lots of it. Skeptical? Try for yourself. You can sample a whole range at the Vancouver Urban Winery or go to one of the many establishments offering wine-on-tap. In Vancouver: The Mill Marine Bistro, Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, The Pint, Edible Canada at Granville Island, The John B, Killjoy, Tap & Barrel, Village Taphouse, Lupo, Hell's Kitchen, Score on Davie, Wildebeest, Eight 1/2 Resto Lounge, Cotto Enoteca Pizzeria, Mr. Brownstone, The Fan Club, Sip Resto Lounge, Hubbub In the Okanagan: Waterfront Wine Bar, Naramata Inn In Victoria: Fiamo, Veneto, Zambri’s, Aura Waterfrom Restaurant

Four locations to serve you

Share your story and win! facebook.com/metroliquorstores twitter.com/metroliquor

WINES ON TAP REVIEWED White 2010 Le Vieux Pin Petit Blanc, B.C. Sauvignon Blanc / Chardonnay / Gewürztraminer / Muscat / Viognier / Pinot Gris Great acidity and structure with vibrant citrus notes. Try with goat cheese salad. 2011 Blasted Church, Hatfield’s Fuse, B.C. Chardonnay / Viognier / Pinot Blanc / PinotGris / Gewürztraminer / Riesling / Optima Flavours of sage, honey, peach and lemon. A great partner with our local seafood. 2011 Clean Slate, White, B.C. Sauvignon Blanc / Pinot Gris / Riesling Vibrant and concentrated yet delicate. Pair with local seasonal vegetables. 2011 Perseus, Pinot Gris, B.C. Slightly effervescent. Mouthwatering citrus peel and pear flavours. Sushi or Asian food?

Victoria: University Heights Mall, Tuscany Village, Brentwood Bay Kelowna: Downtown Cultural District | metroliquor.com

2011 Roaring Twenties Wine Co., Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand Classic notes of gooseberries, green apples and grass. Try with ceviche. Rosé 2011 Okanagan Crush Pad, Rosé, B.C. Gamay Juicy grapefruit notes will keep you refreshed on a hot day. Red 2009 Nichol, Pinot Noir, B.C. Delicate notes of sour cherries and cranberries. Chill slightly and serve with duck confit or p té. 2009 Lake Breeze, Meritage, B.C. Cabernet Franc/Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon Cassis and plum notes pair well with grilled red meat. Also look out for wines from the Okanagan’s Laughing Stock Vineyards, Meyer Family Vineyards and other local wineries.

www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

liquid assets —by Larry Arnold Ready for picking at a liquor store near you.

SPARKLING WINES Adami Bosco di Gica Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut NV, Veneto, Italy *$25.00-28.00 Franco Adami is a Prosecco aficionado! His small family winery has been producing quality Prosecco for over a century and this brut is a classic. Clean and dry with a fresh creamy mousse and subtle citrus and peach flavours. Superb.

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Taittinger Nocturne Champagne Sec NV France *$72.00-82.00 So who doesn’t like Champagne? It’s never cheap, but how can it be given the demand and the hands-on production? The Nocturne is a blend of Chardonnay (40%) Pinot Noir (35%) and Pinot Meunier (25%) aged for four years on the lees in the Taittinger cellars. Very subtle with peach and apricot aromas and a soft creamy texture. Ethereal but at the same time rich and round with a finish that just goes on and on. www.taittinger.fr WHITE WINES

Fruit based vodka, with a tickle.

Pieropan Soave Classico 2009, Veneto, Italy *$25.00-27.00 A touch on the pricey side but if you are looking for an impressive Soave, Pieropan is the gold standard. Crisp and dry with refreshing citrus, straw, pear and mineral notes on the palate. Well-balanced with some weight, a slightly oily texture and good length. www.pieropan.it

merridalecider.com 250.743.4293

Orofino Vineyards Blind Creek Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Similkameen, BC *$24.00-26.00 Unfortunately this charming Sauvignon Blanc from the Similkameen Valley is no longer available at the winery and with one sip it’s easy to figure out why. Made from fruit sourced from Blind Creek Vineyard on the Cawston Bench and fermented and aged in stainless steel, Orofino’s Sauvignon Blanc is clean and fresh with mouthwatering acidity and bright fruit flavours. www.orofinovineyards.com Terravista Vineyards Fandango 2011 Okanagan, BC *$25.00-30.00 Bob & Senka Tennant of Black Hills Winery fame have released the country’s first Alberino-Verdejo from their Terravista Vineyard in Penticton. Very floral with lime and apple blossom notes. Great mouth-feel with some weight and refreshing acidity. Nicely balanced with great fruit and a long dry finish. www.terravistavineyards.com PINK WINES La Clotière Rosé D’Anjou 2011 France *$17.00-18.00 Rosés are very much in demand and this juicy, ripe Anjou is worth a serious look. Made from a blend of Gamay (70%) and Grolleau (30%), La Clotière is off dry with ripe strawberry and spice flavours, nicely balanced with soft acidity. Served well chilled this is an easy wine to like. www.terrisson-wines.com

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Finca Sophenia Altosur Malbec Rosé 2011, Mendoza, Argentina *$14.0016.00 The vineyards of Finca Sophenia are located high in the foothills of the Andes in the Tupungato Valley at the western extreme of Mendoza. Aged for several months in a combination of French and American oak barrels, Altosur Rosé has intense berry aromas and fresh fruity flavours. Dry and concentrated with a crisp, savoury finish. www.sophenia.com.ar RED WINES Miguel Torres Coronas 2008, Catalunya, Spain $16.00-18.00 This wine has been found on BC liquor store shelves for as long as I can remember. Predominately Tempranillo with a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon, Coronas has a delicate floral aroma and ripe blackberry, strawberry and spice flavours. Richly textured with soft, plush tannins and a whiff of smoke through the finish. Not flashy but always a good choice. www.torres.es Viña Chela Malbec Reserve 2009, Mendoza, Argentina *$15.00-17.00 Aged in American and French oak for 7 months, this hefty Argentine Malbec is not for the faint of heart! It is rich, concentrated and chewy with a rasp of tannin. Very powerful with dense chocolate, berry and spice flavours that pack a powerful punch and run roughshod over the palate! Consider yourself warned.

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

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WHAT DO YOU GET when you marry the skills of an herbalist with that of an aromatherapist who distills essential oils? For Marisa and Kent Goodwin, the result has been numerous enticing food products, including Organic Fair chocolate bars, made on their five-acre Organic Fair Farm in Cobble Hill. Their recently launched line of organic concentrated soda syrups are used to make refreshing drinks and more. Kent produces the essential oils and hydrosols used in their syrups and other products. Hydrosol, a water distillate of plant matter, created during the process of making essential oils, has a more delicate, honey-like flavour than the oil. Kent steams fresh plants in a distillation still that injects steam into a stainless steel retort pot. A condenser collects, cools and condenses the vapourized essential oil back into a liquid. The essential oil is then separated from the hydrosol liquid in a separator. Oil is lighter than hydrosol; it rises to the top and is drained off. To make the syrups, hydrosols and other delicious ingredients are added to warm simple syrup. Strawberry Douglas Fir, one of their most unusual syrup flavours, was inspired by wild strawberries that grow beneath Douglas firs on their small mixed farm of animals, medicinal plants, aromatic flowers, greenhouses, fruit and nut trees and vegetable gardens. “The berries have a citrus finish and a piney top note,” Marisa explains. “We bridge the fir and berry flavours with orange essence.” “Elite North American chefs are using Douglas fir—it’s a hot culinary ingredient,” says Kent. In the fall, Chocolate Cinnamon, Mulled Apple Cider and Ginger Ale will join their line of Vanilla Rhubarb, Root Beer, Lavender Lemon Balm Lemonaid and Elderflower syrups. “Add a tablespoon of syrup to 250 millilitres of carbonated spring or soda water. Try a tablespoon of syrup and a squeeze of citrus in an ounce of vodka and a cup of soda,” Marisa suggests. “Lavender Lemon Balm and Root Beer are both great with spiced rum. Root Beer’s licorice Asian flavour makes it a wonderful glaze for ginger-garlic beef ribs.” These syrups will stimulate many edible and potable possibilities. —By Sylvia Weinstock To order the syrups, go to OrganicFair.com or call 250-733-2035. Check Facebook for the latest Organic Fair products.

www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

Chris Kerridge (CK) Sommelier, Restaurant Matisse Chris has been working in the restaurant and wine industry in B.C. and Alberta for more than 20 years. He completed his Spanish Wine Educator and International Sommelier Guild certifications in 2008 and 2009 while working as part of the team that put together Bear Mountain Resort’s formidable wine program. He can now be found in the heart of downtown Victoria at the Forbes 4-star-rated Restaurant Matisse.

T H I S

M O N T H ’ S

E X P E R T S

Matthew Sherlock (MS) Nichol Winery Matthew Sherlock spent most of his UBC undergrad days working in restaurants and wine retail stores in Vancouver where his interest and knowledge of wine blossomed. After graduating, he did vintages in Marlbourough, New Zealand, Sonoma, California, and the Okanagan Valley. In 2011, after completing his WSET diploma, he moved to the Okanagan where he is currently the director of sales and marketing for Nichol Vineyard as well as a managing partner in Clean Slate Wine, one of Naramata’s newest wineries.

Quail with salmonberry Grilled barbecue sauce, red quinoa salad, apple and brown butter emulsion, mustard greens

Emily Walker (EW) Sommelier, YEW restaurant + Bar Emily Walker is a Vancouver-based sommelier (ISG) and recent French Wine Scholar. Having grown up in the Okanagan Valley Emily was fortunate to be exposed to the wonders of wine from a young age. These days you can find her at Yew restaurant + bar at the Four Seasons in Vancouver where she oversees the wine program. Emily also keeps herself busy working on her own winemaking projects with the help of the Amateur Winemakers Association and writes a wine blog called Hints of Hawthorn.

Sooke Harvest Feasts DRINK editor Treve Ring asks local wine experts how they would approach

CK Quail can go with either white or red, but because it is grilled and has a nice local salmonberry barbecue sauce, I would veer towards a lighter red wine that is not too high in tannins (don’t want to overwhelm the little bird). Some that come to mind are Grenache, Barbera, Pinot Noir or Gamay. I would like to pair this dish with a cru Beaujolais from either Saint-Amour or Morgon or a nice Gamay from BC. These wines have a nice fruit quality as well as a touch of spice. MS As a newly established Naramatian (one who lives in Naramata), I love seeing quail on menus as they are such a prolific bird in the Okanagan (plus it means someone else is doing the de-boning). I think this dish calls for a delicate, bright-fruited and savoury red wine, something that will complement and lift while not overwhelming the subtle flavours of the dish. The mountainous, delicate and savoury reds from France’s Jura region, and specifically those made from the Poulsard grape, should do quite nicely here. Poulsard will work wonderfully with the salmonberry barbecue sauce (granted it’s not too sweet) and the wines’ mountainous herb flavours should complement the mustard greens perfectly. The high acidity of the wine will also counter the creaminess of the brown butter and help cut the slight fattiness of the quail, while its gentle tannins will support instead of dominate the protein. Alternatives could be lighter Cru Beaujolais (StAmour or Régnié) or the wild yet pretty reds from Italy’s Valle D’Aosta region. EW Quail most often makes me think of Bordeaux, but this particular dish conjures up the exciting match of a South African Pinotage (a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault). Though Pinotage carries a bad rap due to the poor quality, bulk supply that lines our market shelves, there are a few interesting, good quality examples available. With its meaty, smoky and brambly flavour characteristics, Pinotage offers clear matching potential for the gamey flavour of the quail, the smoky wild berry sauce and the earthy tones of red quinoa. For a more readily available pairing, a right bank Bordeaux with a good dose of Cabernet Franc in the blend would also be lovely.

pairing dishes and flavours. For this harvest edition, we have gone back to the land with two very local dishes from Sooke Harbour House: Grilled quail with salmonberry barbecue sauce, red quinoa salad, apple and brown butter emulsion, mustard greens; and fresh, wild Chinook salmon glazed with birch syrup, served with a wild, trailing blackberry glaze, wild rice, Indian celery and fuki leaf bundles, wild morel mushrooms, grilled nodding onions, and fiddleheads garnished with wild sorrel and camas flowers. Fresh, wild Chinook salmon glazed with birch syrup, served with a wild, trailing blackberry glaze, wild rice, Indian celery and fuki leaf bundles, wild morel mushrooms, grilled nodding onions, and fiddleheads garnished with wild sorrel and camas flowers CK When I first read the description of this dish, I knew it was going to take a little bit of research to look up the multitude of local ingredients while deconstructing it. Fun! After researching the nodding onions and Indian celery, I recognized them as wild flowers/weeds that I have seen on many hikes. When there are so many different ingredients, you really need to ensure what the dominant flavours are and go after them for your pairing. In this case, we’ll focus on the salmon, blackberries and morels. This dish is just screaming for Pinot Noir, with the nice richness of the salmon and blackberries, the earthiness of the morels and the green characteristics of all of the local produce. You could go about this with either a nice rosé Champagne or a still Pinot Noir. With all of these North American local wild ingredients, I personally would choose an Oregon Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley. The acidity will cut through the richness of the salmon while the subtle berry, herbal and earthy flavours will complement the dish without overpowering it. MS Umm, Taiwanese High Mountain Oolong Tea? For wine though, a low dosage Blanc de Noir (Pinot Noir) Champagne from a small house like Cedric Bouchard or Billiot would really rock with this dish. There are a lot of flavours here that will work really well with Pinot Noir—morels, blackberry glaze and sorrel. Also, the high acidity and creamy bubbles will temper as well as complement the bitterness of the fiddleheads in addition to cutting through some of the fattiness of the salmon and the sweetness of the birch syrup. And if it doesn’t work out so well, who cares. At least you’ll be drinking Champagne! Alternatives could be a Crémant D’Alsace rosé or a good dry and delicate Lambrusco (they do exist!) EW There are a lot of flavours in this dish that demand a confident, yet accommodating, wine, one that will not be overwhelmed by nor drown out the complexity of the dish. Chinook salmon can be quite fatty with its high oil content, and its lovely velvety texture can stand up to a bit of tannin. I would reach for a bottle of Morgon, Cru Beaujolais. Morgon is one of the most muscular of the Beaujolais Cru, but the best producers, such as Marcel Lapierre, craft elegant wines that show great balance between purity of red and black fruit, tannin and an earthy, savoury, spicy expression not normally associated with the more humble versions of Beaujolais. This complex background in the wine will jive nicely with the earthy, nutty flavour of the morel mushrooms and herbal spices in the dish.

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

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VICTORIA: It’s the time of year that for most of us means back to the grindstone. But just because vacations are over it doesn’t mean you still can’t enjoy some great local food and drink on your doorstep. Food festival season is definitely not over yet, with the Great Canadian Beer Festival early in the month (Sept. 7-8) at the Royal Athletic Park. Tickets, as usual, have sold out quickly, but keep your ears open, as there are usually a few last-minute contests offering one last chance to get in and sample all those amazing beers. (www.gcbf.com) The Downtown Victoria Public Market Society’s Eat Here Now Local Food Harvest Festival will take place in Market Square this year, from 11am-3pm on Sept. 9. The festival which has been raising awareness and funds for the establishment of a permanent indoor downtown market has something big to celebrate this year – the Society has recently reached an agreement with the developer of the Hudson to launch this new venue for local farmers and producers in the Spring of 2013. The Vancouver Island edition of Feast of Fields takes place at the lovely Alderlea Farm on Sept. 16. If you’ve never been before, this is the perfect opportunity to visit a working biodynamic farm. The people behind Culinaire have launched the 1st annual Festival of Meat at the Phillips Brewing Company on Sept. 23. At Brewery and the Beast, local chefs will demonstrate their passion for meat through a variety of dishes—from classic BBQ, charcuterie, smoked meats, and house-made sausage, to ethnic-inspired creations, whole pig roasts, and other exotic foods. Phillips beer, local cider, ice tea and home made soda will be served up to accompany the tasty dishes. Tickets for this festival sold out quickly, but it does promise to be an annual event, so keep your ears open for details about the 2013 event. The month ends with the always delicious, ever entertaining Chef Survival Challenge at Madrona Farm on Sept. 30, and then there is a two-week break before The Art of the Cocktail, with tastings, workshops and events running Oct. 13-15. This fall we have a few items in the recent and upcoming openings file. The fine folks at Smith’s Pub cleaned up their attic and discovered some space. The result is the Argyle Attic, a whisky bar that opened mid-July. Self-described as “vintage Canadiana”, this is a cozy spot to tip your glass or enjoy a late night burger. Byron Fry’s Red Wheat Bakery is setting up shop on Craigflower Rd. in Vic West. Fry has been baking commercially for the past four years, renting kitchen space in Metchosin and selling at various markets and independent grocery stores. His bakery carries the same name that his great-grandfather Charles Fry’s bakery did until its closure in the 1940’s. Two new food establishments have popped up in Market Square as well: Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria is a Canadian pizza chain with locations across the country, and Sara’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream offers a selection of classic ice creams made with 12% cream here in Western Canada. Also new on the Saanich Peninsula is Symphony Vineyard, though the vines have been in production since the early ‘60’s, producing loganberries for Growers Winery. Symphony wines are handcrafted in small tanks and oak barrels, and are grown, produced and bottled on site. The farm is open for tastings, picnics and self guided or guided vineyard tours from 11am-5pm on weekends until the end of September, and by appointment from October – May. (www.symphonyvineyard.com). LifeCycles garden design team is working on proposals for two new and exciting garden partnerships with Victoria Cool-Aid Society and Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub. Their Growing Schools Program

trains volunteers to deliver gardening and food security workshops in elementary schools all across Victoria. If you are interested in becoming a 2012/13 Growing Schools volunteer please contact growingschools@lifecyclesproject.ca. And lastly, congratulations to the Hotel Grand Pacific. The hotel was ranked Victoria's top hotel in the Travel + Leisure 2012 "World's Best" Awards , and ranking second among all British Columbian city hotels, and fifth overall in Canada. www.hotelgrandpacific.com —Rebecca Baugniet VANCOUVER: BYOB…to restaurants. Yes, it’s true. The B.C. government has green-lighted corkage fees at restaurants, meaning you can bring your favourite Blasted Church or Chateau Margaux to dinner with you, and pay anywhere from $5 to $45, depending on the restaurant. More good news on the wine front… With Bill C311 now firmly on the books, interprovincial wine shipping is a reality. Really want to send some Moon Curser to the folks back east? Go for it. It’s legal now. Vancouver’s first commercial urban winery, Vancouver Urban Winery (www.vancouverurbanwinery.com), has officially opened its doors in the Railtown district. In addition to a fully operational winery that packages, imports and distributes wine for various brands, the 7,000 square foot space includes a retail store and a tasting bar with 36 rotating wines on tap. The first winery from Kamloops has officially launched. Harper’s Trail Estate Winery (www.harperstrail.com), named after pioneer rancher Thaddeus Harper, is made by Michael Bartier at Okanagan Crush Pad (www.okanagancrushpad.com). First releases include a Riesling ($19.99), Rosé ($16.99) and Field Blend White ($16.99). Summerhill Pyramid Winery (www.summerhill.bc.ca) is the first B.C. winery to receive the prestigious Demeter Biodynamic Certification. The winery received the certification this past July. Hawksworth Bar & Lounge (www.hawksworthrestaurant.com) is the first establishment outside of the U.S. to receive the prestigious Sazerac Seal, awarded by the New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society during the annual launch of Tales of the Cocktail. Michael Ableman, noted agriculturist, author and proponent of sustainable food systems, has launched SOLEfood (1sole.wordpress.com), an urban agriculture project based in the Downtown Eastside, in partnership with United We Can. The project already has six locations throughout the downtown eastside core, employing neighbourhood residents and selling the produce at local farmers’ markets. Vancouverite James Coleridge, owner of Bella Gelateria (www.bellagelateria.com), has won the world’s largest gelato competition, held in Florence, Italy. Coleridge won both the people’s choice and the technical awards, beating out international master gelato makers. The winning flavour was pecan with Canadian maple syrup. The legendary O’Doul’s Restaurant at the Listel Hotel has been reborn as The Next Course (www.thenextcourse.ca). Executive Chef Chris Wittaker leads the state-of-the-art, energyefficient and sustainable food and beverage program. Memphis Blues Barbeque House (www.memphisbluesbbq.com) has opened another location of their popular Southern barbecue franchise at 430 Robson St. La Quercia comes to the Opus Hotel. Adam Pegg and Lucas Syme, owners of the Cont’d on the next page

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award-winning La Quercia (www.laquercia.ca), have partnered with Opus Hotel Vancouver and restaurateur Peter Girges to create a new dining concept, scheduled to open early September. Fat Dragon Bar-B-Q (www.fatdragonbbq.com) has resurrected the highly popular fried chicken from the now-closed Refuel Restaurant. Given a smoky brine and sided with barbecue sauce made with fermented soy bean and Korean chili paste, it might be even better than the original. The Acorn Restaurant and Bar (www.theacornrestaurant.ca) has opened on Main Street, with a vegetarian-based fine dining menu that also offers vegan, raw and gluten-free options. Open Tuesday to Sunday for dinner only. Beaucoup Bakery (www.beaucoupbakery.com) is set to open its doors at 2150 Fir Street. Look for modern French pastries, retro classics, Oyama sandwiches and 49th Parallel coffee. —Anya Levykh

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TOFINO: September is the time we all let out a collective sigh of relief as the pace slows and we get a chance to relax and enjoy the west coast. It was busy as usual this year in Tofino, and visitors who flock here are often pleasantly surprised to find what a strong culinary scene this small town has. After many ask if there is a Starbucks in town, that is. In a town full of enterprising business owners (and no chains restaurants), two local women have seized on a food-production related opportunity. Louise Rodgers and Georgina Valk of Tourism Urban Farm Co. have started a pilot compost-pickup program with 20 local residents and Shelter Restaurant. They can provide a rat-proof compost bin, pick up compost weekly and provide program participants with soil at the end of the program. They’re also available to help with starter and garden boxes, which can be more challenging on this side of the Island, and rainwater catchment (not so difficult in these parts). For more information about this new business, contact tofinourbanfarmco@gmail.com The head of the kitchen brigade at Shelter Restaurant these past few years, Joel Aubie, has decided to move on to other adventures. As Shelter’s head chef, Aubie built "the best kitchen team Shelter has ever seen," according to restaurant manager Mike Jacobsen. Shelter has named Matthew Kane, who is Red Seal certified, and sous chef Jeff Rice as the new heads of the brigade. Shelter is featuring some of its daily features on its website at www.shelterrestaurant.com. 250-725-3353 The Wickaninnish Inn has a date in sight to add alcoholic beverages to its Driftwood Café menu. Starting Sept. 13, you will be able to enjoy both the current array of café-style beverages, smoothies and menu items, as well a selection of beer, wine and spirits from the Pointe Restaurant’s extensive offerings. The Driftwood Café is located at beach level in the Wickaninnish-at-the-Beach building. It also features a patio, the perfect location for afternoon or evening cocktail. The Pointe Restaurant is running a Breast Cancer fundraiser with Blue Mountain Vineyard’s rosé. Proceeds form each glass or bottle of rosé purchase throughout the month will benefit the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. For more information about the Inn visit www.wickinn.com or call 250-725-3100. Tofino Sea Kayaking, a waterfront kayaking centre, bookstore and coffee bar on Tofino’s historic Main St. is now offering high-end culinary products. The top 50 products sold through Edible Canada’s busy retail store on Granville Island will also be featured at Tofino Sea Kayaking. Adventurers will find the perfect items for picnic baskets and tour kits as they launch their journeys into Clayoquot Sound, says Dorothy Baert, owner of Tofino Sea Kayaking. Edible Canada focuses on small-scale sustainable products sourced from around the country. For more information, visit www.tofinoseakayaking or call 250-725-4222 and www.ediblecanada.com. Tofino Brewing Company brew master David Woodward brought back the popular Fogust Wheat Ale during the latter half of summer. A German-style hefeweizen, this unfiltered beer is a light straw colour with notes and banana and clove. It’s a perfect late summer beer, whether it’s sunny or “Fog-ust” is still with us. —Jen Dart OKANAGAN: In the Okanagan, September as become the new August. With the kids back in school, this is the perfect time for wine-touring and enjoying the warm solitude of the Okanagan beaches. Vancouver’s up-scale Urban Fare Market opens their first location in the Okanagan in the Mission Park Shopping Centre in the now referred to SOPA (South on Pandosy Avenue) neighborhood in Kelowna. This up and coming chic neighborhood is already home to the SOPA art gallery, Good Earth Coffeehouse & Bakery, Marmalade Cat Café, several sushi restaurants, Chutney Cuisine of India and Hector’s Casa Mexican restaurant. The SOPA condo development currently being built will house a food emporium including Codfather’s second location with full oyster bar, Mission Meats and Neapolitan Pizza. Knifewear, a store selling beautifully crafted Japanese knives and not to be missed for those who like to cut, slice and chop has also set up shop in the SOPA hood. In downtown Kelowna, several new eateries have opened along Ellis Street, the main artery for the cultural district. Armstrong based Log Barn Café has opened their third retail outlet selling meats, jams, and pies. The café also serves breakfast and lunch including Mennonite sausage on a bun, French toast Cont’d on the next page

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

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The Buzz or a slice of local fruit pie. Next door, the Knife Slice Café, serves up both breakfast and lunch with made to order sandwiches and in-house desserts. Further along Ellis Street, West Kelowna’s well-loved Bliss Bakery has opened their second location in the space previously occupied by the Cannery Loft Coffee. Along Harvey Street, The Fisherman’s Market has opened in the space previously occupied by Hooked on Seafood and along with selling fresh seafood also serves up fish and chips. Vernon based Helmut’s Sausage Kitchen has opened their second location with a combined modern European grocery store, deli and bistro to serve up sandwiches in a strip mall directly off Hwy 97. Next door to Helmut’s, Bluetail Sushi Bistro has also opened complete with a well designed modern interior. In West Kelowna, Yamato Restaurant excitedly opens their second location at the new Okanagan Lake Shopping Center. Yamato also serves traditional dim sum, providing cart service on Saturday and Sunday from 11am til 2pm at both locations. The Okanagan’s only Swiss Chalet restaurant has moved from Kelowna and has re-opened in the Hub North Centre in West Kelowna. After a brief hiatus, the Naramata Bench Wineries Tailgate Party triumphantly returns on Saturday, September 8th. Extra events this year include a Salmon & Wine showdown sponsored by OceanWise and the not to be missed After Party. Fall is Festival time in the Okanagan. Take a step back in time to enjoy many of these family-focused events. Saturday, September 2nd, Covert Farms hosts the Tomato Festival. Saturday, September 15th enjoy the 11th Annual Similkameen Pepper Festival. EAT magazine along with BC Wine Trails sponsors the 1st annual Hot Sauce Competition of the Pepper festival. Anyone can enter but beware many of the Okanagan chefs’ take pride in their home-made hot sauces and competition is expected to

WEEKEND PLANS?

be fierce. Saturday, September 29th Oliver’s Hester Creek Winery hosts the First Annual Garlic Festival and on Sunday, September 30th, the entire town of Oliver celebrates the 16th Annual Festival of the Grape with over 50 wineries participating from across the Okanagan. Don’t miss the leg-

Check out

endary grape stomp. For adults only, Penticton’s 2nd Annual Oktoberfest takes place on the evening

ISLAND WINERIES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

of Saturday, October 27th with beer and live entertainment. The Fall Wine Festival runs September 28th to October 7th and with over 165 events to choose from

as an ebook & visit an island winery!

highlights include: Miradoro vs. Hawksworth Winemaker’s Dinner at Tinhorn Creek Winery, Wild Mushroom and Game Dinner at Hillside Winery, Seeing Red Dinner at Grey Monk Winery, Seven Poplars Cellar Dinner at Lake Breeze Vineyards, Starry Nights Winemakers Dinner at Cedar Creek Winery, 4th Annual Lamb Dinner at Quinta Ferreria Winery, Fall Epicurean Wine Dinner with chef Dale Mackay at Mission Hill Winery and Quails Gate Vineyard’s Dinner with Blue Water Café

www.touchwoodeditions.com

and Raw Bar. For dates, prices and more information please visit the respective websites. —Claire Sear

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at the Wickaninnish Inn and you’ll be raising money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Throughout the month of October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we’ll be donating partial proceeds from each glass and bottle of Blue Mountain Brut Rosé to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Be sure to ask us about our overnight “Packaged in Pink” promotion.

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www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

Photo by Gary Hynes

vincabulary - By Treve Ring

Merlot

POOR MERLOT. Here it was, cruising along at the top of its game, in all its lustrous plum-robed glory. One of the most popular red wine varietals on the globe due to its pleasant berry fruit, accessible softness and plush mouthfeel, Merlot appealed to many tastes and many demographics. The grape, borne of Bordeaux, had the genetic makeup of a blue-blooded trust-fund globetrotter. Unlike its greatest rival/marriage partner Cabernet Sauvignon, adaptable, blendable Merlot buds and ripens early, has large, thin-skinned berries resulting in lower acid and tannin, and easily achieves high yields. It rose to the top of the North American wine world in the 1980s, achieving success with both California cult classics and Washington State pioneers. Merlot flooded the markets, and producers capitalized on the grape’s popularity with quick-to-market, uninspired wines. And then, regal Merlot was smacked Sideways. In the wine-geek-chic 2004 movie Sideways, Pinot Noir-loving protagonist Miles tells his buddy that “if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any f**king Merlot!” Merlot sales dropped across North America and the UK (interestingly, Okanagan Merlot sales held steady). The Sideways Effect swept Merlot off its velvet throne, and many winemakers have had to scramble over the years since to reinvent and reinstate. When Merlot isn’t smothered with oak, over-cropped or left on the vine past its ripeness date, it produces a medium-bodied red with deep raspberry, plum, mulberry, fruitcake and mocha. Popular as ever in maritime Bordeaux (the most planted red grape there), it is also gaining acclaim in other cooler microclimates. The wines below are fresh and characterful, effortlessly likeable. Even Miles would agree.

[French, young blackbird, merlot; diminutive of merle, blackbird (from the colour of the grape)]

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Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2009 ORIGIN: Hawkes Bay, New Zealand THE WALLET: $19-24* REFERENCE: Private Stores* ALCOHOL: 13% abv TASTE: Gimblett Gravels is a special site with deep gravel soils. The stoniness comes through from the first sniff – deep dust, floral black currant and herbal notes, with earthy wild blueberries, Italian prune plum and finegrained tannins. Lighter, focused style.

Merlot 2008

Falcon Series Merlot 2007

Marques de Casa Concha Merlot 2009

Red Bridge Merlot 2010

ORIGIN: Umbria IGT, Orvieto – Montecchio, Italy THE WALLET: $19-23 REFERENCE: +494351 ALCOHOL: 13.5% abv TASTE: Herbal and beguilingly rustic, this Merlot opens with anise seed, dried leather and salty earth overtop a vein of cherries and prunes. Juicy red cherry, raspberry, black currant and dried spice linger through the espresso-bitter chocolate finish. Grown on calcareousclay hills of Orvieto

ORIGIN: Yakima Valley, Washington State THE WALLET: $27-40* REFERENCE: Private Stores* ALCOHOL: 13.6% abv TASTE: It was Merlot that put Washington State on the world wine map, and this wine shows why. From Washington State’s first AVA (American Viticultural Area), this is plush and round, with sweet black cherry, ripe fig, dense licorice and spice, bound with ample silky tannins. Full fruit flavours are seamlessly equalized by fresh, lifted acidity.

ORIGIN: DO Peumo, Cachapoal Valley, Rapel Valley, Chile THE WALLET: $20-24 REFERENCE: +706747 ALCOHOL: 14.5% abv TASTE: Dark and inky, this powerhouse opens with thorny black fruit, sweet ripe plums, tar and a puff of smoke. Dense cassis, wild blackberries and toasted wood fill the palate, finishing juicy and long. This is a big, bold wine, handled confidently, and using its power for good (BBQ!)

ORIGIN: Similkameen Valley, B.C. THE WALLET: $25-29* REFERENCE: Private Stores* ALCOHOL: 14.5% abv TASTE: All the fruit for this wine comes from Oak Knoll Vineyard in nearby Kaleden (on Skaha Lake). The Merlot was aged for 16 months in oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered, resulting in a textured, layered red. 2010 was a lean year, and this wine honestly reflects the vintage with a lean ridge of acidity lifting up the savoury dark black fruit. Vanilla, coffee and raspberry ride out the lingering finish.

ORIGIN: AC Cotes de Bordeaux Castillon, France THE WALLET: $21-24 REFERENCE: +222661 ALCOHOL: 13.5% abv TASTE: This Château is right on the border of Côtes de Castillon and the Puisseguin St. Emilion appellations. Expressive perfumed plum, cherry and pencil shavings lure one into the savoury, dusty palate with a core of pure black cherries. Distinctively drinkable Bordeaux, at a fantastic price.

*Asterisks denote wines that are only available at the winery or select private liquor stores. Some may be in limited quantities. All other wines are available through BC Liquor Stores. Prices may vary.

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

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Calling All Home Bartenders

EXPERT ADVICE ON ALES, WINES & SPIRITS

Victoria’s Simon Ogden with the FYI on how to mix a DIY winning cocktail I’M SITTING ACROSS FROM self-described cocktail nerd Simon Ogden at Discovery Coffee on Oak Bay Ave. Ogden, a bartender for twenty-three years, is the bar manager at Veneto Lounge in Victoria. He’s also in charge of the Home Bartenders Competition at this year’s Art of the Cocktail. “There’s always been a professional bartenders competition at the Art of the Cocktail,” says Ogden, “but we thought it would be fun to open it up to the public. We’re not clocking you on speed or judging you on your technique. I’m looking to uncover a bit of your personality from the drink you present to me.” The competition is open to any and all who aren’t currently employed as a professional bartender (chefs, servers, amateurs are all welcome). Before the competition, Ogden will be giving a workshop to help competitors get a leg up. I ask him to throw out a few sample pro tips. “Find glasses that are lovely and that suit the drink,” he says. “This will impress the judges. Victoria is an amazing city for finding fancy glassware at almost no money. Also, I’m not a big fan of garnish just for the sake of something big and frilly sticking out the top of the glass. I always tell my young charges at the bar that if they are going to put a garnish on a drink it has to be functional. It has to give off a lovely aromatic or have a flavour function. We don’t want to simply stick a peacock feather in a pretty hat. Give the garnish some thought.” “Last year’s competition was fun and the drinks were all over the map,” says Ogden, “There was a great, tall, summer cooler muddled-kiwi drink that was probably what the contestant enjoyed on his boat.” Then, there were the nerdier competitors who came with a classically-informed technique. “One drink had foam on top and was garnished with a sprig of thyme for the aroma.” I asked Ogden how he would go about creating a drink for the competition. “You should start with what you love and with the booze. If you’re a vodka drinker, work with what you know. Vodka is unique as it provides a wide-open platform to build a drink on. But if you’re a scotch drinker you shouldn’t shy away from it. What can you find that goes with that flavour? Start playing around with what you have in the kitchen and see where you go from there. Let yourself have fun. There are no hard and fast rules but the drinks do have to be original, unique and express your personality. Please don’t enter a Sazerac or a classic Manhattan. Put your own twist on things.” “Be prepared to tell the judges what you’re doing and have a bit of knowledge about the product you’re using. Every bottle of booze has a story. Come and see me if you have any questions. I’m happy to answer them.” —Gary Hynes

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HOME BARTENDERS WORKSHOP In this interactive session, students learn vital tips and tricks on how to make a winning drink. Ogden will also cover how cocktail presentation falls in the mix, and how to win the favour of the judges. Saturday, October 6th, 5pm-7pm, Veneto Tapas Lounge Reservations required for the workshop contact sip@artofthecocktail.ca or 250-389-0444 to reserve your spot HOME BARTENDERS COMPETITION Theme: Contestants must create a cocktail that contains maple syrup to qualify. Prize: A full 3-day pass to Art of the Cocktail that includes The Grand Tasting and workshops. Saturday, October 13th, 4pm, Crystal Gardens Competitors are required to sign up by 5pm, October 1st 2012. Application forms and rules are available online at www.artofthecocktail.ca For more information contact sip@artofthecocktail.ca or 250-389-0444

VICTORIA SPIRITS

Visit our Distillery for tours & tastings every weekend until October & join us at ArtOfTheCocktail.ca victoriaspirits.com www.eatmagazine.ca SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

epicure at large — by Jeremy Ferguson

Letter from Beijing Jeremy Ferguson returns to the ancient citadel to find it vital, confident and bristling with accomplished restaurants.

Jeremy Ferguson

Crisp-and-soft silkworms at the Donghuamen Night Market

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EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

GREETINGS FROM BEIJING. The Chinese capital is near-unrecognizable from my first visit 30 years ago, when its streets were an ocean of bicycles, the gates had just opened to international tourism and foreigners wound up at the unromantic Quanjude, whose history of Peking duck stretched back to 1864. For the itinerant foodie, Quanjude was—incredibly—the only game in town. Flash-forward to Beijing 2012, an orchestrated frenzy of 20 million people and five million cars (Beijingers have long kissed off blue skies). But this is a Beijing probably more vital and confident than it’s been since the heyday of the Ming. The 2008 Olympics have come to symbolize the city’s eagerness to participate in the world at large. Beijing 2012 boasts flamboyant modern architecture, a genuine dedication to greening its urban spaces (its boulevards and meridians are not only green, but artistically green) and, yes, accomplished restaurants that transcend the culture of whacked-out omnivorism. The dreary Quanjude may have opened some 60 franchises from Hong Kong to Melbourne (McMcMcduck?) and has bloated one of its Beijing locations to 115,000 square metres, but it’s no longer the queen of the hop. The current hot spot, Da Dong, is all Manhattan swank, with showbiz lighting replacing the fluorescents, a 160-page menu with art catalogue graphics and a wine list burping with premium labels. It offers everything from “Caesar” salad with a wonky mustard bias to braised sea slugs, their flesh shimmying in the air conditioning. In the Chinese fashion, all courses arrive at once. Like a swarming. They should sell whiplash collars. But it’s all about the duck, birds roasting at ferocious temperatures while a platoon of cooks perspire like bodybuilders in Hell. The point is the skin, cut from a fatty duck, meticulously trimmed, sliced into thin strips, unctuous and crackling, salty and savoury. The meat and broth courses are pure denouement. Da Dong’s duck is plenty respectable. Just don’t compare it to the celestial rendition at the Hyatt Regency Shatin in the New Territories outside Hong Kong, by far the best I’ve ever eaten. The foodie’s Beijing soars higher at Pure Lotus, the most opulent restaurant in the history of vegetarianism. Its founder was a monk from Wutai Shan, one of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains. Breathe easy: there isn’t a trace of vegetarian grunge. Pure Lotus draws its inspiration from temple and palace, its rooms sensual with silk blinds and gauzy, tent-like curtains, servers outfitted in slinky sequined shifts and its music—here Thai, there Indian, with chants and temple bells—from the Buddhist canon.

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They sprinkle your hands with “happiness water.” And happiness it is (except that no alcohol is served, even when you’re trying to negotiate a two-and-a-half-foot-long menu with a ridiculous number of choices). The eye feasts first: dishes emerge exquisitely on billowing lotus leaves, abalone shells, burled wooden platters, in nori cones and under bamboo branches. And for once, beauty and culinary acumen prove compatible: a faux shark steak actually outclasses the original, and you’d never know it’s tofu. Chili chicken would fool us again, the tofu’s mimicry a triumph of flavour and texture. Fluffy dumplings stuffed with simple tomato show astonishing delicacy. Sticky rice in lotus leaf gives off the aroma and taste of tea. Vegetarian is finally dancing in my spotlight and I’m reeling with surprise. “Piao liang” whispers a tablemate—Mandarin for “beautiful.” But I also can’t resist returning to the Donghuamen Night Market, an effusive strip of town dedicated, since 1984, to delighting domestic tourists and jolting foreigners with local snack fare. A gauntlet of stalls under red lanterns offers a supremely exotic array of eats, including raw and fried scorpions, big and hairy king spiders, centipedes, silkworms, water beetles, snake en brochette, dog meat, sea stars, bull frogs and sheep penis. But the most curious is “fried enema.” Maybe something is lost in translation. Next day, I’m still cackling at the fried enema—“tricky one with chopsticks, eh?”— when our guide, the radiant, omniscient Amelia Sun, takes us to lunch at her neighbourhood fave, a hole in the wall whose name translates as “Old Beijing Scallion Pancake.” For a total of $15 for four, the mom-and-pop kitchen serves up tiny shrimps eaten shell and all, spicy cabbage in a head-exploding mustard sauce, pressed pork dipped in soy and vinegar and, to finish, a kind of fried noodle cake drizzled with rip-snorting garlic sauce. The latter is particularly tasty. “What is it?” I ask the fair Amelia. “Fried enema,” she says, a wicked smirk playing at her lips. Something lost in translation? You bet.

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Four Desserts Worth Seeking Out

Aura’s Carmelia Valhrona Chocolate Bar This rich dish proves that you can do childhood favourites in a refined way: textured layers of crunch, marshmallow and caramel milk chocolate make up this housemade chocolate bar, sprayed with a delicate chocolate layer to seal in the deliciousness within. The dessert is served with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream as well as pop rocks – proof that sophistication can still be fun. 680 Montreal St Laurel Point Inn, Victoria, BC (250) 414-6739 www.aurarestaurant.ca

—BY ELLIE SHORTT The Marina’s Rise and Shine Your mom always told you it’s the most important meal of the day, so why shouldn’t it be turned into a dessert? This sunny dish is a playful plate of strawberry-rhubarb pop tarts with strawberry cream cheese icing that you can drizzle yourself, just like the beloved toaster strudels of childhood. This sweet and tangy treat is served with a maple bacon ice cream placed on top of oatmeal crisps, and some orange juice jellies. Best of all? Everything in this dish is made in-house, giving it a gourmet spin on home cooked goodness like mom used to make. 1327 Beach Dr Victoria, BC (250) 598-8555 www.marinarestaurant.com

David McIlvride, Spatula Media

Ulla’s Chocolate Cake with Rice Crispy Crunch, Aerated Chocolate and Dulce de Leche cream The flavours and textures of this next dessert will take your taste buds to a nostalgic time. Of course moist chocolate cake was always hard to resist as a kid, but who can forget those light and bubbly Aero bars and the always-popular crunchy rice crispy treats? Even the plating of this dish may bring you back to your younger years playing in the mud through the deconstructed display sprinkled with chocolate dirt. And while playing in the mud may have gotten you in some trouble, this gluten free and completely organic dessert will keep your gut, and conscience, in the clear. 509 Fisgard St Victoria, BC (250) 590-8795 www.ulla.ca

RauDZ Regional Table’s Fudgesicle Looking for the jingle of the ice cream truck to indulge in cool sidewalk snacks? But if you prefer your icy indulgence in a more refined environment, check out RauDZ Restaurant, which is also using Valhrona chocolate to create a house-made fudgesicle, accompanied by crunchy chocolate pearls. Made with whipping cream, farm fresh eggs, and “lots of love,” RauDZ owner and head chef Rod Butters says their fudgesicles are a throwback to the frozen treats his Great Aunt Minnie from Melfort, Sask. used to make. Served in pint-sized form as part of a chocolate trio plate, patrons love these old-fashioned flashbacks, as well as their old-fashioned price at just $4.50 an order. 1560 Water St Kelowna, BC (250) 868-8805 www.raudz.com

RESTAURANTS | RECIPES | WINES | CULINARY TRAVEL CELEBRATING THE FOOD & DRINK OF ®

BRITISH COLUMBIA

JULY | AUGUST l 2012 | Issue 16-04 | FREE | EATmagazine.ca

& DRINK

Blackberry Skillet Cake

EAT MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012

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What was the last meal you prepared for yourself? Jena Stewart Devour Bistro & Catering 250.590.3231 I create a new menu each day for Devour, so ironically I stand in front of my refrigerator at the end of the day and wonder, what in the world is for dinner? Too often, it's crackers and cheese over the sink! Sheena Hogan Haro’s Restaurant & Bar 250.655.9700 I just had a day off, so I was able to spend some time preparing a meal. I grabbed a nicely marbled rib eye steak and some local mushrooms, zucchini and peppers. I've been on a bit of a "health kick" meaning I'm trying to eat three complete meals a day…a bigger challenge than one would think for a chef! I barbecued the rib eye medium rare and grilled veggies that I tossed simply with olive oil, balsamic, fresh garlic and fresh herbs from my garden (dill, chives, orange-mint and basil). I topped this off with a glass of malbec and finished the night with a bowl of cherries for dessert. Ali Ryan Spinnakers Brewpub & Guesthouse 250.386-2739 I harvested my first zucchinis—the product of my new garden that I handturned. It was back breaking, but amazing work. I turned my weedy lawn to arable, productive soil in two months. I prepared grilled rib eye with garden rosemary, roasted Saanich grown new potatoes, grilled zucchini and wilted nasturtium flowers (also garden grown), with Whistler's own Nonna Pia's balsamic vinegar reduction. Brock Windsor Stone Soup Inn 250.749.3848 Toasted homemade local wheat sourdough, with peanut butter. Matthew Batey Terrace Restaurant at Mission Hill Family Estate 250.768.6467 The last meal I made myself was panroasted halibut that I caught while fishing with my dad, brother and brother-in-law near the Swiftsure bank. We had been to the market earlier in the weekend, so I made a shaved vegetable salad from all the lovely veggies plus some from our own garden with pickled ginger and sesame soy vinaigrette. A glass of viognier and we were set up for a very nice light summer’s eve full of flavour.

Alberto Pozzolo Italian Bakery 250.388.4557 I am the only liver aficionado in my family so one lunch time, when everyone was out of the house, I floured some nice slices of moose liver and sautéed it in great olive oil and butter. Of course fresh garden peas as well as fried onions were the base for this delicacy. Alex How Pizzeria Primastrada at Bridge Street 250.590.4380 Tim, our pizzaiolo, cooks my meals but I did barbecue some chicken and made a basmati pilaf this weekend. Garrett Schack Vista 18 at the Chateau Victoria 250.382.9258 I had the most amazing barbecued chicken tenders that had been marinating in twelve different herbs and spices (we could only pick out 11 of them though). I served them right off the grill in the backyard with a fresh-picked green salad packed full of sugar peas and French breakfast radishes still warm from the ground! Delicious. Laurie Munn Cafe Brio 250.383.0009 Does three cups of coffee for breakfast count? Oh and a bowl of cherries, but I can’t take credit; my wife washed them ‘cause I couldn’t be bothered. Robin Jackson Sooke Harbour House (250) 642-3421 I fly fish for trout on most of my days out of the restaurant, and was successful yesterday with a couple of small cutthroats. Late last night I made a grilled tomato and ash-ripened Camembert cheese sandwich with fried trout and basil. Fishing has been really good lately! Zoe Doherty La Piola 250.388.4517 Microwave popcorn and a big glass of sauvignon blanc! Ronald St Ronald St-Pierre Locals Restaurant 250.338.6493 Usually we eat on the fly as we are busy and rarely take time to stop and eat a proper meal. But on Sunday night I cooked for my family. I marinated and slow-cooked a leg of lamb on the barbecue/smoker and served it with grilled polenta, olive tapenade, feta, fresh broccoli, locals greens and local tomato salad. We enjoyed a good bottle of Côtes du Rhône and finished the meal with some fresh seasonal strawberries from the garden. It was a great feast.

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