The news comes along with announcements from Beau’s that ALL Saturday tickets for this year’s Oktoberfest are SOLD OUT, and more than half the tickets for the three day-festival are now sold. Just after the Oktoberfest dust settles the Ontario Tourism Awards will be handed out, on Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at the Convention Centre in Hamilton, ON.
“‘Best Ontario Tourism Experience’ is a fantastic way to describe what the Vankleek Hill Oktoberfest offers,” says Steve Beauchesne, who co-founded Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company with his dad, Tim, in 2006. “For the nomination to come just now as we are putting the final touches on this year’s festivities is a perfect reward for all the hard work and planning that goes into making this such a fun event. It’s a real feather in our cap,” he concludes.

Vankleek Hill Oktoberfest is an annual Bavarian celebration hosted by Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company. This year’s event has expanded to three days of Bavarian celebration – Friday, September 30 to Sunday, October 2 – held at the Vankleek Hill Fairgrounds at 92 Main St. W in Vankleek Hill. A charity fundraising event, this year the Oktoberfest is slated to raise $50,000 to benefit the Canadian Red Cross, Good Food Revolution, the Vankleek Hill Agricultural Society, and additional community-building non-profit organizations.

The festival features activities for adults and children, challenges of strength and endurance, Kinderfest (a non-licensed area for families), German music and dancers, evening concerts, a Beer Expert Speakers Series, and more. Beau’s All Natural will be pouring seven different brews on tap at the festival. In addition to these, more than 30 one-off cask ales from Ontario and Quebec craft breweries will be available. Bavarian and seasonally inspired food will be prominent and plentiful at this year’s event.

General admission tickets FOR FRIDAY AND SUNDAY ONLY are still available online at www.beaus.ca/Oktoberfest, in the brewery retail store located at 10 Terry Fox Dr. in Vankleek Hill, and at Bridgehead locations throughout Ottawa (see www.bridgehead.ca). One-day passes are $18 and tickets for children 18 and under are $5. More information is available at www.beaus.ca/oktoberfest, or by calling the brewery at 1-866-585-BEER (2337).

BEAU’S All Natural Brewing is a small, family-run company founded in 2006. BEAU’S brews interesting, tasty beers using the highest-quality all natural ingredients such as certified organic malts and hops, and local spring water. A member of the Ontario Craft Brewers, BEAU’S is a recipient of numerous international awards for brewing excellence, including a GOLD medal at Mondial de la Biere in Strasbourg, France, 2 GOLD medals at the Canadian Brewing Awards as well as “Best Craft Brewery in Ontario” and “Best Craft Beer in Ontario” at the 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 & 2007 Golden Tap Awards. BEAU’S was also selected by CAFE as the 2010 Canadian Family Enterprise of the Year. BEAU’S remains active in the community and local events, and is available at LCBO locations throughout Eastern Ontario, as well as Kingston, Toronto and Hamilton.  BEAU’s entire line of beer is certified organic by Pro-Cert Organic.

Chef Michael Blackie

With each chef team paired with a local food blogger, Don and I found ourselves with Executive Chef Michael Blackie (NAC – Le Cafe), Canadian Food Network host, and organizer of this culinary extravaganza. Kicking back with coffee and drinks, Chef Blackie graciously sat down for an interview with us. The next hour would fly by as he shared with us his passion for cooking and stories about family and his rather worldly career.

What is your food philosophy and how would you describe your cooking style?
Three components make up his food philosophy and cooking style. “It’s spur of the moment, trips, and relationships with family and friends. I like to put a personal spin on dishes”, said Chef Blackie.

Citing his trips and relationships, he described some of the more unusual culinary dishes he has come across such as pork shoulder braised in Coca-Cola (Acapulco, Mexico). It is from dishes like this that Chef Blackie comes up with items at Le cafe like his take on poutine, which is on the lunch and “munch” menus ($13).

Pulled Short Rib Poutine

The poutine is made with Thomas Keller fries and topped with crumbled Clarmell on the Rideau feta (formerly Fifth town)

Why did you set up the Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event? What do you hope it will accomplish?
Prior to being interviewed as Executive Chef at the NAC, Chef Blackie was already working on plans to set up a national culinary event. Using the Madrid Fusion 2007 event as a model, he is determined to give Canada proper representation and recognition on the international hospitality scene.

He is hopeful the Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event will inspire his fellow chefs to do something similar in their communities. Even “going out to a campground somewhere and cook for 250 people.”

How did you come up with the chef pairings? Why did you pair yourself with Chef Michael Lyon?
With regard to the pairings, Chef Blackie explained it was about logical connections. Examining what each chef had in common with the other, some were paired together because they came from the same city or region. Others, because of their cooking styles or their having met at other culinary events.

Chef Blackie described pairing 2010 Gold Medal Plates [Canadian Culinary Championship] winner Chef Mathieu Cloutier of Kitchen Galerie and local chef Marc Lepine of Atelier (540 Rochester Street) as putting together cutting edge chefs “who [do] some really fun stuff.”

Said Chef Blackie about Michael Moffatt of Beckta Dining and Wine (226 Nepean Street) and Anthony Walsh of O&B Canoe, “Both are at the top of their game!” One works in Ottawa. The other, Toronto.

As for his own pairing? Not only are both Chefs Blackie and Lyon graduates of the culinary program at George Brown College in Toronto, they are also co-stars on the Food Network Canada show, CheF*OFF! At times he described himself and Chef Lyon as “The Odd Couple.” Others, like peanut butter and jam.

“I am completely opposite to Lyon,” Chef Blackie said with a chuckle and immediately launched into some hilarious stories about when they were on set, filming their show.

“We are very different characters, but we get along very well.”

For their dish, neither wanted it to be too complicated. It took two drafts before finalizing their menu item of sweet grass cold smoked Charlevoix veal, crisp potato girdle, Clarmell on the Rideau feta & sage infused retention, firecracker spotted prawn crisp, and Cloud Horse mead-lychee sting.

How did you and Chef Lyon meet?
Prior to co-starring on CheF*OFF, each knew of one another largely through their being published in the book, Chapeau Canada Les Grands Chefs, but had yet to meet. Shortly after winning the Gold Medal Plates event in their respective cities, they found themselves competing at the 2007 Canadian Culinary Championships in Whistler, BC. It was there they met and a friendship was formed.

What would be your perfect Sunday?
His perfect Sunday would start with dim sum at either Palais Imperial on Dalhouise St. or at Chu Sing Restaurant in Chinatown. Dim Sum would then be proceeded by a walk to Bubblicity Tea Shop. “My kids are addicted to bubble tea,” said Blackie. “My son has his watermelon bubble tea and my daughter has her strawberry.” Afterwards, “I would go home and sit in my pjs. I’m very non-committal. When I need down time from this place, it’s as extreme as it is here. So I’ve got my my John Deere pj pants on and I’m just watching movies and doing pretty much nothing. And have a nap.”

What was the first dish you made as a kid?
“A grilled cheese sandwich,” Chef Blackie answered wistfully. At the tender age of seven, he learned to make grilled cheese sandwiches at French immersion summer school, complete with photos of him in a toque hat.

What was the first dish you made in a professional kitchen?
As a 16 year old, Chef Blackie worked as a dishwasher and prep cook at Shelley’s Restaurant, a seafood eatery in Oakville, Ontario. His first dish? A shrimp cocktail.

Aside from the basics, what is the one ingredient you can’t live without?
“Bacon. I love bacon. Bacon makes everything taste better.” In fact, the love of bacon runs in Chef Blackie’s family as he fondly talked about his young daughter coming down for breakfast and immediately searching for the bacon. “Just seeing that look on her little face…. It’s in the blood,” he said proudly.

You’ve had a very successful career. What keeps you going?
Without hesitation, Chef Blackie immediately responded, “My family. My wife, my children.”

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
“Definitely not retired,” said Chef Blackie. “And not anymore happier than I am now.” He then added with a grin, “It would be nice to have a sports car.”

Looking to have fun, eat some scrumptious food, and drink some great Canadian wines? Click here to purchase your tickets.

Particulars:
2011 Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event
National Arts Centre (NAC)
53 Elgin Street

Canadian Celebrity Chef Event 2011

On Monday January 24, 2011, the first annual Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event will be held at the National Arts Centre (NAC) (53 Elgin Street). It will showcase some of the best culinary talent in Canada.

This dynamic event will consist of a full day of live cooking demonstrations, followed by a food and wine tasting reception in the evening. Top Celebrity Chefs from across Canada, many familiar names from the Food Network and renowned local chefs, will come together to share their culinary creativity.

Ottawa’s own Debbie Trenholm (@savvydebbie) of Savvy Debbie will pair the dishes with wine. Together, they will create an unforgettable gastronomic experience.

The Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event is also a fundraiser, supporting the NAC’s National Youth and Education Trust. Celebrating a decade of investment in the future of the performing arts, the National Youth and Education Trust works to further artistic education, training, and mentorship of young Canadians.

Chefs have been partnered together, a national chef with an Ottawa one, and paired with an Ottawa food blogger:

• Claire (@gadgetgirl_ca) of foodiePrints will cover Chefs
  • David Rocco, Dolce Vita (Toronto)
  • Cesare Santaguida, Vittoria Trattoria (Ottawa)
• Jodi (@simplyfresh) of Simply Fresh will cover Chefs
  • Paul Rogalski, Rouge Restaurant (Calgary)
  • Robin Bowen, Empire Grill (Ottawa)
• Rachelle (@rachelleeats) of Rachelle Eats Food will cover Chefs
  • Brad Long, Café Belong (Toronto)
  • Charlotte Langley, The Whalebone Oyster House (Ottawa)
• Asha of beFOODled will cover Chefs
  • Michael Howell, Tempest Restaurant (Wolfville, NS)
  • Norm Aitken, Juniper Dining (Ottawa)
• Tracey (@thelemonkitchen) of the Lemon Kitchen will cover Chefs
  • Ray Bear, MIX (Halifax)
  • Clifford Lyness, Perspectives, Brookstreet Hotel (Ottawa)
• Lynne (@letwistedchef) of Le Twisted Chef will cover Chefs
  • Mathieu Cloutier, Kitchen Galerie (Montreal)
  • Marc Lepine, Atelier (Ottawa)
• Shari (@whisk_food_blog) of Whisk: A Food Blog will cover Chefs
  • Anthony Walsh, Canoe (Toronto)
  • Michael Moffat, Beckta Dining and Wine (Ottawa)
• Me and Jenn (@foodieprints) of foodiePrints will cover Chefs
  • Michael Lyon, Hotel Eldorado (Kelowna)
  • Michael Blackie, le café, National Arts Centre (Ottawa)

With the day divided in two main events, attendees can purchase tickets to one or both events. The schedule and ticket prices follow:
Live Demos
NAC Studio Hall
8:30am – 5:30pm

Each Chef will have 45 minutes for a live demonstration of their signature culinary style followed by a Question and Answer (Q&A) session with the audience.
Tickets: $99 (For demonstrations only)

Food and Wine Tasting
NAC Main Foyer and Le Salon
6:00pm – 9:00pm

The reception will take a walk-around tasting format. The chef teams will create a series of eight dishes, paired with Canadian wines.
Tickets: $75 (For the reception only)

Combined Live Demo and Reception package: $145

For a sneak peak into the reception portion, Chefs Santaguida and Rocco will prepare “Beet risotto | crispy pig cheek | seared Qualicum beach scallop | Granny smith slaw”

Chefs Michael Blackie and Michael Lyon will prepare “Sweet grass cold smoked Charlevoix veal | crisp potato girdle | Clarmell on the Rideau feta + sage infused retention firecracker spotted prawn crisp | Cloud Horse mead-lychee sting”

You can expect more hints to come out in blog posts, tweets (watch for the #celebchefott hashtag), and Facebook updates. Fan the event’s Facebook page or follow its twitter account (@celebchefott) to keep up-to-date.

Do you have your tickets yet?

Particulars:
Canadian Celebrity Chef Event
National Arts Centre (NAC)
53 Elgin Street

NCC Press Event

This past Monday, the National Capital Commission (NCC) held a press event to announce this year’s Taste of Winterlude, a festival I once  dubbed Ottawa’s response to Toronto’s Winterlicious.

We arrived late. The press event was wrapping up. The speakers, members of the NCC’s Media Relations team including Guy Laflamme, were a quarter way through their highlights of 2011′s Taste of Winterlude “Dining Experiences.” There was a video camera in the room and several reporters from the CBC on hand (each with handheld recording devices).

My companion Claire (@gadgetgirl_ca), a wine blogger, and I would find seats near fellow Ottawa food blogger and friend, Shari (@whisk_food_blog) of Whisk: A Food Blog. We would also sit with the founder of the food blog aggregator TheFood.ca, Marc-André Plouffe. I waved at Ottawa Citizen‘s food editor Ron Eade and former food columnist Gay Cook who were standing nearby.

The next day, Eade and the Food editor of the Ottawa Magazine, Shawna Wagman, would release blog posts, both highlighting the impending visit of Montreal’s vaunted chef/owner of Au Pied de Cochon. Chef Martin Picard will “recreate his famous gourmet sugar shack” during February 4, 2011′s “Dining Experience Event” at the Museum of Civilization. This event will mark the opening of Winterlude, the National Capital Region’s winter festival that runs for 3 weeks every February. Dinner will culminate in a fireworks display.

Chef Picard goes by “The Wild Chef” on Food Network Canada. He is often referred to as a culinary hedonist. For Anthony Bourdain fans, it was at Chef Picard’s restaurant the Travel channel’s No Reservations host was brought to his knees by savoury excess. An older episode, Chef Picard’s multi-course omakase-style meal showcased dishes he is now famous for: foie poutine, duck-in-a-can (canard en conserve), and an incredibly rich take on one of the fattiest dishes in French cuisine, cassoulet.

Eade and Wagman’s posts would develop some buzz around Chef Picard’s upcoming visit. Both also mentioned how the format of the Taste of Winterlude has changed. Instead of having prixe fixe menus that encourage Ottawans to try new restaurants during what is typically a slower period of the year, the NCC has organized a series of culinary events. The events, according to the media release, are “exclusive culinary happenings” that “celebrate the creativity and talent of some of Canada’s top chefs, sommeliers, and winemakers.”

Between Claire and I, we saw some standout events.

• There is the “Introduction to Indian Cuisine” by the East India Company on February 1, 2011 (cost: $45/person for demo and wine-paired dinner).
• Fashionistas may be interested in the “Fare and Flare” event at the Arc: The Hotel on February 18, 2011(cost: $65/person).
• Chef Derek Benitz’s “East to West – A Culinary Journey Across Canada” at his eponymous bistro on February 10, 2011 caught my eye (cost: $65/person for 5 courses with wine pairings).
• Parents may be interested in “Chocolate Painting with Miss Chocolat” (a Gatineau-based chocolatier) on February 4, 2011 (cost: $22/child)
• We puzzled a bit about the “Let’s Get Loud: Motorhead Dinner” at Atelier, we knowing full well how creative Chef/owner Marc Lepine and his kitchen (looking at you Chef Sarah Allen!) can be (Cost $160/person for a 12 course blind tasting).
• We marveled at the “Dueling Sommeliers – A Food and Wine Pairing Showdown” at Play Food and Wine. It matches Steven Beckta against Grayson McDiarmid in a teacher vs. student style competition. Executive Chef Michael Moffat will prepare a complex four course menu for McDiarmid and Beckta to pair wines with. Attendees decide how well the sommeliers chose the wines (Cost: $100/person for 4 courses, paired with 10 wines).
• Our friends at C’est Bon Cooking will be offering tours of the ByWard Market every Saturday starting January 29, 2011 and ending February 19, 2011 (cost: $49/person). We suggest participants dress warmly!

While there is more of a range of events organized that include restaurants across Ottawa, in Chelsea and in Gatineau, I am left to wonder about the lack of prixe fixe menus. Many of the events cost more than $100/person, topping out in a $300/person package at the Cordon Bleu. Going the culinary event route will likely not attract the same attention as last year, especially from locals. It may even evoke some consternation as fellow Ottawa food blogger Jodi (@simplyfresh) of Simply Fresh Ottawa blogs. She raises some valid points. Are these events meant to attract culinary tourism? Well, some of us travel to Toronto to try new restaurants because of the prix-fixe menus offered during Winterlicious and Summerlicious.

I understand prixe-fixe menus stress kitchen staff because of the repetitive nature of the paired down and value-consious dishes served and the high intensity of increased table turnover, but did last year’s Taste of Winterlude not translate into exposure or new relationships with local patrons?

That said, and Chef Picard’s visit aside, the National Capital Region’s culinary scene has a lot to offer. The organized events demonstrate such. Many are well worth the ticket price.

Tickets/reservations went on sale to the general public yesterday. Click here for more information.

The press event, being held at the Cordon Bleu @ Signatures, tasked Chef Armando Biasis, a master carver, with carving a Santa statue during the press event from a new block of ice.

Chef Armando Biasis and Guy Laflamme

Light refreshments and coffee were served.

Particulars:
Le Cordon Bleu Bistro @ Signatures
453 Laurier Avenue East
(613) 236-2433

Afterward, the Courtyard team continued to honour wedding arrangements, grateful the event spaces in the restaurant went untouched by smoke or flame. Executive Chef Michael Hay (@michaelthehay), his chefs, and his cooks worked out of nearby kitchens, including the one at Foundation (18B York Street), which has recently been purchased by Peter Boole (owner of Social (537 Sussex Drive)). But, with no lunch, dinner, or Sunday brunch service, several cooks found work elsewhere. Many were welcomed by nearby restaurants. This week, the Courtyard re-opens.

Not three weeks prior to the fire, the Courtyard celebrated its 30th birthday with a “Decadent” dinner that featured a blind 5 course tasting. It was wonderful. The dishes served were characteristic of the prevalent food trends during the decades the Courtyard has been open, several preceding its young chef himself. The dishes were paired with wine and live music, performed by accomplished guitarist Dave Milliken.

Dining Room

Place Setting

Dave Milliken

Ron Eade, food editor of the Ottawa Citizen (a local newspaper) would call it, “a dinner of whimsy.”

In an industry where a restaurant’s first birthday is celebrated with champagne because new starts rarely last the year, 30 years is unheard of. When Chef Hay introduced himself at the dinner’s opening, he rightly described the Courtyard as a dinosaur. However, as masterfully created dishes were served, the dinner would demonstrate the Courtyard is one that has evolved with the times. The meal Chef Hay and Sommelier Paul Samson put together, while good humoured, is one diners took pause to consider.

Sommelier Samson and Chef Hay

We considered the foods that defined a decade. We considered what would come.

According to the accompanying menu, the building at 21 George Street is not unfamiliar with fire. First constructed as a log tavern in 1837, it would have a long life in hospitality. First, it was the Ottawa Hotel. Then, Mcarther House hotel, McArther’s British Hotel, temporary lodging for the military during Confederation, Clarendon House Hotel, headquarters for the Geological Survey of Canada (not hospitality, but notable), and finally The Courtyard Restaurant. After renovations that began in 1978, a fire in an adjoining building caused the new restaurant to close for repairs. The Courtyard Restaurant celebrated 25 years in 2005.

Nouvelle Cuisine – 1980s
Just as the menu described Courtyard’s start, Chef Hay started with a nod to a master and a style of cuisine that broke fine food free of classic French tradition, “Nouvelle Cuisine.” Characteristic of this period were vinaigrettes and truffles. Served was a take on Chef Marco Pierre White‘s classic leek and lobster terrine.

Leek and Lobster Terrine, topped with Truffle

This course was paired with Deinhard Dry Riesling (Germany), an old world-style wine meant to contrast the upcoming new world wines.

It is a dish that, shall we say, saw its time come and go.

Fusion – 1990s
To follow, Chef Hay delved into “Fusion/Confusion” when chefs and cooks decided to meld dishes together from different cultures, forming strange hybrids. His choice, sushi pizza. Apparently, sushi pizza is a Canadian innovation, hailing from either Montreal or Toronto.

Sushi Pizza

This course was paired with McMannis Viognier (California). Its natural fruit character was meant to temper the wasabi’s heat.

Sushi pizza is unfortunately alive and well at many-a-sushi bar and restaurant. Why unfortunate? In their haste to plate and serve, cooks seldom consider the slice of fish they top the beds of freshly fried rice with. When freshly fried, the beds heat the fish, causing it to change texture. Coddled, the fish can actually take on a slimy characteristic.

Chef Hay’s interpretation took care to celebrate his ingredients, his line caught albacore tuna, unpickled carrot, house pickled ginger, and toasted and untoasted white sesame seeds. The short grain sticky rice must have been par cooked, seasoned with dashi, loosely shaped, and fried in very hot oil to develop a crust. Then it was left to cool and cook through. When his kitchen plated his dish, they separated the tuna from the rice with a wasabi mayonnaise. The care they took produced the a great dish.

Molecular Gastronomy – 2000s
Having worked at Chicago’s famed Moto and staged at Ottawa’s Atelier restaurants (under Courtyard’s former Executive Chef Marc Lepine (@marc_lepine)), Chef Hay is familiar with the techniques once heralded as “molecular” and then “techno-emotional.” His molecular dish, pork belly with “7 different textures.”

Pork Belly

This course came with a demo. Chef Hay demonstrated how the nitro-noodles of coconut curry ice cream that graced our plates were made, wheeling in an insulated canister of liquid nitrogen and wielding a squeeze bottle of ice cream mixture.

Demo

The pork belly was slow cooked, sous vide, in sweet soy (likely kecap manis) and sour tamarind for over 12 hours. It was succulent beyond description, sweet, tart, savoury, and carefully seared. It was served on a bed of gailan (Chinese broccoli) with coriander and mango fluid gel. This course was paired with Angels Gate III Bordeaux blend (Niagara). This wine blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and merlot was chosen because it had no “meaty” character, but its tannins would go well with the pork belly.

Served with this course were baskets of rice vermicelli noodles, deep fried at 425F and sprinkled with togarashi (a Japanese spice blend).

Next Generation Bread

The Future
At first, we were served a tic tac.

While it was intended to ask the question, “What do we want the next food trend to be?”, many wondered, “How do we eat it in a fine dining environment?”

Tic Tac

A joke, Chef Hay later asked his diners, “Do we want a future where we subsist on pills?” He then introduced one of the farmers Courtyard sources its produce from, both the farm and restaurant being Savour Ottawa accredited. The farmer, David Burnford, of local Riverglen Farm.

Farmer Burnford and his Wife

Riverglen is a mixed biodynamic farm in its 4th year growing vegetables.

We were then served a communal plate of roast chicken.

Roast Chicken

One Serving

Made with locally reared chicken, prodigiously brined, and roasted with star anise, it was delicious. Its skin was perfectly crisp. Its flesh was juicy and perfectly tender, both dark and white meat. Best of all, everything tasted naturally of chicken. Oftentimes, brining poultry changes its texture and strips it of natural juices.

The accompanying jus was buttery.

Jus

Both breast and leg quarters were served atop wilted peppery swiss chard, freshly picked by Farmer Burnfod that morning. This course was paired with Cave Spring un-oaked Chardonnay Musque (Niagara). It was chosen to demonstrate a blend of old and new world style wine.

The tic tac was “whimsical.” But, the contrast drawn between the palate cleansing pill and our family-style dish is serious. Fine dining is evolving yet again. Chef Hay believes, as many do (us included), “farm to table” isn’t a passing fad. It is a driving force. Thoughts of sustainability, carbon footprints, and quality in lieu of quantity are becoming prevalent. The appetite for humble, fresh, and seasonal ingredients, prepared respectfully, is growing and reshaping menus.

Dessert – A Modern Classic
The final course, an off-menu classic everyone who has worked the kitchen at the Courtyard has had to learn to make, maple sugar pie. The pie’s recipe has changed very little over 30 years.

Maple Sugar Pie

It was prepared by Pastry Chef Quinn Davis and served with apple puree, candied pecans, blueberries and a scoop of Beau’s beer ice cream.

The maple sugar pie should tempt any stalwart fan of British treacle tart. It was rich and sweet with dark sugars. The ice cream was incredibly smooth and beer-y. This dish was paired with Domaine Pinnacle Ice Cider (Quebec).

In one evening, Chef Hay and Sommelier Samson took thirty or so diners on a retrospective through the Courtyard’s past, present, and possible future. And, it was a great trip. As Robert Bourassa, fellow diner and famed restaurateur who opened the former Cafe Henri Burger told us, Chef Hay “started with a dish from a master” and finished the meal, “demonstrating himself a master.”

Why write about it now? All of these dishes were prepared in the Courtyard’s former 30 year old kitchen, which was “loyal” to its past. It was incredibly cramped, badly laid out by modern kitchen standards (no reach-ins, no line to plate food), and poorly equipped (grill with half the burners operable, decades old ovens and fryolator, one of a kind ventilation system that looked like it belonged in a ship’s engine room). The new streamlined kitchen equips Chef Hay, his chefs, and his cooks with modern equipment. Can you imagine what his new menu will look like or how its dishes will be served?

Suffice it to say, we are excited to eat at the Courtyard again.

Particulars:
Courtyard Restaurant
21 George Street
(613) 241-1516

You’re invited to get your Schmooze on!

United Way Ottawa’s Next Generation Cabinet is proud to host Ottawa’s ultimate networking event — the 5th annual Schmoozefest.

Thursday, October 21 at 6:30 p.m.
LAGO Bar|Grill|View – Dow’s Lake Pavilion

This is an exclusive opportunity to build strong business relationships with leaders from local businesses, government and the community.

Why should you attend Schmoozefest?

• Get connected with young professionals like yourself
• A live auction hosted by Stuntman Stu
• A silent auction featuring donated items from local United Way supporters
• Complimentary sandwiches and drink ticket
• Unwind with DJ Illson (starting at 9 p.m.)

List of auction items
Check our website regularly for updates.

Who will you be Schmoozing with?

List of VIPs
Check our website regularly for updates.

Visit us on Twitter for a chance to win tickets!

Tickets: $40 in advance, $45 at the door or $300 for 10 tickets
Tickets are limited. Reserve NOW.

OTTAWA TONITE has chosen a WINNER! Congratulations and thanks for participating everyone!

Whatever it is, cupcakes made 2009′s inaugural Capital CupcakeCamp a successful fundraising event. It saw more than 600 cupcake enthusiasts attending, almost 3400 cupcakes donated, and over $2000 raised for Ottawa-based non-profit organization Woman Alive/Femme Active Program. As organizer Ian Capstick of Mediastyle described it, Capital CupcakeCamp was a “massive sugar rush” (Flickr pool).

The massive sugar rush returns Sunday, September 26, 2010. This time, with a larger venue, more cupcakes, and more people.

For those of you who did not attend last year’s Capital CupcakeCamp, it is an opportunity for the community to come together and share their enthusiasm for cupcakes.

It is modeled after other “unconferences” like DemoCamp, ChangeCamp, and TeamCamp. Originating in San Francisco, CupcakeCamps have been held in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, New York City, Edmonton, Sydney, Ireland, UK, India, and New Zealand.

This year, proceeds will be shared between Woman Alive/Femme Active Program and the Youth Services Bureau.

Event-wise, bakers bring 24 cupcakes of any one flavour to Ottawa City Hall (110 Laurier Avenue W.) at 11:30 am. There, they will be put on display for tasters who will arrive at 1:00 pm. Tasters will roam around the City Atrium and trade in tickets for cupcakes. Bakers will have the opportunity to address the crowd. Competitive bakers can enter cupcakes in a contest that will be judged by celebrity Ottawa judges.

For the contest, there is a PRO Category. If you make money from your food creations (cupcakes or otherwise), organizers ask you register as a PRO. PRO winners have the right to use the “2010 Winner” logo.

Contest Categories:

• Most Amazingly Decorated
• Best Filling in a Cupcake
• Best Vegan
• Tastiest Twist on a Traditional
• Best Savoury Cupcake

PRO Contest Categories:

• Best Overall
• Best Decorated
• Most Original

This year’s judges:

• Executive Chef Michael Blackie of the NAC’s Le Cafe (53 Elgin Street) and Host of Food Network Canada‘s Chef Off!
• Junior Pastry Chef Lynne Frappier of The Whalesbone Oyster House (430 Bank Street) and local food blogger
• Alan Neal of CBC Radio 1′s All in a Day
• Kady O’Malley of CBC Inside Politics

The event will be hosted by China Doll of Shanghai Restaurant (651 Somerset Street W.).

Registration has already opened for bakers and tasters, via eventbrite.

Amateur baker tickets are $5/each and come with 4 complementary tasting tickets. PRO baker tickets are $20/each and also come with 4 complementary tasting tickets. Tasting tickets are $10.

Tasters will exchange their eventbrite ticket for 4 cupcake tickets, which entitles them to a minimum of 4 cupcakes. That is, with one caveat. Should you prefer not to gorge yourself with cupcakes in one sitting, bring a box or Tupperware that fits 4 cupcakes for takeaway.

Milk and coffee will be served. Milk was graciously donated by Cochrane’s Dairy and the Flour Shoppe (617 Bank Street). Coffee was graciously donated by Ten Thousand Villages.

It is already shaping up to be a great event. Hope to see you at Capital CupcakeCamp!

Particulars:

• To register as a baker or a taster, click here for the eventbrite site.
• For the media release, click here.
• To get the latest on Capital CupcakeCamp follow @capitalcupcake on Twitter or join the Capital CupcakeCamp Facebook Group.

You find a great cause. In this case, Isabelle Rivard’s (@spoonsie) Give to Live challenge (isaonabike.com) to cycle from Vancouver, BC to Austin, TX (a 4300 km trek) and raise $10,000 to fight cancer.

Izzy Rivard

You find seven generous restaurants who make specialized takes on the dish that normally tops crispy fries with squeaky cheddar cheese curds and veloute-style gravy.

You contact culinary tour guide Paola St. George (@cestboncooking) who is also the marketing manager behind C’est Bon Cooking.

Chef Andrée Riffou and Paola St. George of C'est Bon Cooking

You sign up 35 poutine enthusiasts to join you in a tour of Ottawa’s ByWard Market, including Mark Warburton (founder of Ottawa Foodies), Kaitlin (Ottawa food blogger behind Heartful Mouthful), and Jodi (Ottawa food blogger behind Simply Fresh).

Mark Warburton and Paola St. George

You split the group in two and take everyone on a 2 km walking tour of downtown Ottawa.

The result: 7 very generous restaurants. 37 happy p0utine enthusiasts. 2 km of walking tour. $1266 raised to fight cancer!

Poutine crawls are not unheard of. Earlier this year, Toronto food bloggers organized one. Theirs was not a fundraiser, just poutine enthusiasts, trying the various takes on poutine their city has to offer. The dish that has been long derided, often referred as “fat lumber jack food”, has slowly colonized the city.

With the help of friends, the bloggers behind Endless Simmer organized a “Tour de Poutine” in New York City. In total, they visited 7 eateries and sampled 7 takes on poutine. As Rebecca Marx of the Village Voice blog wrote about the poutine crawl, it revealed Brooklyn to be an unlikely poutine paradise. The most interesting to me was the one that came from a lunch counter in the Essex Street Market, Shopsin’s. Dubbed the “Last Supper Poutine”, it was topped not with cheese curds, but three poached eggs.

Well, Ottawa neighbours Quebec, the province that gave poutine birth. This is a city that knows good poutine. Here’s what its ByWard Market produces.

The Courtyard Restaurant (21 George Street)

Chef Michael Hay's take on Poutine

Hand Cut Shoe String Fries, topped with Duck Confit, St-Albert Curds, and smashed Foie Gras Torchon

Zak’s (16 ByWard Market Square)

Breakfast Poutine

Chef Steve Mitton's take on Poutine

Garlic Corner (321 Dalhousie Street)

Classic Poutine

Dunn’s (355 Dalhousie Street)

Smoked Meat Poutine

Fries, cheese curds, chopped smoked meat, gravy

Island Flava (409 Dalhousie Street)

Jerk Chicken Poutine

D’Arcy McGee’s (44 Sparks Street)

Guinness Poutine

Between tastings, attendees took a stroll through a sunny ByWard Market. The guides, Paola, Chef Riffou, Jenn, and I imparted some information on the various eateries. And, our group got an impromptu art interpretation and history lesson thanks to Kaitlin.

When we reached D’Arcy’s, we discussed the tastings. Both groups weighed in. The favourite and most original was Chef Hay’s from The Courtyard Restaurant. Close seconds, Chef Mitton’s from Murray Street Kitchen and Chef Antoine’s from Island Flava.

Lessons learned:

• It take two people to give a tasting tour, one who leads the group and another who warns the next eatery the group is coming.
• You need a runner to co-ordinate a pair of tasting tours (touring simultaneously) to keep them in sync.
• Live tweeting a tasting tour generates a lot of retweets.

A heartfelt thank-you goes out to the chefs, owners, and restaurant managers who donated their dishes; Paola and Chef Riffou from C’est Bon Cooking who worked out the logistics of the Poutine Crawl and lead the larger of the two tour groups; and everyone who attended, bought tickets, and donated to the cause.

Here are blog posts drafted by Kaitlin and Jodi on the poutine crawl:

• Heartful Mouthful (teaser): this weekend
• Simply Fresh: Give to Live Poutine Crawl in 7 Pictures
• Heartful Mouthful: poutine crawl
• The Adventures of Ecogeek: Poutine: Classing Up Your Palette

Do click, they are fun reads.

Interestingly, like the first year Jenn and I encountered the event, we are again overseeing renovations. With our having encountered an increasing number of delays, we were more than happy to take up the invitations of two of our fellow food bloggers to meet up and wander Wellington Street W. and its adjoining side streets together.

Alas, it rained. Jenn and I ducked into the Ottawa Bagel Shop (1321 Wellington Street W.) when the downpour started, hoping it would lighten. It poured. When we met up with Jodi (@simplyfresh) of the Simply Fresh and Kaitlin (@kaitli) of the Heartful Mouthful blogs, we were literally drenched. Happily, Chef/Owner Chris Deraiche of the Wellington Gastro-Pub (1325 Wellington Street W.) decided to pull his chafing dishes into his restaurant’s ground floor dining room, the “White Room.” Dressed in a t-shirt, advertising the soon-to-open (this Friday) Town Gastropub on Elgin Street (296), he greeted wet “tasters” warmly.

Chafing Dishes

Chef Deraiche

Elk sandwiches

Afterward, we decided, rain or no rain, we would trek to our must visit eateries, Absinthe and Allium. Along the way, we stopped at the Ottawa Bagel Shop. Its taste, several of its specialty cream cheeses and smoked meat on Montreal-style bagel.

Bite-Size Smoked Meat on a Bagel

We stopped by Sushi Umi (1325 Wellington Street W.) to say hi to its chef/owner and nibble on some maki rolls and edamame. Then, we headed off to Thyme & Again (1325 Wellington Street W.). There, we were greeted by turkey and marshmallows, separately of course.

Turkey Meatball on a stick

In-house Made Marshmallows

Chicken Burgers

Chicken Burger Texture

Boxes of Herb Beds

Absinthe (1208 Wellington Street W.) beckoned. The rain stopped an hour or so into the event. This is when the lineups started. Absinthe, having established a reputation for serving delicious full-size hanger steak burgers at last year’s event, saw the first of them.

Lineup

Hanger Steak Burgers

Hanger Steak Burger Texture

Condiments

Not your ordinary lemonade

Brownies, Meatballs, Mini-Samosas

Royal Oak Lobster

At this point, Jodi decided to double back along Wellington Street W. She managed to photograph a 13 lb lobster Salove’s (1333 Wellington Street W.) was auctioning off to benefit the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada (CCFC). The rest of us decided to walk deeper into Hintonburg.

At Carbon Computing (1065 Wellington Street W.), an iPad wielding employee encouraged us to try shortbread “some girl in the back made” (his words, not mine!).

Carbon Computing Cookies

After wandering past Vina Del Mar (1079 Wellington Street W.), where I sampled Chilean sopapillas (deep fried squash filled dumplings) with a fresh salsa, we stopped by the soon-to-open new location of Dish Catering (1024 Wellington Street W.). Its taste, grilled mini-lamb burgers on brioche buns, served with lime popcorn.

Finally, we ended our wander at the soon-to-open Alpha Soul Cafe (1015 Wellington Street W.) at the former location of the Levonian Shirt Maker shop. There, we met the owner of the coffee house to be (Hintonburg’s first dedicated coffee house) and sampled some very good bakery: buttery shortbread and lime melt-aways.

Alpha Soul Cafe

Owner

Home-baked Cookies

All-in-all, 2010′s Taste of Wellington West was another success, showcasing the many locally owned and generous businesses and eateries along Ottawa’s epicurean row. This year, we encountered a lot of sandwiches, their being easily served and easily eaten. From lamb to elk, pork, and chicken, there were mini-burgers and pulled-mean sandwiches a-plenty. It is a trend we also encountered at Bon Appetit 2010 event earlier this spring.

As always, we are excited to attend next year’s! Kudos the the WWBIA for organizing this event and everyone for participating.

It was fairly early when we arrived at the Pancho Villa. It was still light outside but the restaurant is located in a lower level unit with minimal natural light illuminating the space so it was fairly dark inside. The low light was actually quite nice. There was two main areas, one as you enter where the bar is situated and a larger dining area in the back. We choose to eat in the front area next to the bar. The room was decorated with typical earthy sort of colors and the odd splash of bright blue and yellows if I recall.

I actually haven’t eaten very much Mexican food so I asked the waiter to recommend something that would represent the sort of classic thing you would expect from the cuisine. He first pointed to a Mole sauced dish and I steered away from that cause I’m not a fan of that. He then recommended a combination plate. There was three main items on the dish: a burrito, an enchilada and a taco. There was a choice of meat for each. The waiter, who I believe may have been the manager, suggested that the “classic” choice would be chicken for the burrito, cheese for the enchilada and beef for the taco. I trusted his judgment and also got a lime margarita. Lime being the “classic” flavour for that as well.

They brought us free chips and salsa to start. Nothing really blew me away here. But they were free and tasted great with the margarita. Oh I forgot to mention that of course I got the mucho margarita (3oz of tequila). My dish arrived and I was pleased to see a huge portion because I was starving. From left to right it was: refried beans, burrito, enchilada (kind of under the salad), salad, taco, Spanish rice.  I’m usually a procrastinator in everything I do. I put off the things that I like least to do as long as possible. I’m sort of the opposite when I’m eating food. I always assume that I will eat everything on my plate so my technique is to eat what I like the least first and save the best for last.  With this dish, my guess was that I would probably like the stuff to the right the least and the stuff to the left the best. So I started with the rice and tacos. I usually get frustrated with tacos. How on earth do you eat these things without them breaking in half and having all the filling fall on the plate and juices sort of drip down your arm? Well I don’t know if this was a fabulous taco but I can say that this didn’t happen to me. I think it was because the shell was thin. It seemed to break only where your teeth broke through. Also, there wasn’t much liquid to begin with so there was no risk in having it ooze down my arm. The salad was simple. The dressing seemed more acidic than a typical dressing. I think that worked well because everything was so rich, I really wouldn’t want an oily salad. I think if I was to eat this again, I would keep the salad as a sort of palate cleanser between the three rich items. The enchilada was sort of under the salad. That was too bad because all I could taste when I ate it was the sour salad dressing. The last thing I dug into was the burrito. It was packed with yummy chicken strands. Whatever the seasonings were in this burrito made the chicken look and taste like pork. It kind of tasted like it was a pulled pork burrito.

Evidence of my satisfaction…