Super Natural British Columbia and Wines of BC paired up with Chef’s from a number of Calgary’s most popular restaurants to give us a delectable evening, Thursday May 9, 2019. Chef Meets BC Grape also took place in Vancouver – a traveling road show, of sorts.
11 Chefs sampled and chose from a select list of BC wines and then developed a dish that would pair well with the wine that they chose. To hear some of the Chefs talk was definitely a part of the experience – there is so much passion and joy in some of their stories in preparing for the evening (e.g. Chef Ryan O’Flynn from The Guild!).
The event was a walk-around (stand) and eat and drink event, with very few tables to stand at. Thankfully they provided little wooden trays for your wine glass and plate. However, as a food blogger trying to manage the tray, a fork, napkin and a cell phone for photos made for a good juggling act at moments.
Throughout the night 5 judges ate and drank (but they didn’t have to get up and walk around like the rest of us LOL) and then they chose the best dish, the best pairing and maybe another award or two (I kind of stopped listening at the end!). I actually disagreed with their choices, so I’ll just keep my opinions to myself…
I definitely had some favourite dishes and we went back for 2 and 3 servings of a couple of them. I did not like some of the wines that were chosen for some of the pairings. My faves actually surprised me:
- Indian Mole from The Guild. Damn, that was a tasty and creative dish. The mole was 100 days old and full of amazing flavour. I really think this dish deserves a place on a menu. I did not like the wine pairing though.
- Buffalo Chicken Wing from Anju. I chucked the celery and carrot – pretty, but served no purpose for my palate and way too much of it. The actual stuffed chicken, however, was delicious!
- Pork, Scallop & Cherry from Yellow Door Bistro. I had three of these ribs. They were so tender – fall off the bone! They were also so creative! Chef Scott Redekopp dried the scallops then crumbled them and used them as the crust on the pork ribs. The cherry sauce was a perfect pairing. I think Chef’s creativity on this dish deserved more kudos.
- Sungold Lamb Shortloin from Elbow Room. A classic dish, it was delicious. I’ve had sous vide Sungold lamb before, and it’s great every time, but this was truly delightful.
- Bearface Whiskey-Cured Salmon from Teatro. Delicious flavour in the moist salmon.
All in all it was an enjoyable evening and a great way to spend time with your partner or a good friend or two. The worst part about the evening was the expensive cab far – it cost me $79 return for a safe ride home… way too much money!
The photos are shown in the order of the menu.
By the time we got to Foreign Concept’s table all the trout was gone!
The mole dish from The Guild is at the top of the page.
I would definitely attend next year if they have the event again!
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