By Ron Eade

JULY 27 11 - 12:05 AM — I am not one who confuses quantity with value, especially when it comes to food. One need only bite into a cheap sausage to know the difference between fillers and charcuterie, or frozen pizza that may sell incredibly cheap but is by no means worth every penny.

My grocery bills are enormous.

In my own defence I should point out that neither do I enjoy being mauled at a checkout counter. But on the other hand, I’ll happily pay a reasonable premium for food and service that is head and shoulders above the pack – and the pack, like most that is unremarkable in this life, is very large indeed.

And so I am delighted to share, here, one of the more attractive deals you may encounter, at a place I would not normally expect – this one at Brookstreet Hotel in the Options Bar on one of those special nights in mid-month when they offer a limited-availability Big Wine Small Plates selection.

Look for it on the website, featuring a five-course menu and wines to pair with every plate. All this for $39.95, plus tax and tip. Even better, the food and wine is definitely a cut above — well into the good value department, here.

First up: Cold-pressed short rib with foie gras and acidulated yellow beet, black plum paint. The short rib was prepared over two days, beginning with a braise in stardard mirepoix, wine, then pulled and incorporated with foie gras, which was formed into a torchon, poached, then pressed.

The  event is normally restricted to 50 or so guests, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., but last Friday they pushed it up to 60 because, well, perhaps someone cannot count too well. Still, the patio wasn’t crowded as folks came, ate, slurped and left. Or, they could stay and linger (alas, my days of cruising late in a bar are long, long over, let me assure you).

Second course: Cedar-planked halibut with cauliflower pulse, delightfully smoky tomato relish.

“We started this event on a Friday after work because it’s less formal, it gets groups of co-workers who are able to come and go as they please all night,” says Clifford Lyness, executive chef, who attended to the fire pit with his newly minted chef de cuisine, Kyle Christofferson, on the job now almost three weeks.

Happy chefs, one and all. L-R Travis Skinner, first commis banquets; executive chef Clifford Lyness; chef de cuisine Kyle Christofferson; executive sous chef Kei Sakugawa.

On hand was sommelier Rene Wallis, who made some very appropriate pairings with the food. (Usually I pay little attention to the food-and-wine matching fad, which to me seems perilously close to common sense, but on this occasion I made an exception by taking baby sips between bites, and was generally impressed.)

“This is much less formal than a sit-down meal, starting off tonight with the pressed foie gras with short rib and then moving on to the planked halibut with cauliflower pulse and smoked tomato relish,” Clifford explains.

Barbecue Alberta strip loin with a spring onion and potato-truffle whip, caramelized pearl onion and Mennonite speck toffee.

Spit-roasted pork with one of my favourites, canellini bean cipolinni cassoulet, and sweet wild blueberry and ginger gastrique.

And on it went through Triple-A strip loin to spit-roasted hog  and a trio opf sweets …

One could return for second servings, Clifford says, “but after five courses I’m sure you’ll be full.” I tend to agree.

The first Big Wine Small Plates was in late June when 23 attended. As I said, the word is definitely getting out. Another event is planned for late August, the date to be announced. “And if it keeps up like this I’ll probably go all winter,” Clifford says.

I for one certainly hope so. It’s one of the best dining bargains in town.

Sweets times three: Apple tart tatin, perfect creme brulee with real vanilla bean and a glass-like sugar glaze, and chocolate truffle.

AUG 31 11 – 9:10 AM — Food and wine lovers can expect yet another gastronomic extravaganza on Sept. 7 at the 9th annual Lumière Gala at the four-diamond Brookstreet Hotel. The event this year will raise money with the 2011 It’s A New Day Golf Tournament to bring new da Vinci surgical equipment to the Ottawa Hospital. (The robotic surgical system is most often used for prostate cancer surgery, but it will also be used for gynecological, cardiac and general surgeries as well as research.)

“Over the last eight years we’re raised more than $225,000 with our annual Lumière Gala, and another $162,000 towards cancer research,” says Patrice Basille, the hotel’s executive v/pres.

I’ve often referred to Lumière in this blog as the city’s best garden party — and for good reason, as the wine pairings with superlative culinary adventure created by executive chef Clifford Lyness and his crew are second to none in the nation’s capital.

Lumière originally began as the grand opening event for Brookstreet Hotel in June 2003, and each year attracts upwards of 400 guests paying $150 a ticket for fine cuisine, drink, entertainment and fireworks. (For tickets, click here.)

Among live auction items this year is a full-page colour ad in the Ottawa Citizen valued at $10,000 (imagine a big, big ad wishing happy birthday to mom). Other standouts include a three-night stay for two people at the five-star Celtic Manor Resort in Wales with full Welsh breakfast, a round of golf on the Celtic Manor’s courses, and return Air Canada fare to London (package value: $5,500).

Or, try an interactive chef’s table in the Brookstreet kitchen for six adventurous eaters with a custom surprise menu (value: $2,000).

Of course, each year I’ve been taken with the food, food and more food. In the past Clifford has roasted a whole hog or two on a spit, but while I didn’t spot whole pig on the menu this year there’s certainly plenty of other goodies at nine different noshing stations to keep one’s mandibles masticating.

Samples open with a bisque of smoked corn, lobster, red pepper dusted with maple-roasted sunflower, then moves on to roast beet salad with Clarmel Farms goat feta; hog head torchon; prawn sui mai and soy-stained seared scallop; barbecue strip loin; sous vide veal loin; duck breast, confit and cured foie gras shavings; sushi and cheese cake. Whew!

Promises to be a crazy-delicious evening.

*****

Gugelmeier is off to The Rock

Former exec. chef at Ottawa Marriott takes over at Delta St. John’s

Steven Gugelmeier, executive chef at the Ottawa Mariott for the last five years, has left the hotel on Kent Street to be executive chef and food and beverage manager at the 403-room Delta St. John’s, NL, effective Sept. 6.

There, he will also oversee food and beverage operations at the municipally owned St. John’s Convention Centre, which is operated by Delta.

“Steven was instrumental in the last year launching our new restaurant, Spin Kitchen and Bar,” says Daniel Laliberte, general manager of the Ottawa Marriott.

“He always exhibited strong passion and commitment to his work, which he will bring to his new position in St. John’s. We should have a new executive chef by mid-September to lead our culinary team,” Laliberte says.

Doug Loucks, general manager of Delta St. John’s, says the hotel has been negotiating with Steve since May. “We’ve been without a person in the position for basically a year now,” Loucks says. “I wanted to find someone to take us to the next level” as the Delta revamps its dining room and the convention centre doubles in size in the not-too-distant future.

“There is a lot of things that make this a positive move for Steven, and we’re quite excited about it. Ottawa’s loss is certainly St. John’s win.”

SEP 09 11 – 6 AM — Organizers of the much-anticipated Lumière Gala at four-diamond Brookstreet hotel estimate upwards of $50,000 was raised Wednesday, in conjunction with the 2011 It’s a New Day Golf Tournament, to help bring new da Vinci surgical equipment to the Ottawa Hospital.

The robotic surgical system is most often used for prostate cancer, but it will also be used for gynecological, cardiac and general surgeries as well as research.

Couldn't resist prawn sui mai (steamed dumpling) by Brookstreet's exec. sous chef Kei Sakugawa with spicy Koren kimchi (that's the red stuff at bottom, left), soy-stained seared scallop. I confess whenever the lineup evaporated for a brief moment, I returned for seconds. And thirds ...

This is the ninth year Brookstreet has organized its gastronomic extravaganza, originally launched in 2003 as a grand opening celebration for the hotel on Legget Drive in Ottawa’s west end (Kanata). Since then, it has become an annual must-attend event to benefit various charities.

More than 400 came out this week. Tickets at $150 enabled well-wishers to sample superlative cuisine prepared under the direction of executive chef Clifford Lyness, as well as great pairing wines for each course, entertainment by Diane White, live and silent auctions, and fireworks to cap the festive evening.

Barbecue Alberta strip loin, blue Elizabeth croquette (hidden under the beef), morel and chanterelle mushrooms, heirloom carrot, caramelized pearl onions and Mennonite speck toffee. Although a bit salty, this dish was packed with rich meaty flavour.

“We feel compelled to give back to our community and are proud to have made a difference over the years,” says Patrice S. Basille, the hotel’s executive vice-president.

“Over the last eight years we’re raised more than $255,000 with our annual Lumière Gala, and another $162,000 towards cancer research in other fundraising events.”

Believe it or not, my Nancy raved about the light sweetbreads nuggets (on the right) served with sous vide veal loin nested on bone marrow pudding, with squash pulse and bordelaise sauce.

Of course, there are those among us who regard the annual event as a must-attend gourmet treat — and certainly this year’s offerings did not disappoint.

Who wouldn't love duck served three ways in a little bamboo boat? Certainly not this nosher. That's seared breast meat, confit leg and shaved foie gras resting on pillowy spaetzle with cafe au lait sauce.

Among live auction items, a full-page colour ad donated by the Citizen valued at $10,000 fetched $8,000 with bidders.

Other auction highlights included $5,750 paid for three night’s luxury accommodation for two at the five-star Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, including a round of golf on the manor courses; five nights for four people at Mendocino coast, California, overlooking the ocean with WestJet air fare included; $2,000 paid for a chef’s gourmet table for six at Perspectives Restaurant at Brookstreet; and $1,700 bid for four Ottawa Senators home game  tickets in the Senators suite.

Bring on the Absolut vodka station, served by sisters Lindsay and Karyn Lemoine.

In all, nine food stations were set up including desserts of cold-set cheesecake with lemon moon pie and raspberry preserve after the main eats.

Among the standouts, I loved the duck served three ways — seared breast, confit and foie gras — cleverly served on a bed of späetzle with café au lait sauce. (The späetzle was a welcome change from the more common root purée.)

As always, Brookstreet chef “Yasuda” delivered an attractive, rich and varied assortment of sashimi and sushi (although, asking guests to pour soy sauce from the original one-litre plastic bottles seemed a bit dé-classé).

Hats off to executive sous chef Kei Sakugawa for his piquant homemade kimchi, the national fermented vegetable dish of Korea, served with supple prawn sui mai (a steamed dumpling) and soy-stained seared scallop with black beans.

Hog head torchon — basically, head cheese breaded and deep fried — with picked ramps, greens, egg yolk cooked sous vide for one hour at 64°C, and truffle oil “sand” garnish was ridiculously rich and probably not good for the arteries. (No matter, we don’t eat it every day.)

The always-popular sushi-served-six-ways station manned by smiling chef "Yasuda."

Kudos to chefs for preparing sweetbreads that my dear Nancy really enjoyed! (Normally, she eschews anything that smacks of offal — but not this time. She found it light yet rich.) Sweetbreads were fried and served with heavier bone marrow bread pudding, squash pulse and a bordelaise sauce.

And, I was delighted to see the ever-charming chef Andrea Leduc, formerly of Brookstreet and now executive chef at Calabogie Peaks Resort, on hand to help chef de cuisine Kyle Christofferson at the duck station.

In previous years Andrea has been in charge of the whole hog at the rotisserie but, sadly, a glistening Mr. Pig was not on the menu Wednesday. (I hope he returns in 2012, because nothing says let’s-pig-out quite like a beast turning s-l-o-w-l-y over a bed of glowing embers.)

A shooter simply called “liquid” served in a tall plastic glass — that’s charred corn bisque smoked cob stock, maple sugar roasted sunflower dust, lobster knuckle and a creamy red pepper pillow — was tasty with rich corn goodness, but a bit difficult to penetrate the fluffy cap with a cocktail (or camera) also at hand.

And the roasted beet salad was incredibly light, colourful and just plain pretty.

I’m wondering, how will the chefs top this  in 2012?

Hog head torchon (basically, breaded and fried head cheese) with pickled ramps, greens, egg yolks cooked sous vide, and truffle oil "sand" was enthusiastically rich. I hope my doctor doesn't find out.

Roasted beet salad with candied pecan, crumbled goat feta from Clarmel Farms in Manotick, embellished with frisee.

No account of Lumiere in this blog would be complete without a snapshot of Brookstreet exec. chef Clifford Lyness and former hotel sous chef chef Andrea Leduc, now exec. chef at Calabogie Peaks Resort. Andrea is the other cute one on the right, by the way.

Check out this campy nifty slide show from the 9th annual Lumième Gala:

JAN 20 12 – 12:01 AM — At last count 23 among Ottawa’s top chefs have signed on for Takeover Weekend at Atelier restaurant over three nights in February – volunteering their time and talent to maintain full dinner service while chef/owner Marc Lepine and his sous chef, Jason Sawision, are off to Kelowna, competing for the title as Canada’s top chef.

The unique idea (undoubtedly the coolest, and most supportive to visit Ottawa’s cheffing community) is to keep the doors open at the small, 22-seat restaurant that might otherwise suffer financially while its two lead chefs compete against Canada’s best in British Columbia. It being such a small place, Atelier would have had to close for three of its busiest nights Feb. 9 to 11.

One chef I spoke with estimated the cost for a small restaurant to compete at a championship national event could be in the order of $10,000.

Above, Marc Lepine at Gold Medal Plates in Ottawa last November.

Takeover Weekend at Atelier was reported here on Dec. 6, the brainchild of executive chef Matt Carmichael of Social, Restaurant E18hteen and Sidedoor restaurants, hatched in November over drinks at Wellington Gastropub during a birthday celebration for chef Rene Rodriguez of Navarra Restaurant. Others included chefs Marc Lepine, Cesare Santaguida of Vittoria Trattoria, Clifford Lyness at Brookstreet Hotel, and Kettleman’s Bagel shop owner Craig Buckley.

“This has turned into something bigger than I ever thought,” Marc says.

“Matt asked me if I had to close while in Kelowna, and I said of course. He said that really sucks, that we should do a special dinner. He asked if I’d let them in my kitchen, and I said of course!”

Right, executive chef Matt Carmichael, as he placed first at Gold Medal Plates in Ottawa in 2009.

Recall that Marc won the most recent Gold Medal Plates competition in Ottawa on Nov. 14, which qualified him to move on to the grand championship contest next month. But while Gold Medal Plates covers some costs associated with the competition, it doesn’t cover everything.

“The idea is we’d cover the three nights: Thursday, Friday and Saturday,” Matt says.

“If we we took just six chefs, not everyone could cover all three nights. So I compiled a list of chefs in my culinary world and started calling them, emailing and texting, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

“I really think their response has a lot to do with Marc and what he’s done to contribute to the culinary scene in Ottawa,” Matt adds.

“For four years that he’s been open, for the most part he sells out every night. And over time I think his cuisine has matured, he’s gained national attention, and if Marc represents Ottawa nationally then it shows the world there is really cool stuff going on here — not just with what chefs like Marc are doing, but the fact the dining public here will support it,” Matt says.

“There’s a sense of community and comaraderie among chefs in Ottawa but we don’t often get the opportunity to work together. In this case, I don’t think there has ever been an event in Ottawa to have so many top chefs come together for a common cause. And to earmark $50 from each plate on those evenings to go to the Ottawa Food Bank underscores not only Marc’s commitment to the community, but our commitment as chefs to help each other.”

For his part, Marc says he’s grateful and has volunteered to organize a similar cheffing-relief effort in 2013 to assist the next winner of Gold Medal Plates in Ottawa. “It’s the coolest thing I’ve seen in food since coming to Ottawa in 2001,” he says.

“I’m just sorry I’ll be away and miss it all.”

Each night, eight chefs will take responsibility for a different course, from soup to mains to dessert. “Our challenge is that we have to be conscious of portion size,” Matt says. “They can’t be too big or too small; the last thing you want is for people to feel uncomfortably full and leave things on the plate.

“So each chef will do something that inspires them, that reflects their own style, so it will not be the Atelier 12-course tasting menu of deconstructed dishes that Marc is known for. On the other hand, I think a lot of chefs are excited to work in that concept of restaurant with equipment like the anti-griddle, induction burners and immersion circulators,” Matt says.

As I mentioned, the place is small so reserve early. Start time is 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 9, 10 and 11.

 Price is $150, which includes the $50 donation to Ottawa Food Bank. Reservations by phone at 613-321-3537.

Here’s the chefs’ lineup to date (may change, you never know …)

Thursday Feb. 9

Cesare Santaguida, Vittoria Trattoria; Michael Hay, The Courtyard Restaurant; Matthew Brearley, Castlegarth; Norm Aitken, Juniper Kitchen and Wine Bar; Michael Blackie, National Arts Centre; Jamie Stunt, Oz Cafe; Pat Garland, Absinthe; Arup Jana, Allium.

Friday Feb. 10

Jason Duffy, ARC Hotel; John Taylor, Domus Cafe; Yannick Anton, Cordon Bleu Bistro; Steve Mitton, Murray Street; Caroline Ishii, Zen Kitchen; Charles Part, Les Fougeres; Michael Moffatt, Beckta Dining & Wine, Play; Matt Carmichael, Restaurant E18hteen.

Saturday Feb. 11

Clifford Lyness, Brookstreet Hotel; Chris Deraiche, Wellington Gastropub; Patricia Larkin, Black Cat Bistro; Mike Radford, Savana Cafe (now closed); Matt Somers, It’s a Matter of Cake; Michael Farber, Farbs Kitchen and Wine Bar; Matt Carmichael.

Feverishing working in the kitchen to replicate dishes at the Eleven Madison Park tribute dinner Monday at Brookstreet hotel.

FEB 24 12 – 12:01 AM — I have mixed feelings about “tribute dinners” where chefs pay homage to the world’s culinary greats by serving replicas of their cuisine, on the assumption not everyone can travel for — much less score — reservations at some of the most sought-after tables on Earth.

As fun as tributes may be, I wonder whether Ottawa chefs are really best served by plating derivatives when there is so much creativity and originality bursting in kitchens across our nation’s capital.

While professionals in any field may admire the work of others — as, say, a student learns from the master, or a Food writer may savour the prose of A.J. Liebling — is imitation (even occasionally) a sincere form of flattery, or is it just presumptuous? Does a road show that plays for a week in Ottawa offer the same theatrical experience as the original that enjoyed critical acclaim in London?

It can be argued both ways; hence, my ambivalence.

Tribute dinners are not new to Ottawa, or larger cities like Chicago for that matter. In September, Ottawa saw two of them, one after the other, replicating the ground-breaking cuisine of chef Ferran Adria of el Bulli, the famous restaurant in Roses, Spain, that served its last meal in July 2011. Even before el Bulli was closed, dinner reservations in Catalonia were virtually impossible to get, to the frustration of literally millions the world over who never even had a chance.

The el Bulli tributes quickly sold out at Atelier and Navarra restaurants, both collaborative efforts by respective (and talented) Ottawa chef/owners Marc Lepine and Rene Rodriguez, who presented 15-course dinners at over $100 per person. They were by all accounts a success, offering Ottawans probably their only chance — ever – to taste what all the el Bulli fuss was about.

More recently, in November chef Murray Wilson, 27, at Atelier, who has an impressive pedigree of his own working in some of the best kitchens in the United Kingdom, piloted an ambitious effort to present a 16-course homage to the cuisine of three-Michelin-star Eleven Madison Park in New York City, the crown jewel in restaurateur Danny Meyer’s dining empire. In fact, Wilson had staged there last fall.

For the Eleven Madison dinner, Ottawa chefs were armed with a six-pound, 384-page road map in the just-released cookbook Eleven Madison Park by executive chef Daniel Humm (photo, left) and general manager Will Guidara — a completely off-the-charts, detailed and intricate work two years in the making, where convoluted recipes require specialized equipment such as sous vide immersion circulators, plastic vacuum-pack machines, liquid nitrogen, and techniques so advanced they are best left to professionals with lots of staff working free on stages.

Among those who came away impressed by the first Eleven Madison tribute was Kyle Chrisfferson, 28, chef de cuisine at Brookstreet hotel, who asked his boss, executive chef Clifford Lyness, if he and Wilson could put on a similar culinary show at the hotel’s Perspectives restaurant. Months of planning and days of intense preparation later, that’s exactly what unfolded Monday when a small platoon of about 10 chefs served an elaborate 16-course menu straight from the lavish pages of Eleven Madison Park that was so ambitious, so finicky, and so precise it took 34 diners more than five hours to wade through it all.

Dinner cost $125, with optional wine pairings at $75 extra. I can’t imagine how anyone made money from it.

Right, chef de cuisine, Perspectives, Kyle Christofferson; Atelier cook Murray Wilson; Brookstreet executive chef Clifford Lyness.

Why the sequel?

“It’s a fun event, it’s February and it generates some interest when we’re in a quieter month,” Lyness says.

“Kyle and Murray approached me and I said yes. The cookbook is great, Eleven Madison Park is phenomenal  and it’s a definite challenge. It keeps my cooks engaged. We don’t do this many courses at once with such intricacy.”

Christofferson says Monday’s menu followed the cookbook “as precisely as we can.” He and Wilson enlisted help from executive chef Michael Hay of The Courtyard restaurant, Montreal pastry chef Josie Weitzenbauer, Katie Desormeaux of Atelier, and wine pairing by Brookstreet sommelier Rene Wallis, among others.

L-R above, Murray Wilson of Atelier and chef Michael Hay of The Courtyard restaurant use liquid nitro to recreate pea lollipops with mint at the Eleven Madison Park tribute dinner Monday. As always, liquid nitro makes a good show.

“There have only been three or four substitutions where it’s near impossible to get an ingredient like, say, amethyst clusters, so we omitted it,” Christofferson says. “But we wanted to pass the experience of Eleven Madison Park to our guests.

“It’s not every day we get a chance to cook like this. It requires more logistics, more planning, and the attention to detail is impeccable. It’s a real challenge for chefs.”

Above, a delightful Eleven Madison classic served at Perspectives on Monday:  Strawberry Gelée on Foie Gras Terrine served on Black Pepper Sablé (almond flour biscuit). As delicious as it was beautiful.

Wilson says Eleven Madison Park is his favourite restaurant “in the entire world,” and that’s reason enough to share the experience. Again.

“We did a tribute for 15 people at Atelier last November and it went amazing. This time, Kyle invited me to work with him on a second tribute dinner. There are so many outstanding recipes in the book it was difficult to choose 16 courses.

“We’re not recreating just the food, we’re attempting to recreate the whole experience right down to the background music, the plates, the atmosphere, the attention to detail and all those small touches,” Wilson says.

One of many highlights, pea lollipops made with pea ice cream, mint-infused cocoa butter with nitrogen-frozen chopped peas for texture. Richly surprising, and a great show in the dining room with nitrogen mist cascading from a tabletop vessel to the floor.

As you might expect, the Eleven Madison Park Tribute, Part II, was memorable on many levels. Certainly the plates — all 16 of them, or 17 if you count four dry cheese gougères served at the start — were as pretty as any I’ve seen in the nation’s capital, and for the most part their myriad visual and textural components were executed deftly with exquisite attention to detail.

So much detail, in fact, that the logistics of complicated assembly might explain why every hot dish (save and except a bisque) arrived at the tables barely warm at best. And that was disappointing.

Some plates were inevitably more successful than others, but all were breath-taking in their beauty. And, as a footnote, I should add that I purchased the cookbook just to study at home and follow along … Rest assured, there’s not much in it I would make. Then again, I don’t do tribute dinners.

Among the courses:

Avocado Roulade with Poached Langoustine, Greek Yogurt Sauce, Lobster Roe Oil, Dehydrated Lobster Roe and Wood Sorel.

Fantasy of Eggs: Poached Egg Yolk with Sea Urchin Bavarois (Bavarian cream/mousse) with Acadian Sturgeon Caviar, Buttermilk Dressing, Baby Gem Lettuce and Chives. Not one of my favourites, it was beautiful until the instant you broke the egg yolk, which puddled and made a quick mess of the plate.

As pretty as cruciferous can be: Cauliflower Roasted with Grapes, Almonds and Curry, served with cauliflower couscous, carrot curry sauce and cauliflower purée with carrot, curry, ginger broth.

Squash Bisque (not shown) with Prawns: Spot prawns cooked sous vide seven minutes in beurre blanc served with butternut squash purée, glazed beans, pickled butternut squash, squash wedges and bacon crisps, finished with butternut bisque and toasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin oil. Tasty, but I found the bisque too salty.

Foie Gras Torchon with Wild Boar, Figs and Juniper. Elegant, nicely executed with juniper berry crumble, minced butternut, squash spheres, pickled king eryngii mushrooms, red currants, Brussels sprout leaves, beets and fig pulp, finished with game vinaigrette. Creative blend of colour, texture.

Nova Scotia Bay Scallop Ceviche with Lemon Oil, Persimmon and Radish, pickled and compressed with nectarine vinaigrette, radish sprouts. Really, a remarkable and refreshing plate.

Nova Scotia Lobster Poached with Carrots and Vadouvan Granola (a French interpretation of curry). Poached in beurre blanc at 150 F 14 minutes, finished with citrus sabayon and cilantro. My least favourite dish of the night because the lobster, unfortunately, took on a gummy, almost glutinous and unpleasant texture. I wasn’t the only one who didn’t finish it.

Quail from Nipissing Farms, cooked sous vide at 145 F 15 minutes, seared and glazed with soy, orange purée with endive also coked sous vide with saffron, ginger, shallot, Port, medjool dates. Finished with date and quail jus with orange blossom water and phyllo allumette with orange juniper powder and espelette pepper. This was as satisfying, succulent, as it was pretty.

Guinea Fowl Roasted with Parsnip, Black Trumpet Mushroom, Oats: Fowl cooked sous vide 145 F 25 minutes, seared and brushed with brown butter, served with parsnip purée, riesling-poached grapes, sautéed trumpet mushrooms and oat crumble. Finished with dehydrated grapes, Guinea fowl sauce with emulsified foie gras, red verjus, red grapes. Again, an attractive and delectable dish.

Beef Tenderloin with Oxtail, Bone Marrow, Swiss Chard: Alberta tenderloin cooked sous vide at 145 F 25 minutes, rolled in thyme and garlic butter, topped with bone marrow crust. Served with crushed fingerling potatoes, oxtail braised in red wine and veal stock wrapped in Swiss chard, hedgehog mushrooms sautéed with thyme and garlic, finished with bordelaise sauce. The recipe calls for the sous-vide beef to be chilled, sliced, topped with marrow, then broiled under high heat one minute until golden; unfortunately, there was not much if any caramelization on my plate, which would have given the protein more depth and texture. The oxtail-stuffed chard, however, was  delightfully rich and full-flavoured.

Kir Royale: Mimicking traditional flavours of Kir Royale in a Cassis sorbet with champagne foam, lemon gel and meringue on the bottom, sugar tuile on top. This was a brilliant, pretty, delicious, intense palate cleanser — certainly welcome after 13 intense savoury courses.

Study in hazelnut with pistachio tuile, chestnut pastry cream, chestnut bavarois (mousse), hazelnut meringues, hazelnut pavlovas, rehydrated raisins, riesling-poached white grapes, dehydrated grapes. A very busy plate, which I tasted and then passed to a dining companion who finished it handily after polishing off her own dessert. Sorry, I’m not a big fan of sweet courses, especially at 11 p.m. after sitting all night.

Chocolate and Milk: Caramelized white chocolate sorbet, dehydrated chocolate mousse, frozen chocolate foam, on top of dulce de leche and whipped crème fraîche, finished with browned milk solids and dehydrated milk foam. My friend happily ate this one too.

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Susur Lee and Matt Carmichael cheffing team
is the one to watch at 2nd annual Celebrity Chefs

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MAR 21 12 – 12:01 AM — Ottawa chef Matthew Carmichael remembers well his intense days a decade ago as a disciple toiling in the kitchen of acclaimed Toronto chef Susur Lee. The pace was always frantic. The hours were excruciatingly long. And his mentor had no tolerance for anything ordinary.

On more than one occasion, Carmichael recalls, the internationally renowned Lee would reprimand him — firmly, but without cruelty — in front of his peers for not making the most of prime ingredients. He taught Carmichael it’s a privilege, not a chore, to break down pristine fresh tuna that other chefs could only dream about.

Above, left, Matt Carmichael wins gold at Ottawa regtional Gold Medal Plates in 2009; later, he placed bronze in national championship. Right, his mentor Susur Lee. They’ll be reunited at Celebrity Cehfs on Sunday at the National Arts Centre.

“Susur would go by the garbage and he’d take out a lemon and give it a squeeze,” Carmichael recalls.

“If any juice came out he would stop the kitchen, ask where this came from and who did this waste. Same with the cream: If any cream came out of an empty carton, or olive oil from a tin, he’d stop everyone and say ‘you have to respect this product, you have to respect the effort and the transportation it took to get it here.’ He’d say the whole cycle is failing when you’re not using ingredients to the fullest.”

Respect for ingredients was a lesson that remains with Carmichael, 40, to this day as executive chef overseeing kitchens at three leading dining establishments in Ottawa: Social, Restaurant E18hteen, and more recently Sidedoor in the ByWard Market.

While Carmichael (above) has since earned his own culinary accolades, he appreciates almost three years of tough work (to late 2004) at the master’s flagship restaurant, Susur, which has since closed. He arrived at E18hteen in 2006.

And it is that same student who will be reunited with his mentor in Ottawa on Sunday, among nine prominent Canadian chef teams to appear at what’s billed as Celebrity Chefs of Canada, a day-long series of cooking demonstrations and gastronomic adventure set to unfold at the National Arts Centre.

For his part, Lee, 53, recalls his protégé with fondness and respect.

“I remember probably a dozen chefs who have gone through my kitchen, and Matt is among them,” Lee says in an interview (above).

“He was very dedicated, he wanted to work hard and accept new challenges. He was open-minded, and I always remember he had good energy. He was hard working, and that’s what it really takes for a chef to grow.”

Celebrity Chefs is the second annual event organized by NAC executive chef Michael Blackie introducing Ottawa food lovers to some of the nation’s brightest culinary stars, along with lesser-known regional chefs. Nine guest chefs — among them, TV’s Lynn Crawford of Ruby WatchCo restaurant in Toronto, and Vikram Vij of Vij’s in Vancouver — will be paired with local chefs such as Marc Lepine of Atelier, Jonathan Korecki of Sidedoor and Clifford Lyness of Perspectives, in a series of hourly cooking demonstrations. The event begins at noon and culiminates in a separate tasting reception and party later that evening.

“I was looking for a little challenge between the two chefs on each team,” Blackie says of his pairings.

In each case, Ottawa chefs will collaborate with visitors on dishes. Blackie will appear with Crawford, which seems a natural selection as they have worked together before and the chemistry between them on stage seems almost magic. They are both, if nothing else, master showmen steeped in the entertaining world of culinary TV.

Chefs Susur Lee and Matt Carmichael will present a version of this dish, Lobster Salad with Saffron Mayonnaise, at the demonstration kitchen Sunday.

Of course, the must-see pairing this weekend will be Carmichael working once again with the mentor who put him through so many paces. They last saw each other in 2007, when Carmichael invited Lee as guest chef for a superlative, $290-a-plate eight-course meal at Restaurant E18hteen — by any measure, a memorable meal layered with tastes and textures balancing savoury with sweet, supple with crunch, that all but pirouetted on the plate.

“He’s firm, but not in a way like Gordon Ramsay on TV,” Carmichael says of the chef he so admires.

“It’s like, you can control a dog with the tone of your voice — you can make it wag its tail without even any body language, or you can make a dog’s tail go between its legs. The thing about Susur is his energy. He never yelled, but his tone of voice told you everything. He’s totally disciplined, so if you let him down that made it even worse.

“Susur never disrespected you as a person, but he would definitely use you as an example in front of everybody. I probably did all those little things with a lemon or whatever. I think I was cleaning beef tenderloin and took off too much trim, and he said something like ‘this is my meat, you’re wasting my money and I’m working for you now.’

“There’s embarrassment, especially in front of the team,” Carmichael recalls.

“It’s a very competitive environment and you just didn’t want to let the team down, you never wanted to be the weakest link, so you really fought hard and concentrated. But when things were going right in the kitchen, Susur was a pleasure to be around, it was incredible. He would congratulate you in front of the team, too.”

Above, last year’s first celebrity chefs’ event.

Their demonstration Sunday will showcase Lee’s famous lobster salad with saffron mayonnaise. But where Lee’s original version calls for chorizo sausage to provide a toothsome, spicy balance to the sweet richness of shellfish and saffron aioli, Carmichael has substituted pork belly cured in a chorizo style with parmesan-crusted braised and seared fennel — again, presenting layers of textures, savoury and sweet, that so characterize the master and his student.

“It’s a great reunion for us,” Lee says.

“I cooked a great dinner in Carmichael’s restaurant in 2007, but haven’t been back to Ottawa since. It’s nice to see a chef you used to work with, and how he’s growing.

“People think a chef’s job is so hard and we don’t have friendships, but the community is really very tight — sharing and loving something with the passion we do. That’s the message I really want to send.

“In Matt I saw motivation, passion, commitment … Just to say you love cooking is not good enough, you have to understand the kitchen culture, you have to like and understand people, and you have to be a good team player.”

Says Carmichael: “I learned from Susur the value in not settling for anything less than your best.

“There’s a term I use — elegant urgency — where watching Susur work was very elegant — the way he moves quickly, with no wasted effort. When I was working sauce there could be four or five sauces per plate, and Susur would take one Turkish teapot in each hand and two spoons and simultaneously apply sauce on a pattern on each plate. Wow, beautiful technique!

“I like to instil that in my chefs. I tell them, there are two types of hole-in-ones in golf: One is not a great shot but it just rolls in the hole, and the other is high-arching and perfect. I ask them, ‘Which would you be more proud of?’ Of course, you’d be more proud of that beautiful shot with backspin that goes in the hole.

“So I tell my cooks it’s not the end result as much as it is how you get there. That’s one of the things I learned from Susur. When Susur and I are together on the stage, I’ll just revert back to a cook’s mentality.

“To me, I’ll not be the chef Matthew Carmichael. When I’m with Susur he is the chef, the master. Always.”

[Footnote March 23: It came to may attention today that Jonathan Korecki has been executive chef at SIDEDOOR restaurant since March 1.]

Celebrity Chefs of Canada

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When: March 25

Where: National Arts Centre

What: Cooking demonstrations and tasting reception, noon to 7 p.m. $135

Tasting reception and after-party 6:30 to 11 p.m. $85

Tickets: NAC box office, Ticketmaster, nac-cna.ca; Tasting reception and party only tickets (20% discount, while supplies last) available only at La Bottega Nicastro, C.A. Paradis

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Visiting/host chef teams on stage

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Visiting chef: Lynn Crawford, Food Network, Ruby WatchCo

Host chef: Michael Blackie, National Arts Centre

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Visiting: Susur Lee, Lee restaurant, Toronto; Zentan, Washington D.C.; Chinois Singapore

Host: Matthew Carmichael, Social, Restaurant E18hteen, Sidedoor

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Visiting: Jason Parsons, Peller Estates

Host: Clifford Lyness, Brookstreet

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Visiting: Vikram Vij, Vij’s restaurant, Vancouver

Host: Cesare Santaguida, Vittoria Trattoria

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Visiting: Patrick McMurray, Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill, Toronto

Host: Michael Blackie, NAC

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Visiting: Ned Bell, Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver

Host: Patricia Larkin, Black Cat Bistro

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Visiting: Jeremy Charles, Raymond’s restaurant, St. John’s

Host: Jonathan Korecki, Sidedoor

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Visiting: Quang Dang, West Restaurant, Vancouver

Host: Marc Lepine, Atelier

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Visiting: Jason Bangerter, O&B Canteen, Luma, Toronto

Host: Jason Duffy, ARC The Hotel

SEP 04 12 – 11:30 AM — The kids are back at school, our summer harvest is in full swing, and organizers of two exceptional foodie events due within a fortnight report brisk ticket sales for the 10th annual Lumière Charity Gala on Sept. 12 at Brookstreet Hotel, and the 12th edition of Feast of Fields on Sept. 16 at the Canadian Agriculture Museum.

Here’s what you need to know:

Lumière

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Sept. 12 at 6 p.m.

Brookstreet Hotel

Tickets $150 at www.brookstreet.com/lumiere

Brookstreet marketing manager Meike Buechler reports 80 per cent of about 500 tickets are sold to raise money this year in partnership with the Wesley Clover Foundation for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. In addition to tickets and auction items, the hotel is donating a portion of the rooftop rent worth $5,000 (Brookstreet has five commercial tenants on the hotel’s 18th floor, where they enjoy a panoramic view of the Marshes Gold Course.) In the last nine years, Brookstreet has distributed more than $300,000 to various local charities through Lumière, and more than $160,000 for cancer research.

Above, duck served three ways in a bamboo boat at last year’s Lumière: seared breast, confit leg, and shaved foie gras on spaetzle with cafe au lait sauce.

Lumière was launched as the opening celebration in June 2003 for the hotel. Not to be missed is the impressive nine-item jazz-theme menu paired with wines served by the hotel’s four-diamond culinary team headed by executive chef Clifford Lyness, with chef de cuisine Kyle Christofferson. Also included is live music, the ever-popular martini bar, and a concluding fireworks show over the adjacent Marshes Golf Course.

The jazzy, international inspired menu this year offers (to name only a few) Indonesian meatball soup with crisp wonton, rice noodle, chili paste and sweet soy; Italian-theme sweet pepper cured watermelon with prosciutto shavings, grappa-infused cantaloupe ice and tender greens with aged balsamic toffee; French-inspired crêpe “socca,” shelled mussels à la Provençale, seafood boudin, melted leeks, sauvignon blanc and caviar creme; Spanish braised vanilla pork belly, beluga lentils and burnt orange confit toss; Welsh shepherd-inspired braised lamb shoulder, juniper scented cabbage and confit garlic, cracked mustard and oat-crusted lamb loin; Quebec smoked sous vide duck, leg rillettes, preserved fig and cider slaw with sweet and sour squash purée; and Japanese sushi six ways with traditional condiments.

Right: Sisters Lindsay Karyn Lemoine at the popular Absolut vodka station in 2011.

Live auction highlights:

• Luxury golfing break at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, including four nights for two people, golf, with food and drink and other amenities, value $6,000;

• Full-page colour ad space in the Ottawa Citizen, value $10,000;

• Girasole Vineyards/Westjet Airlines three-night stay at Mendocino coast, California, in house overlooking the ocean (three bedrooms, four baths, hot tub and gourmet kitchen). Airfare for two to San Francisco, total value $3,000;

• Dinner for eight with Brookstreet executive chef Clifford Lyness in your kitchen, value $2,000;

• Four 100-level club seat tickets from Brookstreet to the sold-out Justin Bieber concert Nov. 13 at Scotiabank Place, including luxury accommodation followed by breakfast at Brookstreet’s Perspectives Restaurant, value $2,000.

In addition, numerous silent auction items range from luxury hotel stays to meal vouchers, spas, wine and concert tickets.

Feast of Fields

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Sept. 16 noon to 4 p.m.

Canadian Agriculture Museum

Tickets $70 until Sept. 8, then $80 (with $35 tax receipt available) at www.feastoffields.ca Also at Rainbow Foods in Britannia, Pantry Plus Foods in Orléans, and Wild Oats Bakery Cafe in the Glebe

This is an annual fundraiser for Canadian Organic Growers, Ottawa chapter, limited to 350 tickets. Already about 150 are sold “and we’re in a big campaign now to sell the other half,” says Margaret Tourond-Townson, vice-chair of COG Ottawa.

“The appeal, quite frankly, is the great food. The fact organic food is as chemical-free as you can get is an attraction for people with health challenges,” she says.

“Feast of Fields is held in a local harvest setting, and gives the public an opportunity to network with organic growers and chefs. People really want to know where their food is coming from.

“We’re going to stop ticket sales at 350 to ensure there is an abundance of food. We’ve never sold as many tickets this early, so we’re very encouraged. It’s  a very sustainable event and it’s environmentally friendly.”

Expect more than 20 talented chefs and food teams paired with organic producers. As always, food is served on real dishes and biodegradable serving containers, while a Green Team on site looks after recycling and composting. A farmers’ market will be set up again this year offering organic foods, so bring a tote bag.

New this year is Earth’s Harvest Farm, a small organic operation in Oxford Mills run by Liza and Luke Swale (photo, left), with 300 chickens, 26 turkeys, two lambs and 30 laying hens. “We heard of Feast of Fields through a farmer friend, Funny Duck Farms near Merrickville, and it’s a great fit for us,” Liza says.

“We want to educate people about grass-fed meat and introduce them to new varieties of heirloom vegetables. It’s just a great opportunity o get out there and meet like-minded people.”

Above, Lori Nichols Davies, natural health and food consultant with Holistic Cooking Academy of Canada, has attended Feast of Fields since 2005. She’ll be serving chicken nuggets with organic sour cream dip with specialized mayonnaise made with olive oil, flax oil and omega-3 and 6 rich walnut oil, as well as bean salad with pesto dressing. “We’re supporting the organic and slow food movement with traditional foods like butter vs. margarine, fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, miso and spouted seeds, beans and grains, which enhance the nutrients,” she says. “We also promote a mix of raw and cooked foods because nutrients are better absorbed when foods are cooked, but raw food gives you natural digestive enzymes to break down carbohydrates. … The big point to make is, everything must be in balance.”

Above, breath-taking fireworks over the Marshes golf course following Wednesday’s 10th edition of Lumière gala at Brookstreet hotel. This is an unaltered photo of fireworks taken in front of the hotel, which is on the left.

SEP 14 12 – 9:45 AM — Superlatives all-round Wednesday as the 10th annual Lumière gala at Brookstreet hotel raised a record $74,000 for charity, with an unprecedented attendance of over 530 people — up from $50,000 and 325 in 2011. And, I should quickly add, the food by executive chef Clifford Lyness and his crew has never been better, as most of the dishes, in my opinion, were of the high calibre I’d expect at such prestigious culinary events as Gold Medal Plates held in Ottawa each fall.

Right, live music through the evening Angèle and her Swinging Devils.

“What a success,” says Patrice Basille, executive vice-president of the host hotel.

“Over 530 people attended our record-breaking 10th anniversary Lumière gala, raising a total $74,000 to support the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.

“And planning has already begun for next year’s Lumière, so be sure to save the date Sept. 11, 2013, when we’ll make every effort to put on an even bigger event.”

Left, Brookstreet executive chef Clifford Lyness.

Lumière is a charity event originally launched in June 2003 at the opening celebration for the new hotel, located in the heart of Ottawa’s west-end high-tech industrial park. Five auction items and various “silent” items this year raised a total of $32,000. Tickets for the evening cost $150, including food, drink, live entertainment, auctions and closing fireworks.

“We’ve done much better this year as we started selling tickets earlier, followed with weekly meetings since late March so we had our finger on the pulse all the way along,” Basille says.

Chef Lyness started planning his stellar menu in May, while pre-gala preparation of food on an international jazz theme began Sunday. “Our major consideration was to serve 500-plus guests within three hours,” says Lyness, executive chef for 3 1/2 years, after serving 1 1/2 years as sous chef under chef Michael Blackie, who opened the hotel and has since moved on to the National Arts Centre.

“We also take into consideration that our charity this year was the cancer foundation, so I tried to include cancer-fighting ingredients like cabbage, mango, chili peppers and superfoods like blueberries in the gastrique that went with the duck. We also used sweet pepper-cured watermelon — peppers are an anti-oxidant, so we used the juice to cure the watermelon.

“It all comes together in balance,” Lyness says. “And at a function like this, people want to be impressed.”

Impressed, they certainly were.

Above, serving dessert outside by the romantic light of smart phones just before the fireworks.

This year I managed to sample every dish in my selfless devotion to duty. My favourite was the New Orleans Satchmo Summer Fest plate (photo, above) with its delightful contrast of rich flavours, temperatures and textures: Warm chili-dusted striped bass on creamy candied sweet potato and corn grits, embellished with crispy smoked bacon lardons, enlivened with the cool tang of mango chow-chow strips. What a hit!

My second pick of the night on the Italian theme (photo, above) was sweet pepper-cured watermelon, shaved prosciutto di Parma with grappa-infused cantaloupe “ice” and tender greens with aged balsamic toffee. (The watermelon was also infused with a kiss of Cointreau achieved, as with the grappa-infused cataloupe, by vacuum-packing in plastic for only two minutes to drive flavours into the fruit. The balsamic toffee was a reduction of balsamic with honey, to complete a most refreshing palate-pleaser without being boozy.)

And my third choice among a cornucopia of fine servings was the finishing Switzerland-theme dessert (above) of chocolate soup lightly infused with juniper to convey a subtle smoky finish, with chocolate pavé, honey-almond nougat and espresso bubbles.

Among the five items auctioned by Stuntman Stu (a very accomplished auctioneer, by the way) was:

• A premium $6,600 paid for a luxury golf break at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, including four nights for two, golf, food, drink and other amenities valued at $6,000;

• $4,000 paid for full-page colour ad space in the Ottawa Citizen, worth $10,000;

• $2,500 paid for a three-night stay at a Mendocino Coast, California, villa overlooking the ocean (three bedrooms, four baths, hot tub and gourmet kitchen) from Girasole Vineyards; airfare for two to San Francisco by Westjet Airlines; value $3,000;

• $1,600 bid for four 100-level club seat tickets from Brookstreet to the sold-out Justin Bieber concert Nov. 13 at Scotiabank Place, including luxury accommodation and breakfast at Brookstreet’s Perspectives restaurant, value $2,000;

• $1,500 paid for a dinner for eight with Brookstreet chef Lyness in your kitchen, value $2,000.

L-R above: Cook Matt Howell (on loan for the night from Union 613 restaurant), hotel chef de cuisine Kyle Christofferson, executive chef Clifford Lyness, and Francis Thibault (on loan from Courtyard restaurant).

Silent auction items raised another $25,992.

Check out more great eats …

Indonesian-inspired Bakawn Malang (meatball) soup with crisp wonton, rice noodles, chili paste, sweet soy.

A taste of Montreal with smoked sous vide duck Magret, leg rillettes, preserved fig and cider slaw, sweet and sour squash pulse.

On the France theme, Nice-style crêpe “socca” (pancake) with shelled mussels à la Provençale, seafood Bourdin, melted leeks, sauvignon blanc and rich caviar cream.

From Wales, shepherd’s-inspired braised lamb, juniper-scented cabbage and confit garlic, cracked mustard and oat-crusted lamb loin, buttermilk parsnip pulse, Welsh whisky and braising liquid reduction.

Spanish-inspired braised vanilla pork belly on beluga lentils and burnt orange confit, garnished with crisp chili threads.

The ever-popular Japanese sushi six ways: tuna tempura, barbecue veal, smoked salmon, Japanese omelette, deep-fried tofu in soy and sugar, fish cake “kamaboka.”

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Only three weeks to go, regional Gold Medal Plates winner at Oz Kafé feels pressure of the national stage

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Ottawa chefs plan 2nd “Weekend Takeover” event to keep Elgin Street resto open four days during big competition

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Surely to be hot tickets, “Takeover” reservations
now open for Feb. 6, 7, 8 and 9

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JAN 13 13 – 10:30 AM — Less than a month before the big, potentially career-changing party in British Columbia, Ottawa chef Jamie Stunt, 32, chef for eight years at the unassuming Oz Kafé on Elgin Street, is starting to feel anxious, a bit nervous, and indeed more than a little pressure at being among 10 Canadian regional Gold Medal Plates finalists to compete in the ultimate Canadian Culinary Championships this Feb 8 and 9.

Right, chef Jamie Stunt is starting to feel the heat of competition coming in less than a month.

That’s three gruelling cooking events involving a secret wine pairing, a mystery black box of ingredients, and a finale dinner for 600 people where Ottawa’s contestant, who is not formally trained in the ways of a kitchen, will find himself pitted against some of the brightest stars in Canada’s culinary firmament.

“Yeah, I would say I’m nervous,” Stunt confides, in a brief chat about his plans for competition.

And he especially appreciates the moral support at home where 20 volunteers among Ottawa’s close cheffing community are once again stepping up this year to keep the café lights on while the home team is off to the Delta in far-away Kelwona trying to bring back gold — for the second year — to the nation’s capital.

“I looked at the calendar and it’s a month away, but I feel we are where we should be as far as planning and organizing …

“But serving 600 people on the other side of the country and trying to make the best dish of anyone in Canada is maybe the craziest thing I’ve ever done. Literally. On top of the other competitions you’re thrown into — there’s three competitions over two days — that’s pretty crazy,” Stunt says.

Off to Kelowna, L-R Oz Kafé owner Oz Balpinar, executive chef Jamie Stunt, sous chef Simon Bell.

Recall many of the same volunteer chefs organized last year by chef Matt Carmichael staged what they dubbed a “Weekend Takeover” of tiny Atelier restaurant on Rochester Street so that chef/owner Marc Lepine, 37, and his staff needn’t worry about the home fires as they were off to the grand championship in Kelowna. Fact is, compensation by Gold Medal Plates organizers is not overly generous — it being a series of culinary contests to raise money for Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes, after all — and the cost of staging a competition on the other side of the continent can easily ring upwards of $10,000 in lost revenue not counting hotel rooms, wages, airfare, and surcharges for the inevitable excess baggage to lug no end of secret ingredients and perhaps special gadgets to the contest.

Above, top winners at the regional Gold Medal Plates in Ottawa last November,  from left chefs Jason Duffy of Arc Lounge.Dining (silver medal), Jamie Stunt of Oz Kafé (gold), and Jonathan Korecki of Sidedoor Contemporary Kitchen and Bar (bronze). All three were newcomers to the regional competition. As top winner, Stunt moves on to the Canadian Culinary Championship in Kelowna in less than one month, while the cheffing community in Ottawa rallies to keep Oz Kafé open four nights.

In that light, you can appreciate the gratitude Lepine felt last year to know his restaurant in Ottawa was in good hands, and that revenue would be coming in while he and staff were away. (Of the $150 ticket price in 2012, $50 went to the food bank. This year the price is a more modest $80, which includes $20 for the Ottawa Food Bank.)

As it turned out, Lepine was indeed successful at the finale contest and came home with the coveted Canadian Culinary Champion title.

“I know how he feels because I remember last year thinking it’s incredible that all these chefs I respect so much will be working in my kitchen,” Lepine recalls.

“Apart from that, I remember wishing that I could attend. It was such a cool dinner I just wish I could have eaten here on one of those nights because it was a pretty special thing.”

Above, chef Jamie Stunt’s winning yak dish served in November at the regional Gold Medal Plates in Ottawa.

Ironically, even though Lepine stepped in to organize the takeover nights this time around he won’t be able to attend any at Oz Kafé because, as last year’s big winner, he’ll be serving guests at receptions and meals in Kelowna next month.

“I met with Jamie yesterday morning and he had a lot of questions,” Lepine says. “I told him how we packed all our food in Styrofoam boxes and taped it up, and made sure things were vacuum-packed so they wouldn’t leak. I actually kept celeriac chips on my lap the whole way as carry-on because I didn’t want them to break. And it was expensive to pay for all the extra luggage — we each went with three checked pieces.”

This year Stunt expects to take with him Simon Bell, his sous chef, and cook Michael Bednarz, as well as café owner and enthusiastic supporter Oz Balpinar. Sommelier Alex Scott will remain behind to mind the restaurant as other chefs take over four nights.

Above, chefs in February 2012 toast a job well done as they volunteered to keep Atelier open through “Weekend Takeover” in solidarity with chef/owner Marc Lepine and his staff, who brought home top honours from Kelowna at the Canadian Culinary Championship.

Although Stunt isn’t giving away his entire battle plan, he does allow that his proposed plate for the finale will be a variation of the seared yak from Tiraislin Fold Farm in Maberly, Ont., prawn pickle, crispy tomatillo, smoked boar vinaigrette, herbs, citrus and spice that won him first place in Ottawa. Again, it will be paired with special brew created by Ashton Brewing Co., a brewpub in nearby Ashton, Ont. (Stunt also used some of the spent grains from the beer in his breading for the tomatillo.)

“Most say it’s wise to make the same dish, but because a lot of stuff we used the first time were seasonal we felt to try and recreate the same using out-of-season ingredients may actually produce a worse dish than we made in Ottawa. So our plan is to be even better by changing some ingredients to keep them seasonal while retaining the same idea.”

Left, Atelier chef/owner Marc Lepine wins the Canadian Culinary Championship in February 2012.

As of this writing (details may change), here’s the guest chef lineup each day at Oz Kafé. Reservations ($80 + tax + tip, includes $20 donation to Ottawa Food Bank) for this hot ticket are available by calling 613-234-0907. Limited to one seating of 50 tickets nightly:

Wednesday Feb. 6 – Marc Doiron, town; Jason Duffy, Arc.the hotel; Jonathan Korecki, Sidedoor; Chris Lord, Union Local 613; Jon Svazas, Fauna; Simon and/or Ross Fraser, Fraser Café; Caroline Ishii, Zen Kitchen.

Thursday Feb. 7 – Charles Part, Les Fougères; Clifford Lyness, Brookstreet hotel; Yannick Anton, Le Cordon Bleu Signatures Bistro; Trish Larkin, Black Cat; Cesare Santaguida, Vittoria Trattoria; Michael Farber, Farb’s Kitchen.

Friday Feb. 8 – Matt Carmichael, El Camino; Arup Jana, Allium; Marysol Foucault, Edgar, Odile; Michael Moffatt, Beckta, Play, Gezellig; Chloe Berlanga, The Whalesbone Oyster House; Ben Baird, The Urban Pear.

Saturday Feb. 9 – Chris Deraiche, Wellington Gastropub; Michael Hay, Back Lane Café; Michael Radford, Izakaya; Murray Wilson, The Courtyard; Michael Blackie; Pat Garland, Absinthe; Peter Robblee, Juniper Kitchen.

“This is a huge deal for us and we’re very excited,” says Oz Balpinar, owner of the cafe.

“It’s a lot to wrap our heads around in terms of organizing, from travel arrangements to accommodations, to just being supportive for Jamie and Simon.

“And the support of other chefs helping out makes a huge difference in us actually being able to pay our bills the following month,” Balpinar says.

“Four busy days covers your rent, hydro, payroll … If we had to close those four days I think it would be really hard to afford this event so far away from home, to be honest. So it’s amazing the restaurant community is stepping up and Marc Lepine is heading it. It’s amazing the restaurant community is so close-knit in Ottawa, where everyone wants to help out.”

Says Stunt: “Oz has been absolutely unbelievable, she’s spared no expense. She’s given us total freedom to spend and do what we want, so we’re trying to be responsible about that. We’re had very good help with Canadian caviar donated from Northern Devine, but nonetheless this is still a very expensive undertaking for us.

“But Oz has total faith in us, which makes things a ton easier to try and bring home a gold medal to Ottawa for the second year in a row.”

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Twitter: @roneade

Above, executive chef Robin Bowen on his last day at Southway Hotel.

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After five years in the capital, shoot-from-hip chef
is going back home

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Says Ottawa was a learning — and humbling — experience

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APR 30 13 – 12:01 AM — After a half decade cooking in the nation’s capital, chef Robin Bowen, 40, is returning home to Calgary to head the kitchen at a large establishment called West Restaurant and Bar beginning May 7. His last day as executive chef at Southway Hotel was on Friday.

A farewell soirée is planned Thursday at 327 Wine Bar in Ottawa’s Somerset Village.

Born in Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England, Bowen moved to Canada as a young lad, and is a sometimes-outspoken man who prides himself on doing things his way. Known among friends as the chef who hates eggs, he has held five positions since arriving in Ottawa in April 2008 with wife, Sara Veldhuizen, to open the kitchen as executive chef at Lago Bar Grill at Dow’s Lake, where he remained two years.

In 2010 he spent a few months as acting executive sous chef at the National Arts Centre, where he filled in for chef John Morris while he recovered from an injury. From there he spent six months at Empire Grill, then developed a new menu at Spin Kitchen and Bar at the downtown Marriott before he was, well, fired.

He has been at Southway since January 2012.

Bowen is a 1993 culinary arts graduate from Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. Before coming to Ottawa he was executive chef at Vintage Chophouse and Tavern in Calgary.

In this exit interview, Bowen talks candidly — as he tends to do — about his experience in Ottawa, his view of the city’s strengths and weaknesses when it comes to dining out, and what it is about eggs that drives him crazy. And, no, he didn’t go into detail about reasons behind his departure from Spin Kitchen and Bar — but concedes it was a humbling experience.

Below is a slightly edited recount of our interview.

Omnivore’s Ottawa: What brought you to Ottawa in 2008?

Robin Bowen: It was the opportunity to open Lago. I met some partners and Lago was going to be the next Vintage Chophouse of Ottawa. I always liked starting from the ground up and Ottawa was close enough to my wife’s parents in Niagara. She works in the office at Orleans Fresh Fruit, and she’s coming with me to Calgary.

Omnivore’s: Do you consider yourself a Calgary lad?

Bowen: Yeah, I never dropped it. Whenever I talk to somebody I always say Calgary is home, I always felt that.

Omnivore’s: Why are you going back?

Bowen: I’m going as executive chef to a restaurant called West, a 350-seat restaurant on three levels, with three kitchens, plus a 650-seat rooftop patio. The cuisine I would say is upscale casual, it’s got a bit of a Calgary feel to it, mass appeal. Cuisine-wise, I’d say continental with a little local, but it’s not five-diamond dining by any means.

Omnivore’s: What else is in Calgary for you?

Bowen: Family, I miss my dad a lot. My mother passed away when I was seven. My father is out there, my sister too, and the opportunity was fantastic. The money is amazing, and I think we always knew we’d go back – we just didn’t know when. I have no children, so that makes it easy to move around. A head hunter came to me over a month ago.

Omnivore’s: After five years in Ottawa, what is your lasting impression. What are you taking away from your experience here?

Bowen: It was a good growing period. It was humbling at times. I’ve never seen such a bonded chefs’ community as there is in Ottawa. Calgary is so big you just can’t bring chefs together in one night, you know. But, lasting memories? I learned a lot here, I was humbled, I had a big city attitude when I got here, I had no idea the market here was so vastly incomparable to Calgary.

Omnivore’s: How so?

Bowen: I was working in a restaurant in Calgary that was doing $7 million a year and people gladly paid $19, $20, $21 for a burger at lunch, but here there’s the sticker shock where everybody wants everything for $13 including tax, tip and a soda pop. It took me almost a year to adjust to that. I still feel that downtown Calgary hustle and bustle.

If I could sum it up, it’s that this town doesn’t do lunch, it’s not a lunch town. We’d do 250 lunch covers a day when I worked in Calgary, so it’s a different mind frame. Calgary has a very free-flowing, sort of frivolous amount of money to spend, whereas here I think everyone watches their nickels.

Omnivore’s: You say you were humbled here. What do you mean by that?

Bowen: I’d never been fired before. I should have gone home then, that should have been the turning point, but I took on new challenges. It was the first time in my life where I had to find a job to just pay the bills; the next job I always took was a step up. The job at Empire Grill was a short-term contract and I don’t think I ever fit into it, I did it to keep the mortgage, buy the cars, stuff like that. So, yeah, there were a couple of humbling moments along the way – the Marriott (for me) was a disaster, I should never have taken that job. I know what it’s like to work in a sort of hard, union position and I just couldn’t motivate people to work for me …

Omnivore’s: What was your most satisfying experience in Ottawa?

Bowen: I think it was doing Canadian Celebrity Chefs with chef Michael Blackie at the NAC in January 2011. [A day-long event with food and cooking demonstrations involving eight visiting chefs paired with Ottawa chefs on stage.] I had a great time working with my partner, chef Paul Rogalski of Rouge restaurant in Calgary. That was probably my most memorable event here.

It  was fun, it was innovative, it was different, it was showcasing what people in this city can do with partners from across the country.

Omnivore’s: Do you have any parting thoughts for the dining public, or up-and-coming chefs in this city?

Bowen: There are a lot of chefs here doing good things and I think people in the dining public need to ease up a little and go see the different things being done. It’s not always steak and potatoes and it doesn’t always have to be a clubhouse sandwich for lunch. We seem to have 40- and 50-seat restaurants popping up every two weeks by the look of it, so there is lots that people can explore.

Omnivore’s: Do you think they’ll all survive?

Bowen: No, I don’t think so. In this town you really know the lean months are January, February and March, and I think they’re going to have to look at how they’re going to survive the winters, to survive the lean months. It’s great when you’re rocking and rolling and you’ve got five guys working for you, but what happens when you suddenly only need two guys? Good cooks are few and far between in this town, for sure. They’re going to go to Toronto or they’re going to travel.

Some of the young guys under 30 years old are opening spots in Westboro and downtown, and I would never have imagined having that kind of money to open a restaurant when I was 30. But do you have the business savvy behind it? It’s not all about great food, you’ve got to be a businessman about it too. You’ve got to watch your food costs, your labour costs, your liquor costs and overhead.

Some are doing fad food, but will it still be hot a year and a half from now? The one guy who seems able to maintain a different and unique niche is chef/owner Marc Lepine at Atelier – he’s got that train that keeps on rolling. For him to be surviving in this city I think is amazing, and he still gets 20 or 22 seats every night. I completely admire him.

Omnivore’s: Who are your mentors?

Bowen: Mentors? I think my years of mentors were over by the time I got here. No one influenced anything I did, I always did it my way and what I thought was best. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes it didn’t.

Omnivore’s: What exactly is your way?

Bowen: Clean, fresh-thinking, giving people food they understand every day, being adventurous while still understanding the customer base. Don’t be too exotic, it’s all about dollars. You can have your own cuisine and your own 40-seater and you can put your moniker on your plates, but do you always want to earn $40,000 a year or do you want to earn more? I always wanted to earn more, I always wanted to have a great comfortable life, and that’s why I do some bigger projects at bigger operations because the more you do, the more you make.

Omnivore’s: What advice to you have for up-and-coming chefs?

Bowen: Stick it out, don’t be afraid to make a mistake, go work with some great guys in this town. You can work for Michael Blackie out at NEXT, you can work for Matt Carmichael when he opens El Camino, you can work for Marc Lepine, Clifford Lyness at Brookstreet, Cesare Santaguida at Vittoria Trattoria. Go and learn the basics from these guys, because they’re going to teach you the best fundamentals and then you can decide what you want to do. You have to know how to roast a perfect chicken and make scrambled eggs before you can freeze it, smash it, blow it up or dehydrate it.

Omnivore’s: Oh my, does that mean you’re cooking eggs now?

Bowen: I hate eggs. I’ll do it if I have to, but …

I think people will always remember me for that, I absolutely hate eggs. I won’t touch them, I won’t let people eat them in front of me. If I had to cook them this morning on the breakfast line, I would. It’s got to go back to some childhood memory block that I don’t remember, I just hate it. I may eat a soufflé, but to put scrambled eggs in front of me? I can’t do it.

Omnivore’s: Any advice for young chefs?

Bowen: It’s not all about being on TV or being the next big thing, it’s about learning the fundamentals. Be humble about your job, expect the long hours, they’re brutal. You’ve got to love it, because if you don’t then you’re not going to survive. It’s not about Anthony Bourdain stories, it’s not about hard partying and booze, it’s about embracing what it is and running with it.

Omnivore’s: Thank you, and all best.

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Twitter: @roneade

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Special charity dinner at Sheraton Ottawa
Aug. 24 teams Toronto and Ottawa chefs

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AUG 17 13 – 11:15 AM — Ottawa gastronomes have a unique opportunity next Saturday, Aug. 24, to savour some mighty fine culinary talent as four Toronto chefs — among them, two Ottawa alumni — pair with counterparts in the nation’s capital at a fundraising dinner for a bursary and memorial tribute to the late chef, Kurt Waldele, at the downtown Sheraton Ottawa.

Saturday’s special dinner is in addition to the 13th annual Summer Garden Harvest Party, being held the next day, also to raise money for the humane society in memory of the former executive chef at the National Arts Centre. Package tickets are available for both events by clicking on the logo, above right.

Dubbed Toronto Takes Over — One Night Only! the lineup of visiting/home culinary duos and their dishes looks like this:

Visiting chefs clockwise from top left: Anthony Walsh, Nathan Isberg, Michael Hay, Charlotte Langley.

Appetizer

♦ Michael Hay, chef de cuisine at O & B’s restaurant, Canteen in Toronto, paired with John Morris, executive chef at the National Arts Centre

Smoked Mariposa duck breast with corn pudding, pickled Acorn Creek rainbow chard, duck crackling

Scallop/tuna

♦ Charlotte Langley, executive chef at Catch restaurant in Toronto, working with Danny Mongeon, chef/operator of Hooch Bourbon House in Ottawa

Scallop, Ahi tuna, fresh curd, yolk, jalapeño, melon, black olive, mint, honey, edamame

Poached pike

♦ Nathan Isberg, chef/owner of The Atlantic restaurant in Toronto, working with Frédéric Filliodeau, executive chef at the Sheraton Ottawa

Sweet and salty poached pike with marinara sauce, tomato, fresh herbs, red pepper sphere

Palate cleanser

♦ Chef Robert Bourassa, for 23 years owner of the iconic Café Henry Burger before it closed in early 2006

Honeydew melon, nasturtium, crushed pepper sorbet

Beef

♦ Anthony Walsh, corporate executive chef of acclaimed Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants, paired with Clifford Lyness, executive chef Brookstreet Hotel

Split and cut thick tenderloin, braised short rib, Clarmel Farm feta crust, roast cipollini onion, king eryngii mushrooms, duck fat fondant potato, smoked tomato and ancho chili pulse

Dessert

♦ Chef Frédéric Filliodeau, Sheraton Ottawa

Frédéric’s marshmallow, caramel à la fleur de sel, milk chocolate mousse, cacao barry, bourbon vanilla chantilly

Canapés on arrival by chef Luc Doiron.

A stellar lineup, including Ottawa alumni chefs Charlotte Langley and Michael Hay who have since moved on to acclaimed kitchens in the Big Smoke.

Ottawa chefs clockwise from top left: Cifford Lyness, John Morris, Frédéric Filliodeau, Danny Mongeon.

The dinner is limited to 100 seats to raise money for the humane society and the Kurt Waldele Student Bursary Endowment Fund at Algonquin College, in memory of the former National Arts Centre executive chef who served more than 30 years before he died in 2009. It takes place on the night immediately before the annual Kurt Waldele Memorial Garden Party at the NAC, a fundraiser also for the humane society. Guests chefs at the Saturday dinner are also expected to attend the garden party the next day. Ticket packages for both dinner and garden party are $350, or $250 plus handling for the dinner only, available at http://torontotakesover.eventbrite.ca/

“I am honoured to share my kitchen with such an accomplished and philanthropic group of culinary artists to raise money for causes that were so important to my late friend, Kurt Waldele,” says Filliodeau, host executive chef at the downtown Sheraton.

“I am looking forward to the experience, the exchange of innovative culinary ideas, and the blending of our personal styles to create a truly unique  and memorable dining experience.”

Chef Robert Bourassa, left.

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Now, here’s a nifty idea to serve corn

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AUG 28 13 – 12:01 AM — Occasionally I’m so taken by what appears on a plate I can’t wait to to try it at home. Which exactly explains why I found myself knee-deep in corn on Monday, after sampling a very clever tribute to the ubiquitous cereal grain by executive chef John Morris of the National Arts Centre and Michael Hay, chef de cuisine at Canteen restaurant in Toronto.

Photo left: Hay with visiting chef Anthony Walsh of Oliver & Bonacini restaurants, Toronto, at Saturday’s tribute dinner at the Sheraton Ottawa.

Hay, formerly at the Courtyard Restaurant and Back Lane Café in Ottawa, was among three visitors paired with local chefs on Saturday to present a memorable meal at the Sheraton Ottawa billed as “Toronto Takes Over — One Night Only.” At $250 a plate, the meal was to raise money for student bursaries and the Ottawa Humane Society in memory of the late, iconic Kurt Waldele, executive chef at the NAC for 31 years before he died in 2009.

No doubt we’ve all had our fill of fresh corn lately, but what struck me was how the chefs used it in interesting ways I’d not considered until now.

Smoked Mariposa duck with corn dumplings, pickled Acorn Creek chard, duck crackling, corn sauce, fried silk, by chefs Michael Hay of Canteen restaurant, Toronto, and John Morris of the National Arts Centre.

Yes you can boil corn, and it’s also delicious grilled in the husk and embellished on the cob with butter compounded with minced garlic, salt and fresh herbs. Most often I’m inclined to slice off the uncooked kernels, which I microwave with butter (when Nancy isn’t looking).

But what Hay does is far more clever: He juices the kernels, then simmers the liquid about 30 minutes very slowly to make a sauce. Then he deep-fries the silk tassels most of us throw away to make a garnish that intrigues in appearance, texture and taste.

Pre-dinner hors d’oeuvres from top: A selection of cheese from Jacobsons Concept Gourmet; smoked salmon mousse with capers and red onion in a cone; torched salmon with birch syrup, smoked cream cheese, compressed diced cucumber on crisp buttermilk cracker by chef Anthony Walsh of Oliver & Bonacini, Toronto.

Scallop, ahi tuna, fresh curd, firm egg yolk, jalapeño, melon, black olive, mint fraîche, honey, edamame by chefs Charlotte Langley of Catch restaurant, Toronto, and Danny Mongeon of Hooch Bourbon House in Ottawa.

Sweet and salty poached pike in marinière sauce with tomatoes, fresh herbs and red pepper sphere by chef Frédéric Filliodeau at the Sheraton Ottawa. Canadian wine pairings for the evening provided by Ottawa sommelier Roger Linton, of Vintner’s Selection.

Beef tenderloin with braised short rib, Clarmel Farms feta crust, roast cipollini onion, king eryngii mushroom, duck fat potato fondant, smoked tomato and ancho chili pulse by chefs Anthony Walsh, Toronto, and Clifford Lyness of Brookstreet Hotel.

Served with tiny corn dumpling pillows and grilled kernels for visual accent, the result is a dish (in this case, presented with thinly sliced Mariposa duck breast and pickled Acorn Creek chard) bursting with the season’s full flavour, resplendent with sweetness from field-fresh produce. For those who are as compulsive as me, I’ve included some tips on how to make it at the bottom of this blog.

Crisp honeydew sorbet palate cleanser with nasturtium by chef Robert Bourassa, Ottawa.

Saturday’s dinner was a fitting tribute on so many levels, on the eve of the 13th annual Ottawa Humane Society Summer Harvest Garden Party, this year held on the roof of the NAC in memory of a chef who was friend and mentor to so many. I’ll post about the garden party in a few days.

“Frédéric’s marshmallow,” caramel à la fleur de sel, milk chocolate mousse cacao berry, bourbon vanilla chantilly by chef Frédéric Filliodeau of the Sheraton Ottawa.

While I’m old enough to realize there really is no original thought — whatever eureka! moment you may have, someone has undoubtedly been there already — the tribute to corn was an inspired start to a six-course extravaganza, from perfect scallops and tuna by chefs Charlotte Langley and Danny Mongeon, to flawlessly poached pike by Frédéric Filliodeau, fork-tender beef by Anthony Walsh and Clifford Lyness, and ridiculously rich chocolate for dessert by Filliodeau.

Oh, I don’t want to overlook a crisp honeydew melon sorbet palate cleanser by chef Robert Bourassa, punctuated with peppery nuances of nasturtium picked from his home garden.

I think the photos say it all.

The cast of chefs Saturday. Photo by Earl Havlin.

Meanwhile, for those bent on playing with corn, this is what I did at home (photo, below right):

♦ Buy six ears of corn. In my experience, you need fresh kernels cut from four or five cobs picked the same day and purchased at a road-side stand, or farmer’s market. This is not the time to buy pre-husked corn sealed in plastic at a supermarket. My four cobs yielded 2 1/4 cups of kernels, and a generous handful of silk tassel you’ll want to deep-fry later.

♦ Purée the kernels in a blender, which gave me 1 3/4 cups of corn sludge. I extracted the juice by squeezing the purée in an ordinary kitchen nylon mesh bag (photo, top) often used to make fruit jelly, to give me only 3/4-cup of liquid.

♦ Using my best five-cup French copper saucepan (perfect heat distribution — no hot spots), I gently simmered the juice 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until it reduced and reached sauce consistency, leaving me with 1/3 cup. Set aside.

Above, corn silk before and after deep frying.

♦ For the corn silk, preheat an electric deep-fry appliance according to manufacturer’s directions to 400ºF, and deep-fry a small handful at a time only 20 or 25 seconds, just until golden brown. Do not over-cook or it will burn. Immediately transfer golden tassels to a stainless steel mixing bowl lined with paper towels to catch dripping fat.

♦ For visual effect, I stripped a fifth ear of corn and fried the kernels lightly in a dry cast-iron pan for colour only, then immediately transferred the scorched kernels to a plate to stop the cooking process.

♦ Finally, I prepared a small serving of grits (you may substitute white or yellow corn meal, ratio 1/4 cup meal to one cup of water) to spoon into a small bowl, topped with scorched kernels, the corn sauce, and fried corn silk.

By all means, do try this at home.

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Twitter: @roneade

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Attendance, live auction highest ever

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SEP 15 13 – 10:55 AM — Great food, drink and entertainment were on hand all night as Brookstreet hotel’s 11th annual Lumière gala Wednesday raised an estimated $71,000 to support the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. While attendance was up to 550 this year from 530 in 2012, and five live auction items fetched $18,800 compared to $16,200 last year, total proceeds for charity, unfortunately, were $3,000 less than in 2012.

Still, plans are already underway for the 2014 edition of what’s fondly billed as Ottawa’s best late-summer evening garden party — without equivocation.

“With every year comes another Lumière and it always seems to outshine the last,” says Patrice Basille, executive vice-president of Brookstreet hotel.

“This was our second year partnering with the Wesley Clover Foundation to support the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation …

“Funds raised will go directly toward vital equipment to support cancer care at Queensway Carleton Hospital. In addition to the gala this year, the foundation partnered with Keltic Cup golf tournament at The Marshes, raising about $22,000 for the cancer foundation.”

Top, Angele Ramsden and the Swingin’ Devils.

In all, Brookstreet has distributed more than $450,000 to local charities through 11 years of Lumière events. The gala was originally launched in June 2003 to celebrate the opening of Brookstreet hotel in the heart of Ottawa’s west-end high-tech industrial park. Tickets are $150, including food, drink, live entertainment by Angele Ramsden a.k.a. Angele and the Swingin’ Devils, auctions and closing fireworks.

Executive chef Clilfford Lyness says he started planning the event virtually the day after last year’s successful evening. “Our first draft of the menu was done in about March, and we finished the final, final fine-tuning yesterday,” he says.

Most items served at 10 food stations were completely new this time (although no one really messes with chef Yasuda’s ever-popular sushi bar).

Also returning this year was the New Orleans-theme Satchmo Summer Fest food theme station with chili-dusted flaky striped bass (photo, above) served on a bed of corn grits with refreshing mango chow-chow on the side and sassafras root beer sauce. However, this year chef replaced bacon lardons with andouille sausage for a little more spicy kick — our No. One  favourite dish of the evening, in my opinion and in consultation with my obliging expert, Margaret Dickenson, who selflessly toured the noshing stations with me to help pick the very, very best on offer.

Dickenson comes with impeccable credentials as an international award-winning cookbook author and regular judge at Ottawa’s regional Gold Medal Plates culinary competition in November. “The chili-dusted bass was exceptional, no question,” Dickenson says.

“The fish was beautifully cooked, finished in butter, and a perfect portion size. It was well seasoned, and the grits were lovely with chow-chow on the side.”

Dickenson and I picked the Danish-theme Smushi Roget Laks (photo, above) with house-cured smoked salmon on a pillowy, perfectly sized blini with cane sugar, topped with crème fraÎche and snipped chives. “Again, the salmon was perfectly cured and that last-minute touch of sugar rubbed into the flesh was beautiful,” she says “Every blini was tender and a perfect size — not too large, which would have made it difficult to handle.”

Finally, Dickenson and I chose a tie for third place: We both loved the pulled duck leg confit (photo, above top) with smoked tomato, pickled jalapeño for zip, and sweet corn in a soft taco with — get this — house-made “Dr. D. Hot Sauce” by Greg Dunlap, restaurant chef at Perspectives at the hotel. And, I absolutely loved the fresh, succulent and bright roast Ontario peach salad (although Dichenson would have preferred to have the furry skin removed) served with tender greens (photo, directly above), crumbled goat cheese for tang and rich embellishment, candied pecan for crunch and buckwheat honey. Absolutely inspired.

“I made the sauce for this event,” Dunlap says, “specifically to enhance the taco with duck confit.

“I was looking for heat from the juice from pickled jalapeño, and then ghost chili pepper — the hottest pepper in the world — which I used only for flavour, not to make it too spicy.”

Above, clockwise from left: Spanish-theme refreshing gazpacho featuring tomatoes from chef’s garden, with cheesy baton; South African-theme yogurt-marinated lamb and apricot skewers, cracked hominy, pinto and black turtle beans; perfectly tender Malaysia-theme coconut and red chili beef, lemongrass and Thai basil on coconut-steeped rice.

Says Lyness: “We wanted to bring in tastes and presentations that follow current trends — like our taco station — while showcasing our in-house culinary talent.

“Travis Skinner, our banquet chef, is from South Africa so he’s in charge of the South African theme station with yogurt-marinated lamb and apricot skewers, cracked hominy, pinto and black turtle beans.”

(Delicious, by the way, but for me the portion size was too much. I asked for half — one skewer, not two — and was quite satisfied.)

Clockwise from top left: On the France theme, Coquille St. Jacques with scallops, mushrooms flambéed in Armagnac, bay scallop Provençal; from Mexico, Dolce de Leche Mousse for dessert — an Ibarra chocolate shooter with cocoa “buckshot” to garnish; chef Yasuda’s ever-popular sushi selection.

“We’re always looking for variety,” Lyness adds, “keeping in mind the food has to be finger- and fork-friendly as people are also carrying a wine glass, although there are tables throughout the room to pause and set things down.”

Various chefs from across Ottawa volunteered to help out this year, as before, this time including Kyle Mortimer-Proulx from ZenKitchen, Jason Duffy and Andrea Hockenhull from ARC.the hotel, John Morris from the National Arts Centre.

Chefs in their natural habitat: Top, at the French-theme food station L-R, from Brookstreet Clifford Lyness, Amanda Brown, and from the National Arts Centre Madan Sharma, Adhishek Shetye, Eric Rochon. Bottom at the South African station L-R, from Brookstreet chef Travis Skinner, Clifford Lyness, Zora Krsmenovic, and from ARC.the hotel Andrea Hockenhull, Jason Duffy.

Live auction items that went for impressive pricetags were:

– $6,200 paid for a luxury golf break at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, including four nights for two, golf, food and other amenities valued at $6,500;

– $4,500 paid for four round-trip flights to any Porter Airline destination including New York, Quebec City, Boston, Chicago, Myrtle Beach and more (value $5,000);

– $3,700 for a three-night stay at a Mendocino Coast, Ca., villa including three bedrooms, four baths, hot tub and gourmet kitchen, airfare for two to San Francisco from WestJet (value: $3,000);

– $3,200 paid for six 100-level suite hockey tickets Ottawa vs. Detroit on Dec. 1 including Brookstreet shuttle, $200 credit in Options Jazz Lounge, hotel breakfast, overnight accommodation for six;

– $1,200 for private tour, taste and winemaker’s dinner for six at The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards & Estate Winery, including rustic five-course dinner with paired wines, courtesy Hobbs & Co. Wine Merchants.

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Twitter: @roneade

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The last Chefs’ Charity Café in March 2008 was held at the Canadian War Museum. Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association plans to hold another — tentatively called DINE WINE Wintertime — on Jan. 30 at Ottawa City Hall, which promises to be a must-attend evening of fine food and wine to raise money for charity.

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Not held since 2008, new stellar gastronomic
night is planned for Jan. 30 at city hall

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Ottawa Food Bank and Youth Services Bureau
to be beneficiaries

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DEC 22 13 – 12:01 AM — Mark your calendars, Ottawa food lovers, as Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association is planning a gastronomic extravaganza on Jan. 30, the eve before Winterlude, with wine and food nibbles to benefit Ottawa Food Bank and Youth Services Bureau at Ottawa City Hall, to be (tentatively) called DINE WINE Wintertime. Details are still coming together, but organizers hope to attract 600 food lovers at roughly $80 a ticket.

So far 14 big-name hotels in Ottawa and Gatineau are expected to participate, showcasing some of the most talented chefs and their creations in the National Capital Region at food stations scattered around Jean Piggott Hall. It will likely be the biggest food-related event of the season on the night before Winterlude, as no gala kickoff banquet with a celebrity chef is planned for Winterlude as in previous years.

DINE WINE Wintertime is co-chaired by Patrice Basille, executive vice-president at Brookstreet Hotel, and John Jarvis, who soon leaves the Westin Ottawa as general manager after 15 years to go into business with his wife, Fran Gagnon. It is being produced by Joan Culliton, owner/operator of the annual fall Ottawa Wine and Food Festival. Scotiabank is expected to be the major sponsor.

The last such event, which ran four years under the name Chefs’ Charity Café, was held at the Canadian War Museum in March 2008. (Photo, above right, the 2008 edition of chefs’ café with Joan Smith, former executive chef at the Lord Elgin Hotel.)

An official announcement is expected soon, including prices and where to buy tickets.

As an interesting footnote, DINE WINE Wintertime may tap the Ottawa Food Bank’s considerable inventory of fine wines, stored off-site and estimated at hundreds of bottles worth more than $250,000. (I didn’t know the food bank owned a wine cellar, but apparently the vintages have been donated over the years for the annual food bank wine auction, last held in spring 2010. Some bottles may be served that evening, while others could be auctioned. Citizen wine writer and author Rod Phillips has been asked to inventory the collection to decide which ones could be served and auctioned.)

“We’ve got 15 or so confirmed hotels, and are still working on a few more,” says Kenton Leier (photo, left), executive chef at the Westin Ottawa, who is co-ordinating the food with Clifford Lyness, executive chef at Brookstreet.

“Ideally we’re looking for 20 hotels, including a couple from Gatineau. The hotel association felt it was time to resurrect it, to give back to the community.

“It’s going to be a gourmet event with a significant wine component. The wine inventory includes some very good vintages, and some will be poured at the event while others may be silent auction items. The thought is to have chefs at various action stations preparing a different dish,” Leier says.

“Each hotel would showcase dishes they’re offering through Winterlude. We want it to be an exclusive, higher-end gourmet event. But at a ticket price of about $80, it’s still very affordable.”

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Chef Cory Haskins leaves Rideau Club
to join culinary faculty at Algonquin

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Cory Haskins, 44, has left the venerable Rideau Club, Canada’s first private club, after 15 years as executive chef to join the culinary arts faculty at Algonquin College. He started his new job on Dec. 9.

His replacement at the club is expected to be announced in mid-January.

No stranger to the college, Haskins is vice-president of Les Toques Blanches, an Ottawa chefs’ association, and has been part-time instructor at Algonquin since 2003. Over the years he has actively participated as mentor and judge at student culinary competitions.

Previously, Haskins was executive chef at the official residence of the United States Embassy in Ottawa, where he served ambassadors James Blanchard and Gordon Giffin (1994-98). While there, he cooked for such dignitaries as president Bill Clinton and prime minister Jean Chretien. It was during Haskins’ tenure that annual 4th of July celebrations became rather large celebrations at the official residence in Rockcliffe.

A native of Portland, Ont., Haskins is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York (1991), and worked in Chicago and the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto before moving to the kitchen at the National Arts Centre (1992-94) under the late executive chef Kurt Waldele, where he worked with such notable chefs as Louis Charest, Oliver Bartsch, Dino Ovcaric, John Leblanc and Jose Bento.

At the Rideau Club, Haskins worked with chef Marc Doiron, Chris Lord, Steve Wall and Mathew Krizan.

“When I arrived at the Rideau Club I built a culinary team and returned the kitchen to cooking from scratch,” Haskins says.

“And we supplemented traditional meat-and-potatoes cuisine with new foods like sustainable seafood, local vegetables, working with farmers in the area to choose the best possible products.

“It was a great place to work. At the Rideau Club I had total freedom to create and update the menus, because the real mandate for me was to make the members happy. But after 15 years I started thinking about what I really enjoy, and I really enjoy teaching.

“Even at the club I encouraged staff development by rotating cooks through the various stations to broaden their experience. At Algonquin, I’m helping to train and develop tomorrow’s chefs — and that’s exciting.”

Congratulations.

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Twitter: @roneade

Email: ronlorne[at]hotmail[dot]com

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Knives and forks ready? Let’s eat!

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MAR 12 14 – 12:01 AM — Now that we’re perilously close to spring, chefs are ramping up compelling dining engagements that foodies in the Ottawa area would be well advised to consider. Here are two I think would be most worthwhile, not only as the concepts are unique but because each presents a star-studded cast of culinary talent.

Back-to-back on March 26, and again the next night on March 27, they are:

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Past-Present-Future

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Perspectives Restaurant, Brookstreet hotel

March 26 at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets $250 including taxes, tip, details online by clicking here. For tickets call 613-271-1800

Brookstreet’s past and present chefs and sommeliers are uniting to create a culinary extravaganza that has never been tasted before. Proceeds will support the Queensway Carleton Hospital to acquire maternal fetal monitors.

The evening will include an eight course sit-down meal, each designed a featured chef. Three sommeliers will pair dishes with fine wines from Canada and around the world. Live jazz features Miguel De Armas; there will also be a silent auction.

“The idea is to bring back to Brookstreet some of the talented chefs who have come through our kitchen,” says Clifford Lyness, executive chef at the hotel (photo, left).

“We also like to give back to the community, so we’re trying to buy Queensway-Carleton Hospital equipment that monitors the heart rate of a fetus during pregnancy.

“The name Past-Present-Future refers to previous chefs, as well as chefs we have on staff now, while the future looks to people who may eventually move on to achieve what others have done,” Lyness says.

Brookstreet opened in June 2003, when former executive chef Michael Blackie set up what quickly became recognized as a four-diamond kitchen. Blackie has since moved on to NeXT restaurant/catering in Stittsville and, due to another engagement, he cannot attend this special event.

The cast of culinary talent is impressive. Returning for the limited engagement are Brookstreet alumni including:

Clockwise from top left: Kevin Mathieson, Art-Is-In bakery (Brookstreet 2003-04); Nicholas Malboeuf, sommelier (2005-08); Kyle Mortimer-Proulx of ZenKitchen (2006-12); Grayson McDiarmid, sommelier (2008).

Clockwise from top left: Matthew Carmichael, El Camino restaurant (Brookstreet 2005-06); Steven Gugelmeier, Delta St. John’s (2003-05); John Morris, executive chef National Arts Centre (2003-05); Andrea (Leduc) Hockenhull from Arc.the hotel (2005-10).

Bottom right, Ian Reed, Courtyard Restaurant (Brookstreet 2008-12); René Wallis, sommelier (2003-13).

The Past-Present-Future menu looks like this:

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“We want to turn this into an annual event, as we do with Lumière,” Lyness says.

“We’ve only having 100 to 120 people for this in Perspectives, so space is limited.”

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Les Toques Blanches, bursary fundraiser

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Restaurant International, Algonquin College

March 27 at 6 p.m.

Tickets $100 (tax receipt available for about $70) available online through Eventbrite by clicking here.

Les Toques Blanches is an association of professional chefs, instructors, and other leading culinarians founded in Ottawa in 1994. With 18 members, this is its first annual culinary bursary dinner to help future chefs in the Algonquin College culinary arts program.

The dinner will be created, prepared and served by second-year students in conjunction with four executive chefs from the Toques Blanches. Many unique auction items will be available during the evening. Those not able to attend but who wish to donate to this bursary may follow this link to the Algonquin College Foundation.

“Les Toques Blanches Ottawa is thrilled to partner with students of Algonquin college for this exclusive event,” says Kenton Leier, president of the Ottawa chapter and executive chef at the Westin Ottawa.

“As executive chefs and hospitality professionals we know the importance of supporting future chefs. Many graduates of Algonquin College’s hospitality, baking and culinary programs can be found in our kitchens and dining rooms.”

“This city is blessed with many successful and talented chefs, and many of them have graduated from our programs,” says chef Mario Ramsay, professor at the college.

“It can be a very difficult time for some of our students having to juggle school, their job and personal obligations. A little support will make a huge difference to their success.”

The menu is:

Appetizer

Trio of Canadian Sustainable Seafood

East Coast oysters with frozen sparkling wine mignonette, seared Albacore tuna tataki, citrus marinated BC scallop

By chef Cory Haskins, instructor (previoously Rideau Club)

Soup

Smoked parsnip purée / pulled duck confit wonton / tarragon walnut pesto

By chef John Morris – National Arts Centre

Main

Sous vide Provençal style beef short-rib / olive-brined  striploin mi-cuit / beef cheek daube

Dijon spaetzle / thyme-roasted Carrots / caramelized Brussels sprouts

By chef Mike Moffatt of Beckta / Play / Gezellig

Dessert

Maple Crème Brûlée/ Chocolate garnishes

Moka Cheesecake / Crème Anglaise

Vanilla Profiterole/ Caramel / Raspberry Coulis

By chef Joe Calabro of Pasticceria Gelateria Italiana

Clockwise from top left: Chefs Cory Haskins, Joe Calabro, Michael Moffatt, John Morris.

Twitter: @roneade

Email: ronlorne[at]hotmail[dot]com

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When you think of wintry meals, pad Thai probably isn’t the first dish that springs to mind. After all, the temperature generally climbs past 30 C in Bangkok at this time of year.

Still, Lord Elgin Hotel executive chef Brian Vallipuram has come up with a seasonal spin on the rice-noodle classic. Out go the usual chicken, shrimp and peanuts. In their place go bison, dried cranberries and chestnuts.

“I just put a little twist. We are Canadian,” Vallipuram says.

The chef’s Winter Bison Pad Thai is one of more than a dozen items to be offered Jan. 29 at Dine, Wine, Wintertime, a gastronomic fundraiser for the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa’s food program. Staged for the second time by the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association and presented by Scotiabank, the event at Ottawa City Hall will involve executive chefs and their teams from 14 hotels.

The event’s inaugural edition last year was a sell-out, attracting about 600 people. It raised more than $55,000 and helped feed more than 9,600 young people.

“It was crazy busy,” Vallipuram says, recalling how the time flew by as he served an unending line-up of guests at his station over the event’s two hours.

“You interact with the people. I like when it’s busy.”

Winter Bison Pad Thai

Lord Elgin’s Winter Pad Thai by executive chef Brian Vallipuram at the Lord Elgin Hotel

Lord Elgin Hotel executive chef Brian Vallipuram says that “it doesn’t matter” what cut of bison is used for this recipe. “Stew meat is fine, as long as it’s marinated and cut in thin strips. The key is thin strips.”

Makes: 3 servings

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 12 minutes

8 oz (225 g) Thai rice noodles

1 lb (450 g) bison, sliced

For the red curry pad Thai sauce:

¾ tbsp (10 mL) tamarind paste dissolved in ¼ cup (60 mL) warm water

2 tbsp (25 mL) fish sauce (add more to taste)

1 to 3 tsp (5 to 15 mL) Red Thai curry sauce

3 tbsp (45 mL) brown sugar

1/8 tsp (1 mL) ground white pepper

For the bison marinade:

1 tsp (5 mL) cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tbsp (30 mL) soy sauce

For the stir-fry:

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 – 2 fresh red chilies, minced (optional)

3 cups (750 mL) fresh bean sprouts

½ cup (125 mL) sweet peas

½ cup (125 mL) dried cranberries

3 green onions, julienned

½ cup (125 mL) fresh coriander/cilantro

1/3 cup (80 mL) crushed or roughly chopped roasted chestnuts

¼ cup (60 mL) beef stock

vegetable oil for stir-frying

lime wedges

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and dunk in rice noodles. Turn heat down and keep an eye on them so they don’t overcook.

2. Noodles are ready to be drained when they are soft enough to be eaten, but still firm. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent sticking and set aside

3. For the sauce, combine ingredients in a bowl. Stir well to dissolve tamarind and brown sugar and set aside.

4. Place bison slices in a small bowl. Stir together the marinade and pour over bison. Set aside.

5. Warm up a wok or large fry pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 -2 tbsp oil (up to 25 mL) plus garlic and minced chili (if using). Add marinated bison. When wok/fry pan becomes dry, add a little beef stock, 1-2 tbsp (up to 25 mL) at a time, to keep the bison frying nicely (5 – 7 minutes until cooked).

6. Add the noodles and pour the pad Thai sauce over. Using two long spoons or utensils, use a gentle “lift and turn” method to fry noodles. Stir-fry this way for 1 – 2 minutes. If wok/fry pan is becoming too dry, push noodles aside and add a little oil to the bottom of the pan.

7. Add the bean sprouts, sweet peas and cranberries and continue frying for one more minute or until noodles are cooked. Taste test for seasoning and add more Thai sauce until desired flavour is reached.

8. Lift noodles onto a serving plate. Top with a generous amount of fresh coriander, green onions and crushed/chopped chestnuts. Add fresh lime wedges to squeeze over each portion.

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Dine, Wine, Dinnertime

What: gastronomic fundraiser for the Youth Services Bureau, staged by the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association and presented by Scotiabank

When and where: Thursday, Jan. 29, 6 to 8 p.m., Ottawa City Hall

On the menu: 14 dishes, including Cracked Pepper Sous Vide Loin and Pulled, Vanilla-Braised Short Rib, from Brookstreet Hotel chef Clifford Lyness; Ontario Pickerel, Smoked Cranberry Custard, Crosnes, Fennel Pollen, Celery Root from chef Jason Duffy of ARC the Hotel; Seafood Ravioli: Creamy Shellfish Bisque with Cappuccino Foam, from Sheraton Ottawa chef Frederic Filiodeau; Crispy Sweetbreads, Carrot Purée with Orange & Spices, Vermouth Reduction, Juniper Salt, Rosemary from chef Stephen Lasalle of the Novotel Ottawa; plus, wine and craft beer stations

Also: silent auction for hotel stays, wine packages, trips and more

More info and tickets: $89 at dinewinewintertime.com

There’s something about checking into a hotel bar: the eclectic atmosphere and international buzz, lush seating, well-mixed drinks and signature dishes.

Whether you’re in your hometown or on vacation, here are five Ottawa hotels worth a visit.

ARC LOUNGE & BAR, ARC THE HOTEL

The ARC Lounge & Bar is ideal for lunch and after-work drinks.

Where: 140 Slater St.

Why: Located a few blocks from Parliament Hill and the National Arts Centre, the intimate restaurant in this modern boutique hotel features sleek hardwood floors, leather seating and a chic bar.

Chef: Andrew Willis

Signature dish: Why not start with the Arc-Tini, the hotel’s signature cocktail? Then dig in to a dish of grilled hanger with pear-basil purée, smoked goat-cheese potato smash, black garlic coulis, beet dust, red amaranth and bourbon-glazed heirloom carrots.

Web: arcthehotel.com

The ARC Lounge & Bar is ideal for lunch and after-work drinks.

THE SHORE CLUB, WESTIN HOTEL

The Shore Club in the Westin Hotel is a favourite haunt for locals to catch up over a beer or cocktail.

Where: 11 Colonel By Dr.

Why: Whether you are flying solo at the cocktail bar or sitting on a plush chair in the classy dining area with friends, this hotspot is ideal for people-watching. Reminiscent of an art deco ocean liner and decorated in wood panelling and suede walls, the seafood and steak restaurant is a favourite venue with locals. Catch the buzz during happy hour (“a buck for a shuck and $2 prawns”).

Chef: Jason Groulx

Signature dish: Seafood tower offers a nice mix of fresh fish, or sink your teeth into a prime-grade steak.

Web: theshoreclub.ca

OPTIONS JAZZ LOUNGE, BROOKSTREET HOTEL

Enjoy live jazz at Options Jazz Lounge or on the patio at Brookstreet Hotel seven nights a week.

Where: 525 Legget Dr., Kanata

Why: Let the good times roll while enjoying an after-work cocktail in this bright, sophisticated lounge with views of the Marshes Golf Club and the delightful outside patio with gas lanterns and firepits. As the name suggests, the lounge is a key venue in the city to listen to live jazz seven nights a week with no cover charge.

Chef: Clifford Lyness

Signature dish: Sushi and sashimi made fresh by sushi chef Yasuda, Tuesday to Saturday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Ask your server for the whisky bible to check out their impressive list from around the world.

Web: brookstreethotel.com

THE ALBION ROOMS, NOVOTEL OTTAWA

Try items from chef Jesse Bell’s charcuterie menu. You won’t regret it.

Where: 33 Nicholas St.

Why: Comfortable and casual with an emphasis on Canadian and English fare. The Albion Rooms takes its name from the old Albion Hotel and tavern, a former rowdy watering hole. Today the space has a gastropub feel with three separate areas: a relaxing bar with comfy chairs and couches, the “Snug,” a semi-private room ideal for larger parties, and a dining room. An outdoor patio and small garden overlooks Nicholas Street and the Rideau Centre.

Chef: Jesse Bell

Signature dish: Try the “Marcus Brutus” caesar while sampling an array of items from Bell’s delicious charcuterie menu, which is mostly made in-house or sourced from local artisanal producers. The congenial chef also makes his own jams, jellies and mustards.

Web: thealbionrooms.com

ZOÉ’S, FAIRMONT CHÂTEAU LAURIER

Zoé’s, at the Fairmont Château Laurier, is one of Ottawa’s gems. Go for High Tea or a cocktail and bite.

Where: 1 Rideau St.

Zoe’s, at the Fairmont Château Laurier, is one of Ottawa’s gems. Go for High Tea or a cocktail and bite.

Why: Step back in time and toast Zoé Laurier, wife of Canada’s seventh prime minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier
(1896-1911), in the opulent lounge that bears her name. With twinkling chandeliers overhead, luxurious seating and a glass atrium overlooking bustling Rideau Street, Zoé’s is a gem and well worth a visit. A pianist/singer performs Friday and Saturday evenings and during the summer visitors can enjoy a cocktail on La Terrasse, a patio overlooking Parliament Hill and the Rideau Canal. It opens at the end of June and is one of the best places to watch the sunset.

Chef: Louis Simard

Signature dish: Afternoon Tea is a real treat with fresh scones, strawberry jam and Devonshire cream, mini sandwiches and an assortment of desserts. If you pop by for a martini and a light bite there’s always a good chance you’ll be rubbing shoulders with a parliamentarian or a journalist.

Web: fairmont.com/laurier-ottawa/