Bocuse d'Or: Fundraising for Team Canada 2019

Two Sundays ago, I was fortunate enough to attend (and have backstage access to) a fundraising dinner for Canada's 2019 Bocuse d'Or representative: Trevor Ritchie.

Bocuse Fundraiser Dessert (Tropical Tart)

A good friend of mine was recently selected to represent Canada at the 2019 Bocuse d'Or. Megan has promised to write a little more about this competition, so I'll leave out the details here. Let's just say it's a pretty big deal.

With the beginning of his journey as a candidate, the fundraising has begun, and I was happy to suggest that the first venue for a dinner be in Mississauga. As someone who lives in the west end I am always a little disappointed with the lack of fine dining options available. To me, this was a great opportunity to bring some of the talent from Toronto kitchens out to Mississauga. It was nice to hear from our guests last Sunday that they really enjoyed this unique experience. I only wish that we would see a greater demand for these kind of events. Everyone that comes usually says this is great, we should do it more often. Personally, I'd love to see more options and events of this caliber in the city. Unfortunately, without a growing demand that's just not going to happen.

In addition to suggesting the venue, I was responsible for that evening's dessert (recipes below). I know these ingredients are not local, and I've been trying to use more local ingredients -- unfortunately the seabuckthorn berries that I bought for the farm haven't come in yet and it probably won't bear fruit (not enough for a 70+ person dinner anyway) for a couple of years. So this time I stuck with a few of my go-to flavours: passion fruit, mango and coconut. 

A Black Forest (Birthday) Cake

Not too long ago, Royce and I were talking with my mum about food (no kidding eh?) and mum "casually" mentioned that for a time she had really liked black forest cake.

The Best Healthy-ish Candy Bar Ever

This bar is a mish-mash of a couple recipes from one of my many idols/internet crushes: My New Roots. It's healthy in the way that most things are healthy. In the end its healthy-ness is dependent on how much you eat and also what your specific nutrition requirements are. This is not something I'll pretend to know anything about. I know some people avoid fat, while some avoid sugars, and others avoid carbs in general. This bar has these things. But it's made with nice, whole, unprocessed foods. No refined sugars. Also plant-based and gluten free if that's your deal. All in all, it's a really great alternative to those sugar-loaded, ultra-processed candy bars that are so delicious and yet so horrible.

Canis: the restaurant I don't really want to tell you about

Duck for two at Canis.

I don't really want to tell you about my meal at Canis. Royce convinced me to do it, but that doesn't mean that I want to.
But please, allow me to explain. It's not that I'm hoarding, trying to keep a good restaurant all to myself. The logic isn't lost on me that the better a restaurant does the longer it will be around. And furthermore, I'm a planner. If something is worth it, I have no qualms making the effort required to reserve a dinner advance.

My resistance to share is driven by a fear that is deeply rooted in a marriage between superstition and paranoia. It's something that's developed, nay festered, over the years.

Noma: A Retrospective

 

 Reindeer moss and chocolate-covered, fermented cep mushroom at Noma.

Since making the trip to Noma last July, one of the questions we have been asked the most has been: Was it worth it?

The short answer: yes, it was amazing!

Here, I wanted to share a few of my notes on the long answer...

An edible birthday present for a friend

Recently, for a friend's birthday, we opted to celebrate by staying in. I volunteered to provide dinner.

Camomile roasted heirloom carrots, whipped goat cheese ring, seed brittle and herb garnishes

Tobacco Scented Whiskey Caramel Truffles

Friends of ours have just recently opened a restaurant called Big Tobacco Kitchen & Whiskey Bar in Hamilton, Ontario. The "Big Tobacco Kitchen" gets its name because the menu draws from the childhood experiences of the owner, who grew up on a tobacco farm in Norfolk county. Megan and I thought it would be cool to make them a Christmas gift that was inspired by the story of their new restaurant.

Whiskey Caramel Truffles (makes roughly 22 truffles)

Black Sesame Shortbread

These black sesame shortbread cookies make for an addictive, not-too-sweet afternoon treat. We finished ours by dipping in matcha white chocolate, and topping with a sprinkle of candied black sesame.

Sesame Shortbread (Yields 20 x 11g rounds)
50g candied black sesame (1:1 ratio of sugar to sesame seeds) (extra for topping, if desired)
75g butter (at room temp)
100g all purpose flour

Halloween Bake Sale

Last week, my students have been super busy creating treats for the school and a group of elementary students that are staying with us for a short period of time. Here is some of their work:

 Spiderweb sugar cookies 

More decorated sugar cookies

Sugar Cookies

A few weeks ago, an old student of mine came to Jean Augustine Secondary School as a guest baker to show our students how to make decorated sugar cookies. This student is now the proud owner of MistryCo Cakes where she creates stunning, one-of-a-kind designer cakes for any occasion. My students were super excited to have the opportunity to talk to a former student about their pathway in pastry arts -- of course, it didn't hurt they would get to hear someone besides me talk for a few days, either.

The cookie decorating was split up into 3 days. On the first day, the students rolled the dough out to a specific thickness. The dough was then baked at 375F for approximately 10-12 minutes or until it became slightly golden brown around the edges. The cookies were cooled on a rack, ready to be dipped on the following day. The next day, students dipped the cookies in royal icing in the follow colours: Yellow for Pikachu, Green for Bulbasaur, and so on. During the last day, students added the finishing touches with either icing or edible markers.

 Pokemon sugar cookies from MistryCo Cakes. 

Sugar Cookies (Recipe from MistryCo Cakes)

225g unsalted butter (at room temp) / 1 cup of flour

200g sugar / 1 cup

1 egg (at room temp)

1 tsp vanilla extract

450g flour / 2 3/4 cup

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix butter and sugar 

Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla

Sift all dry ingredients in a separate bowl

Add dry ingredients to butter and egg mixture, beat with paddle on low until the dough comes together

Refrigerate for 30 minutes

Roll dough out to 1/4" thickness

Using a cookie cutter, cut cookies and place them on a lined baking tray

Chill cookies for 10 minutes

Bake at 375F for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges

Royal Icing (Recipe from McCall's)
40g meringue powder
5g cream of tartar or lemon juice
190g warm water
1000g icing sugar

Sift meringue powder and cream of tartar
Dissolve meringue powder and cream of tartar in warm water
In a stand mixer, whisk the water mixture until foamy
Slowly add icing sugar, one cup at a time
Depending on humidity, the amount of icing sugar can change.

Copenhagen: Our Trip

The Food:

It likely won't come as a surprise that food was a big part of our trip. We'll be sharing some notes on a few of the highlights shortly:

• Noma (no surprise here)
• 108
• Torvehallerne
• The bakeries
• Carlsberg Brewery (yes, really!)

     
Sightseeing:
If you read the backstory on our trip, then you're probably aware that this wasn't exactly a typical vacation. It wasn't until after we'd booked our flight that we began some attempt at planning how we would be spending our time in Copenhagen (when we weren't eating). If I'm being honest, most of this didn't happen until a week or so before the trip itself.

Plum and Almond Tart

With a basket of Ontario plums left over from our recent cottage trip, we have decided to make a plum and almond tart. We used Pierre Herme's pate sucree recipe from our previous post as a base and added the ripened plums and an almond cream filling . 

The tart is first blind baked at 400˚F for approximately 20 minutes. The almond filling is then added with plum halves and sliced almonds. The tart is then baked at 375˚F for another 45 minutes or until golden brown. We served each slice with a generous serving of vanilla ice cream. 

Almond Cream Filling (Recipe from GBC)

112g butter
112g granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean

87.5g whole eggs

112g ground almond
37.5g cake flour

1. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar and vanilla
2. Add eggs, scraping down bowl between each addition
3. Add ground almond and flour and mix until combined

Acai Smoothie Bowl

Acai Smoothie Bowl with bananas, Ontario peaches, hemp hearts, chia seeds and granola.

Tomato Salad

It's tomato season! On this plate is a tomato salad with pickled jalapenos, goji berries, arugula, fresh herbs, and a tomato water vinaigrette.

Copenhagen 2016: The Backstory

So, Royce and I just returned from an amazing trip in Copenhagen. We have tons of photos and stories to share with you, but I thought it would be best if I started off with a quick backstory on how this all came about.

Matcha, Sesame Seed and Candied Orange Cookies

Perfect timing for National Ice Cream Sandwich Day: These matcha cookies have a few fun add-ins, and a soft, cakey texture that's great for cookie sandwiches (recipe below). What better way to eat them then with a scoop of vanilla ice cream?

Red fruit, Ispahan and Piña Colada

Having some extra days to play around, I have decided to make a couple of fruit tarts with what's available at the local farmer's market and supermarkets. 

This is just a simple fruit tart elevated by the shape of a half pipe. In this version of a fruit tart, we have strawberries, red currants, and raspberries sitting on top of a pastry cream. The fruits are then glazed and decorated with gold leaves. 

Pate Sucree

I'm currently in love with the shape of these tarts. I saw this idea some time ago on Chef Laiskonis's blog and just had to try it. 

Pate Sucree (Recipe from Pierre Herme)

150g unsalted butter

95g icing sugar

30g ground almonds

2 dashes of salt

1/4 vanilla bean

1 egg

250g all purpose flour

1. Cream the butter with sugar and salt

2. add egg and vanilla bean

3. Add sifted flour and mix until combined

4. Chill dough for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator

5. Bake tart at 350˚F until golden brown

Strawberries and Cream

This dessert has only a few ingredients. Strawberries are in season, so I have decided to show it in multiple forms (sous vide, gelee, as is). It is then paired with some homemade graham and a white chocolate chantilly.