Chef Duo From SAT's Foodlab Import Quebec Terroir "Temps des Sucres" To Ottawa

Chef Michelle Marek handily torches the maple meringue on the maple cream crêpe cake.

I have a bi-polar relationship with multi-course, wine-matched dining out experiences.  Last night's Quebec Terroir "Temps des Sucres" at The Urban Element was no exception.

Shawna Wagman, Food Editor at Ottawa Magazine and our host for CITY BITES LIVE!

Shawna Wagman, Food Editor for Ottawa Magazine was hosting Montreal's Foodlab chefs Seth Gabrielse and Michelle Marek, both formerly from the kitchen of Montreal's bistro Laloux.

Chef Seth Gabrielse shares in the dessert plating.

Shawna's connection to the pair is through Michelle.  Their significant-others were in grad school together at McGill.  My connection to the pair is from dining out a few times at Laloux when they were at the helm. Michelle's cardamom panna cotta with carrot sorbet remains memorable.

Shawna started the soft sell on me back in early December with a hint and a Twitter tease.  The news was formally announced on her Ottawa Magazine blog at the end of January.

Then the dilemma began. Do I go? At $150 plus tax, it is a pricey evening out.  I have a bit of a value shopper bent and struggle to assess premium pricing when I want to indulge. The description was intimating to anyone's health with words like marinated in maple, burnt onion oil and meringue brûlée.

 

As chef Marek said last night regarding these multi-course dinners, "sometimes you feel like you are facing your death at the end of the meal". Truth be told, I am not much of a wine drinker either. Many pours will go unfinished. Oh what to do?

The sale for the 18 tickets seemed to move slowly.  I wondered who in this town was even aware of Gabrielse and Marek's top talents.  They left Laloux in late 2011 for SAT's Foodlab, a not-for-profit, artistic culinary adventure into food research. No kitchen, no phone, no equipment to start, not even water, they chose to see this as opportunity as opposed to adversity. Ego-centric chefs need not apply.

Maybe not celebrity rock star status yet - and I doubt that moniker is actually their ultimate mark of success -  this fledgling food lab is becoming well-known.

Their work is impressive enough to garner attention from the New York Times after just 9 short months at the lab.

TV crews have been all over them. Thankfully there will be an episode coming up where I finally will learn how to make Chef Marek's strudel as she visually will walk us through the method for her well-guarded recipe. Michelle took a shot at running cooking sessions only to find out it was not for her. Hopefully TV will be more her thing.

They are also being featured in an upcoming Bon Appetit Magazine.

Gabrielse and Marek's low key Ottawa profile was partly what pushed me into going last night.  I was hoping my dining confreres were there more out of food curiosity than the buzz that can go with coveting a private dinner with a more recognized name of a star-studded celebrity chef. I don't want to go to say "I was there" or "to be seen". Dining out for me is a quiet, personal affair.

So with a single ticket remaining unsold for days, on Monday, just 5 sleeps away, I moved the event to 'sold out' status. No regrets.

Seth's roots are Dutch and Michelle's are Czech.  To not be born and raised in La Belle Province, means their interpretation for Quebec Terroir "Temps des Sucres" would bring a less traditional perspective.

In the intro to the evening, the chefs were quick to dispel my concern for 'the end of evening hangover'.  They take meal pacing very seriously and feel that it is the responsibility of the kitchen to move you gracefully through the courses - not just your taste buds but also all our digestive and vital organs.  For the most part, they lived up to their promise. Although I thought the pork dish was a bit hefty. Its delicious, tender, maple flavour didn't stop me from finishing and near licking the plate.

Echine de porc marinated in maple and citrus juice with burnt onion oil, grilled green onions, jus, and white vegetable purée.

I gave my dessert a good college try but for me, pork followed by a big slab of goat cheese and then a carb bomb dessert with cream and sugar meant that I was done. Delicious but just too much. I didn't even touch the last pour, a Riesling.

Maple cream crêpe cake with maple meringue brûlée and apple sauce.

Knitted through the evening were fun food finds.

The bread on the table was from a new bakery at Montreal's Jean Talon Market called Joe La Croûte. Owner Daniel Jobin, studied specific techniques of kneading in the south of France with Benoît Fradette, formerly of Montreal's Le Fromentier.

Bread from Joe La Croûte in Montreal's Jean Talon Market.

Our oyster was garnished with heat packed Preservation Society's Caesar Celery.  Montreal-based Preservation Society is known for their small batch preserves.

Whalesbone oysters with Preservation Society's pickled Caesar Celery.

Many star ingredients came from Société-Orignal, a Montreal-based 'rare foods' company.  The cold-pressed sunflower oil and the Balconville vinaigrette on the salad and cheese plate were but a few.

Rye berry salad with roasted squash, kale, shallots, and Balconville vinaigrette.

Fresh Quebec chèvre with Boston lettuce, mixed greens, oat cakes and cold-pressed sunflower oil and espelette.

Société-Orignal is not just a distributor.  They work actively with purveyors to create best of breed products - the sunflower oil coming from a specific stand of plants with maximized sun exposure; the maple syrup developed from a specific part of the woodlot vs. a blend of the farm's full acreage of trees.

Chris Nuttall-Smith describes them better in his October 2012 Globe and Mail article, "Yet the most interesting thing about the venture is how promising its model is for the future of small but innovative family farms. Rather than peddling the usual commodity products, or the typical farmers’ market offerings, Société-Orignal focuses on unique, unknown and under-appreciated foods, and then finds them high-value markets. The appetite for this sort of product, the company is discovering, is limitless so far."  I think we need to keep an eye out for that name.

Lucky for Société-Orignal to be moving into Williams-Sonoma stores, remaining under their label. But maybe not so lucky for us.  I have to wonder when specialized products go nationwide with a chain, how does one preserve their identity around specialized and rare foods, while still maintaining the original standard of high quality.

I even learned a food tip for myself. Seth said he poached his young ramp leaves, laid them flat to freeze and then carefully wrapped them to store. A trick I will try come May when they are in season.  His pickled ramps are based on Tom Collicchio's pickled ramp recipe.  Both leaves and pickles were featured in the seafood dish.

Black bass with ramp royale, ramp leaves, pickled ramps and radishes.

The Urban Element team, including house chef Anna March, did a great job of supporting Shawna and guest chefs with the pace and logistics of the evening.  Their pairings for the meal were Norman Hardie wines from Prince Edward County. Our meal, save dessert, was served at the long communal table.  Place cards were laid out for direction. Full credit for somehow knowing my left-handedness and seating me at the right side of the head, allowing for plenty of wing space as I lifted my fork.

Of course the food was exceptional.  But I think what I enjoyed most of all was the chance to converse with others who also share a genuine love of food. I barely left the table to check our guest chefs in action. When it came time for the Q&A, my list for the chefs was too long.  We didn't even touch a favourite topic of mine - food styling. After all we eat with our eyes. So there in lies some more of that bi-polar feeling.  I come for the tastes and wizardry in the kitchen and I leave reminiscing about the conversation and good company.

Foodlab SAT (Labo Culinaire) is located at 1201, boulevard St. Laurent on the less than posh side of town in Montreal.  They do dinner service Tuesday to Friday from 5 - 10 pm.  Their menus are themed and change typically in two week rotations. Call ahead for reservations 514-844-2033 ext. 225.

Can Langdon Hall's Grand Chef Jonathan Gushue Win Gold Medal Plates With Food Like This?

"...You are the promised kiss of springtime, that makes the lonely winter seem long..."
[lyrics from Ella Fitzgerald's "All The Things You Are" playing at my Langdon Hall lunch]

When I dropped into Langdon Hall recently, Executive Chef Jonathan Gushue was exactly two weeks away from one of the most prestigious culinary competitions in the country.

The 2012 Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Championships is taking place in Kelowna, BC this weekend. The event spans 2 days with a Mystery Wine Pairing (Fri, Feb 10), Black Box Competition (Sat, Feb 11) and the Grand Finale (Sat, Feb 11). The nine chefs participating were chosen at regional competitions held throughout October and November of 2011.

I am particularly curious about this year's match-up because of such nationally recognized competitors as Chef Gushue and also Chef Rob Feenie from Vancouver. I also feel that our representative from the November 14th event in Ottawa will be a force. Chef Marc Lepine opened his restaurant, Atelier, only 3 years ago and was quick to receive accolades for his creativity with tastes and techniques, being named 4th best new restaurant in Canada by Air Canada's enRoute magazine.

But instead of packing my bags for the west coast, I decided to hedge my bets with the potential 2012 champion and dine quietly in the sanctuary of Chef Gushue's dining room, away from the pressures that await him in the kitchens of Kelowna.

When you enter the over 100-acre estate of Langdon Hall in the outskirts of Cambridge, Ontario's downtown core, you easily feel transported to a place far from your day to day life.



Langdon Hall was built in 1898 and still maintains the stature and the architecture of that time. There have been some additions to the main home, as well as outbuildings constructed when the property was established as a hotel and spa in 1989.



The main dining room has two major wings, essentially identical. I strategically chose a Friday lunch in the hopes that it was a 'swing day' with week long corporate guests leaving and the weekend leisure crowd yet to show up. With luck, the dining room would be more quiet and my moment of respite heightened, allowing me to linger over every bite. They spoiled me. As the other guests shared the one wing of the dining room near the conservatory, I had the other large one all to myself.









Jessica Pearce, Marketing & Public Relations Coordinator, is quite a sleuth. She was quick to knit together hints of scattered information to establish that I was in the house, although I made no grand announcement of my arrival for lunch that Friday. One of the excellent staff serving me made reference to my blog post on Chef Gushue at Savour Stratford. Specifically my supposition that his brilliance was due in part to being of the left-handed set. Oh, oh. I had been outed and I sensed I was about to be spoiled. I can only assume that what would unfold before me was an acknowledgement of my known appreciation for his fabulous work, shown by my willingness to travel some 500 kms just to lap up the experience.

Top-notch service and the finest of food preparations are not something that can be ponied out for a special guest. You either have it or you don't. This is a place of very fine dining. There were no missteps. I just hoped my own manners could keep up to protocol.

The lunch menu was extensive. For my appetizer, I was torn between the tortellini and the scallops. Knowing seafood would be my main, I went for the pasta.



The first surprise treat was a pinot noir based sparkler from Hinterland Wine Company in Prince Edward County. I unfortunately was sporting a bit of a headache. This was going to cure me or push me to the edge. It was refreshing and light and proved to be a decent match as I very slowly sipped away at it throughout my meal.



The amuse-bouche was a banana pear marinated in shallot vinaigrette with sturgeon caviar, a quenelle of crème fraiche, and garnished with a sunflower seed crunch. It was as delicious as it was visually stunning.



The butter is made in-house.



As is their sourdough bread. A beautiful crunchy crust with a soft, fresh, chewy centre.





My appetizer was the Jerusalem artichoke tortellini with smoked mushrooms, pecorino-rye crumble and pine mushroom broth. The scent of the smoke wafted up from the mushrooms, only to be enhanced when the broth was poured in at table-side. The sweetness of the rye crunch brought life to the mellow flavours in the tortellini. This dish was a hit. I appreciated the spoon nearby but struggled with the wide bowl to capture every drop. Good manners kept me from stealthily lifting it to my lips.



Another surprise treat followed. Snow crab in goat's milk yogurt, topped with a slaw punching with the brightness of apple and the bite of red onion. I pushed each morsel through the smear of the leek ash vinaigrette.





Then on to the main.



I hesitated on first bite. Was the fish overdone? It turned out to be just a crispy corner. The handsome portion was cooked to perfection. The mild flavour and dense meat has a way of camouflaging the high fat content. It balanced well with the earthy brussels sprout leaves, roasted parsnip medallions and slices of orchard apple, all brought together with the kitchen's signature cold pressed canola and cider mousseline.

A consistent theme with Chef Gushue's dishes is the harmony of layered flavours and textures, but also the mellow taste on the palate. You are at the symphony, not a rock concert.

I struggled with the dessert menu. Classic dishes for sure. Lots of 'sweet', 'chocolate', 'rich'. But I was craving 'refreshing', 'light', 'tart', 'tangy'. I had my sights set on something similar to the work of pastry chefs Patrice Demers of Les 400 Coups in Old Montreal or Michelle Marek, formerly of Laloux and now co-chef of the Foodlab at SAT in Montreal. (Les 400 Coups was named 4th best new restaurant in Canada by Air Canada's enRoute magazine 2011. Patrice's work was noted, rightfully so.) I still think of Chef Demers' 'Vert' with green apple, pistachios, olive oil, cilantro. yogurt. Chef Marek's cardamom panna cotta with carrot sorbet had me returning to Montreal for a second visit. Is this just the dichotomy of 'cosmopolitan' and 'country estate' settings? I digress.

The Langdon Hall orchards and kitchen gardens were calling me. I narrowed my choices to the carrot cake and the apple crisp, then committed to the latter.



But the surprises continued. A pre-dessert! The zest of orange and the citrus yogurt dressing lightened the sweetness of the pine scented marshmallow and cake pieces which was topped with crumbles of sponge toffee.



And now my dessert-dessert. I had no idea what to do with it all and my most supportive server informed me that a popular plan of attack is to trench the wild ginger and honey apple crisp, then pour in the icewine anglaise. I obliged him. My cider granita melted away as I worked the sweet, cinnamony, apply crisp (too sweet for me - well, not so sweet that I didn't finish it). I drank my granita as a chaser.







At this point, I settled into my cup of Starbucks coffee as I threw in the napkin on one fantastic lunch.

But wait. There is more!

By now I am starting to blur with all the goodness. I hear words like petit fours, in-house marshmallow, hazelnut, Picard's peanuts. They may have even said brownie crumble. I tasted the delightful surprises against my better judgement of fullness. Victory was theirs.






Mission completed. I had my quiet getaway lunch, retreated in the idyllic woods of Langdon Hall, in the best of care of their capable kitchen and the first class team at my service.

Chef Gushue came to visit table-side for a hello and to check on my gastronomical adventure. (Calling it lunch just seems pedestrian.)

I like that Gushue sources so much of his raw ingredients from the property. Of course, there is an extensive kitchen garden. But they also tap the trees to make syrup. There is now an apiary for their own honey. I hear there is one grand smoker new in the chef's toolkit. I think my mushrooms had a visit there. They forage the wooded property for all things tasty and wild. What's next? A few vines for their own wines? Or in-house roasting their own beans for coffee? There doesn't seem to be anything that Chef Gushue won't try. Partly the challenge to keep the learning fresh and partly a strong desire to be as self sustaining as possible.

Chef Gushue's steely determination, his depth of food science knowledge, his calm and steady focus, his artful play of taste, texture and colour will be definite assets for the Canadian Culinary Championships. With just hours to go before the new winner is crowned, I wonder what he is thinking now in the cacophony of madness they might be calling 'kitchen stadium'. No doubt he is being a fierce contender. After all, he IS left-handed.

Langdon Hall Country House Hotel and Spa
1 Langdon Drive
Cambridge, Ontario
519.740.2100