It was a beautiful end of summer evening, out front of Parliament Hill, a 1,000-person table lines Wellington Street, awaiting guests eager to sample food from some of the best chefs in Canada.
Ottawa 2017 and Mayor Jim Watson, in collaboration with lead partner CIBC, Restauranteur Stephen Beckta and Chef Mike Moffatt of Beckta, Play Food & Wine and Gezellig restaurants, along with Sheila Whyte of Thyme & Again Catering hosted an event like no other.
Bringing together twenty top chefs from across our country is no small feat. Ten from the Ottawa area and ten others from different cities across our home and native land.
Guests were in for a dining experience of a lifetime to say the least.
I had the pleasure of attending this unique event with my friends at Ottawa Tourism and it was very impressive.
We were seated in the Ontario section of the tremendously long table, practically right in the middle.
Servers poured a perfect glass of champagne for a dinner toast and then off to the courses!
First: Venison tartare, devilled egg purée, chicken skin crumble by chef Scott Vivian of Beast Restaurant, Toronto, ON paired with a Pinot Noir Rosé “Locust Lane” Hidden Bench, VQA Beamsville Branch, Ontario 2016
Second: Ontario shrimp, corn panna cotta, nasturtium pistou, heirloom tomato, brioche by chef Chris Debraiche of The Wellington Gastropub, Ottawa, ON paired with a Chardonnay “Wismer Vineyard – Fox Croft Block” 2027 Cellars, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Ontario 2014
Third: Bacon-wrapped rabbit ballotine, sweet corn ravioli, chanterelles, fricassee of summer vegetables, natural jus, basil butter by chef Carolyn Reid of Scaramouche Kitchen, Toronto, ON paired with a Gamay, Stratus, VQA Niagara Lakeshore, Ontario 2014
Fourth: Grilled Ontario peach, haskcap berry syrup, cracked pepper blondie, maple scented sheep’s milk ricotta, mint arugula “pistou”, peach leather, red currants by chef Tim Stock of Play Food & Wine, Ottawa, ON paired with a Vidal Icewine, Southbrook, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario 2014
Check out the photos of the dishes above!
The evening was capped off by the Northern Lights Sound and Light Show on the Parliament, and the singing of our National Anthem.
Here are the chef’s that participated in the event:
Local
Chris Deraiche | Wellington Gastropub
Joe Thottungal | Coconut Lagoon
Jordan Holley | Riviera
Jon Svazas | Fauna & Bar Laurel
Marc Doiron | Town & Citizen
Marc Lepine | Atelier | Read my review
Michael Blackie | NeXT
Ross Fraser | Fraser Cafe & The Rowan
Tim Stock | Play Food & Wine
Yannick Anton | Le Cordon Bleu
Visiting
Normand Laprise | Toqué! & Brasserie T!, Montreal, QC
Dale Mackay | Ayden Kitchen and Bar & Little Grouse on the Prairie, Saskatoon, SK
Vikram Vij | Vij’s Group, Vancouver, BC
Melissa Craig | Bearfoot Bistro, Whistler BC
Matthew Krizan | Mateus Bistro, Mahone Bay, NS
Daniel Vézina | Laurie Raphaël, Québec & Montréal, QC
Paul Rogalski | Rouge, Calgary, AB
Scott Vivian | Beast Restaurant, Toronto, ON
Carolyn Reid | Scaramouche, Toronto, ON
Todd Perrin | Mallard Cottage, Quidi Vidi, NL
There are still several Ottawa 2017 events to come so be sure to visit their events calendar by clicking the link below.
http://www.ottawa2017.ca/events/signature-events/