Canoe - Taste BC

A bright and beautiful menu showcasing the best British Columbia has to offer, @ChefHorne uses some very unique and interesting ingredients to dazzle all the senses on the second stop of Canoe's year long cross Canada tour. From the mountains to the ocean, this menu has something for everyone. When you think of BC, seafood is one of the first things to come to mind, so it's no surprise that the sea is featured in 3 of the 5 courses of this menu.  At the time of this tasting, Canoe was the only restaurant in Toronto to feature a full spring menu, the majority of the ingredients are specially harvested and flown in from BC for Canoe!

From The Pier/Amuse Bouche: House-made Sauerkraut, Smoked Stugeon, Brisket, Grilled Pickled Onion, & Mustard.

Sturgeon has, in recent months, become one of my favourite proteins. It doesn't have your typical soft, velvety, fish texture, sturgeon is very dense and meaty with incredible flavour. Smoke it and it adds a beautiful complexity to the protein.

Paired with Tree Fruit Punch.

Course 1: Coastal Cannelloni. Shellfish Mousse (Crab, Muscles, Prawns), Sea Asparagus, Nori Froth, with Namprock Prawns and Roe.

A very rich dish that comes off as wonderfully light, where the flavours of the prawn and crab come through and are the star of the show. The acidity excellently cuts the richness and provides a beautiful balance to the dish making you crave more.

Paired with Quails' Gate Chenin Blanc, Okanagan Valley, BC, 2012.

Course 2: Still Smoking Coho Salmon with Maple Blossom Capers (Pickled, Salted, and Fried), Caviar, Coniferous Cream, Cedar Jelly.

Presented under a smoke filled cloche, you get a lovely arousal of smoke that enhances the entire dish. Served cold, the salmon is lightly confit to barely cook it which gives a nice firm texture to the almost raw salmon. The salted maple capers, ikura, and mustard seeds provide a textural contrast along with salt and acidity. These maple capers (pickled for garnish on the edge of the plate, and fried/salted on the salmon) were one of the more interesting ingredients I've eaten. These aren't from your typical Sugar Maple trees we're all used to, these are from Big Leaf Maple trees, they have blossoms you can eat! Peaking in April and May, these blossoms are everywhere in the Pacific North West, as the season progresses  you have to go further and further up the mountain to pick these blossoms. Just something really unique I never had before.

Paired with Clos du Soleil Fumé Blanc, Similkameen Valley, BC, 2011

Forages/Intermezzo: Wild Wood Sorrel.

Course 3: Organic Ocean Sablefish with Salted Cheery Blossom, Fiddleheads, Wild Ginger Infused Sushi Rice, and Avocado Purée.

Always excited to see fiddleheads! The avocado purée works really nicely with this dish, surprisingly well actually. Might be my favourite dish of the menu.

Paired with Sperling Vineyards Old Vines Riesling, Okanagan Valley, BC, 2011.

Course 4: Mountain Alder Rubbed Elk Sirloin with Burn Morels, Lardo, Huckleberries, Stinging Nettle Purée, and Wild Green Onions.

Elk is a very lean protein that can overcook and dryout in a heartbeat, but wrapped in caul fat it keeps in the moisture and keeps the meat nice a juicy. 

Paird with Mission Hill Family Estate Quatrain, Okanagan Valley, BC, 2009.

Course 5: Japanese Rice Cake with Okanagan Hazelnuts, Green Tea Custard, Red Bean Sherbet, Apricots, Crème Fraîche, Kumquat, and Puffed Rice. 

Not being a dessert person, I'm always surprised when a dessert delights me. Lots of great textures and tempteratures and not very sweet at all.

Paired with an Off the Cliff.

Petite Fours: Nanimo Bar

A classic dessert that can be found in many homes in BC, it's layered with a wafer crumb, custard, and chocolate.

Cheese course: Saint Honoré Cheese with "Poor Man's Honey", Honeydew, and Grandma's Biscuits.

I reminded Chef Horne how much I enjoyed the cheese course from my last visit during the Taste Quebec menu, and he was kind enough to treat my guest and I to more cheese! This time he included a second time of "honey" it's produced from a mutual relationship between ants and aphids. In short, it's a flowerless "honey". If you're interested in the production of this "honey" read more about it here.

Next up, Taste Maritimes!