During the theatre off season, the Stratford Chefs School, takes over three local restaurants, The Old Prune, Rundles & Pazzo and uses them as a hands on training ground for their students. To enhance that training experience the school has a Chef in Residence program where they bring in culinary super stars to work up close and personal with the students. This was the week that Chef Alexandre Gauthier, who brought along his own Sous Chef and Maitre d' with him, was strutting his culinary repertoire of eclectic French cuisine.
Hitting the road with fellow sisters from the food hood....
.... Jennifer Hall & Rossy Earle, we drove through a hellish winter's blast of a blizzard of blowing snow and ice to Stratford. The minute we arrived at The Old Prune all the white knuckle driving anxieties melted like icicles in a spring thaw. It only took seconds to realize that we had come to food nirvana. We were graciously hosted at our table by the school director, Kimberley Payne, who asked me if I'd like to go in to the kitchen to snap a few pictures. Oh my, a backstage pass. Up close and personal to a food rock star. I try hard not to giggle out of sheer joy. Life is good.
It was an interesting insight that being in the kitchen provided me, not only from a photographic perspective, but just to watch a chef superstar guide the line by coaching, instructing and sharing with the students. If you were expecting the f-bombs being lobbed around like celeb chef Gordon Ramsay then you would be greatly disappointed. There is a charming boyishness about Chef Gauthier, yet it's married to an intensity about how he conducts himself in the kitchen. He commands the kitchen, not by fear, but rather out of the pursuit of excellence. There wasn't a musical note of food cacophony happening on this kitchen stage.
Here is the evening's Menu unfolded.....
The starter course.....
....was a beef carpaccio decked out with ribbons of thinly mandolined apple slices and right after it was tabled the Maitre d' then spooned an egg foam on top. I'm just going to get right down to business. The starter was my favorite course of the whole evening. It had everything going for it. It had colour, texture and the flavours dovetailed to each other like a perfect symphony. For me, this course was pure music for my mouth. There wasn't a note off key. The beef was thicker than most carpaccio I've eaten and usually you can see through carpaccio but not this beef. The balance between the velvet like consistency of the beef against the sweet, cool crunchiness of the apple was spot on. The egg foam just seem to bring it all together and a splay of freshly cracked pepper atop the sweet apple gave this dish a slight edginess. It is food music with a sublime attitude.
The second course....
....was a white bean puree with foie gras, croutons and garlic butter. The foie gras sits on the bottom of the bowl and it's like digging for and discovering buried treasure in your food. It makes me giddy, like a child who just cracked open a Kinder egg or a box of Crackerjack and found the prize toy. The consistency of the white bean puree was thick, like a veloute and every mouthful either had a crunch of a crouton which seemed to me to have some sort of bacon like edge to them. Foie gras is rich but the puree tempers it well. A soup like this could be very overwhelming but again I'm getting the idea that Chef Gauthier is about balance and beauty.
The third course...
....was gnocchi infused with fresh sweet peas. The brilliant green of the gnocchi, obviously created through the combination of the green peas brings a pizazz factor to the plate. I must admit though I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to gnocchi. I found these gnocchi just a tad more dense and just a bit more al dente than what I'm used to and prefer but I can appreciate the playfulness of what Chef Gauthier is going for in this dish. What I also found interesting is how Chef chooses not to plate the gnocchi centred but rather off to the side of the plate. A waiter then pours additional pea juices on the gnocchi after the plate is served. It lifts the gnocchi to a different level, bringing more flavour to the serving.
The main course...
...was crispy, pan seared veal tongue with creamy wheat polenta and a pesto & caper butter. Now some might feel a tad squeamish at the thought of chowing down on crispy tongue but this charcuterie loving, don't waste anything from the animal kinda gal is absolutely down with this. It also speaks to the Chef's commitment about if you are going to use an animal for food, then use it all. Let nothing go to waste. The tongue was crispy on all sides and the meat had a consistency somewhat akin to liver. I would have loved to have a spoonful or two more of the creamy wheat polenta as the tongue meat is just a tad dry when you get to the centre of it. The pesto caper butter gives the meat a lovely glaze and leaves a lingering finish on the back of your palate.
Palate cleanser anyone?
The typical palate cleanser at most dinners I've sat through usually involve some sort of ice or sorbet based mouth cleanser. This was a whole different song. How about a small chunk of honeycomb drizzled with fresh lemon juice. In essence it was a chunk of nature's own candy. It was a simple, playful, finger licking, sticky stroke of food brilliance.
Some like it sweet...
....the dessert was like architecture. This is a dessert whose construction I'm quite sure would have impressed even the likes of Frank Gehry. A cylinder of white chocolate, about the size of a roll of coins, sits upright, filled and brimming with an ambrosial citrus cream. This decadent structure is anchored by pieces of tiny mandarin oranges and sprinkled with carmelized sugar bits. The sugar bits add a slight crunch to the smoothness of the citrus cream, again providing a contrast for texture. White chocolate is the least favorite of my chocolate choices but I can overlook that because this dessert is just simply pretty and I absolutely love the citrus edge of the cream. Again Chef plays off the side of the plate, not centering the dessert. It's a very savvy visual ploy on his part because it makes you really look at your plate from a different perspective.
And just when you think you can't eat another bite....
...at this point I'm pretty much feeling like the fat guy in the Monty Python film, "The Meaning of Life".....just one more tiny little bite. Around comes the Maitre d' and waitstaff with a trayful of uncut Petit Fours. There were two choices, white chocolate with orange or caramel. I opt for the caramel since I've just glutted myself on white chocolate and citrus cream. The waitress carefully cuts off a small piece, gingerly wrapping it in a piece of parchment and hands it over. A small bite, so sweet, so delicious. Please don't let me explode but if I do at least I'm one happy food oogling groupie who has been well fed by one incredible rock star of a chef. This is the part where you insert a sigh of contentment.
About the wine flights....
The evening libations are so kindly provided by Huff Estates, who hail from Prince Edward County. The pours included: a 2007 Peter F. Huff sparkling Cuvee; a 2008 South Bay Chardonnay; a 2008 Gamay Reserve and a 2009 Merlot. The really big surprise here is the sparkling Cuvee, it completely hit the bullseye on what a sparking wine should deliver. Then again, I shouldn't be so surprised as 2007 was a fantastic year for grapes in Ontario. Keep an eye for the release of this pretty little sparkler which I believe will be in the LCBO sometime this spring. It will definitely be on my to buy list. Initially the Chardonnay seemed average but after a mouthful of the white bean puree the wine seem to take on a life of its own. Both reds are still very young and I preferred the Merlot over the Gamay. Our student Sommelier, whose name escapes me, but who I affectionately think should be named the Red Ginge, did a bang up job of explaining about the grapes and the wines. One more reminder...keep an eye for that 2007 sparkling Cuvee. Its pure delight in a glass.
Some final notes, shout outs and pics....
A girl can wish upon a Michelin star chef and the only thing that could make that better was to have TWO Michelin star chefs in the kitchen and while I've been oogling and singing the praises of Chef Gauthier I would be remiss not to mention the other star in the kitchen. Chef Riccardo Camanini, also a Michelin star chef, flanked the headliner in this all star food extravaganza. Chef Camanini has been in residence at the school for a small period of time, not only to teach but to improve his English skills. The other culinary shout out goes to Student Chef John Di Battista who was kind enough to come around to the table for a very short visit.
I'd like to extend my appreciation to MaryLuz Mejia for steering us toward this culinary destination. I'd also like thank the school director, Kimberley Payne for being such a kind and generous hostess, as well to Lanny Huff of Huff Estates for bringing up that yet to be released gorgeous sparkly golden goodness in a glass and finally to fellow food blogger, Steve Stacey of Local Come Lately. I'm so jealous that you reside in Stratford! I took a ton of pictures and a picture as they say is worth a thousand words....or in this case worth a drive through a winter storm to a food destination that was well worth it. Enjoy the pics!
What an awesome account. The pictures are great Christine. I feel sad that I missed the dinner with Chef Alexandre this past week. Hope he returns soon.
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