Marie's birthday (Cooking with BC's Best dinner)

Oh gosh, now this was a ridiculous steal of an evening.

My beloved big sister, Marie, turned 39 a few days back, and by happy coincidence, a store we like to frequent on Granville Island was hosting a demo/dinner that very night. Edible BC is not only a terrific place to buy BC foodstuffs (alas, no wine), but it also has a good selection of events. On our previous visit to Vancouver we chose the October 9th event to celebrate Marie's birthday, and she gladly acquiesced.

Cooking with BC's Best is the name of the series, and we were to enjoy a demo and dinner provided by Chef Don Letendre of Elixir in the Opus Hotel over in the Yaletown neighbourhood. Truthfully, I've only ever had a cocktail in the bar at the hotel, so I did not know at all what to expect of the chef. Still, we figured we were in for fun.

Yep, we were.

The Granville Island Market closes at 7, and at 7:20, store staff let us in to their corner of the place. A long table for the 16 of us was set up in the walkway outside their store (and really, it's a covered market, so their store is a large stall). Chef Letendre and a sous-chef (Andrew? I think, hmmm, not sure. Sorry.)had set up in one end of the store with their provisions and cooking gear. Much of what they'd done had been accomplished beforehand at the restaurant, of course, but they were able to explain things and show it off well.

We took our seats along with 13 other people we didn't know. That was one fun aspect - the conversations back and forth were lively and unforced. We ended up, for example, with good restaurant recommendations for the future.

The store owners made introductions and told us what to expect. We had menus at hand. They would photograph things and send us the images and recipes, so for once Conrad and I kept our camera tucked away. Champagne (our only non-BC wine of the night) was poured, and we were served the first of three amuse-bouche treats: Pecorino-quince lollipop.
Chef Letendre explained how it was made, a few people asked questions, we ate them greedily, and then the next amuse came out: prosciutto cone with herbed goat cheese and watermelon.
Same procedure, again very yummy, then #3: hamachi and BBQ eel with soy-mirin glaze.

Then it was time for the real demo. We gathered around the stove - with 16 of us, it was no problem seeing what was going on - and were told how they went about making the matsutake (pine mushroom) with soba dashi.Now those of you who read this blog may recall that I generally loathe mushrooms. The exception, of course, are the pricey ones, and this was no exception to that exception. One delightful touch in the broth was the last-second addition of a little slice - almost a chip - of lime zest. It added the right citrus note to the whole bowl. I had no difficulty whatsoever with these mushrooms. The wine? Sake, the Junmai Nana, from Artisan SakeMaker on Granville Island. Conrad and I never seem to visit the Island when the sakemaker's store is open, but now we know to make an especial effort on a future trip.

Next demo: Albacore tuna carpaccio with smoked olive oil, salmon caviar, and wasabi crème fraîche.I should mention at this point that there was an abundance of good bread provided for us along with dishes of an oil/vinegar dip that had people guessing if it was made with apples perhaps. In fact, it was a white balsamic vinegar and oil product bottled together and for sale at the store. Marie bought some. I liked it, but I was more delighted by the smoked olive oil they put out for us. Not everyone was keen on it, though they conceded it went well with the tuna. A terrific additional touch with the tuna was a very light sprinkling of smoked sea salt. An unexpected bit of crunch with the unctuous tuna, oil, and cream. The wine was an unoaked Chardonnay from a favourite label of mine: Joie.

Final demo: Lamb loin with licorice carrots, buckwheat honey lamb jus, and sautéed collards.I tell you that when the garlicky herbed butter they were using hit the hot pans, I could have fainted. I likely swooned a little. This course was one Marie had some trepidation over. She is not a fan of lamb, and I've always known her to hate licorice. Still, it won her over enough. The wine won EVERYONE over: the Laughing Stock 2005 Portfolio, a delicious red blend.

Chef Letendre did not demonstrate any further courses though he had plenty more of interest to say. A course of three BC cheese came out (a camembert style cheese, a blue, and a goat's milk cheddar),paired with an Elephant Island (hey, we visited that place in 2005!) Pear Wine, and capped with a little dish of petit fours: champagne truffles, fruit jellies, and a green tea macaroon with grapefruit filling.

A wonderful night, and I seriously shake my head to think of how relatively little it cost us (under $80 each). We also received a discount to the store, and I picked up a few things as a result. The 2008 schedule is available already, and at the very least we're keen to do a Chinatown walking tour. Edible BC hosted an outstanding event, though, and for Marie's last birthday in her thirties (hey, I'm her baby brother, of course I'm going to rub that in!), it was quite a celebration.