Don Genova's Blog

Okay, I know you all want the dirt on what happened this year at Crush, and the After-Parties at Cornucopia.  I will have a full report, and much more, as the week goes on, including details from the Oysters 101 seminar.  But here are a few photos as teasers:

Some enterprising winemakers didn’t just bring bottles of wine, they brought the whole barrel!

The food was delicious at Crush, and thanks to superior organization this year, you didn’t have to wait forever to eat it!

Then there were the after-parties.  Without giving them short-shrift, (I’ll have more later) here’s what was on display at the Bearfoot Bistro Masquerave:

More to come, stay tuned!

‘Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I’m glad you could all be here because, "this town is about to party!".’  That’s what I was half-expecting to hear as I rolled into Whistler last Wednesday afternoon.  Even if Cornucopia wasn’t officially starting until Thursday, there was still an atmosphere of anticipation for the eighth edition of this knock-down, drag-’em-out, festival of wine and food…and partying.  In previous years, this has been a very quiet time in the alpine village.  It was after golf season, just before the ski season, some shops and restaurants were closed for renovations, or just plain closed for lack of business.  That’s all changed now, the village is clogged with people ready to have a good time.

I started my weekend a bit early, as Ramona, (my Accomplice in Overindulgence), and I were asked to be guinea pigs for the new winter menu at the new Four Seasons Whistler.  How could we say no?  The suites at the Four Seasons are amazing, with walk-in closets the size of Yaletown condos and beds so comfortable it’s hard to drag yourself away from them to do anything else but relax.  The executive chef at the Four Seasons is Jason McLeod, we think the youngest exec to ever open a Four Seasons property, but a guy who comes with a long pedigree of working with some of the best chefs in Canada.  His own style will continue to develop, but for now the restaurant in the Four Seasons, the Fifty Two 80 Bistro, has to be a bit of all things for all people not only staying at the hotel, but other visitors as well. 

McLeod scored on quite a few counts that night, including some appetizer platters featuring an incredible chicken liver parfait, duck rillette, and a plate of Italian cured meats, including my favourites, prosciutto, bresaola(cured beef), salami and capicola.

The best courses of the meal that followed included giant scallops seared and slightly caramelized on the outside, and moistly underdone on the inside, topped with a delightfully musty hazelnut and truffle foam. Some of our dining partners snorkeled up every bit of a lobster stew, while I shared around some moist slices of venison atop a pool of pureed parsnip.

There are still a few  rough edges to work out, but Jason is a talented young chef and will make things work.  After saying goodbye to the Four Seasons the next morning, we made our way to our new home for the next three nights, a roomy suite(with hot tub on the balcony and fully-equipped kitchen) at the Sundial Boutique Hotel, very central to all the action in the Village.   More from there later…

The contest has closed and the winners have been chosen.  Mary Watson and B’ Gamble will each receive a copy of Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles cookbook.  Watch my blog for more contests in the weeks ahead. 

In the meantime, I’m still recovering from a wicked weekend in Whistler at the Cornucopia Food and Wine Festival.  Check this space in a few hours as the first reports start trickling out, including all the naughty bits from the Bearfoot Bistro’s Masquerave.

One of the best parts of my job is being able to share my experiences in the world of food with my listeners or web-readers.  I know there are a lot of Anthony Bourdain fans out there, and I’m happy to have been able to interview the Kitchen Confidential and A Cook’s Tour author while he was on a whirlwind visit of Vancouver.   You can hear my Food For Thought documentary on Anthony Bourdain by clicking here.  In a week or so, I’ll post the entire 15-minute interview with him (much more revealing) on my website as part of my new internet radio show, or podcast, called All You Can Eat. 

In the meantime, here is a bit of a reward for reading down this far!  I have two copies of Anthony Bourdain’s latest book, the Les Halles Cookbook to give away. All you have to do is scroll to the bottom of this page and enter a comment.  In A Cook’s Tour, Anthony Bourdain wanted to find the perfect meal.  Have you found yours?  Tell me about the most perfect meal you’ve ever had, and I’ll choose two entries from random as winners.  I’m looking forward to reading about your adventures. 

As for my most perfect meal…it was more the setting than the food.  It was years ago, during a canoe trip on the Kispiox River in northwestern BC.  We were sitting around a campfire at the end of an exciting day of shooting rapids, the sky was clear, the stars were out, as were the northern lights, and our group enjoyed a simple yet entirely satisfying dish of chicken baked in tomato sauce.  What was your perfect meal?  Enter to win…contest closes at noon Pacific time on Monday, November 15th.

I was one of the lucky media folks last week to interview Anthony Bourdain of Kitchen Confidential and A Cook’s Tour fame when he did a whirlwind tour of Vancouver to promote his new Les Halles Cookbook.

I spoke with him just after a successful CBC Radio One bookclub appearance at Vancouver Community College, and just before he had to sign hundreds of cookbooks and meet legions of fans at two events at the Opus Hotel’s Elixir Lounge and Bar None.

I’m pleased to report he was great to meet in person, very humble about his writing and his television work, and quite frank with all of the answers to the questions I put to him.  You’ll hear part of the interview on my Food For Thought program this week, but you’ll also be able to hear the entire 15 minute interview when my new internet radio show, All You Can Eat, debuts soon.  More about that later!

The entries have been pouring in to CBC Radio’s Flavours of Vancouver contest, but only one lucky entrant could be selected for the Early Bird Prize, of a weekend for two at Cornucopia, Whistler’s Food and Wine Celebration.   The winner is Triona Benvin, and here is her entry:

I grew up in Ireland in the 70’s . Saint Patrick’s Day is our national holiday. It always rained . Myself and my three sisters would trudge into town to see the parade marching through Shop street and around Eyre Square . Our one tv  RTV played movies about sweet nuns in the missions sweltering beneath their habits helping some swarthy doctor heal the sick in the jungle. The pubs were all on Sunday time, opened at seven in the evening and closed at 10.00. I moved to Vancouver in 1997 and met my Canadian husband here.

One of my earliest successes with him was a St. Patrick’s Day party I threw inviting some Irish friends. I made corned beef and cabbage to go with tales of Paddy’s  Day in Galway . My meal was a hit and found a special place in each of our hearts for me carrying on a memory of a yearly holiday with my family and for Mike my husband an understanding of the place I come from. Now we make it for all special occassions with a Celtic flair.  Its rustic bold flavors seem to really appeal to our guests. Its a very simple recipe .The secret is in the time you take to cook it.The meat becomes very tender with long cooking and the broth is used to cook the cabbage. Enjoy!

3-5 POUND PIECE OF CORNED BEEF BRISKET
4-5 CANS OF BEER .  Ale works best
one head of savoy cabbage.
Brown the brisket on both sides at high heat to seal in the flavour.
Cover with beer and simmer for 5 hours. Allow to cool.
Remove the meat from the broth . Bring the broth to the boil again.
Stir in coarsely sliced cabbage and gently simmer for no more than 5 minutes. Serve sliced meat and cabbage with mustard and lots of mashed potatoes.

Thanks for your entry, Triona, and don’t forget there are more prizes to be had.  The deadline for The Flavours of Vancouver contest is December 10th.