Bring back the Sunday Lunch

So the trip to Spain was way too short but I did stop by London on the way home and I was lucky enough to catch up with friends at a gastro pub called the Fox and Hounds just off Clapham Junction in South London. As much as I do love the food scene in Vancouver and I know this is close to culinary heresy here in Vancouver where the Sunday brunch is almost sacrosanct (my apologies to Stuart) but I have to confess that I prefer and desperately miss the Brit style Sunday pub lunch which offer so much more than the previous offering of scampi and chips and pie and mash – thank you Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey. On this occasion I opted for loin of pork with crispy crackling , roast potatoes served with a tomato and chili jam, rocket salad and of course a pint of clod beer (yes the beers are cold in London).

Cheers Guys – BRING BACK THE SUNDAY LUNCH

Brief culinary tour of Spain

So after collapsing in heap of exhaustion at around 2 am following the launch of Dine In Vancouver, I got up the next morning and headed off to airport for a short family vacation in Costa Brava, Spain. The food in Spain is amazing, each bar offering its own tapas. The tapas bars generally have one guy or gal who acts as owner, chef and bar person. My advice: when having a night out in this part of world, have a siesta, don’t go out until 10 pm at the earliest and avoid the temptation of scoffing your face at the first bar, pace yourself – one or two tapas at each bar, then move on to the next.

The superb chorizo, jamon, fresh fish (the sardines, baby squid and the sweetest of ruby red prawns all a must), cheeses, and oh don’t forget the pastries made it difficult to leave. We did manage to have a few meals out in town not involving tapas. I can thoroughly recommend the negro arroz or black rice, which is essentially a version of seafood paella flavoured and coloured with squid ink. Sounds a bit over the top, but trust me it delicious and you don’t have to worry about waking up with a mouthful of black teeth. If you want to try a slightly unusual easy to do at home tapas, try out the simple combo of crostini topped with a slice of ripe camembert with a slice of roasted red pepper and loads of black pepper. I think some time in my life I would love to do a 3 month culinary tour around Spain – one day…

The launch of Dine In Vancouver

Here we go…

I love the idea of sharing various courses or having a series of small tapas-style tastes when dining with friends. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy comfort food as much as the next guy but I think we are privileged to be living in a city like Vancouver where the quality and variety of food is world-class. The idea of the menu below was therefore, to go beyond the “safe” West Coast style options like maple glazed salmon with sautéed vegetables and take the guests on a gourmet rollercoaster ride by offering a variety of completely unrelated and exciting flavors and textures with each course. I relate it to going out to a restaurant and wishing you could taste all the different menu options for say the tuna or the salmon.

So May 30, 2009 saw the official launch of Dine in Vancouver at the 40th birthday of Mr. Mark Virgin. I’m not going to bore you with the tedious prep stories but needless to say when the day arrived, myself and my immensely talented sous chef Damian Connelly, set about the final prepping for the six-course birthday extravaganza:


First Course:

Fresh prawns wrapped in double smoked bacon served with a papaya mustard sauce
Asian-styled scallop ceviche
BBQ spot prawns served with paella-flavored risotto


Second Course:

· Ahi tuna encrusted in a rice cracker batter served with a spicy citrus sauce
· Seared ahi tuna on a spicy cilantro coconut yam mash with a soy, scallion, ginger dressing


Third Course:

· Mango Sorbet


Fourth Course:

· Pan fried organic duck breast served on steamed pak choi with a fenugreek, chili, honey soy sauce

Fifth Course:

· Sesame salmon tartare on a garlic crostini
· Soy cured wild salmon with a lime cilantro crème fraiche sauce
· Puff pastry salmon parcel

Sixth Course:

· Lemon tart served segmented pink grapefruit


Oh yes,. I forgot that the 18 guests included 2 vegans, who required a whole new menu, which was as follows:


First Course:

· Avocado crostini served organic red, orange and yellow tomatoes and topped with a basil dressing


Second Course:

· Spicy cilantro coconut yam mash with a soy, scallion, ginger dressing with chicken style tofu


Third Course:

· Mango Sorbet


Fourth Course:

· Green butternut curry in a crispy tofu pancake


Fifth Course:

· Avocado and king mushroom carppacio;

Sixth Course:

· Crispy sweet tofu pancakes with caramelized bananas served with a dark chocolate sauce.





So the evening was a big success, big thanks to the fine work of Damien and the gorgeous Jen King who was a superstar in all aspects of front house service.

Dine In Vancouver launches this summer

I'm pleased to announce the launch of my new cooking and catering venture called Dine In Vancouver, which is a play on Dine Out Vancouver and is intended to cater to people who enjoy eating good food with friends but don't necessarily want to eat out all the time.

I decided to merge my joy of cooking and love for hosting dinner parties into a new venture where I cater gourmet meals in peoples' homes.

In the coming months, I will keep you posted on upcoming events and news about Dine In Vancouver. I'm thrilled to offer this exciting new service to the foodies of Vancouver. As my good friend Virginia Woolf, British novelist and essayist once said: "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well."

Cheers,

Steve @ Dine In Vancouver