love brunch? do it yourself!
Learn to make some really good dishes for brunch such as a sublime mushroom bacon and cheese quiche at Kitchen by Brad’s (10130 105 Street, 780)-57-7704) two Brunch cooking classes—either Saturday, February 16 at 12:30pm, or Tuesday, February 19 at 6:30 pm, $145/pp. Book your class here.
rioja wine events you don’t want to miss this weekend
Taste some amazing and rare Rioja wines (Montecillo Gran Reservas 1975, 1982 and 2001 and el Coto Gran Reservas 1996, 2010) with several courses from chef Roger Letourneau at the Five Decades of Rioja Dinner, Sunday, February 17, 6pm, at Bar Clementine (11957 Jasper Avenue). Tix: $140/p https://www.eventbrite.com
Make a reso for dinner at the Glass Monkey (5842 111 Street) between 6pm-8pm Sunday, February 17 and enjoy complimentary samples of four great wines from the Rioja wine region of Spain. Call Janine or Rob at 780-760-2228 to make your reservation, or send a note to janine@theglassmonkey.ca
On Monday, February 18, meet Sergio Soriano from Baron de Ley and el Coto at Wilfred’s (10429 121 Street) for an a la carte tasting. They will be pouring el Coto and Baron de Ley wines by both the glass and in flights and the chef is creating several special tapas to pair, from 6pm.
Want to know more about Monticello, Baron de Ley, el Coto and the quality revolution in Rioja? Visit the tomato.
terrines and good bread coming right up
RGE Rd’s (10643 123 Street, 780-447-4577) monthly Off Sales, your chance to pick up delicious house-made pâté, terrines, fresh sausage and bread from their wood oven, is next weekend, February 21-23. Open from noon-4pm, but get there early as they often sell out.
canadian culinary championships 2019
The top chef is Yannick LaSalle from Les Fougères in Chelsea, Quebec. Chef LaSalle was in the top half from the getgo, with wonderful dishes in each category of competition—the Mystery Wine, Black Box and Saturday night’s Grande Finale. Taste Restaurant Group’s head chef Christopher Hill from Saskatoon took silver and Dave Bohati from Murrieta’s Calgary scooped the bronze. Edmonton’s Davina Moraiko of RGE Rd did a stellar final dish, but it wasn’t quite enough to place her in the top three. Congrats to all the chefs competing! Visit here for all the details about this fast-paced competition.
a day at the rink
The curling rink that is. Tomato Radio spent some time at the Shamrock Curling Club to chat with Kara and Nevin from Drift Food Truck (Shamrock is now their home base) and club manager Chris McTavish, about the good food and drink at the club. You don’t have to be member to enjoy Drift’s delish samosas, corn fritters and poutine or their buttermilk fried chicken and the outstanding burger.
food and wine cruising with aligra
Aligra Wine & Spirits (8882 170 Street, 780-483-1083) collaborates with Windstar Cruises & The James Beard Foundation for a West Coast Culinary Extravaganza. The cruise sets sail from Vancouver and sails south for 10 glorious days along the west coast to San Diego. Along the way, visit Seattle’s Pike Place Market, a winery in Oregon, glide under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco for excursions to Chinatown and farmers markets, and Monterey’s Cannery Row. Enjoy a glass of wine and a snack while getting all the deets about the adventure from Andrea Mendelsohn, the Canadian sales manager for Windstar Cruises, Monday, February 25 at 7pm. There is no charge but you do have to register.
the love connection
Chef Liana Robberecht talks about the connection between food and love, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Recipe of the week: Chocolate Chip Slab Cookies
Who doesn’t love a great chocolate chip cookie? Chef Christine Sandford (Biera) still makes her mom’s chocolate slab cookies (and this has got to be the simplest and quickest recipe ever). https://thetomato.ca/tomatoquarantwo/2018-march-april and https://thetomato.ca/tomatoquarantwo/2018-july-august
happy valentine’s day!
