Kitchen Sink

wine tastings, happenings and events

Make your next trip to the wine shop a bit less mystifying; take a Wine Spirit Education Trust (WSET) program, taught in 58 countries. A special one-day Level One Foundation class is offered Saturday, April 9. To book: alandon@aii.edu.

Unwined Fine Wine, Spirits & Ales (#2, 512 St. Albert Trail, 780-458-4777 and #203 Edmonton City Centre, 10205-101 Street, 780-421-0015) spring sessions of the Accidental Sommelier Series Wine Fundamentals. The sessions are at the St. Albert store, 7:30pm, Tuesday nights, $20/p. March 22 explores Riesling and Pinot Noir. Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot will be compared on April 22. Two not-to-be-missed whisky events led by Andrew Campbell Walls: Saturday, March 12, 6pm, $35, The Independents; Monday March 14, 6pm, the St. Patrick’s Day Pre-quel, co-presented with the Alberta Whisky Society. Call 780-458-4777 to book.

Aligra Wine & Spirits (8882 170 Street 780-483- 1083, aligrawineandspirits.com) upcoming tastings: March 16, 7pm, $40, Fun With Rum; April 6, 7pm, $30, Best Wines You’ve Never Heard Of; April 27, 7pm, $40, Wines from The Pacific Northwest. To register visit aligrawineandspirits.com/events.

Two popular chefs about town, Andrew Cohen and Matt Phillips, are crazy about fried chicken. So crazy in fact they are opening a fried chicken shop—no word yet on when and where but it will be soon. Catch them on the Tomato Cooking Stage at the Edmonton Home and Garden Show.

Think patios are only for summer? Think again! Enjoy the Winter City Patio Party, April 1-3, where après- ski meets urban chic with cozy blankets and warm heaters at Little Brick, Cafe Bicyclette, Urban Green Café, Wild Earth Zoo (at the Valley Zoo) and at bistro tables at Sir Winston Churchill Square. Visit wintercityedmonton.ca for the full list of venues.

Two excellent winemaker dinners featuring Yalumba: March 8 at Select Restaurant (10018 106 Street, 780-428-1629 selectrestaurant.ca) with Kathryn Boyd, $70++ and March 18 at Ernest’s Restaurant (11762 106 Street, 780-471-8676) featuring Yalumba’s Strapper GSM, The Guardian Shiraz Viognier and The Signature with Elizabeth Muir, $90. Call to book.

Enjoy a Joseph Drouhin Technical Tasting with Laurent Drouhin at the Edmonton Country Club (6201 Country Club Rd, 780-487-1150, edmontoncountryclub.com) Monday, March 21, $50. Email alex.milic@edmontoncountryclub.com to book.

Alberto Aruzi, proprietor of Argentina’s iconic Luigi Bosca Estate is in Edmonton April 20 for a winemaker dinner at Ernest’s Restaurant (11762 106 Street, 780-471-8676) five wines, five courses, $95. Call 780-471-8676 to reserve.

Meet Don Triggs, proprietor of the Okanagan’s Culmina Family Estate Winery at a winemaker dinner at Rge Rd (10643 123 Street, 780-447-4577, rgerd.ca) on Tuesday May 3. Call to book.

Upcoming wine tastings at Hicks Fine Wines (#109, 150 Bellerose Drive, St Albert, 780-569-5000, hicksfinewines.com) March 3, Queen Chardonnay with Marcia J. Hamm; March 17, Australia’s Vasse Felix, Henschke and Pewsey Vale with Elizabeth Muir; March 31, Wines of Southern Italy with Hayley McRae; April 7, Portuguese Parade with Stacey Jo Strombecky; April 14, Oh Canada! with Marcia J. Hamm; April 21, Penfolds Tasting with Natasha Susylinksi. Tastings start at 7pm, call 780-569-5000 to book.

product news

The affable manager of Knifewear (10820 82 Avenue, 587-521-2034, knifewear.com) Kris Armitage heads to Japan with owner Kevin Kent in April to source cool new things for the shops—one of a kinds, prototypes, new steels and unique Japanese items. Expect the spring garage sale to follow forthwith!

The Newget Kompany (780-995-1115, newget.ca) is a good friend of the Easter Bunny. Place your on-line orders before March 17 for pre-Easter delivery. Visit Newget at Make It at the Enjoy Centre, 101 Riel Drive, St. Albert, April 8-10. Getting married? Newget and weddings are a perfect combination.

The Italian Centre Shops (10878 95 Street, 780-424- 4869; 5028 104A Street, 780-989 4869; 17010 90 Avenue, 780-454 4869, italiancentre.ca) offer several new items in their house-made Massimo’s Cucina Italiana line: pasta sauces, a hearty Bolognese made with Messenger Meats Piemontese beef, a bright tomato sauce and a creamy béchamel. Try the chicken noodle or minestrone soup, and satisfying one-dish salads. Look for the new Regal Fresh Pasta from Italy, stuffed agnolotti and tortellini as well as fresh spaghetti, chitarra, pappardelle, tonarelli and lasagna sheets. Prices range from $5.50-$9.50.

cooking classes

NAIT offers five culinary boot camps this summer. Ramp up your culinary skills in the Culinary Boot Camp July 5-8 or July 12-15; Gourmet includes a black box competition, July12-15; explore the sweet and savoury side of chocolate during The Love of Chocolate boot camp, July12-15; it’s all about preserving and fermentation during Cured Meats, Cheeses and Pickles, July12-15. The Pastry Boot Camp explores basic pastry, artisan breadmaking, working with chocolate and dessert sauces, July 4-8. If one of these camps sounds ideal, don’t delay, these exceptional courses taught by NAIT culinary staff fill up quickly. Visit nait.ca/bootcamp to book.

The Pantree (#550, 220 Lakeland Drive, Sherwood Park, thepantree.ca) has a full roster of cooking classes and events. Highlights: Join Bill Marshall from Zwilling Canada and chef Michelle DeLand, for a class on how to get the most out of your enameled cast iron and stainless steel cookware, March 21, 6:30pm, $30. Gluten-free Treats with chefs Jade Wu and Sarah Louise on March 30, 6pm, $90; Pasta Making with chef Stefan Cherwoniak, April 13, 6pm, $85; Vegan Cheese Alternatives with Jade Wu and Sarah Louise, 6pm, April 5, $85. Register: register.thepantree.ca.

Cooking classes at the ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen, 10035-105 Street, 780-420-7282 atcoblueflamekitchen.com). Classes start at 11:45am, $15. To book: sydneyhaubrich@atco.com. March 4, Asian Appetizers; March 11, Kiss Me I’m Irish; March 24, Ancient Grains; April 8, Meals in 30 Minutes; April 22 Those Aren’t Scraps, They’re Dinner! April 13 is hands-on cooking class, Take Home Pizza, 4:30pm, $40. Visit atcoblueflamekitchen.com/Classes/Edmonton-Classes for details.

Learn how to make a fabulous brunch at a Kitchen by Brad (10130 105 Street, 780-757-7704 kitchenbybrad.ca) cooking class on March 5, 12 and 19. Eggs bennie, waffles sweet and savoury, quiche, asparagus in a roasted tomato vinaigrette, chocolate mousse with berry compote, $135. Classes sell out quickly, info@kitchenbybrad.ca to book.

Upcoming at Get Cooking (MacEwan, 11050 104 Avenue, 780-934-8058, getcookingedmonton.com) March 4, 6:pm, Friday Kitchen Party featuring Eau Claire Distillery, chef Doreen Prei and house barkeep Happy J Byrne, $139; March 5, 12, 12pm, Saturday Brunch pop-up series with chef Doreen Prei, $45 (adults); March 17, 6pm, St. Patty’s Day Celebration with Chef Chris Tom-Kee, $139; March 31, 6pm, Under the Sea! A Celebration of Oysters with Effing Rob Tryon, $139; April 2, 6pm, Syrian Fund-raising Gala Supper, $120; April 20, 6pm, All Things Pork with chef Doreen Prei and Irving’s Farm Fresh, $154. To book visit getcookingedmonton.com/class-list.
Express Cooking Classes at Seasoned Solutions; March 22, Celebrating the Year of Pulses and April 6, Quick Spring Menu. Details at seasonedsolutions.ca.

Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse (9929 109 Street, 780756-7030, pampasteakhouse.com) cooking classes start April 9 and will run on two Saturdays per month. Think Brazilian street food, meat, open-range cooking.

restaurant buzz

Bar Bricco’s (10347 Jasper Avenue, 780-424-5588, barbricco.com) moody interior and great music make it a no- brainer as the place to end the night, but it’s also your best bet to experience aperitivo, the classic northern Italian after-work bite and a drink. From 4pm to 5:30pm enjoy pass-around appetizers (spuntini) with your Negroni or Aperol Spriss, or a glass of Barolo for that matter.

Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse’s (9929 109 Street, 780-756-7030, pampasteakhouse.com) five-year anniversary celebrations continue with weekly promotions. Check the website for what’s up this week. Their splendid five- year anniversary party garnered proceeds to the Youcan Youth Services charity.

Love to pair good food and drink? Check out The Glass Monkey’s (5842 111 Street, 780-760-2228, theglassmonkey.ca) monthly dinner series. Call Rob or Janine for deets.

For great food at even better prices during Downtown Dining Week, check out menus at Edmontondowntown.com, March 11-20. Over 36 restaurants are participating this year including the Cavern, Hardware Grill, The Common, dedutch, Zinc, The Marc and La Ronde.

The next Swine and Dine is at the Royal Glenora Club (11160 River Valley Road, 780-482-2371, royalglenora.com) with exec chef Steve Buzak. The St. Paddy’s Day Swine & Dine YEG offers a four-course Alberta pork-inspired menu paired with craft beers: steve.buzak@royalglenora.com to book.

Check out the Farm to Fork Eatery (#148 2755 Broadmoor Blvd, Sherwood Park, 780-400-8999, farmtoforkeatery.com) with a big dining room, banquet room and gastro pub and chef Jason Oliver. Two menu items of note: the Croque Madame made with Irving’s ham smoked in-house and the 26-day dry aged porterhouse from Jeff Nonay’s ranch.

culinary travel

Don’t miss Canmore Uncorked, April 6-17, jam-packed with clever gastronomic events with typical Canmore sporty style, including April 7, Long Table Dinner; April 8, Whiskey & Spirits Fest; April 9, Beer Festival; April 15, Culinary Symphony with Quartetto Galato; April 16, Wine Fest. Find all the info at tourismcanmore.com/canmore-uncorked.

Join chef Vinod Lohtia on a Culinary Journey of South India September 17-30. Learn about India’s fascinating culture, history and delicious flavours, $4,750 plus airfare. Email vlohtia1803@gmail.com to book.

Gail Hall has two upcoming tours, one to Jasper July 30-August 1, and there are four spots left on the Nova Scotia Culinary Tour, September 22 -29. For details, visit seasonedsolutions.ca.

Only a few spaces remain in Aligra’s Winos & Rhinos exclusive small group 18-day adventure to South Africa in September. Contact alison@aligrawineandspirits.com.