CLXI: A Foodie's Paradise

Way better than a Gangsta's Paradise, I must say, as catchy as the song is.

Tonight I had the wonderful opportunity, granted to me through my position at work, to partake in an intimate eight-course dinner held in the kitchen at the Hyatt, hosted by their executive chef, and paired with six scrumptious wines. The theme was sustainability and local produce. By "intimate" I mean that only about twelve people dined in total, two of them being sales managers at the Hyatt. By "scrumptious wines" I mean that I enjoyed each of the six wines (seven different kinds of alcohol if you include the whiskey in #4), though I left all but one of them, the ice wine, unfinished. And don't get me started on how amazingly delicious each dish was. I took home the menu and am sharing it with you here:

1. Cured Beef and Dandelion Leaves - drizzled with blueberry vinegar (!!!) and olive oil; paired with Champagne
2. Foamy Kohlrabi Cream Soup - topped with whipped cream and beluga caviar (!!!); paired with Chardonnay
3. Root Vegetable Carpaccio with a Dungeness Crab Tower - yummy yellow and red beets galore; paired with Sauvignon Blanc
4. Maple Syrup and Whiskey Granite with Lemon Zest - think shaved ice with the aforementioned ingredients
5. Pan-Seared Halibut with Forest Mushroom, Miniature Baked Potato, and Vegetable Hay - the only dish I couldn't finish, mainly because I had had four previous courses and needed a break. If it's any consolation, I left very few scraps behind. (By the way, mushroom lovers RaeRae and Pleuve: the mushrooms were thin strips of king oyster mushrooms! My favourite!); paired with Cabernet Sauvignon
6. Fire Roasted Apples and Pears with Salt Spring Island Brie and Honey Served with Walnut Bread; paired with Inniskillin Pinot Noir
7. Okanagan Strawberry Cake with Rhubarb Cream - this looked like Japanese art; paired with iced wine
8. Hand Painted Chocolates - 3 types: pistachio, caramel with a sprinkle of sugar, and cherry surrounded by chocolate covered rice crispies

Between courses 5 and 6, we were given a quick tour of the massive creative space and palate-pleasing-factory that is the Hyatt's kitchen. The executive chef also told us a few stories and answered any questions we had. He was extremely friendly, down-to-earth, and had a good sense of humour. And he's German (ja, Mann)!

They have an oven that has rotating shelves on it and on each shelf you can bake 500 steaks (Nicky!). And they are one of the only hotel kitchens that does their baking in-house.

I wish I had pictures, friends, but I did not bring my camera (when do I ever except when I'm on vacation?) and no one else took pictures until near the end.

Boy did I feel light-headed after the first two wines. I didn't know if I'd be able to last the rest of the evening -- it was a mixture of wanting to crawl into bed for a nice deep sleep while wanting to go out with my girls for a fun night on the town. I felt so lucky to have been privy to such a rare and incredible experience. I don't know if I'll ever have such an extravagant meal again in my life. And I'm so glad I got to share the evening with Oli!