Tag Archives: Chef Michael Olson

On a lovely Sunday afternoon on a hill in beautiful Clinton, PEI, the 2016 PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival came to a conclusion with a finale event featuring one of PEI’s finest shellfish – mussels.

The photo below shows an example of the mussel sock in which mussels grow.

According to the PEI Mussel Industry Council of PEI, the Island produces about 45 million pounds of mussels each year. This translates into approximately 80% of the entire mussel production in Canada. So, it is only fitting that an Island culinary festival would dedicate an entire event to featuring mussels.

The Clinton Hills venue, frequently used for wedding receptions, proved to be a great location for this function which was hosted by guest celebrity chefs Anna and Michael Olson who are no strangers to the PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival. Anna and Michael have been a part of the Festival for many years and often host two to three signature events at the Festival each year.

Chef Anna Olson and Chef Michael Olson — Chefs Anna and Michael Olson

The event began with a large campfire upon which the mussels were steamed.

Yes, those tightly wrapped tinfoil packets contain mussels.

Everything always tastes better cooked over an open fire! Opening up the tinfoil packets revealed these tasty treats. Three options were available: Mussels steamed in white wine, orange juice, or a Caesar mix, all with aromatics added.

Mussels and corn on the cob are a great combo!

Chef Anna is checking out the yummy mussels.

Serving up the Steamed Mussels and Corn on the Cob

Even chefs, like the rest of us foodies, just have to photograph their food before consuming it!

Around the campfire….

Any good party on PEI will have lively music. The strolling musicians were Mark Haines (fiddle) and Brad Fremlin (accordian).

Island Musicians Mark Haines (left) and Brad Fremlin (right)

After enjoying the mussels and corn by the campfire, folks moved over to the large tent just outside the event barn.

The PEI Brewing Company was serving some of their award winning beer.

Nova Scotia’s Benjamin Bridge Winery was the 2016 wine sponsor for the PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival. They were pouring their famous Nova 7 wine. One of the great things about culinary festivals is the opportunity to discover new products. I discovered the Nova 7 wine at the PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival events in 2015 when Benjamin Bridge was also the wine sponsor. This wine is an aromatic light-bodied effervescent wine with a beautiful salmon or light coral color. Look for appealing aromatics with lovely floral and fruit notes in this wine. The Nova 7 is a very versatile wine, perfect for sipping or for pairing with a variety of foods, including seafood which made it a suitable accompaniment to the mussel dishes served at this event.

Nova Scotia Wine — Benjamin Bridge’s Nova 7 Wine

Making my rounds inside the tent, I started with a bowl of delectable homemade mussel chowder.

This was followed by yummy mussel fritters served in slider rolls.

I had not had mussel fritters before and these were super tasty!

Upstairs in the main event barn, lobster poutine was being served. This was one event where you wanted to make sure you left the diet at home!

Anna and Michael did a demo of their favorite ways to steam mussels and adding aromatics to enhance the flavor of these tasty morsels. I like when the event also has a learning component to it.

Chefs Anna and Michael Olson at Clinton Hills, PEI (2016)

Wagon rides around the farm were available throughout the afternoon. This was a rather stylish wagon ride with its benches!

If you are a foodie, then I recommend a trip to PEI in September when the whole month is dedicated to culinary events featuring one or more of the Island’s fine foods. It’s a great way to learn about the foods of PEI, try some new foods or new and different ways to serve them, and hear some great local musicians.

To read stories I have written about other PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival events, follow these links:

PEI Shellfish Festival (2012)
Farm Day in the City (2012)
Savour Victoria (2012)
Toes, Taps, and Taters (2013)
Lobster Party on the Beach (2013)
Applelicious (2013)
The Great Island Grilled Cheese Challenge (2013)
Feast of the Fathers (2014)
Lamb Luau at Crowbush Cove (2014)
Feast and Frolic Dinner (PEI International Shellfish Festival) (2014)
Beef and Blues (2014)
A Taste of New Glasgow (2015)
Beef ‘n Blues (2015)
Chef on Board (2015)
Cooking with Chefs Anna & Michael Olson in Brudenell, PEI (2015)
Le Festin acadien avec homard/Acadian Feast with Lobster (2016)
The Great Big Barbeque (2016)

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PEI Fall Flavors Culinary Festival — Chefs Anna and Michael Olson at PEI’s Mussels on the Hill Culinary Event

General, Local Culinary and Beverage Events, Out and About

Cooking with Chefs Anna & Michael Olson in Brudenell, PEI

September 29, 2015 Barbara99

The PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival introduced a new culinary event in 2015. While still classed as a “signature” event, the “Cooking with Chefs Anna and Michael Olson”, was a small, intimate, casual gathering of about 50 people on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the Rodd Brudenell River Resort in Prince Edward Island. The Olsons’ relaxed and authentic style along with their sense of humour made for a lovely and informative afternoon.

Chefs Anna & Michael Olson Cooking Demonstration, PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival 2015

The afternoon started out with a tutoring session on beer and cheese pairing (plus one wine and cheese pairing).

Locally-brewed beers from PEI breweries were used to pair against locally-made cheeses (with the exception of the Brie cheese which came from New Brunswick because there is no Brie currently made on PEI).

The cheeses were from Glasgow Glen Farm in New Glasgow and COWS Creamery in North River on the outskirts of Charlottetown.

By way of example, some of the Chefs’ pairing suggestions included: Aged Gouda from Glasgow Glen Farm and COWS Creamery Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar pair well with the PEI Brewing Company’s “Island Red” ale. COWS Creamery Appletree Smoked Cheddar teams well with the PEI Brewing Company’s “Sydney Street Stout”.

The Olsons also suggested some food pairings with the beer. They suggest Upstreet Craft Brewing’s “Rhuby Social Strawberry Rhubarb Witbier” pairs well with seafood – in particular, mussels, clams, and white fish. “Island Red” ale compliments roasts, ribs, and barbequed foods. Chef Michael referred to the “Sydney Street Stout” as the “red wine of beers” so suggested it could be paired with a wide variety of foods including oysters, roast beef, rich cheeses, and desserts. In particular, he says that onions and stout are a great combination to make a rich sauce for meat.

The Olsons offered a cheese and wine pairing suggestion using wine from Benjamin Bridge Vineyards in Nova Scotia which was this year’s wine sponsor for the Culinary Festival. They suggest that the “Nova 7” wine, that has a hint of sweetness, pairs particularly well with double cream Brie.

The second half of the afternoon was devoted to a cooking demonstration. Three dishes were prepared: PEI Mussels steamed in Ale with Mustard; Apple and Cheese Scones, and Schnitzel Sliders. As they demonstrated the food preparation, Chefs Anna and Michael offered cooking and baking tips.

Chef Anna Olson Demonstrating How to Make Scones

Anna's Apple and Cheese Scones — Anna’s Apple and Cheese Scones

And, yes, we did get to sample the food, too!

The event was also a good occasion to purchase cookbooks authored by Chefs Anna and Michael Olson and have them autographed.

I liked this culinary event because it was casual and interactive with the chefs and it was educational. As a foodie, I am always looking for new and different ways to prepare local foods so including this type of event into a culinary festival is very appealing to me. I hope more of this type of event is included in the future.

For more information on the PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival and information on tickets and upcoming culinary events, visit their website.

To read stories about other PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Events I have attended, click on these links:

PEI Shellfish Festival (2012):
Farm Day in the City (2012):
Savour Victoria (2012):
Toes, Taps, and Taters (2013)
Lobster Party on the Beach (2013)
Applelicious (2013)
The Great Island Grilled Cheese Challenge (2013)
Feast of the Fathers (2014)
Lamb Luau at Crowbush Cove (2014)
Feast and Frolic Dinner (PEI Int’l Shellfish Festival) (2014)
Beef and Blues (2014)
A Taste of New Glasgow (2015)
Beef ‘n Blues (2015)
Chef on Board (2015)

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"Beer and Cheese Pairing" — “Beer and Cheese Pairing”

General, Local Culinary and Beverage Events, Out and About

“Chef on Board” – A Divinely Decadent PEI Fall Flavours Signature Event

September 27, 2015 Barbara99

The evening of Saturday, September 26, 2015, could not have had better weather for a short sunset sail out of Wood Islands, PEI, along the Northumberland Strait. When great PEI food is featured on a sail and dine dinner hosted by celebrity chefs Anna and Michael Olson, you just know it’s going to be an awesome event and this evening delivered on all fronts.

The venue was the mv Confederation which normally operates as a ferry boat between Wood Islands, PEI, and Caribou, Nova Scotia. However, on this Saturday evening, the ship was transformed into an elegant floating dining hall. Staging a PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Event aboard one of the ferry boats is very appropriate given the significance of the ferries to Island life. Before the Confederation Bridge was built and opened to traffic in 1997, the ferry service (there were two – one in Borden-Carleton and the other in Wood Islands) was the only way on or off Prince Edward Island. While the Borden-Carleton to Tormentine, New Brunswick ferry service no longer operates, the ferry service between Wood Islands, PEI, and Caribou, NS, remains in operation.

Greeting guests on the pier as they arrived for dinner were celebrity chef hosts, Anna and Michael Olson.

Chefs Anna and Michael Olsen — Chefs Anna and Michael Olson

One of the things I like most about PEI Fall Flavours events is when the chef(s) interact with guests and this couple was very interactive and visible throughout the entire evening.

Chef Anna Olson giving a few hints of the evening's fare — Chef Anna Olson giving a few hints of the evening’s fare

Upon entering the ship, the lively strains of the musical talents of Mark Haines and Brad Fremlin greeted guests.

Mark Haines (violin) and Brad Fremlin (keyboard)

The evening began with wine and hors d’oeuvres on the passenger deck.

Brendan MacNeill from Benjamin Bridge Winery in Nova Scotia (this year’s Festival wine sponsor) greeted each guest with a glass of wine.

Brendan MacNeill, Benjamin Bridge Winery

Check out these tasty sausage and gouda sliders on spent grains buns!

PEI Oysters on the half shell with raspberry mignonette are always a hit!

Lovers of PEI mussels were in for a real treat with these “mussel shooters” which were marinated mussels served with crispy potato bits.

These delicate smoked salmon crepe mini tortes melted in the mouth!

And, these piping hot mini apple cheddar turnovers with honey mustard sauce added a mix of sweet and savory flavours.

Rounding out the hors d’oeuvres was a cheese table compliments of the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

The lively musicians moved upstairs to entertain guests while they enjoyed hors d’oeuvres.

As guests sampled the hors d’oeuvres, the mv Confederation left on a short sail of the Northumberland Strait, past iconic lighthouses.

The evening light changed quickly. Yes, our cliffs really are this ruddy red color on PEI!

How stunning was this evening sky! This was the view from the top deck of the mv Confederation (unfiltered and non-retouched).

And, as the shades of the evening sky started to fade away, and the mv Confederation made its way back to port, thoughts turned to the dinner that awaited guests.

Curious to know how a ferry boat could be turned into a stunning dining hall or how food for a large number of guests could be prepared on board?

Enter a mobile kitchen and a team of chefs and professionally-trained wait staff from the Culinary Institute of Canada, part of Holland College in Charlottetown, PEI. I have been at events this group has catered to before and they are #1, hands down. I cannot even begin to imagine the level of organization and planning that would have been put in to this dinner which was very capably and efficiently executed.

I took a couple of quick photos from a distance of the mobile kitchen that had been brought on board for the event and the culinary team hard at work behind the scenes.

This food prep center was at one end of the car deck on the mv Confederation where, just mere hours before, autos would have been offloading having crossed the Northumberland Strait.

The main part of the car deck on the boat was transformed into this festive venue.

Note that this is just a small part of the dining area.

Here’s a closer look at the elegantly-set tables, resplendent in their fall rust-colored theme.

Now, for the three-course meal. Each course was served with wine pairings from Benjamin Bridge Winery.

Fresh rolls and jars of homemade bread and butter pickles and chow were on each table. The appetizer consisted of warm lobster fricassee and butter-poached claw on garlic mashed potatoes cozied up with a whiskey butter sauce and garnished with baby cress.

This was beyond decadent!

The main course consisted of “Sydney St. Premium Stout” beer-braised PEI beef short rib with cheddar crumble accompanied by a fluffy dumpling and roasted root vegetables.

And, then of course, the pièce de résistance – Chef Anna’s warm sticky toffee pudding topped with a pumpkin spice caramel and pumpkin seed praline! Can you say ‘melt in your mouth’?

Throughout the dinner, entertainment was provided by Irish Mythen.

Anyone for Bingo? Our Bingo callers, Chefs Anna and Michael, engaged everyone in a lively game of PEI Bingo in between the main and dessert courses.

This was a first class event all the way and exhibited the “WOW” factor. Congratulations to the organizers, chefs, wait staff, and entertainers for yet again another fine PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival event.

If you have never been to one of these Festival events, I highly recommend them. They are very well done and are a great way to sample premier Island foods presented in creative ways.

For more information on the PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival and information on tickets and upcoming culinary events, visit their website.

To read stories about other Fall Flavours Culinary Events I have attended, click on these links:

PEI Shellfish Festival (2012):
Farm Day in the City (2012):
Savour Victoria (2012):
Toes, Taps, and Taters (2013)
Lobster Party on the Beach (2013)
Applelicious (2013)

The Great Island Grilled Cheese Challenge (2013)
Feast of the Fathers (2014)
Lamb Luau at Crowbush Cove (2014)

Feast and Frolic Dinner (PEI Int’l Shellfish Festival) (2014)

Beef and Blues (2014)

A Taste of New Glasgow (2015)

Beef ‘n Blues (2015)

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