When you live on an Island where fishing is one of the main industries, it means you have access to wonderful fresh seafood. Yes, we are spoiled! Here in Prince Edward Island, where I reside, I make good use of seafood in my diet and in my recipe creations as I have done here with my Seafood Bubbly Bake. Continue reading My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Seafood Bubbly Bake
Tucked away on the Graham’s Road (Route 8), in the picturesque rural community of New London, Prince Edward Island, you will find The Table Culinary Studio that offers short (between 3.5 and 4.5 hours) cooking classes that focus primarily on cooking with fresh, local Island foods. This experience is a great way to learn about the Island food culture.
The rural setting is quintessential PEI. Fields in shades of green contrasted with the Island’s iconic red soil take visitors to the heart of some of the Island’s most fertile farm land.
Just down the road is New London Harbour, home to a small lobster fishing fleet and the grounds for other seafood like oysters, quahogs, and mussels. Not far away, quality food can be sourced from dairy and beef farms, organic farmers, beekeepers, cheesemakers, and garlic growers. Could there be a more authentic location for a PEI culinary studio!
While it is no secret that PEI has lovely scenery to enjoy, spectacular beaches and golf courses, and many attractions to keep visitors busy exploring our Island, many come to the Island knowing that PEI offers great food from the land and sea.
Our potatoes, oysters, mussels, and lobster, in particular, are shipped all over the world and these Island products are well known, respected, and sought after for their high quality.
So, what better way to experience the Island foods first hand than to take a short cooking class to learn more about them and how they can be prepared.
The Table Culinary Studio (formerly Annie’s Table) has been in operation since 2012, offering an array of short cooking classes on a myriad of topics. Under new ownership in 2016, The Table, with owner/chef Derrick Hoare at the helm, continues with the tradition of engaging culinary aficionados in ways to prepare local Island foods such as lobster, oysters, mussels, scallops, beef, cheese, and so forth. The focus is very much on using fresh local ingredients that are in season and, by extension, acquainting participants with the rich Island food culture.
The Table offers a number of hands-on cooking classes that include (at the time of writing) Bounty of the Sea, Black Gold (cured garlic), Farm to Table, Marilla’s Table, Hive to Table, Let Them Eat Beef, Oyster Obsession, Say Cheese, Vivacious Vegan, Applelicious, Artisan Bread, Gluten Free Gourmet, and Helping Hands. The Table operates seasonally from May to October to coincide with the Island’s tourism season. Several of the cooking classes involve field trips to farms and other local food producers to see, first-hand, how food is grown or produced and to pick up some local ingredients to bring back to The Table to be used in the class that follows. This form of experiential tourism provides the opportunity for the learners to create wonderful memories of their vacation time in PEI, connect directly with PEI food producers, and to learn more about the Island’s food culture and the role that farming, fishing, and other food production play in the Island’s economy and way of life.
I recently participated in the “Bounty of the Sea” cooking class at The Table which is located within walking distance to the house in which famed Island authoress Lucy Maud Montgomery was born and not far by vehicle to the resort municipality of Cavendish.
But, before I take you on the adventure with me, here is a brief description of the venue and what a cooking class is like at The Table.
What makes this culinary studio unique is its venue. It is located in a small white repurposed country church, very typical of so many seen in several Island communities. Inside the church, the pews have been removed and, in their place, is a large harvest table where, in a few hours time, class participants will gather to enjoy the lavish spread of the morning’s cooking. The church’s altar has been elevated to a loft setting and the building is tastefully furnished.
The original altar and choir loft locations have been transformed into an open teaching kitchen.
Class size is small and intimate – only a maximum of 10 participants per cooking class. This ensures that each person has a front row view as the culinary team teaches the cooking or baking techniques in the open-style kitchen. It also allows for participants to be actively engaged and participating in the cooking or baking activities.
The culinary team consists of owner/chef Derrick Hoare, Executive Chef Michael Bradley, and Events Coordinator Christine Morgan. The atmosphere is unhurried and very sociable. Strangers become friends over the commonality of food. With a growing hunger for knowledge about where one’s food comes from and how it is grown, produced, or harvested, cooking classes appeal to most age demographics and skill levels. No need to worry if you are not an experienced or accomplished cook – the classes offer something for everyone, including a scrumptious meal after the class in the beautifully appointed old country church.
So, now on to my adventure as a participant in The Table’s “Bounty of the Sea” cooking class. After morning coffee upon arrival, everyone got suited up with their aprons and side towels.
The class began with Chef Derrick giving a brief talk on lobster fishing on PEI, recounting his own experiences going out on a fishing boat to learn, first-hand, about lobster fishing on the Island. Chef Michael then gave a short biology lesson on how to identify the gender of a lobster.
It’s a good thing those lobsters were banded because, if you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having a finger caught in the claws of one, you are likely to end up with a broken finger – they’re strong!
Everyone was given a lobster and instructed on how to carefully de-band them before placing them in hot water to be cooked.
Chef Derrick kept a watchful eye on the lobsters so they were removed from the pot at just the right time.
Next came the lesson on how to crack open a lobster.
Chef Michael capably gave instructions as each student cracked open a lobster to reveal the succulent meat inside.
Yes, a basic table knife will do the trick!
Having never made homemade pasta before, I was particularly interested in the procedure.
The Table is very accommodating to class participants who have dietary restrictions. On this day, there were two participants who were gluten-intolerant so a separate station on an adjacent workspace was set up for them to make the gluten-free pasta and Chef Michael alternated between the two groups giving information and instruction on pasta making.
Black garlic from nearby Eureka Garlic, not far from Kensington, was used in the pasta to give a unique flavour. If you have never tasted black garlic, it’s not nearly as garlicky as you might think – I personally think it tastes like a cross between a fig and a prune. You can check out my story here on Eureka Garlic. The chopped black garlic was kneaded into the pasta dough.
The pasta dough was cut and gathered into circles ready to be dropped into the cooking pot.
With the pasta made, we took a brief break from the food prep to listen to Christine explain how mussels are grown and harvested on PEI.
PEI mussels are world famous and they are shipped all over the world. Mussels are a common food to serve at many events, year-round, on PEI. They are easy to prepare and ever-so-tasty dipped in melted butter!
Chef Michael then guided the group in making Lobster Bisque. Once the Mirepoix started cooking, you can only imagine how tantalizing the scent was as it wafted through the old church building.
Ohhhh, that lobster is going to make a dandy lunch – can’t you just taste it!
The third seafood that we learned to cook was scallops, those tasty little morsels!
The morning went super fast and, before we knew it, it was time for lunch to be served by the culinary team.
The table was beautifully set (those of you who follow my food blog regularly know how I love well-set tables). The napkin at each place setting had either a small lobster trap or lobster napkin ring.
These napkin rings tied in well with the theme of the morning’s class – “Bounty of the Sea”.
How inviting does this look! Wouldn’t you love to sit in at this table!
Fresh homemade sourdough bread was on the table.
The landing at the top of the spiral staircase in the church provided a great vantage point for photography.
The group assembled at the big harvest table which is the focal point in the middle of the studio. This 12’ table was hand-crafted from old attic boards extracted from the house which The Table’s former owner restored just up the road at New London corner.
How great does this lobster bisque look with that succulent lobster claw! It tasted even better!
We were very anxious to taste the homemade pasta and it did not disappoint! The pasta in the photo below is gluten-free.
This was accompanied by big bowls of PEI mussels with squeaky cheese topping melting down through the mussels. If you are a mussel lover, these are hard to resist!
And as if we weren’t stuffed enough, out came dessert. The dessert in the photo below is a chocolate beet cake.
And, for the gluten-free dessert, it was a deconstructed blueberry pie which I can attest was simply yummy!
The Table is set with the right ingredients – small class size, fresh local Island foods, quality instruction, hands-on cooking, a shared meal, and a charming venue with a history of its own. If you are looking for an authentic and affordable cooking experience to allow you to more deeply engage with the local food scene and pick up some cooking tips and skills, check out course offerings at The Table. With the short half-day classes, visitors can have the best of both worlds – a cooking experience to learn more about local PEI foods in the morning followed by a delicious lunch and then the rest of the day free to explore other Island adventures and sights. For more information on cooking classes and prices, visit The Table Culinary Studio website at: http://www.thetablepei.ca/classes
The Table also offers fine dining in the evening (reservations required). Click here to read my recent story on The Table’s North Shore Surf and Turf Dinner.
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My thanks to The Table Culinary Studio for the opportunity to experience their “Bounty of the Sea” cooking class and for the fine hospitality. My participation in the class was complimentary for the purpose of conducting a review of the “Bounty of the Sea” cooking class. However, this in no way influenced my opinions of the class experience. All opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.
At The Table Culinary Studio in New London, PEI
One of the things most of us enjoy about travel is the opportunity to sample foods local to a region. It’s part of the charm of a place and makes for great vacation memories. At one time, vacationers went to a destination, did some sightseeing, took in some typical tourist attractions (amusement parks, museums, beaches, etc.), and ate at whatever restaurant they happened upon at meal time. Today’s travelers, generally speaking, are more interested in diversified travel experiences than they are simply going to a place so they can check it off their bucket list of places they have been. Many seek out adventures that allow them to participate in activities, experience the uniqueness and authenticity of a place, mingle with the locals, and learn more about local foods and ways to prepare them.
One of the best ways to learn about a place and its culture is through its local food. In fact, many travelers choose destinations based on the local food scene, food festivals and events, unique dining experiences, and opportunities to participate in culinary classes. Many, therefore, seek out experiences that allow them to connect more fully with a region and what better way to do that than through food, especially if it is experiential cuisine where you learn something about the foods you are eating.
I was recently a guest at the North Shore Surf and Turf Dinner at The Table Culinary Studio which hosts themed communal-style dinners featuring Prince Edward Island foods throughout the summer months. Today, I am going to share my dining experience at The Table with you.
The Table Culinary Studio is the successor of Annie’s Table Culinary Studio which was started by Annie Leroux in 2012. You can click here for my story on Annie’s Table Culinary Studio. Current owner, Derrick Hoare (himself a trained chef), had been a long-time summer resident on PEI for many years, was retiring from his career in the health care profession, and was looking for his next adventure. He contemplated buying a traditional restaurant in PEI but decided that was not his style. When Annie’s Table became available for sale, Derrick liked the concept Annie had begun so he bought the business which he began operating in 2016. In addition to keeping the tradition of offering short culinary courses, he added themed evening dining to the menu and renamed the business to The Table Culinary Studio.
Set in the small rural community of New London, not far from the resort municipality of Cavendish (the hometown of the fictional Anne of Green Gables – you may have heard of her!), you will find The Table on Route 8 or, as the locals would simply say, the Grahams Road.
With a backdrop of green fertile rolling countryside, The Table is located in a repurposed former United Church that is tastefully furnished with quality antiques. Several of the elements of the decommissioned church have been incorporated into the décor, including the pulpit that now occupies a prominent position overlooking the dining hall.
The entire venue is open concept so diners can watch the culinary team prepare the meal. This unique dining experience will make you feel like you are more at an intimate dinner party with a private chef catering than at a restaurant.
Open seasonally, seven nights a week, for themed dinners that feature local Island foods that come from the land and the sea, The Table can accommodate up to 18 guests an evening, one seating only. Tickets for the dinner must be reserved in advance (by phone or email) and the menu for each evening is a set menu – you eat whatever is being prepared that night which takes the pressure off of studying a menu and trying to decide what to have. Drinks are at extra cost and are payable at the end of the evening along with the dinner.
The themed dinners range from the Traditional Island Feast to the Island Dinner Party to Isle and Fire to the North Shore Surf and Turf and all focus on fresh local foods harvested or fished nearby. Seating is at one long harvest table in the middle of the old church and food is served family style which is to say that the main meal, on large platters, arrives at the table and guests pass the platters around, serving themselves. There are no individual tables.
It seems only fitting that communal dining would be the style of dining at The Table given that it is in a decommissioned church. Communal dining dates back to biblical times – you know, the breaking of bread together. The concept of individual tables for dining did not start until a long time after these origins. Some may find it requires some stepping out of the comfort zone to attend a dinner with strangers all seated at the same table but, when you think about it, church and community potluck dinners have been around for ages and they are traditionally served at long communal tables where you don’t necessarily know the people seated around you. We do a lot of cruising and have never requested a table for two in the ship’s dining room simply because we like to meet new people and inject some new conversation into meal times when traveling. So, sitting down to a meal alongside people I have not met before is quite comfortable and familiar for me. After all, the chances are that they are all food enthusiasts, too!
One of the lovely parts of this type of experiential dining is that you get to interact with those preparing the meal. In contrast, if you go into a traditional style restaurant, you are seated, have limited contact with the wait staff, and most likely never see the chefs let alone have any direct contact with them. At The Table, there are lots of opportunities to communicate directly with the owner/chef Derrick, executive chef Michael Bradley, oyster shucker George Dowdle, and The Table’s event planner, Christine Morgan. Together, this is the culinary team at The Table.
The Table benefits from having a talented and enthusiastic young chef. With over ten years of experience in professional kitchens, Chef Michael Bradley is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of Canada in Charlottetown. Chef Michael has been at The Table from the beginning, starting as an intern and working his way up to become the executive chef.
I truly felt like I was at someone’s private dinner party. It was a perfect sunny summer evening as guests arrived for the event which started on the side lawn of the church. When I arrived, local aquaculturalist, George Dowdle, was busy shucking oysters that he had fished from the nearby Southwest River only hours before the dinner.
Guests soon became preoccupied with consuming the fresh raw oysters which were served with a choice of three sauces: Asian Thai, Lemon Herb, and Pomegranate Herb. It wasn’t long before everyone felt comfortable and at home with each other as the conversations quickly turned to discussions about the food.
Not quite into slurping raw oysters? Chef Michael also has a unique way of serving grilled oysters. He first puts the oysters on the open fire grill to warm them up, then shucks them and tops them with a black garlic cream sauce and bacon jam, then puts them back on the grill to re-heat them. Simply sublime!
While clams sometimes take a back seat in popularity to mussels and oysters, The Table includes them as part of the meal.
When we had our fill of oysters, out came the cheese and charcuterie trays.
On this evening, The Table served their own homemade black garlic crackers alongside an assortment of cheeses from Ferme Isle St Jean in Rustico and Glasgow Glen Farm in New Glasgow. This was rounded out by pickled beets, pickled carrots, pickled spruce tips, and rhubarb chutney (all made in-house at The Table).
While guests were busy noshing on the appetizers, Chef Michael was preparing the sirloin tip roast with a black garlic espresso rub. Cooked over an open fire, you can only imagine how tantalizing the scent was!
Then, Chef Michael demonstrated how they cook the mussels in a fire pit with seaweed and smoke. The mussels are placed in wet pillowcases which give the moisture the mussels need to open.
Guests leisurely made their way inside the church where the meal was served. The big 12-foot long handmade harvest table occupies much of the space that once would have been filled with church pews.
By this time, guests were very comfortable in the company of each other and, since there were three Islanders present, the conversation soon turned to various aspects of how local foods are produced and farming and fishing, in general. Food is such a commonality and ice breaker!
The meal began with a plated salad highlighted by the skirt steak from Atlantic Beef Products in Albany. The steak had been marinated in an onion garlic marinade.
The boards of housemade sourdough bread were served with a black garlic spread as well as honey butter.
Before each course was presented, Chef Michael came tableside to explain what the course consisted of and how it was prepared.
Next came huge platters of bountiful mixed seasonal vegetables with the fire-grilled sirloin tip roast.
The veggies (along with the salad greens) came from nearby Alexander Fresh Vegetables in Hope River. These were very attractively presented platters.
Then, the seafood platters arrived. All those mussels that had been cooking in the fire pit emerged from the pillowcases and formed the base for lobster claws and tails.
The lobster, fished from boats out of nearby French River Harbour, had been par-cooked with a garlic butter and then was finished on the grill outside.
The green sauce accompanying the mussels was a garden pesto cream sauce.
By this time, I was stuffed and thought I would just roll home but, wait, dessert was to come! Dessert was a blood orange infused carrot cake with orange cream cheese icing. I didn’t get a photo of it because I was too busy enjoying the gluten-free option that was a deconstructed strawberry pie made with a strawberry balsamic reduction and gluten-free pastry lattice, all topped with lactose-free ice cream.
The Table prides itself on using the best of what is fresh and local. Most foods for their themed dinners come from under 10 km away and are farmed and fished by friends and neighbours. So, you know that when you dine at The Table, food will not have traveled thousands of miles before it has reached your plate. In fact, you can seek out the same food suppliers to purchase high quality local PEI products.
I asked Christine if they ever get families for their dinners. She tells me, although 90% of their clientele are adults, parents are welcome to bring their children and they do often have families in attendance. Patrons should note, however, that there is no children’s menu offered so the wee folk eat the same food as the adults.
What I have described above is the meal for the Surf and Turf dinner. I inquired if the meal ingredients are identical for this particular dinner every night. Christine informs me that the appetizers, vegetables, and dessert do vary by what is seasonally available. So, if you are having the Surf and Turf dinner at The Table after having read this post, you’ll be aware that the meal ingredients may not be 100% identical to what I enjoyed in early July.
So, if you want to really immerse yourself in local PEI foods and have a totally relaxing evening in the beautiful countryside of Prince Edward Island while feasting on carefully prepared dishes in a unique setting, you should check out The Table Culinary Studio. If you have dietary restrictions, be sure to advise of that when making your reservation and, to the extent possible, the culinary team at The Table will do all they can to accommodate special dietary needs.
For more information on dining options at The Table, and to make reservations, check out their website at http://www.thetablepei.ca/dining .
My thanks to The Table Culinary Studio for the opportunity to experience their North Shore Surf and Turf Dinner and for the fine hospitality. My dinner at the The Table Culinary Studio was complimentary for the purpose of conducting a review of the North Shore Surf and Turf dinner. However, this in no way influenced my opinions of the dinner experience. All opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.
The month-long PEI Fall Flavours Festival, held annually each September, offers visitors the opportunity to delve into local culture in a unique and tasty way through attending culinary events at various locales across the Island. Originally started as a 10-day festival that could extend PEI’s short tourism season into September, the Festival has grown into a full month of a wide variety of culinary events for every taste. A popular Festival with foodies, visitors travel great distances and several return each year especially for the Festival. Now in its 10th year, the Festival puts local food at the forefront of the visitor experience and, in so doing, also builds and strengthens collaboration between food producers, chefs, restauranteurs, local communities and, more broadly, the Island tourism industry.
The PEI Fall Flavours introduced three new culinary events in 2017 – Taste of Georgetown, Taste of North Rustico, and Taste of Tyne Valley. With a view to getting visitors out in to the more rural areas of the province closer to the local food sources, visitors were drawn to experience the different regions of PEI and they also had the chance to connect more directly with food producers and local chefs.
A growing trend amongst the foodie tourist population is the interest in incorporating good local cuisine and culinary experiences into their travel adventures. The evolution of food and drink festivals are a driving influence in the culinary tourism aspect of vacation travel. While products like PEI oysters, for example, are shipped all over the world where anyone can have access to them, those consumers will not have the full cultural experience that they can get from eating oysters at a PEI Fall Flavours event. Such events allow consumers to interact directly with the oyster grower who farms the product just up the road and who is the one actually shucking and presenting the oysters right before event attendees. And, of course, it goes without saying that the closer you taste the food to its origins, the fresher and better its taste and the more personal connection you have with the food.
For those who want to experience authentic local culture, there is no better way than to attend a culinary festival, like the PEI Fall Flavours Festival, where regional fare can be sampled and local hospitality and music enjoyed. These three components are the essential ingredients of a true local food and culture experience of a place.
This was none more evident than with the recent “Taste of Tyne Valley” culinary event. This event was also a community-building activity for the Tyne Valley community, located about 20 minutes west of the City of Summerside. Local food producers and the three restaurants in the heart of Tyne Valley worked collaboratively to provide event goers with an authentic food experience complemented by West Prince hospitality. When we speak of authenticity in terms of food, we are talking about a food trend that involves local fresh food that is simple, natural, and has roots and history in an area. So, when we think of the Tyne Valley and surrounding environs, in particular, we think of local foods with a long history in the area – foods such as oysters, mussels, beef, potatoes, and wild blueberries, all of which were included on the event’s menu.
Organizers report that 110 people attended the Tyne Valley event and, for the first time that I’ve attended a Fall Flavours event, I think the locals may have outnumbered the tourists! When a tablemate, a resident of Tyne Valley, was asked what the population was, she looked around then, with a smile, jokingly said “they’re all here tonight…, well, at least 80% of them”! There were certainly some off-Island visitors at the event, too, and they got to mix and mingle with the locals while enjoying some fine Island foods.
The evening began with a gathering hour in a large tent where Valley Pearl Oysters served up steamed mussels and raw oysters.
The mussels were steamed just outside the tent and the oysters were shucked by the oyster growers as people passed through the line. The food just doesn’t get any fresher than that!
Mussels and oysters are popular PEI foods so there was always a steady line-up for them.
Because food and music are a common combo at PEI gatherings, local music also plays a part in virtually every Fall Flavours Festival event. During the gathering hour in Tyne Valley, visitors were treated to music provided by local area musicians, Spencer Phillips and Ellen MacQuillan.
The format of this event was part roving feast and part sit-down table service meal. The center of Tyne Valley has three restaurants, all located in close proximity to each other. After enjoying the mussels and oysters, patrons took their appetizer “passports” and began the short stroll to the three participating restaurants – Backwoods Burger, Dillon’s, and Tyne Valley Tea and Company.
The benefit of involving three local restaurants and having event attendees visit each one to sample an appetizer is that it exposed the restaurants to visitors who, if visiting the area, might otherwise have chosen only one restaurant at which to dine. Diners could choose the order in which they visited the restaurants.
Backwoods Burger (which always reminds me of an English pub), pictured above, served a slice of their delectable potato and bacon pie which was beautifully presented.
Layers of PEI potatoes are the main ingredient in this delectable pie.
Dillon’s (seen in photo above), a local pizzeria, served the perennial favorite appetizer of bacon wrapped scallops which they served on a bed of greens.
Dillon’s also served a choice of wine or punch with their appetizer.
The Tyne Valley Tea and Company, a small tea room that opened in 2016, served an Asian-inspired appetizer nestled in a Wonton dish.
This colorful appetizer featured carrots, garlic, and green onions with a cucumber sweet chili sauce, with many of the ingredients sourced locally from the gardens of the nearby Doctor’s Inn.
Once everyone had made their way back to the tent, dinner service began, family style, at the long communal tables.
The main meal was prepared by guest Chef Jesse Vergen who is chef/co-owner of Saint John Alehouse and owner of Smoking Pig BBQ, both in Saint John, New Brunswick.
A Top Chef Canada All Star, Chef Jesse is no stranger to culinary challenges and, as he puts it, curve ball competitions; in fact, he’ll tell you he thrives on them. With no existing or mobile kitchen onsite from which to serve 110 meals, Chef Jesse, in his words, was “rocking it out” from the back door of the little pizzeria and convenience store next to the event location! This is where I caught up with him putting the final touches on the main meal.
Bowls of PEI rustic potato salad and heirloom tomato salad arrived at the table.
This was followed by large trays bearing the sliced brisket in the center surrounded by large clam shells filled with mushroom purée, butter-poached bar clams, and stout mayonnaise. These were broiled in the local pizzeria’s pizza oven and were, as Chef Jesse says, “a take on a classic Coquilles Saint Jacques but with a Tyne Valley twist”.
The brisket had been smoked slowly for 14 hours in a traditional barbeque pit with applewood and Chef Jesse says this long slow cooking process turned the meat into a melt-in-your mouth-like-butter texture.
Many hands make light work! Great motion and energy in the photo below!
As dessert was arriving, the energetic Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys band took to the stage providing lively toe-tapping music.
This award-winning band has toured extensively, nationally and internationally. Members of the band are Gordie MacKeeman, Peter Cann, Thomas Webb, and Jason Burbine.
Dessert was prepared in the small kitchen of the Tyne Valley Tea and Company just across the road from the event location. Served in the trendy mason jars, this tasty creation was a take on the traditional English Eton Mess dessert.
The layered dessert featured Lennox Island blueberries, along with crumbled meringues and scones, all topped with Earl Grey-infused whipped cream. A small ginger cookie, shaped like a teapot, garnished the dessert.
There is no doubt this was a community-building event for the Tyne Valley area and the passion of the local people, restaurant owners, and others who participated, was evident. Carol Rybinski, owner of the Tyne Valley Tea and Company says the PEI Fall Flavours concept was “right up our alley – locally-sourced dishes and a shared community experience”.
…the PEI Fall Flavours concept was “right up our alley – locally-sourced dishes and a shared community experience” -Carol Rybinski
For the entire month of September, visitors to the PEI Fall Flavours Festival can take advantage of all that this amazing small Island on Canada’s east coast has to offer – sample locally-sourced fresh food prepared by talented chefs, listen to lively local music, mix and mingle with the locals, and discover beautiful vistas from one end of PEI to the other. If you’re a true foodie, there is no better time to visit PEI than in the month of September which is filled with dozens of different culinary events offering something for every taste. PEI has earned a reputation for excellence in food production and is now seen as an authentic food destination. There is a reason why PEI is known as Canada’s Food Island and events like “Taste of Georgetown”, “Taste of North Rustico”, and “Taste of Tyne Valley” prove it.
To read stories about other PEI Fall Flavours events I have attended, click on the links below:
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)
Mussels on the Hill (2016)
Toes, Taps, & Taters (2017)
Taste of Georgetown (2017)
Taste of North Rustico – A Rustico Kitchen Party (2017)
Taste of Tyne Valley
Well, what’s a potato farmer on Canada’s Food Island to do if he has a big warehouse empty and waiting for this fall’s crop to be dug from the rich red soil of Prince Edward Island? Might as well have a party in that warehouse and may as well include a couple of hundred people and a celebrity chef too!
That’s exactly what potato producer, Alex Docherty of Sherwood Produce Inc., did on September 8, 2017, when he provided the host location for a big potato-themed kitchen-style party. For anyone who wanted to hobnob with a culinary celebrity, chow down on some good PEI food, and enjoy some fine traditional PEI music, this event offered the perfect way to indulge all three.
Toes, Taps, and Taters is an annual event that is part of the PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival. I had attended this event in 2013 when it was held in the Potato Museum in O’Leary and it was a rollicking good time (click here for the link to that story). This year, the location changed to a potato warehouse in Canoe Cove on the Island’s South Shore, about a 20-25 minute drive from Charlottetown and organizers pulled out all the stops! Toes, Taps, and Taters is a signature event of the Festival which means that a celebrity chef is in the house as guest host; this year, that was Chef Chuck Hughes who is quite the character! There is never a dull moment when Chef Chuck is at a culinary event!
I arrived at the location around 5:15pm on a beautiful, sunny September evening, one of those late summer days that is just made for a fun party with outside activities. As folks arrived, they were greeted with the evocative skirl of bagpipes from a lone piper just up the hill from the warehouse.
Of course, Tate, the PEI potato mascot, was on hand and loved to have his photo taken.
Anyone wishing to go and experience digging his or her own potatoes was welcome to board the haywagon and go for a hayride to the potato field.
Take a gander at the size of that little tractor!
Just at the entrance to the warehouse, well-known local chef and cheesemaker, Jeff McCourt from Glasgow Glen Farm, was cooking up a storm and the scent of food cooking over an open fire was an automatic draw to see what he was up to. He brought along some of the Gouda cheese he makes and tantalized taste buds with his Island-style Raclette.
Raclette, of Swiss-German origins, involves heating cheese over an open fire then scraping it with a knife over cooked (usually boiled) potatoes. Well, you had me at melted gouda! And, those sweet little multi-colored PEI baby potatoes!
That’s a gooda Gouda!
The potatoes were cooked in cast iron pots over free-standing burning logs and the cheese was carefully melted over similar log fires under the watchful eye of Chef Jeff.
Part of the experience of attending culinary events is to see and learn different ways of cooking and experience traditional foods like potato and cheese turned into a different form.
Why does food cooked outdoors always seem to smell and taste sooooo good?
Upon entering the warehouse, diners were greeted with a glass of Oyster Bay bubbly. They also had the opportunity to sample blueberry ale brewed by Upstreet Craft Brewing of Charlottetown.
Several stations with hors d’oeuvres were set up and folks moved around the stations at their leisure.
Potatoes, of course, featured prominently in most of the hors d’oeuvres starting with Russet Potato Risotto Style.
These two guys were kept busy preparing the tasty Risotta!
With hand pies being a trendy item, the Bacon-Leek Potato Hand Pies served with sour cream and chives proved to be a popular stop on the hors d’oeuvres circuit.
There were, of course, lots of options to try from the PEI charcuterie table.
Zillions of fries are made each year from PEI potatoes so, naturally, French Fries would have to factor in somewhere during the event. Islanders love their mussels and their fries so Chef Irwin MacKinnon (pictured below) combined the two and served the mussels with roasted garlic aioli. At this point, little did I know that this guy was also in charge of catering the main meal, too!
Yes, these Moules Frites were “right some good”!
There can’t be a good party on PEI without great music and Sheila MacKenzie on fiddle and Norman Stewart on guitar provided lively toe-tapping music throughout the reception preceding the dinner. It was traditional PEI ceilidh style music.
They were also joined by two very talented and energetic step dancers, Alanna and Shelby Dalziel.
Rob Barry proved to be an entertaining MC and he and Chef Chuck Hughes kept the evening lively with lots of banter and audience engagement.
Part of the evening included the swearing in of everyone in attendance as honorary Islanders for the evening which involved the citing of the Potato Oath and, of course, a little swig of, umm, perhaps potato vodka, to make it official. This was followed by a rousing chorus of Stompin’ Tom’s “Bud the Spud”.
Part of the warehouse was transformed into a large country dining room with tables attractively set with red and white checkered tablecloths.
Creative centerpieces were mason jars filled with multi-colored baby PEI potatoes and mini lights.
Here’s a closer look at one of the tables.
Can you imagine that this was all taking place in a huge potato warehouse in which, up to three weeks previous, had tons of potatoes in it? It’s true.
And, here was the menu:
As you might guess, the dinner was a potato feast and potato was featured in each of the courses starting with the appetizer which was a delectable salmon-haddock potato fish cake that was served with marinated Island Blue Mussel salad and lemon caper dill. This was plated very attractively. (Apologies for the quality of these photos as they don’t do the meal justice but this was all taking place inside a huge cavernous warehouse that was eating up the light so studio quality photography wasn’t an option. Hopefully, though, the photos will give readers a ‘flavour’ for the menu items.)
The main course consisted of slow-roasted certified Island beef prime rib cooked to perfection and served with red wine Rosemary jus, beef drippings Yorkshire pudding, roasted garlic-horseradish whipped PEI potatoes, sweet pea purée, roasted squash stuffed with seasonal vegetables. This was a potato and beef lover’s dream meal!
And, for dessert, a delectable wild blueberry cobbler was served in a mason jar and garnished with a chocolate-dipped potato chip and whipped cream. Yes, even the dessert had potato in it!
Now, you might wonder how such an elaborate meal could be served in a potato warehouse for some 200 people. Well, Chef Irwin MacKinnon from Papa Joe’s Restaurant in Charlottetown was in charge of the meal preparation and the mobile kitchen in the photo below is the one he brought into the warehouse to use for the meal preparation.
Can you imagine the amount of organization and coordination that would have been involved to prepare and serve this meal and it was all done in a trailer/mobile kitchen inside a potato warehouse!
The evening ended with a performance by Trinity Bradshaw, an up and coming country music artist from Summerside, PEI.
This event was the full-meal deal – great food and entertainment. It was very well coordinated and the attention to detail by organizers and chefs ensured this was a first-rate event. The passion and pride of the PEI potato farming community was displayed at every turn.
I have always said two of the best ways to experience the culture of a place are to check out the local food and regional music. Visitors can learn a lot about a place through the food a place produces and the genres that form the local music scene. There were a large number of visitors from off-Island who sought out this event with the farthest coming from Belgium. Some attendees schedule their entire vacations around the festival and return year after year. In fact, at my table, there were new visitors from Ontario and repeat visitors from Western Canada and this was their fourth year coming for the Fall Flavours Festival. This year they attended three culinary events, including the popular Lobster on the Beach event for their third time. A testament to the calibre of the PEI Fall Flavours events that showcase the wonderful food of this very special food island on Canada’s east coast.
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)
Mussels on the Hill (2016)
Mussels are a favorite shellfish of mine and, while I love them steamed in various different broths, today I am presenting them in the form of Mussel Chowder and I’m sharing my own personal recipe. Continue reading My Island Bistro Kitchen’s PEI Mussel Chowder
My recipe for steamed mussels calls for some aromatics to build a flavor base in which to steam the tasty little morsels. Aromatic cooking involves some type of fat or oil – I’m using butter in this recipe – combined with some aromatic vegetables and herbs. In this case, I am using onion, celery, and garlic along with some fresh thyme. The combination of a fat product and heat help to release the wonderful aromas of ingredients and infuse dishes with fabulous flavors. Ever walk into the tantalizing scent of a kitchen where onions and garlic are cooking in oil or butter? That’s aromatics at work.
Preparing this flavor base at the beginning of the cooking process adds depth and complexity to the dish. Since mussels cook rapidly, chop the vegetables up somewhat fine as they need to release their flavors quickly in order to add flavor to the dish.
The fresh mussels should be rinsed under cold water before they are cooked. If any of the shells don’t close up after this rinsing, tap the shells lightly. If they still don’t close, discard them. Any “beard” on the mussels also needs to be removed.
Once the vegetables have been sautéed and released their flavors, it’s time to add a small amount of lemon juice and some beer to the mixture. The lemon juice adds fresh, crisp notes to the broth. This helps to balance the seafood qualities of the broth once the mussels are added. Beer adds both depth and complexity of flavor to the mussels which should be steamed in a very small amount of liquid. If too much liquid is used, it will dilute the flavor altogether. It’s the steam, not the amount of liquid, that cooks the mussels. In this recipe, I have chosen to use a craft beer that has been brewed right here on Prince Edward Island at Upstreet Craft Brewing in Charlottetown (click here for my story on this brewery). The strawberry and rhubarb flavored “Rhuby Social” witbier with its slight tartness pairs particularly well with seafood.
It’s important not to overcook the mussels as they will become tough. I find that 5-7 minutes is usually sufficient; however, the amount of steaming time depends on several factors including how many (and the size of the) mussels in the pot, the weight of the pot, and amount of heat over which they are steamed. The ultimate test of doneness is a peek inside the pot to see if the shells have opened. It’s very important that, at the end of the steaming process, any shells that have not opened be discarded. If a shell has to be pried open, it is not considered safe for consumption.
These mussels can be eaten with bread dipped in the steaming broth. Simply strain the broth to remove the vegetables and herbs. Alternatively, they can be eaten dipped in melted butter or even with a simple splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
(Printable recipe follows at end of posting)
Ingredients:
2 lbs. PEI mussels, rinsed and beards removed
1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
4” piece of celery with leaves, chopped
½ tsp salt
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup Upstreet Craft Brewing’s “Rhuby Social” Beer
Method:
In medium-sized stock pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery and salt. Sauté, stirring briskly, just until onion has softened and has started to become transparent. Add the thyme, lemon juice, and beer. Increase the heat to high and bring liquid to a boil. Add the mussels. Cover and steam the mussels for approximately 5-7 minutes, or until the mussel shells have opened. Remove pot from heat and let mussels stand in broth for 1-2 minutes.
Remove mussels from broth with a slotted spoon and discard any shells that have not opened. If desired, strain the broth and use for dipping bread to enjoy with the mussels. Alternatively, melt butter in which to dip the mussels.
Yield: Apx. 2 servings
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PEI Mussels steamed in an aromatic beer broth. Dip the mussels in melted butter for the ultimate treat.
Ingredients
Instructions
It’s late August and wild blueberry season on PEI. These wonderful little indigo-colored berries grow wild in certain parts of the Island – in particular, in the Tignish area in the Western part of the Province and in the Morell-St. Peter’s area in the Eastern end of PEI. While it may be wild blueberry season for most people, for the folks at PEI Juice Works Ltd. which produce wild blueberry juice, it’s wild blueberry season year-round. Today, I’m in Bloomfield, near Alberton, PEI, in the Western part of the Island, visiting the PEI Juice Works Ltd. production plant. My tour guide for the day is Ryan Bradley, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing.
As I arrive mid-morning, a local farmer from Tignish, about a half hour away, has just arrived with a truckload of fresh wild blueberries for processing and is backed up to the loading dock unloading large containers of berries. One taste of these sweet little wild blueberries and there is no comparison to the larger cultivated ones that, while they have great presentation, I find so often lack flavour. No doubt about it, wild blueberries are tastier and sweeter than the cultivated high bush variety and, as an added bonus, they also have a much higher antioxidant profile.
PEI Juice Works Ltd. began producing juice from wild blueberries just two years ago when four shareholders from the agricultural sector decided to do something with the wild blueberries growing in their area to add value to them other than shipping them as raw food to be used or processed into a product elsewhere. The production facility is located in the Bloomfield Industrial Park just outside Alberton and presently employs seven staff year-round. The company has worked closely with Bio Food Tech in Charlottetown to develop the proprietary process PEI Juice Works Ltd. uses and Ryan tells me that Bio Food Tech set up a small scale plant in their lab to test and help PEI Juice Works Ltd. get the best wild blueberry juice product possible. The food production industry is heavily regulated and food safety standards are strictly adhered to by PEI Juice Works Ltd. In fact, on my visit, I could only view their production facility from a window as only authorized personnel are allowed in the room where the juice is being produced.
Currently, the company produces two flavour blends of their signature wild blueberry juice – Wild Blueberry and Tart Cherry and Wild Blueberry and Rhubarb. Ryan tells me that their most popular flavour is Wild Blueberry and Tart Cherry (and it’s my favourite, too!). He tells me there is over one pound of wild blueberries in every 375ml bottle they produce and the product contains no preservatives – so it is the goodness of an all-natural product! When you think of how small the low bush wild blueberries are, that’s a lot of blueberries! Their product comes in one-size, a 375ml bottle, that has a two-year shelf life, unopened. After opening, the product will maintain its quality for about three weeks, refrigerated. Ryan tells me the juice can be drunk cold or at room temperature but he says the flavour will be more intense if it is consumed cold. PEI Juice Works Ltd. recommends a daily serving size of 2 oz/60ml of the wild blueberry juice which is about ¼ cup. Following this recommended serving, one 375 ml bottle will last you just about a week.
To the extent possible, PEI Juice Works Ltd. uses local product. In this way, it provides a ready market for local Island wild blueberry growers. In the off-season, PEI Juice Works Ltd. buys its supply of wild blueberries from a sorting facility to which local growers have sold their crops and where the berries have been quick frozen. So, how is wild blueberry juice made? Ryan tells me PEI Juice Works Ltd. uses an ancient European process that was originally developed by Mennonites in Eastern Europe over 100 years ago. This involves a heat process to break down the skin membrane of the wild blueberries that will release the dark, rich pigments that give the juice both its color and flavour. The solids are then separated and filtered out and the blending of other fruits – either the cherries or rhubarb – then occurs. For consumer safety, the product is pasteurized and bottled, hot, which gives it its two-year shelf life.
Currently, the juices are sold in all four Atlantic Provinces (check the “Where to Buy” section of the PEI Juice Works Ltd. website for locations in those areas) and the 375ml bottles retail for around $10. each. However, no worries if you are not in the Atlantic Provinces because, through FoodiePages, you can now order PEI Juice Works Ltd. products online. The company is currently exploring markets around the world and have participated in trade shows and trade missions at home and farther afield. In February, 2012, they attended a food show in Japan and, in March, were at the Canadian Health Products Show in Vancouver, BC. In September, they are travelling to China as part of the PEI Premier’s trade mission.
The farmer delivering the wild blueberry shipment to PEI Juice Works Ltd. on this day graciously agreed to allow me to follow him to his blueberry field to see how they harvest the crop because I think it is important to see where our foods come from and how they are harvested.
I learned a fact I did not know before and that is that a wild low bush blueberry field will only yield a maximum harvest every second year so the field they are harvesting today will not be harvested again until the year after next. Wild blueberries, of course, cannot be planted so are completely dependent on Mother Nature as to where the wild blueberry barrens are and the fruit they yield. I asked if, this year being a very dry year on the Island with very little rain, provided good growing conditions for wild blueberries. The farmer told me that it is not and he showed me some berries that, in fact, just dried up and did not yield useable fruit because of the dry conditions. Using the machine in the photograph above, the farmer can harvest over one acre of fruit per day. It is from this field that today’s production of PEI Juice Works Ltd. wild blueberry juice is being made. It doesn’t get any fresher than that!
In recent years, there have been a number of studies conducted around the world with regards to the health benefits of wild blueberries, often dubbed a superfruit, which have steadily been gaining a reputation for their health benefits. Wild blueberries are low in fat and sodium and provide a good source of fibre and both Vitamins C and K. While research and testing on the health benefits of wild blueberries continue on an ongoing basis, the berries and their products, such as wild blueberry juice, are reported to have positive health benefits. High in antioxidants, wild blueberry juice is reported to have properties that may improve cognitive function, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, reduce inflammation, inhibit urinary tract infections, and combat diseases like cancer, heart disease, stroke, and memory loss. There is even some research that suggests wild blueberry juice may slow the aging process! So, with the chances of improved memory and learning functions, slowing down the aging process, and combating a number of other diseases, what’s not to like about wild blueberry juice!
Visit the Juice Works website to find out more about their blueberry juice products.
While the wild blueberry juice is wonderful to drink on its own I decided to try some recipes using the juice as an ingredient. The first recipe is for Steamed Mussels with Blueberry Vinaigrette. You can find the recipe for this appetizer on the Saltscapes magazine website. Traditionally, on PEI, we serve steamed mussels with melted butter; however, this recipe sees the mussels drizzled with a blueberry vinaigrette which can also be used as a dressing on a green garden salad or on a watermelon, goat cheese, and basil salad. For the vinaigrette, I chose PEI Juice Works’ Wild Blueberry and Rhubarb Juice and I also used PEI-produced maple syrup. Adding the syrup gave the dressing a touch of sweetness and it paired well with the mussels in the appetizer and the watermelon in the salad.
To make the watermelon, goat cheese, and basil salad, I simply cubed watermelon, added some crumbled goat cheese, red onion, and a sprinkle of fresh basil and parsley. Since we had a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes in our garden this year, I included some of those as well. Drizzled with a wild blueberry vinaigrette, this is a refreshing and colorful summer salad.
My third recipe is one I developed — a Blueberry Juice Sangria (recipe follows).
I hope you will try PEI Juice Works Ltd. wild blueberry juices. They are a tasty product, good for you, and made right here in Prince Edward Island. It’s a true flavour of the Island!
By Published: August 29, 2012
A refreshing drink made with PEI Juice Works' Wild Blueberry Juice
Assemble all ingredients.
Chop lime, lemon, and orange into quarters. Into medium-sized glass pitcher, hand-squeeze fruit. Drop in the fruit. Add blueberries, if using.
Add sugar and a small sprinkle of fine sea salt. Let sit, at room temperature, for about 30 minutes to release juices from the fruit.
Add blueberry and orange juices, wine, and brandy. Stir. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to chill.
Add soda at time of serving.
Serve chilled, over ice, in tall glasses and garnish with a slice of orange or lemon. Enjoy!WordPress Recipe Plugin by ReciPress
