Check out how B.C. chefs are celebrating Canada 150
These menus go way beyond poutine and maple syrup
Canada 150 celebrations are ramping up during the approach to Canada Day and that includes the kitchens of the Lower Mainland's top chefs.
On The Coast food columnist Gail Johnson says some restaurants are doing some pretty unique things with their menus to celebrate Canadian cuisine.
One place she suggests checking out is the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, where chef Isabel Chung and her team have spent six months working on a menu that reflects the breadth of Canadian food coast-to-coast.
"They considered things like fiddleheads, cattail hearts and spruce tips," Johnson told On The Coast guest host Gloria Macarenko. "In the end, they pared down their list to about 40 items. And those foods all show up on their eight-course Canada 150 menu."
"They put so much thought into this. And I have to say, Gloria, that they've knocked it out of the park."
The dinner includes maple-cured Arctic char, served in smouldering cedar paper; poutine made of Yukon gold potatoes and topped with smoked wild B.C. salmon and sustainable B.C. sturgeon caviar; McIntosh apple and ice-wine sorbet; and the Chateau Whistler's version of a beaver tail topped with caramelized B.C. hazelnuts, maple ice cream and house-made cotton candy.
Tea, tourtiere and ketchup chips
Another highlight for Johnson is TWG Tea. They've launched a special menu called the Jubilee Tea Set featuring a special red-tea blend with hints of cranberry and maple.
They're also serving a tourtiere with tea-infused rhubarb chutney and a Wagyu beef slider with maple bacon and Moroccan mint tea-infused barbecue sauce and maple éclairs.
There's also the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver's Canada 150 Afternoon Tea. It begins with Oka scones served with Saskatoon-berry compote and birch-syrup Chantilly cream.
You can also check out their maple foie gras tourtiere and Calgary Stampede "corn dog" made with Wagyu beef and blue-corn grits. It comes with a Nanaimo bar, butter tart, and chocolate-dipped mini donuts.
Finally, Johnson recommends Yew Seafood and Bar's Canadian take on the burger with wild Pacific salmon, an entire lobster tail and Canadian back bacon all in a freshly baked brioche bun.
It's served with house made chips — ketchup-flavoured, of course.
With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast