Our Vancouver IWFS members enjoyed working for their dinner so much at our event two years ago that they demanded a repeat performance at The Dirty Apron Cooking School, this time with a twist. The evening was wildly successful as we prepared some of the game products of Hills Foods —slogan Going Wild!—under the tutelage of Chef David Robertson who demonstrated the preparation of each dish before each of our members tackled the task. We were also fortunate to have Chef Mark Hills, proprietor of Hills Foods, on hand to tell us more about the elk, ostrich and venison that we cooked.
Our evening started with a glass of bubbly, an Oyster Bay Sparkling Cuvée Brut from New Zealand, to sustain us before commencing the pre-preparation of our dinner, starting backwards with our dessert first then a marinade for the ostrich before we prepared our first course of Porcini-rubbed Elk Loin with Truffle Cream Trofie (an Italian short pasta) accompanied by a 2004 Nota Bene from Okanagan's Black Hills Estate. This fine start to our meal was followed with an Ostrich Carpaccio with Seared Foie Gras and Apple Cider Golden Beets matched with a 2001 Anciano Tempranillo Gran Reserva from Bodegas Navalon, then a Roasted Venison Chop with Celeriac Purée accompanied by a 2005 Château Rozier from St. Emilion. We finished our meal with a Decadent Hazelnut and Raspberry Chocolate Paté and a 2006 Late Bottled Vintage Port from Quinta do Crasto, a sweet finish to a spectacular dinner.
Our thanks go to Chef David Robertson, for his excellent menus and demonstrations, and to his hard-working team, to Chef Mark Hills, to Cellar Master Jim Esplen for his selection of excellent wines and to Milena Robertson, our ever-present event Photographer and Historian.
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