Side Dishes: Boulevard's Table One dinner is back for more
Credit to Author: Mia Stainsby| Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2019 20:45:58 +0000
He put it out there earlier this year and it was a huge success and thus, the Table One dinner grew legs and became a series. The occasional dinner for a compact group of eight guests at Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar is cooked by star chef Alex Chen and the next one is on Nov. 5.
“The guests can expect my best work, my most intense, most focused work for this night,” he says. “Table One is not about feeding 1,000 people in one night, it is about eight people, and for four hours I will explain my journey, my inspiration, my upbringing, and why certain ingredients, techniques, and cuisines formulate how I think — my DNA.”
That suggests a Babette’s Feast kind of experience with 12 to 15 courses and such an experience isn’t cheap but worthwhile if affordable — it costs $500 per person.
It’s the culmination of an idea that has been brewing for a decade, a press release says, and an ultimate opportunity to present his cuisine in ways that large restaurant menus do not allow. Partner chef Roger Ma will be at his side for this second iteration, capturing the season with mushrooms, squash, pastas, white truffles and game birds. For more information on the Table One Series or to book call 604-642-2900.
The annual Whistler Cornucopia festival — Nov. 7 to 17 this year — is jam-packed with tastings, restaurant events, cooking demos, special lunches, parties, master classes by chefs, sommeliers, mixologists as per usual.
This year, newcomers to the festival include Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre’s Spo7ez Table Luncheon and The Raven Room with a craft cocktail dinner. And there’s lots of fun events including a junk food and wine pairing seminar; a Scandinave Spa bubble bath with bubbly wine; and a Warhol Factory Party at the Audain Art Museum.
Longtime participants include Fairmont Chateau Whistler with its perennial sellout, Bubbles and Brunch along with wine dinners; the Four Seasons Resort welcomes the Vancouver’s Four Seasons team for a collaborative dinner; they’ll also do a collab dinner with America’s Best Pastry Chef, Eric Keppler, from Four Seasons Silicon Valley. Araxi returns with several winemaker dinners including its annual sellout Big Guns winemaker dinner with sought-after wines. Il Caminetto has several winery dinners as well as last year’s hit Il Salotto cocktail-paired dinner. The always-interesting Chef’s Table Luncheon in a private home will be by chef Ian McHale of Wildebeest this year.
Tickets sell out quickly for the most popular events so don’t doddle. Go to whistlercornucopia.com for information and tickets.