Indulging in Food Pairings

Waiting with forks in hand, the crowd filled the lobby of the Delta Edmonton South and flowed into the parking lot. Slow Food Edmonton paired local food producers with restaurants and vineyards to form Indulgence 2012, an event that filled 22 stations with an abundance of bite-sized and sometimes much bigger portions. And the proceeds from the sale of tickets went towards food-related projects developed/funded by the Junior League of Edmonton.

Our eyes settled on a fondue, thinking we would go for dessert first. While we were mistaken and what we thought was fondue was actually a gravy, we were left more impressed than anything else. Called the unorthodox rabbit stew, the dish, made by Madison’s Grill, was topped with roasted fennel, pomme puree, rabbit gravy and served alongside a creamy carrot puree.

It was our first bite and provided to be one of the night’s most memorable. The carrot puree had a sweetness that melded perfectly with the fall-apart-in-you-mouth rabbit meat provided by Full Course Strategies.

By the end of the night, we’d made a full circle of the room, but a few of the other dishes stood out nearly as much as the rabbit stew.

Braised milk-fed Sangudo pork alongside apple kimchi.

The Sangudo pork looked as good as it tasted. Chef Heather Dosman of Culina Muttart crafted the dish, which featured braised pork framed by house-made apple kimchi, bacon chips and arugula. It was paired alongside Tawse Riesling.

Mushrooms by Mo-Na Food Distributors were the star of the mushroom bread pudding.

Boxes of mushrooms marked the spot where 4^th and Vine Wine Bar and Bistro partnered with Mo-Na Food Distributors and Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery to present a mushroom bread pudding along with a Summit Reserve Pinot Noir. The savoury pudding was a delicious counterpart to the sweet red and white currant reduction, the slightly salty pickled maitake and the roasted garlic tops.

We ended the night on a sweet note with three samples of nougat from The Newget Kompany. The chewy bites of the Sweet Petals nougat were punctuated by pieces of white chocolate, pistachios and dried organic edible flowers.