Take ful

Edena
Sheldon

Right smack dab in the middle
of August --— wher apricots, peach-
es, plums, blackberries, and the like
are bursting with sweetness and
availability — folks are loading up
on expensive produce from halfway
around the world. ;

Well, that’s certainly not the
sase with our local CP hotels
(Michael Kuile’s Waterfront Centre
and The Hotel Vancouver). They
are celebrating the best in our local
seasonal produce with a month-long
Pick Of The Crop promotion in
their restaurants and dining rooms.

Last week, I told you all about
Chef Thomas Dietzel over at the
Waterfront Centre. This week, it’s
The Hotel Vancouver, featuring
Chef Robert LeCrom.

I attended another Chef’s Table
luncheon last week. I was seated
next to my dear friend LeCrom,
whose talents | have long touted.
He shared with me his views on
using seasonal fresh produce.

“In honor of the seasons, | try to
work with what is in season now,
rather than try to wo. with food all

IT ALWAYS baffles me,
when I eye the carts of fel-
low-shoppers at my focal
supermarket to see so little
attention paid to things in-
season.

NEWS photo Neil Lucente

EXECUTIVE CHEF Robert LeCrom (right) and executive sous
chef Paui Marshall of the Hotel Vancouver recently served their
frozen honey-vanilla mousse in a most innovative fashion -— in
edible chocolate flower pots.

year tong. H you offer something all
year ‘round. its no longer special.

“When something arrives (resh
atthe hotel. |work with it. When
its gone, i's gone,

“TE really believe thitt we, as
chefs, have to return to what is in
season, and use it to its best advin-
tage. Right now, with our current
promotion, it’s berries, tender let-
tuce and greens, ripe peaches and
apricots, cherries and gouseberties.

“Come fall it will be pumpkins
and squashes and root vegetables.
Each has its own special unique-
ness, and [ like to feature it.”

So, what did he serve us that
day? Chef LeCrom and his execu-
tive sous chef Paul Marshall really
wowed us. Utter simplicity, beauti-
ful presentation, stunning plates,
and intense flavor were the
keynotes. The menu was light,
healthy, bang-on for the ‘90s way
of eating ~— and food that I will
take friends back for.

We started with a Salad Irma —
a long cut English cucumber carved
into a basket and filled to bursting
with crisp field and greens.

House-smoked duck breast pro-
sciutto accompanied, and the dress-
ing was a wonderful blackberry
vinaigrette drizzled here and there.
We nibbled on crusty fig and anise
bread, a cheesy French bread, and
other varicties.

Next up was Barkley Sound sole
filets, napped with a unctuous fresh
rhubarb and gooseberry preserve
sauce. The plate was a field uf fresh
vegetables — potatoes carved like
mushrooms, falafel-stuffed zucchini
blossoms, grilled peppers, baby car-
rots and beets, turnips with their
greens and clusters of opal basil and
long chives.

Chef's nod to the abundance of
blueberries (and another reason to
try out his new icc cream maker)
was our dessert. Overblown gobicts
filled with just-made fresh blueber-
ry ice cream, with Calvados-soaked
blueberries cascading down the icy
blue slope, topped with a cookie
tortillon,

H you visit Griffins at The Hotel
Vancouver, or dine upstairs at The
Roof this month, you will find such
special menu dishes as fresh
Halibut with gingered gooseberry
compote or roast lamb with mission
fig crust and wine sauce.

Oven dried tomato vinaigrette
will nap Smoked B.C. chicken and
Shiitake mushroom brochettes.

Pan-fried local sole will have an
Okanagan cherry and rose sauce
with crushed black peppercorns.
See what | mean?

The Chefs willingness to share
recipes is appreciated. FE hope you
will try them for your own fantily
and friends at home.

Just swimming |

around...

Back To School

a eetive liting, mokes
a henley dicference!

JOH!
CLEARANCE SALE

of ladies sportswear

Thurs - Sun Aug 25-28
10 am - 2 pm
1450 Rupert St. N.Van
(lane entrance) off Main & Min. Hwy &

CASH ONLY ALL SALES FINAL

Sale

Buy One Sangster Brand Product at
Regular Price and Receive Another
of the Same Product for...

ry

e200
Sale From
Aug 15/94 -

As you read this week's column,
LeCrom is off on his sailboat on
vacution inthe Gulf islands, He
boasts about a “mean paella” (hat
he does, right on an open fire on the
beach. Lasked him what an execu-
tive chef takes on board for several
weeks on the open waters.

For the pantry, he stocks “essen-
tials” Jike olive oil, ready-made
pesto, lots of pasta, glace de viande
(this is where the chef-business
enters in!), crusty breads, good
cheeses, garlic, dry herbs, onions,
and lots of wine.

Dinners are things like the pael-
fa 1 mentioned, gritled duck breasts,
split and grilled fresh lobsters, bar-
becued fresh tiger prawns. grilled
chicken breasts for Mediterranean

advantage of what’s now In season

sandwiches. No hot-dog-potato-
sidad-chip-and-dip affair here.
Happy holiday Chef! Thanks for
the rerainder that our local seasonal
best is what we should be buying,
cooking, and enjoying right now!

BLACKBERRY VINAIGRETTE

LeCrom served this wonderful
fresh berry vinaigrette drizzled over
an assortment of greens.

Run to your nearest blackberry
bush now, while the berries are
abundant and ripe. (Freeze some for
use in the drearier winter months.)
1% c. (375 mL) cold-pressed olive

oil (not extra virgin)

4 ¢. (125 mL) sherry vinegar

See Combination page 49

SANDRA A. McKELLAR

LAWYER
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1050-1188 West Georgia St., Vancouver

| EDGEMONT VILLAGE

iCorner of Edgemont Blvd. & Queens
We teserve the right to limit quantities. Prices in eifect Wad., Aug. 10 to Tues., Aug. 16, 1994

983-9330