LA SOIRÉE GASTRONOMIQUE 2006

Aerial artists entertained

Celebrities competed for the Prix D'Or

Chefs created menus reflecting the evening's theme

Culinary Team Alberta’s La Soirée Gastronomique was magnifique! A visually stunning setting transported close to 400 guests to the Left Bank of Paris. Throughout the evening, they savoured fine food, fine wine and special entertainment that included dancers, acrobats, musicians and the high drama of a Prix D’Or Celebrity Cooking Competition.

“The organizing committee, co-chaired by Eva Mah Borsato and Barbara Bergstrom, proposed a fresh new concept for this year’s fundraising dinner and culinary-themed auction,” says Culinary Team Alberta Business Manager and Shaw Conference Centre Executive Chef Simon Smotkowicz, “And it came together in an impressive and successful evening. The committee volunteers did a great job. And so did all the chefs.”

Food and wine were the main topic of conversation — and rightly so at an event that highlighted the culinary talents of some of Alberta’s best chefs. Twenty-nine chefs, including those just appointed to the Culinary Team Alberta 2006 team, were behind the success of the evening’s dinner.

“The gourmet menu has been the signature feature of our annual event,” says Team Manager and Program Head of NAIT’s School of Hospitality Vinod Varshney. “This year, the Team created two different five-course dinners, each paired with different wines. Besides preparing two menus, we also doubled the number of guests this year. But everyone, including the culinary arts students from NAIT and SAIT who came to help, rose to the challenge.”

La Soirée Gastronomique was an enchanted evening in Paris, where joie de vivre filled the air and bon appetit was a promise fulfilled.

Continuing a popular tradition at Culinary Team Alberta dinner galas, guests watched the chefs in action. Enthusiastic applause acknowledged the fabulous gourmet menus and culinary mastery of the chefs as they were introduced after dinner.

Menus and more photos

Five-Course Gourmet Menus Were a Highlight

Selection 1 Menu	Selection 2 Menu
Lobster Foie Gras Tart with a Fig and Port Wine Quince Ice Cream Beignet and Pomegranate Jus 2000 Peter Lehman Barossa Reserve Riesling, Australia	Pan-Seared Scallop, Foie Gras Sausage, Double-Smoked Bacon Blue Cheese Cranberry French Toast and Port Jus 2004 Trevor Jones Riesling, Eden Valley, Australia
Aromatic Poached Sable Fish and Prawn Dungeness Crab, Mussel Ragout and Vanilla Coconut Foam 2004 Sandhill Pinot Blanc, Burrowing Owl Vineyard, Canada	Hamachi Crusted with a Soy-Apple Infused Ahi Tartar Tempura Cake, King Oyster-Wild Mushroom Ginger Consommé 2002 Cold Stream Pinot Noir, Australia
Brute Spumante-Tangerine Sorbet with Cocoa Granité	Caramelized Apple-Red Pepper Granité with Lime Chive Sorbet
Braised Buffalo Short Rib and Tea-Smoked Scallop Root Vegetable Pavé, Baby Spinach, Chanterelles Salsify Purée, Glazed Leeks and Carrots with a Whiskey Jus 2001 Summerhill Platinum Cabernet-Merlot-Syrah, Canada	Braised Alberta Beef Short Rib and Butter Poached Lobster Baby Spinach, Chanterelles, Carrot Purée, Confit Potato and a Liquid Center Wild Mushroom Ravioli 2001 Joseph Drouhin 40th Aniversary Edition Cote de Beaune, France
Green Apple Marsala Custard and Ginger Lemon Cake Dome Cherry Chocolate Churro Mixed Berry Cassis Compote and Mint Jelly 2004 Bonterra Lake County Muscat, California	Mango, Banana, and Lychee-Wrapped Charlotte Honey Almond Ice Cream and Coconut Tuile Sautéed Plum and Basil Mato with Red Currant Sauce 2003 Robert Mondavi Napa Moscato d'Oro, California

More photos...

La Soirée Gastronomique was the first dinner gala event in the new Shaw Conference Centre Hall D, transformed for the evening into the Left Bank of Paris.

Before dinner, guests visited in the midst of sidewalk cafés, magasins and the marché.	The evening's highlight was a five-course gourmet menu by Culinary Team Alberta chefs, served with specially selected wines.
A few of the volunteers who helped make La Soirée Gastronomique such a huge success for the guests and Culinary Team Alberta. Merci beaucoup!	A brigade of professional chefs and culinary arts students from NAIT and SAIT ensured a dining experience par excellence.

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