Having started this blog only less than a year ago, I would have never dreamed to have been invited to experience so many great foodie opportunities and events within that time. I’ve had the honour to have had full meals prepared by Top Chefs, had exclusive food perks before the general public, been given complimentary tickets to various events throughout the city, and even got some free clothing, but this one that I am about to blog about may just be the highlight of them all.
With being such a public figure among the culinary world in Canada and abroad, even the non foodies have probably heard the name Chef Mark McEwan before. For us foodies though, we know Chef Mark McEwan as a head judge on the hit TV show Top Chef Canada, the host of The Heat, authour to many top selling cookbooks, and of course known for his culinary empire across Toronto from his many fine dining restaurants including North 44, Bymark, Fabbrica, and One.
The back drop to the McEwan All Access 4.0 event took place at Mark McEwan’s One Restaurant located at the trendy, upscale Yorkville neighbourhood in Toronto. It’s an exclusive invite only event where 20 lucky guests this year had the opportunity to savour the gourmet food and beverages offered at One Restaurant, while given the opportunity to mingle and network among many other people in the food industry. Television personality Michelle Jobin from Global News hosted this event and of course the main star of the night, Chef Mark McEwan was present.
It was a night full of great conversation with fellow foodies and of course Mark McEwan himself as we all had the opportunity to pick that brain of his and go behind the scenes to find out more about his celebrated culinary enterprise. Throughout this first year of my blogging adventure, I also follow many other foodies on social media and at this event many of those people were invited as well. It was great to finally put a face to these Instagram and Twitter profiles as it humanizes this whole experience. It showed me that the food scene here in Toronto really has a tight knit food-loving community full of passionate people all striving to showcase its food and its restaurants in arguably one of the best foodie cities in the world.
Now lets get to the good stuff. Feast your eyes below on what was served that night.
Steak Tartare - Quail Egg, Arugula and Pickled Shallot, Black Truffle, and Buttered Crostini
Blue Crab and Avocado Spoons - Red Onion Marmalade, Sesame Seeds, Celery
Truffled Arancini - Buffalo Mozzarella, Romesco, Basil, 15 yr. Balsamic
Pork Belly Steamed Buns - Pickled Carrot Slaw, Yuzu Aioli, Coriander
Mushroom Risotto Spoons - Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, Truffle Shavings, Truffle Oil
Assorted Mini Donuts - Chocolate, Apple Cinnamon, Powdered Sugar
Not pictured here that were also on the menu were the Lobster Spoons, Crispy Shrimp Tacos, Deviled Quail Eggs, Mini Cheese Cakes
It was an unforgettable night full of amazing food and cocktails courtesy of One Restaurant and wine from Stoneleigh Marlborough. Not only did the 20 of us get to be part of this amazing experience, we also walked away with a gift bag worth over $60 including a personalized copy of Chef Mark McEwan’s cookbook, Great Food at Home. Mark was also kind of enough to sit down to get to know us one by one and sign our copy of his cookbook. My last year’s new year resolution was to start this blog. With 2014 almost over and 2015 just around the corner, I think I’ll make my next year’s resolution to become a better home cook and what better way to guide me with that than through the words of Chef Mark McEwan.
Photo credit by Jeffrey Chan courtesy of The McEwan Group
