7 courses in heaven

Friday night after my move, my mom and I had plans to attend the Best of the Best Farm Start fundraiser dinner at Cambridge Mill. We thought it would just be a straightforward dinner, but little did we know that we had a 7 course meal - no wait, feast - ahead of us!

The view from one of the rooms - so gorgeous!

The dinner was put on by five local restaurants: Ancaster Mill, Cambridge Mill, Earth to Table Bread Bar, Spencers at the Waterfront, and Whistle Bear. What ties these restaurants together is their use of local ingredients and emphasis on supporting local farmers. In fact, the Landmark Group, which owns most of those restaurants, actually owns a farm that produces food for them. The farm is part of the Farm Start initiative, which helps to support and encourage a new generation of farmers.

This dinner was a fundraiser for Farm Start, which I was happy to support - I'm a big advocate for local eating because of all the benefits for the local economy, food security, the environment and personal health!

Now on to the food... Before dinner there were h'ors d'oeuvres at stations throughout the building. Whistle Bear's appetizer was a cornbread toast topped with bacon jam - this was easily my favourite appetizer of the night. I even asked the chef if he would start jarring and selling that jam. I hope he does!

My other favourite was the grilled bacon wrapped prunes with a red wine reduction from Earth to Table Bread Bar. 

I also enjoyed the other appetizers I tried: pork belly ssams from Ancaster Mill and puff pastry with beef tongue and a pea and bone marrow puree from Cambridge Mill.

At 7:30 we all sat down to dinner, which was 7 courses each prepared by one of the participating restaurants. Each course also came with a wine pairing, but since I'm not a wine connaisseur, I didn't pay too much attention to them. I just sipped and enjoyed them - well, some of them.

Anyways, we started with an amuse bouche, which was a sunflower seed pate stuffed wonton ravioli with a smear of soft cheese and julienne apples. This tasted really fresh and light, and I loved the sunflower seed flavour.

The next course was made by Whistle Bear and it was a salad with heirloom beets, Monforte piacere cheese, lardo (cured pork fat), and a homemade cumin cracker. This was one of my favourite courses - the cheese was amazing!

Ancaster Mill prepared the fish course, which was wild chinook salmon, cold smoked gravalax, crispy skin, and roe in a miso broth. I expected to love this one, but it was just okay. The flavours were good, just not very exciting.

I really loved the next dish by Spencers on the Waterfront. It was Chassagne Farms quail with foie gras, apple, egg, and radish. The crispy quail was delicious!

The next course by Cambridge Mill was my least favourite of the night. It was Joe Abate rabbit ballotine with pickled tongue and rabbit offal. I'm just not a fan of rabbit's slimy texture!

The next course by Earth to Table Bread Bar was one of my favourites: suckling pig terrine with potato puree, smoked shallots, and ramps. The terrine had a delicious bread crumb coating, so it tasted almost like schnitzel. And paired with the potatoes, it was such a comforting combination!

After all these courses, you would think dessert would be next... but no, we were served a pre-dessert first!!! It was house made ricotta with shaved dark chocolate and crispy sweet crumbled wafer. We all agreed it would have tasted even better with some candied orange peel or orange zest, but it was still really delicious.

Unfortunately mom and I had to duck out after this course because we had to pick up my dad at the airport at midnight. I regret that I didn't get to try the dessert, but don't know if I would have even had room for it - I was stuffed by this point!

I woke up the next day feeling like I had a food hangover. I was fatigued and foggy headed and absolutely stuffed! I was barely even hungry all day, which is so unlike me. It was so worth it though - I'm really glad I got to experience this evening of amazing cooking, fresh ingredients, and local food! A big thank you to the Landmark Group and all the participating restaurants.

What is the largest number of courses you've ever had in one sitting?

What dish from my evening would be your favourite?