The 13th Annual Fetzer Great Beginnings Wine & Appetizer Challenge took place at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel last Wednesday with 10 entries being judged by a panel of food and wine writers, myself included.
The restaurants competing for bragging rights and a $1000 grand prize this year were: Bearfoot Bistro, Elixr, Goldfish Pacific Kitchen, Hotel Grand Pacific, Joe Fortes, Pourhouse, Prestons, The Teahouse, Terminal City Club, and Tigh Na Mara.
The wine pairing selection was the Fetzer Gewürztraminer, a soft, sweet and fresh white wine with lots of crisp apple and stone fruit characteristics.
Below are some of my tasting notes from the judges table.
While I did enjoy many of creative elements and contrasting flavours of Elixr’s dish, the aji pepper was just too much heat on the palate and stuck around far too long, even after a suck on the melting mint ice and a sip of wine my mouth was still smoldering.
Elixir ~ Qualicum Bay Scallop “Ceviche” Aji-Amarillo Dressing, Mint Julep Ice
The Hotel Grand Pacific’s rabbit sausage and sweet onion tart was beautifully presented and showed great promise, but fell short when it crumbled onto the plate upon first cut, making it rather difficult to eat.
Hotel Grand Pacific ~ Rabbit Sausage with Sweet Onion Tart
Next was the Crab Louie. Chef Irving’s take on the classic and hearty west coast salad got top marks for creativity and execution and had me playfully exploring my plate. What was missing for me was some contrasting texture to liven it up some of the cooler elements.
Pourhouse ~ Crab Louie
The pork belly was a welcome departure from the seafood, but was unfortunately a bit dry and the skin very crispy, making for some very loud chewing.
Prestons ~ Confit of Sunhaven Farms Pork Belly, Pickled Rhubarb, Shaved Watermelon Radish Orange Foam
The Teahouse went classic surf and turf. However, the dish was strangely plated in a rather small bowl, making it a bit crowded and hard to eat. Nonetheless, it was delicious, but lost marks on presentation.
Teahouse Restaurant ~ Qualicum Bay scallop and crispy pork belly, smoke pea puree, micro shoots
The slow braised pork belly was unbelievably tender, moist and very tasty, unfortunately it overpowered the delicate crab and the wine. Regardless, I quite happily ate the whole thing.
Terminal City Club ~ Slow Braised Pork Belly, Sunchoke Puree, Espelette oil
One of the most simple and prettiest of the dishes, but also the most confounding. I love salmon and I love curry, but they just don’t belong in my mouth together. Ever.
Tigh Na Mara ~ Ginger and chile cured Salmon with Curry Chick Pea Cake
Third place…
Absolutely loved this dish. Bacon wrapped king crab? You’ve got to be freakin’ kidding me. Great textures, big bold flavours, lots of colour. Wine? What wine? I could only taste sweet, smokey, delicious bacon.
Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House ~ King Crab Tempura
Second place…
This was the first dish we tasted and I was at first confused by the presentation but eventually drawn in to all the subtle little things going on like some weird medical examiner’s art show. The flavours were a brilliant balance of savoury and sweet, the many textures happily playing together, which also paired perfectly with the fruit notes of the wine.
Bearfoot Bistro ~ Hamachi Tartar & Tuna “Tim Bits”
And the winner…
One of the most perfectly executed pieces of fish I have ever had the pleasure of eating. An example of confident restraint. This dish was graceful and nuanced in all the right ways. Five minutes was not enough time to enjoy this plate of awesome. Well done!
Goldfish Pacific Kitchen ~ Pan Seared Wild Salmon, Tea Smoked Japanese Scallop sashimi, Smoked Salmon custard with hints of ginger marinated Asian pear Coconut Reduction
~ PK
