On Saturday, March 7, Kelowna’s best and brightest culinary talents were out in full force at Okanagan College for Devour. This is a spirited event where chefs, brewmasters, mixologists, winemakers and distillers get together for an evening of pure indulgence. The second annual Devour event in Kelowna was a huge success, with nearly 30 restaurants and caterers showing off their culinary skills. I admit I did not quite taste every dish, however, I was extremely impressed at the overall caliber of food that was on offer! I thought that I would reminisce on some of my favourite dishes of the evening.
Mission Hill Winery’s Executive Chef Chris Stewart and his perfectly cooked oak butter poached prawns with smoked onion, tarragon and crisp bread. It’s no easy feat to perfectly cook 500 prawns for service but Chef Stewart was certainly up to the task…indecently this dish took home the judge’s award for best bite. The prawn was perfectly matched with the rich 2012 Mission Hill Terroir Collection Lone Pine Vineyard Chardonnay.
Chef Mark Filatow from Waterfront Wines & Details Catering and Curtis Krouzel of 50th Parallel Estate Winery joined forces for an incredible pairing. Mark is one of the few chefs in the country that is also a sommelier and is incredibly skilled when it comes to pairing food and wine. Chef Mark’s scallop and prawn sausage with miso sauce gribiche, pickled veg and crisp rice was fantastic on its own, but even better washed down with the bright, fresh and slightly tropical notes of the 2014 50th Parallel Pinot Gris.
The Salted Brick’s Chef Jody House was serving up some delicious house made charcuterie. Their bacon wrapped pork, chicken liver and fig terrine served atop a Dijon cracker was a delicious bite especially washed down with a crisp pilsner beer from Kelowna’s Tree Brewery.
Chef Martin Laprise of The Chef Instead Catering brought an impressive smoker trailer to the event, which was conveniently parked at the front door for guests to see. His slow smoked side ribs were absolutely delicious. Perfectly cooked and served atop some savory baked beans. They were paired with one of my personal favorite craft brewers in BC. Crannoag Ales were serving up some of their amazing organic beers. Their Gael’s Blood Potato Ale is super delicious, and it worked well with the bold flavoured, smoky, savory ribs.
I am always impressed with the food at Quail’s Gate Winery’s Old Vines Restaurant and their offering for the event did not disappoint. Chef Nav Dhillon prepared an amazing play on bacon using Peace Country lamb belly. The lamb was served with Green Croft Farm carrot and pine mushroom puree, daikon and Fester’s mustard greens and paired with 2011 Quail’s Gate Old Vines Foch. I went back for seconds.
There were more than just savory dishes at the event…I loved the offering from owner/baker Monika Walker from Okanagan Grocery. Her strawberry rhubarb madeleines were absolutely delicious!
All in all, it was a fantastic night filled with wonderful people, outstanding food and delicious drinks. It is great to see an event that was so well attended, not just by the guests (the place was packed), but the representation of essentially all of the best restaurants and their chefs from Penticton to Vernon. I was fortunate to be able to attend. See you there next year!
