Fall Flavours Shine at The Courtney Room
New tasting menu honours Vancouver Island’s farmers and foragers
Inspired by Vancouver Island’s fall bounty, fresh from nearby farms or delivered daily by a local forager, The Courtney Room’s Fall Tasting Menu is an ode to Vancouver Island in its finest season.
“The menu is designed to showcase the passion and dedication of the incredible farmers and suppliers that we work with, here on Vancouver Island and across British Columbia,” says Brian Tesolin, executive chef at The Courtney Room. “From locally-grown corn to winter mushrooms and hazelnuts, our team is committed to working with suppliers not only to ensure finest and freshest ingredients but also so we can create delicious pickles, dashis and chutneys with ingredients that would typically go to waste.”
Driven by the best seasonal produce, delivered to The Courtney Room’s kitchen by the teams at Square Root Organics, Finest at Sea, Littlest Acres Farm, Haltwhistle Cheese and wild food forager Lance Staples, the fall tasting menu will evolve as new ingredients come into season and fall progresses into winter.
The six-course menu ($110 per guest), served either in the elegant upstairs dining room or in the comfortable surrounds of the bistro, features Corn Custard with oat, espelette, trout roe, rice puff and a Douglas Fir fermented juniper dashi; House Dry-Aged Kampachi Crudo with Charente melon basil granita, tomatillo vinaigrette, shiso, leek ash and olive oil; Pacific Line-Caught Sablefish with Kuri Squash Caramelle Pasta, dusted with truffle; Fraser Valley Duck Breast with winter mushrooms and spruce; and Braised Peace River Lamb Neck Press with roasted carrot, shore pine chutney, cashew and black garlic. To finish, a nostalgic Toast & Marmalade dessert with sourdough ice cream and hazelnut.
Wine pairings by The Courtney Room’s Wine Director, Colin Davidson, complete the dining experience with notable inclusions from both British Columbia and international wine regions, including Fox & Archer 2021 Amrita Semillon from the Okanagan Valley’s Naramata Bench; Paxton 2019 Graciano from McLaren Vale in South Australia; and Undurraga Terroir Hunter 2019 Carignan from the Maule Valley in Chile.
Reservations are highly encouraged. To view menus and make a reservation, visit www.thecourtneyroom.com.
About The Courtney Room
Old world meets new at The Courtney Room in Victoria, B.C., voted #10 in the 2018 Canada’s Best New Restaurant Awards, included in Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants 2019 and winner of the Best West Coast Contemporary category in YAM Magazine’s 2022 Restaurant Awards. An extension of The Magnolia Hotel & Spa’s award-winning boutique hotel experience, The Courtney Room is a modern dining space where locals and visitors alike can enjoy genuine hospitality and a menu that honours both land and sea, showcasing Pacific Northwest ingredients with classic cooking techniques. Gather at the bar for fresh-shucked oysters, unwind with friends over sharing plates in the lower brasserie, or savour an elevated experience in the upstairs dining room with impeccably prepared local seafood, steak and fine wine.
Media release and images provided by Marisa Cuglietta, Hawksworth Communications. Image credit: Dasha Armstrong