On Friday night I had a great time and was greatly honoured to once again serve as one of judges at the 17th Annual Lawson Lundell Celebrity Hors D'Ouevres presented by Alberta Theatre Projects.
Myself and fellow judges Julie Van Rosendaal and Shelley Boettcher had the enviable task of arriving before the local celebrities — which included local TV personalities like Jill Belland and Ian White, local food write extraordinaire John Gilchrist and a Don Cherry impersonator — and the crowds to sample each of the appetizers created by the 11 Calgary restaurants taking part. Here are the winners we came up with after much discusssion and deliberation.
Prettiest Plate -Best Overall Presentation
Winner: Open Range
This Cuisine Concepts restaurant had three outstanding bite-sized treats
- A truffled open-faced duck ravioli
- A tamale filled with braised beef, aged cheddar and salsa verde which earned points for the fact it was wrapped in a banana leaf, making it great for holding in the hustle and bustle of this event.
- Handmade coffee and Bailey's ice cream served on a double chocolate chip cookie.
Sumptuous Spread - Best Overall Food
Winner: The Main Dish
Knowing that they would be helped out by Don Cherry impersonator Clark Robertson The Main Dish team followed the theme and created "Cherry Three Ways"
- A cherry braised prok belly panini with cherry bacon and aged cheddar
- A house made sour cherry float, with handmade cherry ice cream
Beautiful Bite- Best Individual Hors d'Ouevre
Winner: Traders Grill in the downtown Marriott
Three young staff members of the kitchen and baking staff at the Marriott took this award with their Pink Lemonade Cocktail topped with a Swiss Marscapone Roll-Up. They ingeniously rolled each of the bright pink roll-ups in Pop Rocks which worked great with the sweetness of the cake and the slight sourness of the lemonade cocktail. Certainly one of the most original flavours I tasted all night.
And the judges also took it upon themselves to award an Honourable Mention in this category for Concorde Restolounge, a newly opened eatery in the city's southwest which created an impressive Braised Lamb Tart with wildgame sauce.
I was impressed by the quality of the food across the board and the evening once again confirmed my thought that there has never been a better time to be a diner in Calgary.
I think every reataurant who took part should be recognized, not just for supporting this great fundraiser but also for the great food they prepared.
Blink
The Belvedere
The Delta Bow Valley
The Metropolitan Grill
Nectar Desserts
Rouge
Seven Restolounge
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