
No single food screams “luxury” like caviar. The jewel-like sturgeon roe is prized for its rich, salty flavour and relative scarcity, although most is farmed these days rather than wild-caught. While you can offer guests a “bump” spooned directly onto and slurped from their closed fists, a self-respecting party host should offer proper caviar service. Old-schoolers may opt for Russian-style service with chilled caviar spooned onto blinis (via a mother-of-pearl spoon to avoid metal affecting the taste of the roe) with a dollop of crème fraiche. Modern party planners can sub out the blinis with potato chips (go for a bougie brand), devilled eggs or hollowed-out roasted baby potatoes.
Caviar for DIY service can be purchased at gourmet-minded spots like Say Cheese Fromagerie in Crossroads Market, or specialty seafood shops. For a fuller experience, locally based Purley Caviar (purleycaviarclub.com) imports real-deal Siberian caviar and Beluga caviar from the Caspian Sea. Purley’s caviar boxes include two types of caviar, blinis and potato pancakes, condiments and Champagne, all delivered directly within Calgary. Catering options are also available for larger groups.