Up

Blue Dingy Kitchen Series
Topowe Boutique Events & Catering
905-617-9407
www.Topoweevents.com

I spent yesterday evening at a most fascinating event. Topowe Boutique Events & Catering and Blue Dinghy Kitchen Series put on a spectacular evening of exquisite cuisine. This event was put together by Chef Tobias Pohl-Weary and his staff. A fabulous evening not only filled with tremendous dishes for your palate, but also cocktails and wine that pair well with your delicious findings. The Blue Dingy Kitchen Series is an event that is filled with surprises, you don’t know where the event will be held until Blue Dingy tells you and when you find out your culinary journey begins.

IMG_6867 IMG_6869 IMG_6873 IMG_6874

The Art Gallery of Burlington is where it began. A stunning venue filled with eclectic art and unusual sculptures. The terrace is decorated with lights, live music, and plenty of patrons with intriguing appetites, enjoying the tastings of various Nicklebrook Brook Brewing Co. ales, & Konzelmann Estate Wines. I look around and just observe everything and I’m fascinated by the circle of people who have attended, young, old, and in between and we are all conversing in a mature manner. We speak about food, wines, work, and of course how our evening is about to take another turn as the hor d oeuvres & more cocktails start to make an appearance.

IMG_6862 IMG_6870 IMG_6875 IMG_6876 IMG_6878 IMG_6879 IMG_6883 IMG_6885 IMG_6892 IMG_6893 IMG_6897 IMG_6899 IMG_6900 IMG_6910

Delicate Duck & Pork pate on a sourdough flower cracker with crusted local rhubarb, paired with a Strawberry Kraken Shrub cocktail. The menu becoming clear that we are celebrating Summer Solstice with local findings that Chef Tobias has gone to great lengths to put together for us. Each room in the Burlington Art Galley is placed very strategically, each with a live musician, hor d oeuvre, and cocktail pairing. I even found out that Chef Tobias loves to paint and has some creations of his own for sale, we all need our Zen and for this Chef its painting. Cucumber & Mint Margaritas, with candied salmon, sweet red pepper & maple relish, chickpeas & spinach roti with tamarind chutney served on naan bread paired with a Summer sweet wine, are some of the appetizers served. I look around and see, how all guests are smiling, glasses are filled, and guests are waiting with anticipation for the main event of the meal to be served. I’m enjoying and savouring every moment of this evening, which is what this event is all about. Savouring each moment not only with the scrumptious sociable Summer menu, but meeting new people, & keeping an open mind to trying new and exciting dishes.

IMG_6887 IMG_6890 IMG_6896 IMG_6901 IMG_6905 IMG_6906 IMG_6909

The Dining room doors open and I hear beautiful music, artists creating, & The Blue Dinghy culinary team get ready for our first course, with an open concept getting everyone invigorated with excitement. Chef Tobias served our first course of Local salad with fiddleheads Confit Heirloom tomatoes, asparagus, filberts, & garnished with comfort cream paired with a citrus herb & sage honey splash. This dish was the perfect start of representing local flavors. It was so colorful, crisp, and the textures complimented each other. It was a beautiful start to the next dish to come. It was also served in beautiful hand-made soup bowls, each bowl being different from the other, from a Soup Bowl event held at the Art Gallery, again showing off the creative skills of Chef Tobias.
Wild Atlantic Shrimp with Newfoundland Scallops, lemon balm, avocado puree, garnished with pickled green cherries was our next course. This dish was full of delicate hints of so much character. Tender shrimp, sweet scallops, with red peppers, cucumbers, and the hints of pepper & lemon were exquisite. A beautiful demonstration of how Chef Tobias and the Blue Dinghy team pay attention to each detail.

IMG_6913 IMG_6914 IMG_6916 IMG_6919 IMG_6920 IMG_6925 IMG_6928 IMG_6949 IMG_6950

Our next course was brilliant and served family style, and the reason for this, was to have more of the social interaction and discussion of the dishes being served. I thought it was fantastic, some patrons welcomed it, and others declined it. You do not need to have a refined palate, but you do need to be open to different tastes, textures, and different ingredients, this is what makes the Blue Dinghy Kitchen events stupendous.

I had some of my new-found friends question the cuisine, was it chicken? Is it beef? Its delicious but what is it? Also, every dish the Blue Dinghy Kitchen Series served was paired with a glorious wine of red or white depending on the dish being served. Tantalizing your tastes buds.
Large dishes of Grass Fed Beef Tenderloin served with mushrooms mousseline which is a rich gravy, and garnished with a herb gremolata. Just staring at this dish made me proud. It was a beautiful piece of meat, with each bite more luxurious than the next one.

IMG_6966 IMG_6970

I have only tried foie gras once and fell in love with it, so when the next dish was passed to me I couldn’t wait. It was gently wrapped foie gras and duck roulade. I would have never thought to garnish this dish with fresh sautéed strawberries but Chef Tobias did it. The ingredients were sweet, savory and had an abundance of so many distinctive flavors that went so well together. I will say, I really enjoyed this remarkable dish.

Local rabbit en Croute with dandelion and crispy Pork belly was next dish to grace my plate. Puff pastry enrobed local rabbit seasoned with vibrate herbs. It was a questionable dish with much discussion on what type of game was inside, with the guests around me. I thought it was delightful and so did the Blue Dingy guests. The crispy pork belly, was brilliant. I took the succulent sauce from the roulade and drizzled it on the pork belli, it was superb.
I watched Chef Tobias threw-out service and he was modest, in control and one of the calmest chefs I have seen, which is a great leader. His staff knew what to do, what dishes did not approve were taken out, and if anyone had any questions they were there to answer. I referred to Chef Tobias as a gentle giant, and he knows what he is doing, he also has a phenomenal following of people who love great cuisine.

IMG_6954 IMG_6964 IMG_6973 IMG_6978

With our meal ending, we had The Block Co. another local company, serve us an assorted array of cheeses. A perfect ending to a spectacular meal.

IMG_6959 IMG_6982

Our evening could not close with out enjoying some delectable desserts, and there was no disappointment. We went outdoors, and enjoyed some of Topowe’s Boutique Events & Catering & the Blue Dinghy Kitchen Series finest pies, sweet treats, chocolate cake, sweet strawberry creations, and so much more. Again, pairing these homemade desserts with a spiced liqueur from Tamp Coffee.
So, as you can see I quite enjoyed myself, when you see a company that takes pure enjoyment from what they do, and takes the time to speak to you, and walk you through the vision they have taken such pride in. Its amazing, I walked into this event not knowing anyone, and left by saying good-bye to so many and looking forward to the next Blue Dinghy Kitchen Series event.

IMG_6987 IMG_6988 IMG_6992

A special Thank you to Chef Tobias for inviting me to experience this impressive event. I would like to give a big shout out to everyone I met, I enjoyed everyone’s company and speaking to everyone threw-out the evening on every dish that we shared together.

Sara your attention to detail was excellent, thank you for checking up on me threw-out the evening. Also for making sure everything was running correctly. To the staff of Topowe Boutique Events & Catering/ Blue Dinghy Kitchen Series you were all amazing.

Chef Tobias you now have another follower, I look forward to your next Blue Dingy Kitchen Series pop up dinner event.

Melinda Paletta
Dabutchersdaughter.ca

IMG_6869 IMG_6874 IMG_6952 IMG_6979

 

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melinda Paletta

Leave a Reply