Chef Jamie Kennedy has launched a summer-long dinner series at his personal Prince Edward County farm. “The event is designed to transport people away, and to showcase the beauty and bounty of Prince Edward County,” Kennedy says. When guests arrive, they get to wander the picturesque property’s organic gardens and pinot noir vineyard (with canapés and wine, of course) before having dinner in a 100-year-old barn and post-prandial drinks around a bonfire. Kennedy is working with Ontario farms and wineries for the weekly changing menus—which cost $225 per person and run from 5 to 9 p.m.—and he’s calling on his peers for help every now and then (Joshna Maharaj and Le Sélect’s Albert Ponzo are lending a hand on July 23). The series runs every weekend until October 8, when it will end with a Thanksgiving-themed celebration. Here’s a look at last Saturday’s dinner.
Kennedy’s farm is in Hillier, Prince Edward County.
Here are the vineyards.
Here’s Kennedy (left) with Charles Baker of Stratus Vineyards (who used to work for Kennedy as a server at The Palmerston).
The first wine of the evening was a rosé from Stratus Vineyards.
And you can’t have wine without canapés, right? These teeny toasts are topped with smoked lake trout, radish and onion.
And sweet-pea arancini.
Also: puffed pastry stuffed with mushrooms.
A few pre-dinner fries (especially Kennedy’s signature frites) don’t hurt either.
Next stop: dinner.
Everyone sits at communal tables in Kennedy’s 100-year-old barn.
This barn’s fancier than most kitchens. Kennedy’s been working on it for seven years.
Kennedy introduces each course. (Only a chef could get away with drinking wine and brandishing a knife at the same time without looking menacing.)
Bread was supplied by local bakery Humble Bread.
A bit of Charles Baker riesling accompanied the first course.
Here’s a closer look at the bottle.
First course: tempura-fried zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta and peas, served with organic vegetables on beet jelly.
Second course: Quebec foie gras with cider poached apples and black currant purée.
The barn is equipped with a full kitchen, too. Here’s Kennedy preparing the third course.
And here he is presenting the third course (with a much smaller knife this time).
Third course: duck confit leg and roasted breast on sour cherry compote with duck fat–roasted potatoes and leeks.
Make way for the after-dinner cheese.
The board featured cheese from all over Ontario, and various accompaniments.
Meanwhile, Kennedy and his crew were hard at work preparing the dessert: chocolate sable cookie sandwiches with vanilla and raspberry mousse, served with reduced raspberry juice and chocolate sauce.
