Last year, Jonathan Poon and Jacob Wharton-Shukster, along with Woodlot’s Jeff Connell, ran a series of popular, mainly industry-attended dinners held at The Bellevue in Kensington Market, which afforded the (then) unknown restaurateurs the opportunity to exercise their creativity without having their own place. Now that Poon and Wharton-Shukster have launched Chantecler (to some acclaim), the trio has thrown the series open to the public (the Bellevue, meanwhile, is running its own Monday-night series, focusing on chefs currently without a kitchen). We dropped by to check out the first dinner of 2012 on Monday, a 14-course collaboration between Poon and Jeff Claudio of Yours Truly, complete with beer, wine and cocktail pairings.
“When we started Monday’s Dinner [at The Bellevue], it was a fun thing to showcase some chefs without a kitchen,” Wharton-Shukster tells us. “Now we have the resources to do it at our own facility and can bring other chefs in. Everyone gets to swap new techniques, do things they don’t normally do and have the chance to work with each other.” Upcoming guest chefs, who’ll be working with Poon, include Basilio Pesce (of soon to open Porzia), Dustin Gallagher (consulting at Riverside Public House), Guy Rawlings (consulting at Bellwoods Brewery) and Jason Carter (ex-Centro). The dinners will be held on the last Monday of each month, with Wharton-Shukster managing the front of house and Connell pouring from a unique repertoire full of non-LCBO natural wines from the Loire Valley and Niagara. The whole thing costs $80 a head—not a bad deal, considering that includes beverage pairings and tax (but not gratuities).
Although each bite, snack and course of the summer-focused Claudio-Poon dinner was a collaborative effort between the chefs, both Wharton-Shukster and Shane Harper (pastry chef of One and Fabbrica) noted it was still possible to discern each chef’s individual touches on a given plate. “It’s exciting, fresh and gives everyone energy,” Wharton-Shukster says. “It energizes the restaurant especially, in this market where you can end up doing the same thing every day.”
Course 4, goat, black olive, beans and artichoke: Mediterranean flavours dominate this substantial course with al dente peas, beans and tender artichoke hearts hiding among gnocchi nubs and briny chunks of roasted goat<br />Paired with 2010 Domaine Causse Marines Zacmau, Gaillac, France
Snack, beef tongue in lettuce: a nod to the restaurant’s Lettuce Sundays, this course features braised tongue and picked corn with blue cheese and spicy barbeque sauce
Course 3, zucchini, pig’s head and dried seafood: a soupy warm course featuring a chubby zucchini round that had been stewed in a sweet dried seafood stock, then capped with a slice of braised pig’s head<br />Paired with the 2010 Sebastien Riffault Les Quarterons, Sancerre, Loire, France
Snack, salt-baked carrot and yogurt: a sweet, soft-baked carrot that had been infused with the briny umami essence of its kelp wrapping, which diners were instructed to dip into a tangy pepper-studded yogurt dip
Course 2, calamari, king oyster mushroom and oyster emulsion: squid-ink stained calamari and oyster emulsion, cut by meaty king oyster mushroom, tender zucchini ribbons and tart currants<br />Paired with 2011 Chateau Cambon Rose, Beaujolais, France
Course 1, tomato gelée, Dungeness crab and pickled tomatillo: a refreshing course, with hits of birds-eye chili and jalapeño, that was finished with a table-side pour of crab consommé and a little sublimation visual effect <br />Paired with the N.V. Agnès et René Mosse Moussamoussettes, Anjou, Loire, France
Amuse 1, watermelon tartare: a savoury and mustard-kicked vegetarian-friendly mix of slightly dehydrated watermelon, pickles and egg yolk, on an airy pappadum chip
The flight of amuses was paired with Great Lakes Brewery’s No Chance with Miranda, a one-off cask-conditioned ale that’s part of their <a href="http://www.greatlakesbeer.com/index.php/project-x/">Project X</a>