Special culinary experiences are offered during Toronto’s Winterlicious
series; exclusive meals and events that are generally not available and could
only occur once. In 2016, they presented the Four Hands Dinner: hands belonging
to Chefs Vikram Vij (Vancouver restauranteur and a Dragon from Dragon’s Den)
and Miheer Shete (Chef de Cuisine at O&B and Chopped Canada winner)
As guests were waiting to enter into the Arcadian Studio, a welcome
cocktail of rum, citrus juices, carbonated water and a medley of spices
circulated to provide a sense of what’s to come: a night of Indian cuisine with
a Canadian twist. At the door to welcome everyone into the event with a hand
shake were the Chefs themselves.
Admittedly, the event had a rocky start as the passed
canapés were swarmed by guests – a tray of twenty no match for a crowd of over
a hundred. The predator in me came out as I stalked the servers, if you were
even a minute late all hints of food would vanish. And there were plenty
nibbles to try: the salmon roe on blinis were dainty but had no Indian
characteristics while the lamb kofta hot and savoury yet could use more meat.
The samosa was FANTASTIC, the crust not overly thick and
encapsulating tons of juicy seasoned minced meat. These went well with the
crispy chickpea and potato fries with a creamy curry aioli on top.
Gradually the crowds started to calm as additional servers
entered the room from various entrance to give the timid a chance at the passed
bites. Personally, I thought it’d work better if O&B set up a couple of
stations (predominantly for the cocktails and fries) while also circulating
canapés to help disperse guests. I was impressed by Chef Vij’s dedication to
hospitality: throughout the initial portion he mingled around the room, making
sure people had a chance to get a drink and bite.
Starting the cooking demonstration earlier could have helped
as well. Perhaps even continuing the canapés so guests would have something to
nibble on while the intoxicating aroma of cooking spices wafted from the
chicken curry Chef Vij was whipping up.
The recipe paid homage to his mother, who made the curry
daily and transported it by bus from Richmond to Vancouver when Vikram first
started his restaurant. For entrepreneurs in the crowd, what a delight it’d be
to hear about the tenacity and dedication it takes to grow a business from a
single restaurant to the current empire.
We also learned some tips about cooking. For example,
reminding us that Indian cooking isn’t necessarily about using the “best”
ingredients. Rather, it’s about getting the timing and succession of adding
ingredients right.
Vikram simplifies his approach to food as having love,
passion and care. Moreover, he recounts using his “village mentality” in
Vancouver, using local ingredients within traditional recipes to showcase what
our country has to offer. This was evident in the four course dinner that was
served afterwards – the fish from the East’s Fogo Island, wines originating
from Niagara & Okanagan Valley and even the rum in the dessert sourced from
Newfoundland.
Before we took our seats at the large brightly decorated
harvest tables, Chef Shete joked about the menu to come, including the challenge
of taking things that are “brown, browner and brownish” to make a dinner. In
the end, the meal would combine French presentation with Indian Canadian
cuisine.
The idli terrine
certainly was not shades of brown, the layers of the savoury cake coloured a
vibrant green and yellow. On the bottom of the plate, a thick layer of
congealed gunpowder butter, which was packed with salty and spicy tastes. After
all the fried canapés, the idli was
too heavy and rich of a starter; a larger portion of the Moong sprouts salad and less of the cake and butter would have been
better. It’s a rather interesting salad as the lentils aren’t cooked, rather
soaked in water so that it softens and begins sprouting.
Yet, I’m glad Chefs Vij and Sheete didn’t try to
“westernize” the courses. The starter was something I’ve never had before and
it’s great to experience new things. They certainly didn’t shy away from using
spices, although I felt the heat level was bearable. As Chef Vij puts it: the
flavour should be full and rich, but not too spicy… you should experience the
heat not on the tongue but the brow.
The following Ajwaini Fogo Island cod married India and
Canada the best. The Newfoundland fish wonderfully cooked with a crispy skin
and incorporated a light dusting of spices. The nutty mix of Prairie grains was
studded with crispy curry leaves and diners could customize the heat level
depending on the amount of Indian green goddess dressing added to it.
Despite Chef Vij not wanting a restaurant whose menu serves
typical butter chicken and tikka marsala,
the dinner’s main consisted of a smoked butter chicken pot pie. Instead of a
flaky crust, Chef Sheete used a besan bannock roti as the base so that the
pastry was chewy and lighter, ideal for ripping into pieces and dipping into
the fragrant sauce. The chicken was left in a large piece staying succulent,
while the sauce was luxurious but not too creamy.
The side of rutabaga raita
(a crispy chip) was addictive, something I continued to snack on despite being
stuffed. Cubes of the nasty pickles kept enticing me also, a thrilling kick of
spice and acid that after a heavy meal I was craving.
Throughout dinner, the Chefs kept us entertained with
stories, explanations of the dishes and answering questions. Moreover, I was
surprised that Chef Vij stayed the entire evening, circulating amongst the
tables after every course to see how we enjoyed each one. He also graciously
signed the take home recipe and posed for pictures with dinner guests.
A gulab jumun
donut provided an ending so sweet that Buddy from Elf would be proud. Normally,
these heated milk solids are served Timbit sized soaked in a sugar syrup. At
the Four Hands Dinner, an entire donut was presented drench in maple rum. At
least the chefs had good sense to pair it with a neutral lemon sour cream ice
cream to tone done the sweetness.
I couldn’t help but be proud of how far Canada’s culinary
scene has come in terms of diversity. Chef Vij recounts how in 1994 he won an
award for best Asian restaurant. Although he humbly accepted it, he later
returned it and explained to the editors that with so many countries
amalgamating Asia, it’s really hard to say he’s most deserving for the world’s
largest continent. It was through his urging, that media later expanded their
awards for include Chinese, Indian, etc. cuisines.
Nonetheless, we still have steps to go to give all the
culture’s cuisines equal footing. Chef Vij unapologetically admits that when he
started his first restaurant he wanted to provide diners with an authentic
experience (so no choosing your own spiciness levels) and he would not do so
cheaply. After all, if you’re proud of your creations and want to give diners
something of quality, why would you want to be cheap?
Yet, I still hear reviews proclaiming, for dim sum, pho,
Indian food, etc. the price is expensive. Something that’s generally not a
phrase that’s uttered for describing French or Japanese cuisine. So, we should
heed Chef Vij’s advice, that if Canada is to become a culinary destination we
need to be proud of our backyard and not be opposed to paying more for quality.
When asked why he hasn’t opened a restaurant in
Toronto, Vikram explains that keeping restaurants successful is difficult. If
something has his name on it, he wants to ensure it lives up to the name and
hence he’d spread himself thin trying to manage restaurants over such far distances.
Alas, to really taste his creations, I’ll have to make the journey to British
Columbia. Until then, thank you Winterlicious for giving Torontonians a taste
of this charismatic chef’s creations and philosophy.
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