2012 Cowichan Chefs Table MS Dinner

Marisa Goodwin will make her 1st appearance at the 2012 Cowichan Chefs Table annual MS Dinner Fundraiser for Sunday March 11th starting at 1 p.m. at Providence Farm. Marisa will be creating and presenting, the sweet tooth’s favourite course, “Chocolate Citrus Triplicate”. “I am thrilled to have been invited to join Cowichan’s most talented Chefs in support of such a worthy cause, the MS Society of Canada,” stated Marisa Goodwin. Organic Fair Farm & Garden. “Chocolate Citrus Triplicate” will be a Flourless Chocolate Orange Beet Cake with a goat milk caramel, and an orange curd ice cream with a dark chocolate shard studded with candied orange peel and caramelized almonds. The best of both worlds for the chocolate lovers and the citrus fans.

Joining Marisa for the 3rd liquid element is good friend and foodie Janice Mansfield, Personal Chef and creator of House Made cocktail bitters. People in the know will be expecting a complex and wonderful cocktail pairing with the dessert.
Under the direction of Queen Fatima Da Silva of Bistro 161 are a sensational list of local chefs: Matt Horn, Cowichan Pasta; Brad Boisvert, Amusé Bistro; Bill Jones, Deerholme Farm; Dan Hudson, Hilary’s Cheese; Bruce Woods, Bruce’s Kitchen; Steve Elskens, Farm Gate Foods & Catering; Allan Aikman, VIU Culinary Program; and, Marisa Goodwin, Organic Fair Farm & Garden.

Each sumptuous dish at the MS Dinner is matched with a different local Cowichan wine, including Averill Creek, Garry Oaks Winery, Rocky Creek, Silverside Farm & Winery, Unsworth Vineyards, and Venturi-Schulze Tickets are $125, with a partial tax receipt being offered.

Organize your friends & buy your tickets now as this event is sure to sell out fast. Only 80 tickets are available, 10 tables of 8. Please contact Anne Muir
at 250-748-7010 or anne.muir@mssociety.ca for more information or to buy your ticket.

Proceeds of the event support the MS Society of Canada, Duncan office. “Growing food, cooking food and sharing food defines my daily life. I am a food professional and make my living with my organic fair trade food company. Food consumes me just as much as I consume it,’ muses Marisa Goodwin. “Upon moving to our farm in the Cowichan Valley I have found my food Mecca. Anything I don’t make is here for me. Welcome to my slice of heaven.”
Organic Fair Farm & Garden is a beautiful organic farm and food company that make the most delicious organic chocolate and ice cream from scratch. Organic Fair is a small farm based family business. Owners Kent and Marisa Goodwin have created every single one of the products they sell. Kent and Marisa live on the farm with their 2 beautiful little girls along with their many different farm animals.

Chef’s Table For MS  2012 Menu

Assorted Canapés

– Rocky Creek Sparkling wine-

Allan Aikman & VIU Students

Pan Seared Qualicum Beach Scallops with Tea

Farm infused Pasta and Truffled Michell Farms

Parsnip Puree

– Unsworth Winery Pinot Gris –

Brad  Boisvert & Matt Horn

Poached Wild Salmon and Spinach Roulade

with Fennel Sabayon and Crispy Leeks

– Venturi Schulze Felino –

Steve Elskens

Gastrique, Hazelnut Brioche

– Garry Oaks Pinot Noir –

Bruce Wood

Braised Duck with Spices, Lentils, Parsnips and

a Leek Semolina Cake

– Averill Creek Pinot Noir –

Bill Jones

Pecan Crusted Hilary’s Fromage, Apple and

Vanilla Puree, Pickled Beet

– Silverside Tayberry Wine –

Dan Hudson

Flourless chocolate orange beet cake with a goat

milk caramel, orange curd ice cream and  a

chocolate shard

-Janice Mansfield Chocolate² Old Fashioned –

Marisa Goodwin

Meet the Chefs…

Allan Aikman,  VIU Culinary Program (http://www.viu.ca/culinary/

Allan trained and apprenticed in Vancouver, BC. He is currently Chef de Cuisine / Instructor for Vancouver Island University Professional Cooks Program, Duncan Campus at Frances Kelsey Secondary Mill Bay. The Culinary class has been located at Frances Kelsey Secondary, Mill Bay in Partnership with School District #79 since 1997. Over the years the students of the Culinary program have assisted at a number of prestigious events. Most recently, the Culinary Class of 2009 -2010 assisted the Executive Chef of the Barefoot Bistro, Melissa Craig (a program alumni), during the Vancouver/ Whistler 2010 Winter Olym pics. Students participating at today’s event include: Beth Dahl, Peter Davies, Sheldon Kakaygeesick, Andrew Ketch, Niki Kneen, Stefan Peruzzo, William Peter, Andrea Pitman, Devon Sernoski, Lisa Wolf, Shelly Peter.

Matt Horn, Cowichan Pasta (www.cowichanpasta.com

With a year now under the belt with Cowichan Pasta, he will be stepping away from Amuse Bistro to focus on his Pasta Company. You will find him all around this summer darting from Farmers Markets to Summer Festivals with his new Mobile Pasta Cart. Matt is the product of the culinary management program at Ottawa’s Algonquin College. His first cooking job was at Domus Cafe in Ottawa, then at Mariposa on the outskirts of Ottawa. Matt spend fours years as the Chef of Cowichan Bay’s iconic Masthead Restaurant.

Bradford Boisvert,  Amuse Bistro (www.amusebistro.com

Born in Warwick, Rhode Island, Bradford attended Culinary Institute of America, located in New York, to get his formal culinary arts and management training. Highlights of Bradford’s career include winning numerous culinary competitions such as the Bocuse d’Or USA Concours, as well as being featured in several local and international publications including Forbes, Newsweek, USA Today, National Geo Graphic and Eat: Travel and Epicure Magazine. He has also made various appearances as a local chef on the New Day show (the New VI) and A-channel.  In 2007 he opened Amusè Bistro, a highly acclaimed restaurant in Shawnigan Lake. Recently the restaurant was relocated to a beautiful 35 acre properly which is also the home of Unsworth Vineyards. When not cooking in the restaurant you will find Bradford cooking for the camera through many media outlets as well as producing his own cooking show about the ingredients of Vancouver Island which he hopes to air one day.

Steve Elskens, Farms Gate Foods and catering 

Steve is from Belgium originally, the land of beer and chocolate. He immigrated in 2001 and has since worked in several restaurants in the Cowichan Valley, including the Grapevine Café, the Quamichan, Steeples and Amuse Bistro. Two years ago, Steve and his wife Christle decided to start their own catering business, Farm’s Gate Foods & Catering. They can be found at farm markets, music festivals, private functions, conferences and weddings in and around our valley.  Because of his background Steve’s cuisine is mostly French inspired. His cooking represents the geographic area that we live in, moves with the seasons and is always dynamic.

Bruce Wood, Bruce’s Kitchen (www.bruceskitchen.ca

Bruce Wood’s passion for food began at the age of 17 when he, a self-proclaimed “white bread boy from North York, Ontario,” had a food epiphany over a spicy bowl of Jamaican Goat Curry. His interest eventually led him to the Culinary Arts Program at George Brown College, where he graduated with honors in 1984. Over the years he has worked in a number of highly regarded kitchens throughout Ontario. Early on in his career Wood developed a passion for local sustainable food practices and agriculture, which led him to become a champion of the early “Farm to Plate” movement. In 2007, Bruce moved to Saltspring Island where he opened Bruce’s Kitchen in Ganges. The restaurant features fresh, local and seasonal fare.

Bill Jones, Deerholme Farm (www. deerholme.com) 

Bill is a French-trained chef who has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in France and England. Locally Bill has manned the stove at Sooke Harbor House and has been a long-time local food innovator with Magnetic North Cuisine, his food and wine consulting company. Bill is an accomplished author (winner of 2 World Book awards) and educator. He is a regional authority on edible wild mushrooms and foods. He is also known for his work with local farms, artisan food producers and local food retailers.

Daniel Hudson,  Hilary’s Cheese (www.hilarycheese.com

Dan was born and raised in the city of Leicester in the U.K. He always had an interest in cooking, yet it wasn’t till the age of 18 that he took it up as a profession. After working in some on the country’s most prestigious country hotels, Dan found himself at the Haycock Hotel, A 17th century, former coaching house, where he would meet his future wife Andrea. As Andrea was from Canada, Dan agreed to visit for a 2 week holiday in Whistler but instead ended up staying for 6 months. After falling in love with Canada, he became a permanent resident in 2009 and has worked in some of B.C’s top restaurants. Including, DB Bistro Moderne in Vancouver, The Aerie Resort and Spa and Amuse Bistro. For the last 2 years Dan has been learning the artisan craft of cheese-making and works for Hilary’s Cheese in Cowichan Bay as well as running his own catering company, Hudson’s Fine Foods.

Marisa Goodwin, Organic Fair (www.organicfair.com

Marisa is a 2nd generation chocolatier and a 3rd generation ice cream crafter. She has been in the kitchen since she was 8 and started selling her creations from the end of her driveway not long after. Her line of organic fair trade dark chocolates, herbs & spices, spice blends and dry goods sell across Canada. At Organic Fair Farm & Garden’s farm store in Cobble Hill, her handmade organic ice cream is made from their farm’s chicken eggs and features such farm flavours as lavender & honey, fresh peppermint chocolate chip as well as strawberry douglas fir sorbet. Marisa & her husband Kent moved to their farm in Cobble Hill in 2005 where they started and continue to operate Organic Fair. They currently employ 10 people in the Cowichan Valley.

Fatima  da Silva, Bistro 161 (www.bistro161.com

Born and raised in Mozambique, Fatima inherited her passion for cooking from her mother who catered for working couples that did not have the time to cook but wanted homemade meals. Fatima’s restaurant beginnings started with French chef Michel Forte (French Connection) in the early 90’s. In the summer of 2000 she took over Vinoteca at Zanatta Vineyard where she remained until opening Bistro 161. Recently Fatima opened up Dulce Bakery in City Square.