Scout Field Trip #425: Head First Off The Lovely Naramata Bench

I put together a little movie of my trip up to Naramata for the Bench Association’s annual Sommelier Bootcamp. Press play if you have a few minutes. You may have already seen the photos. If not, click on… Read more

Scout Visuals: 100 photos In 48 hours On The Naramata Bench

I’ve only just arrived back in Vancouver from my Naramata trip, and after uploading some big file photos I’ve learned that I don’t have enough gas left to write. I’m leaving again in the morning for an Island excursion, so a full post on the Sommelier Bootcamp is still in the works (lots of video to edit, anyhoo). Enjoy the pictures below and forgive the bad ones – each was taken with a glass in hand. Read more

Jamie Maw On The End Of Winter And Two Teens For $6

Guest-blogger Jamie Maw | ‘Why is it,’ I remarked to my daughter, who lives in Scottsdale, ‘that the older I get the faster the years whip by, but the winters seem to take forever?’

That was certainly the case this year, both on the coast but especially in the Okanagan, where in January it turned as cold as the Canucks, with weeks of –25 Celsius nights that would return again a month later. Now the vintners and orchardists have expressed concern about crop damage, as explained in this Read more

On The World’s Bulk Wine Ascendancy

Something interesting has happened in the last few years in the wine world – something both good and worrying. Wine regions that were once written off as ‘bulk’ wine areas have shown that a changing attitude to grape growing and wine making can achieve recognition and respect, catapulting new varietal names and regions onto the world scene. Read more

Okanagablog: Tasting And Touring At Mission Hill

As noted in a mobile post yesterday, I’m up in the Okanagan staying at Mission Hill for a few days. I woke up this morning (following a near-debaucherous evening at Jamie Maw’s place), shook out the Syrah and Heineken cobwebs, and took my coffee up to the winery. Following a tour of the kitchen with Matt Batey, the new winery chef – replacing Michael Allemeier, more on that here – I wandered around the wintry grounds, listening to the bells chime and contemplating the seasonal extremes of the world’s deserts before the gates opened to the public. It was fortuitous timing, as I’d never had the place to myself before. Snaps below.

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I also had the good fortune of tasting Mission Hill’s new Perpetua and Quatrain labels (among a half dozen others) with Ingo Grady and resident sommelier Jesse Harnden (tasting notes by Rhys Pender). Two very charming chaps whose enthusiasms for their wines are infectious.

Tonight, Matt Batey and Michael Allemeier are cooking with Ned Bell at Cabana. I’m really looking forward to it, and will report back upon my return to Vancouver tomorrow (it’s unlikely I’ll be able to find my laptop under the table once this evening winds its way down, so you’ll have to bear with me – occupational hazards, et cetera). Late on Thursday or Friday I’ll put together a lengthy field trip film that will see plenty of shots and clips from every day that I’ve spent up here. So far so awesome…

“Locals” With Michael Allemeier

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Andrew Morrison is a west coast boy who studied history and classics at the Universities of Cape Town and Toronto after an adolescence spent riding skateboards and working in restaurants. He is the editor of Scout Magazine, the weekly food and restaurant columnist for the Westender newspaper, a contributor to Vancouver and Western Living magazines, and a proud board member of the Chef’s Table Society of BC. He lives and works by the beach in Vancouver.

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Obama Inspires Change At Kelowna Restaurant

This may well be the oddest restaurant press release that has ever crossed our Okanagan desk. It is well written yet totally bizarre, and easily breaks through “the clutter” like a hot knife through foie gras.

Chef Rod Butters, the opening chef de cuisine at The Wick in Tofino and long the co-proprietor of Kelowna’s Fresco, is rebranding and renovating his restaurant together with partner Audrey Surrao, saying the new concept was inspired by Barack Obama’s ascendancy to the American throne.

But they’re calling it RauDZ.

This is a play – I’m guessing – on the letters of their first names (RoD, auDREY, and “Rod’s”), so the Obama thing I just don’t get. Are they trying to trick Obama-crazed journalists to cover the change, or were they actually so sincerely moved by his election that they decided to limit his message to a press release?

Oops, I just used the word “change”. Damn. It’s totally working. Must. Eat. At. RauDZ.

I make no judgments, as I was inspired as well (to take the day off and drink beer in celebration of his predecessor’s exit). I will, however, say this to the editors, journalists, and bloggers who might be reading this tonight: I will put a penny toward a special pony for you if you can include the word “Obamanagan” in your headline.

Wait, that might be a good name for the restaurant instead of RauDZ. Bring on the extra change! Because RauDZ sort of sounds like something the visiting Albertans would want to put “Hot” in front of, and obtusely naming a restaurant after yourselves is a little 80′s (more Mr. Mikes and Mr. Sub than Daniel, Hawksworth, or Jean-Georges). Maybe retro is still that cool. Who knows if this is change we can believe in?

Either way, Obamanagan is my gift to you.

Click the ad above to enlarge and then read the release below in full:

Inspired by the inauguration speech of President Obama, Chef Rod Butters and Audrey Surrao have embraced the call to action from the Commander in Chief and said “Change…Yes We Can”. Rod and Audrey are changing their own professional world by closing their four-diamond, award winning Fresco Restaurant. But like the rebirth of the United States with Obama taking office, they too have a rebirth in their future with the opening of an exciting new upscale casual restaurant, RauDZ Regional Table.

Just as Rod and Audrey have blended their talents in the successful Fresco venture, RauDZ, a creative amalgamation of the letters in their names, is their latest brainchild. The restaurant will be the perfect place to get together after work for drinks & appetizers or before an evening out in Kelowna for a custom created seasonal fruit martini. There will be local beers on tap, and the regionally focused wine list will enhance Chef Butter’s seasonally inspired, comfort food. The restaurant will continue to focus on fresh, local ingredients, all delivered with the knowledgeable service and attention to detail that everyone has come to expect from the dynamic duo of Butters & Surrao.

Over the next few weeks, the elegant interior of Fresco will be turned upside down & inside out, morphing into a warm and inviting space filled with cozy banquettes and booths. A new eating bar, flat screen televisions and a large chalkboard with favorite quotes from stars of politics, sports and film will lend fun & playfulness.

Butters & Surrao are delighted to make this dramatic transformation while Fresco is at the top of its game. 2008, a year of stellar achievement for this dynamic team of restaurateurs, has included awards from EatBC! (Restaurant of the Year), Vancouver Magazine (Gold – Okanagan), and the Four Diamond Award 2009. On the heels of that success, Rod and Audrey will embrace their next adventure and, like Obama, say “Change…Yes we can” RauDZ Regional Table is the realization of their personal dream to have a contemporary restaurant filled with friends & neighbors enjoying fresh local dishes served in a comfortable, relaxed space.

In the words of food and arts critic Jurgen Gothe, “Butters is the consummate Canadian-born, Canadian-trained, Canadian chef, the kind that will… create what we’ll come to call Canadian cuisine.” And Rod is doing just that, one restaurant at a time.

Yes You Can.

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Andrew Morrison is a west coast boy who studied history and classics at the Universities of Cape Town and Toronto after an adolescence spent riding skateboards and working in restaurants. He is the editor of Scout Magazine, the weekly food and restaurant columnist for the Westender newspaper, a contributor to Vancouver and Western Living magazines, and a proud board member of the Chef’s Table Society of BC. He lives and works by the beach in Vancouver.

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P-Town’s Slice of Commercial Dr.

Granted, few travellers will set out to Penticton in blustery, blizzardy weather, and in the case of avoiding a long line up for the city’s (perhaps the world’s) best sandwich at Il Vecchio’s Delicatessen…I’m glad of it. I don’t want to share.

A few (million) snowflakes didn’t stop me from driving 10 kilometers straight across town to the off-the-beaten track deli where a trio of seemingly serious, hard-working Italian mamas put together delicious custom combinations of meat, cheese and condiments for less than five bucks. In fact, for less than five bucks ($4.47) I had the four-meat (prosciutto, salami, capicollo, ham), double cheese (hit me twice Havarti) sweet mustard, marinated artichoke, sun-dried tomato and lettuce combo on a crusty Kaiser roll with pickles on the side. Knowing this kind of quality sandwich is out there for such a fantastic price reminds me of that sad-looking, pre-packaged $9.99 USD Wolfgang Puck turkey bun I just couldn’t bring myself to buy during a hungry wait at the Orange County airport a few weeks back. This tiny slice of top notch Commercial Drive Italia (at retro prices) makes Il Vecchio’s a prized local institution. I figure if I give it up in winter I won’t get beaten up as much for making the worthwhile wait a bit longer.

You can find it at 317 Robinson Street, near the bus station.

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Okanagan Getting Feast Of Fields

The wheels are in motion for the inaugural Feast of Fields Okanagan. There’s unlikely a better fit for this grass-roots celebration of local farms, producers, vintners and chefs. Ned Bell, executive chef and co-owner of Kelowna’s Cabana Bar and Grille has recently returned from meetings with Farm Folk/City Folk Project Manager Bonita Jo Magee and they’re off and running.

Preliminary stages of planning the ultimate “gourmet wandering picnic harvest festival” have begun with the following tasks on the go: review of suitable farms in the area, date selection, recruiting board members and volunteers and the hiring of a dedicated event coordinator. The contract position would begin in April 2009 and run through the conclusion of the event in September. For complete details on the posting visit here.

Rumour has it that some of BC’s best and brightest Okanagan-based talents will lend their experience, vision and hands-on help to increase awareness and appreciation for local food, wine, agriculture and sustainable food systems.

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Urban Yogi And The Monkey Mind

My first yoga class was at Yaletown Yoga about 5 years ago. It was weird. It was uncomfortably hot and sweaty, and with all of the chanting and breathing techniques and loud sighing going on, it pushed my limited spiritual boundaries into the cringe zone.

Told that I had to go to several of these “hot” classes to get over these initial impressions, I hung in there. I am so glad that I did. I love hot yoga. It feels amazing, is a serious workout, and offers a spiritual component that seems to seep in enough to pry my mind open despite my cynicism.

There are a variety of yoga styles to choose from with many different kinds, teachers, intensities and philosophies. You can take it all the way and pack up for an Ashram in India or you can drop in to Yoga-fit once a week at Fitness World. It’s wherever you’re at.

We learn that there is no place for competition in yoga. Well, that’s a toughie. I love to break out my dancer’s pose and watch with side glances as my leg extends well over my head and I struggle, feeling way inferior, as my tight hips make even sitting cross-legged a challenge.

Yoga – hot yoga in particular – helped quiet my “monkey mind” a little (a term frequently used to describe the way our thoughts jump around from one to the next). I give myself permission to just go and get what I will out of it without trying to be the next B.K.S. Iyengar. If some of the spiritual messages, moaning, chanting, and buckets of sweat cause my inner skeptic to chortle, well…so be it.

I used to have a regular Sunday morning practice at 8am. I’d get up early, find a free parking spot in Yaletown, sweat my butt off while aligning my chakras and then grab a monster cheese scone from Urban Fare and read the paper on the seawall. If I missed it, or any of my usual classes, people could tell by my mood. “Um…..do you think maybe you should go to a yoga class today, sweetie?”

Since moving to the Okanagan, my practice has really suffered (part hectic schedule, part laziness, part “I miss my fancy Vancouver yoga studios” ). Still, this summer I signed up for a 300 hour yoga teacher training program with North Vancouver’s Yogapod studio, led (and owned )by totally cool yoga dude Todd Inouye. Offering a residential training program that takes place over a nine-month period with three intense 10-day sessions and several additional workshops, it’s something I wanted to prioritize. There is a yogi in me somewhere.

My goal is to just enjoy the classes. I don’t take copious notes or try to be the best yoga teacher training student ever. I just take it in as it comes and hope that it “integrates” (big yoga word for “sink in”). The thought of the first 10-day session totally stressed me out as I worried about fitting it in while still managing my workload. But it was juggling and money well spent. I left with some new friends, new knowledge and an incredible sense of well-being that is still acting as a barrier to stress.

It is three months later and I start round two tomorrow. I am reviewing the sacred Hindu scripture the Bhagavad-Gita, trying to wrap my head around all the concepts and getting ready for some long days filled with practice and theory. Except for the 6:30am starts, I’m looking forward to it. I’ll give a few updates, what I’m learning, how it’s going, and what it takes to become an urban yogi.

Penticton Christmas Market

I didn’t know that I wanted some furniture made out of old wine barrels before I stopped by the Penticton Christmas market in the heritage Cannery building this morning. The market is fairly slow and small but this is Penticton in November. It’s worth worth a stop.

oak barrel wine rack

I was crossing my fingers and toes that Joy Road Catering would have a table set up with their to-die-for homemade granola. No luck. But there was some fun stuff: sweaters and soap, baked goods and glass beads, jewelry and all the other crafty doodads you’d expect. Most interesting was The Broken Barrel Furniture Co., a business that makes handcrafted furniture from old oak wine barrels sourced from wineries in Naramata, Kelowna and Oliver. Their motto is something like “the tables are built strong enough to dance on.” Nice! I’d like one of the coat hangers made from barrel staves.

Julius Weber, of J&S Weber Fruit Summerland had a killer old-school fruit stand going on, stocking over seven varieties of organic apples and a slim selection of pears and fresh unshelled nuts. I loaded up on the MACs, Spartans and Fujis that were selling for 50 to 60 cents a pound.

Julius Weber selling his sweet wares

He was pushing the Newtown apples as stars for baking and cooking (clearly he doesn’t know me) and was also hawking Golden and Red Delicious, Jonagold, Mutsu and Sinta. You can find Julius and his lovely, tiny, tasty apples at the indoor Kelowna Farmer’s Market most often and around Penticton winter markets (as suits him).

The Cannery building is also home to the cozy CAN Coffee and the Cannery Stage. A neat, multi-purpose coffee shop turned theatre turned art gallery (local artist Joel Reid is currently on exhibit). It’s a great place to soak up that arty, local vibe with a newspaper or a friend over a steaming Americano.

The Penticton Christmas market runs every Saturday from 10am to 2pm until December 20.

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