Scout Magazine » Whistler Restaurants

BOOZER: A Tutorial For Constructing Hailey Pasemko’s Delicious “Cedar Sour” Cocktail

Scout Magazine — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:52:11 +0000

Thinking of all the unique drinks that we sipped this year (and there were many either in competition or repose), there were several that stood out as being revelatory in their deliciousness, but few that we’d want to suffer the labour of when making them at home. One of these was the work of Hailey Pasemko, commander and chief of beverages at Whistler’s Nita Lake Lodge. The Cedar Sour sounds like it might require an axe at some stage of its construction, but after we asked Hailey to demonstrate it for us (with lovely photography by Sonya Tumuluri), we found that it was surprisingly straight-forward, and more rewarding than building a shed.

Cedar Sour

Step 1: Sterilize a Cedar Shim

Scrub the wood to remove any dirt or dust. Soak it in warm salt water for 20 minutes. Then soak in fresh water for another 20 minutes to remove any saltiness left in the wood.

Step 2: Cut Wood into Kindling Size Pieces

It is easiest to cut the shim up while the wood is still wet and soft from sterilizing. Cut it into pieces that are about 1cm thick.

Step 3: Infuse the Rye

In a large glass container combine 10 1cm thick pieces of cedar with 1 750ml bottle of rye. Seal the container and store it in a cool dark place for 6 days. It is important to choose a rye that has a smooth finish and not a ton of character as the goal is to give it the flavour of the cedar. I always use Wiser’s Deluxe for infusions.

Step 4: Strain Rye to Remove all Wood Particles

Pass the rye through a very fine filter (coffee filter will do) to remove all wood particles.

Syrup

Step 1: Simple Syrup

Combine in a pot 1L of white granulated sugar with 1L of water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat immediately. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Step 2: Add Lemon Thyme

While the syrup is still hot add ¼ cup of fresh lemon thyme. Allow the syrup to cool at room temperature. Transfer to a container and store overnight in the fridge, leaving the herbs in the syrup.

Step3: Strain Syrup to Remove Herbs

Pass the syrup through a fine mesh strainer to remove the herbs. Syrup will keep in the fridge for up to one month.

Cocktail

Cedar Sour

1 ½ oz Cedar Infused Rye

1oz Fresh Lemon Juice

¾ oz Lemon Thyme Syrup

1 Egg White

1 Orange Slice

2 Brandied Cherries

In a cocktail shaker combine the egg white, cedar rye, lemon juice and lemon thyme syrup. Always add the egg white first just in case the yolk breaks. Do a “dry shake” of the cocktail before adding ice to the cocktail shaker. This will whip the egg white and ensure a good froth on the cocktail. Add ice to the shaker and shake vigorously. Double strain the cocktail into an old fashioned glass and top with cubed ice.

To garnish cut an orange wheel, cut a slice in it from the center out and splay the 2 loose ends away from each other. Spear a brandied cherry on either side.

Drink.

Field Trip #587: An Araxi Feast In The Great Outdoors At Pemberton’s North Arm Farm…

Scout Magazine — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:07:21 +0000

We recently got away up to Pemberton to take in one of chef James Walt’s outdoor Araxi dinners at Jordan Sturdy’s stunning North Arm Farm. The weather was uncharacteristically cool and the sky more dramatic than previous visits, but the food and drink (all wines from Mission Hill) stole the show.

RECEPTION
Garden Back to Eden Tomato Gazpacho
Yarrow Meadows Duck Liver Parfait with Rosemary
Tofino Dungeness Crab Roll with Cucumber Pearls
Mission Hill Martin’s Lane Riesling, 2010
Schramm Vodka Cocktails (Pemberton Valley)
MENU
North Arm Zucchini Flowers
stuffed with Okanagan goat cheese, heirloom tomatoes
Root Down organic greens with red pepper vinaigrette
Mission Hill Perpetua, 2008
Cherry Wood Hot Smoked Barkley Sound Sockeye Salmon
roasted North Arm beets, english pea and green tomato salsa
arugula flowers with beet caviar
Mission Hill Quatrain, 2007 (magnum format)
Pemberton Meadows Natural Beef
crispy slow cooked beef cheek fritter, pepper and rosemary roasted sirloin
North Arm rainbow chard and baby carrots
Mission Hill Oculus, 2004 (magnum format)
North Arm Strawberry Ice Cream Bar
strawberry ice cream dipped in dark chocolate with chocolate crust
Agassiz hazelnut financier with Okanagan apricots
Mission Hill Late Harvest Riesling, 2005

Altogether it was a stunner of an evening, and as per usual, we’re telling the story by way of photographs with captions as memory serves (short form: it was amazing). Should you want to enjoy one of these outstanding al fresco suppers, there are two more on the horizon taking place in the very same spot. August 27th will see Araxi pair up with Naramata’s Foxtrot Vineyards and Napa’s Trefethen Family Vineyards, and then September 11th will witness chef Walt plate alongside pours from sister wineries Le Vieux Pin of Oliver and LaStella of Osoyoos. Find out how to attend here.

ARAXI SUPPER ON NORTH ARM FARM

MORE FIELD TRIPS

Big Upcoming Events For CinCin, Araxi, West and Blue Water Cafe

Scout Magazine — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 20:18:10 +0000

Veteran Top Table restaurant staff have been recognised for their contributions to the Vancouver restaurant scene...

News from Scout supporters CinCin, Araxi, West, & Blue Water Café

Vancouver & Whistler, BC | Check out all the details on CinCin’s Truffle Festival, the Mayor’s Arts Award for Blue Water Cafe executive chef Frank Pabst, Neil Henderson’s return to Whistler’s Araxi, the Chefs’ Table luncheon at West and the full calendar of holiday events at each Top Table restaurant (including Araxi’s annual involvement in Cornucopia) after the jump…

TRUFFLE FESTIVAL at CinCin

For the month of November, CinCin’s annual Mushroom and Truffle Festival ‘FESTA DI FUNGHI’ spotlights the season’s earthy harvest, with plates starring local bluefoot and golden chanterelles, shimiji, king oyster, lobster, cauliflower and maitake mushrooms. Simple preparations redolent of the forest conceived and prepared by Chef de Cuisine Todd Howard will be expertly matched with wine pairings by Wine Director Sarah McCauley.

Another highlight of the Festival are the offerings of hand-selected black Burgundian truffles and white Alba truffles. Guests will be encouraged to indulge in a shaving of the prized truffles on dishes such as ‘risotto bianco’ and ‘pizzette di genzano’.

THE MAYOR’S ARTS AWARD FOR FRANK PABST

Earlier this year, Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar’s executive chef Frank Pabst was honoured with Vancouver magazine’s ‘Chef of the Year’ award, while the restaurant won ‘Restaurant of the Year’ and ‘Best Seafood’. On the heels of this trifecta, chef Pabst will soon be further honoured with the City of Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award.

The third annual awards will be held on Wednesday, November 24th and will recognize 10 disciplines, including the literary, performing, visual and culinary arts. The recipients’ “talents, efforts and accomplishments in a wide array of disciplines define the city’s dynamic creative sector.”

NEIL HENDERSON RETURNS TO ARAXI

Neil Henderson, who originally joined Araxi in 1992, and who has held positions of increasing responsibility there, has spent the last several years as Projects Director for Top Table Group. That role saw Neil managing our Olympics programming, as well as the publication of our three cookbooks.

We’re delighted to announce that Neil will be returning to Araxi full time, effective immediately, to resume the position of Restaurant Director. Of his move back to Araxi, he says, “Araxi has represented several milestones both in my career and personally. I couldn’t be happier to be back working alongside Chef James Walt and his talented kitchen brigade, as well as our team of dedicated service professionals.”

HOLIDAY REMINDERS

Seasonal Lunch – Along with West, which is open for lunch Monday through Saturday, CinCin (Dec 1st – 23rd) and Blue Water Cafe (Dec 8th – 23rd) will be open for lunch Monday through Friday during the holiday season.

Group Bookings – For both lunch and dinner, our restaurants can accommodate groups of all sizes with privacy assured. With a variety of group menu options from budget to luxe and expert wine consultations, your event will be tailor-made to suit your party’s needs.

Gifts – For anyone on your holiday shopping list, GIFT CERTIFICATES and our three award-winning COOKBOOKS are available to order online and delivered directly to you or the gift recipient.

UPCOMING EVENTS

We are excited to be involved in these upcoming events. Click on the links for further details, or visit our online event calendar.

All November | Festa di Funghi | Annual Mushroom + Truffle Festival | CinCin

Nov. 8th-20th | Dine Italia | CinCin

Nov. 12th | Big Guns Winemakers’ Dinner | Cornucopia, Whistler | Araxi

Nov. 13th | Chef’s Table Luncheon | Cornucopia, Whistler | sold out | West, David Gunawan

Nov. 13th | Bubbles + Oceans Afterparty | Cornucopia, Whistler | Araxi

Nov. 23rd | Edible BC Market Dinner | Granville Island | sold out | Araxi, James Walt

Nov. 24th | Mayor’s Arts Awards Presentation | BWC, Frank Pabst

Dec. 31st | New Year’s Eve Celebrations | details soon to be announced

About Top Table

One of the most highly respected restaurant groups in Canada, Top Table encompasses four of the leading restaurants in Vancouver and Whistler: Araxi, CinCin, Blue Water Cafe and West. Continuing to evolve in the pursuit of excellence, each venue has received significant critical acclaim, both locally and internationally.

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Araxi’s “Big Guns” Dinner Set To Return During 2010 Cornucopia

Scout Magazine — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:19:09 +0000

Araxi Restaurant is located at 4222 Village Square in Whistler, BC | 604-932-4540 | Araxi.com

News from Scout supporter Araxi

Whistler, BC | On Friday, November 12th, Whistler’s premier restaurant, Araxi, will celebrate a compelling collection of wines in an exclusive winemakers’ dinner during Cornucopia: Whistler’s Celebration of Wine and Food.

These five extraordinary wineries—four from the Napa Valley and one from Walla Walla—are all small, family-owned properties engaged in sustainable farming practices. Each of the wineries has achieved critical acclaim and international followings, and through the course of the evening, introductions to each wine will be led by winery principals, including discussion on technique and terroir. This insider’s tour of excellence in winemaking promises to be Cornucopia’s tour de force.

Executive Chef James Walt has created a distinctive five-course menu that highlights the excellence of the Pemberton Valley’s autumn harvest—alongside globally-sourced ingredients—with each plate married to these prized wines…

Ehlers Estate Sauvignon Blanc, St. Helena, Napa Valley, 2009

Ehlers Estate Cabernet Sauvignon “1886″, St. Helena, Napa Valley, 2006
‘Top-Rated’ Gayot

Miner Family Vineyards “Wild Yeast” Chardonnay, Oakville, Napa Valley, 2007
91 Points, Connoisseurs’ Guide

Miner Family Vineyards “The Oracle”, Oakville, Napa Valley, 2006
93 Points, Wine & Spirits Magazine

Pahlmeyer Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, 2007
95 Points, Robert Parker

Pahlmeyer Merlot Napa Valley, 2007
96 Points, Robert Parker

Pepper Bridge Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley, 2007
92 Points, Robert Parker

Pepper Bridge Winery ‘Reserve’, Walla Walla Valley, 2006
93 Points, Robert Parker

Merryvale “Profile”, St. Helena, Napa Valley, 1999
93 Points, Wine Spectator

Merryvale “Antigua” NV (Dessert Wine)
91 Points, San Francisco Chronicle
Gold Medal, Wine Enthusiast

For tickets, visit whistlercornucopia.com. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Whistler Health Care Foundation.

Bubbles + Oceans Afterparty
Araxi, Whistler
Saturday, November 13th @ 10:30pm
$155, all inclusive

After Crush! complete your evening at Araxi’s famed BUBBLES + OCEANS afterparty, a chance to let go in the heart of Whistler Village. Join us for an unforgettable night of brilliant seafood and deluxe bubbles from 20 of the world’s top Champagne and sparkling wine houses. Executive Chef James Walt will showcase an impressive selection of finely-crafted canapés and his plateaux de mer, offering the finest freshly shucked oysters, sushi and Tofino Dungeness crab. And yes, the best music in town. This don’t miss party at Whistler’s premier restaurant is one of the festival hottest tickets!

For tickets, visit whistlercornucopia.com.

ABOUT ARAXI

The culinary cornerstone in the heart of Whistler Village, Araxi enjoys a long-held international reputation for excellence in food, wine and hospitality. Executive Chef James Walt celebrates carefully sourced local ingredients from nearby Pemberton Valley farms, where he collaborates frequently with local growers. 4222 Village Square, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. 604 932 4540, www.araxi.com.

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Mountainous Foodgasms Erupt Up At “Outstanding In The Field”

Scout Magazine — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:52:35 +0000

Michelle and I went up to Whistler last weekend for a wee bit of gastronomic excess with some journalists visiting from the United States (cool cats all). It was bloody hot out, so we borrowed a pretty sweet convertible for the duration, and cranked old Rolling Stones tracks all the way up, singing “Pleased to meet you, won’t you guess my name, wooo-hooo!” Good times…

After checking in at the Westin (hooray for pools), we headed straight for Araxi, this year’s critic’s choice for Best Whistler at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. It and Bearfoot Bistro are my two Whistler reliables, as their respective chefs – Melissa Craig and James Walt – are two of the best in BC. We couldn’t get up in time to enjoy lunch at BB with the American journos, but they regaled us with tales of noon-hour excess. One of them even fell asleep at the table after the lunch had ended! I had the opportunity of being a judge when Melissa won the Canadian Culinary Championships in Toronto a few years back, so I have pretty good idea as to the excellence of what we missed. Sigh…it sounded fantastic, like a fisherman’s “one that got away” tale. There’s always next time…

The 10 of us – happily received in Araxi’s private room by GM Steve Edwards – were led through five courses prepared by James and his crew (including recently minted sous chef Owen Lightly). Several of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life have been enjoyed in that room, and this one was definitely in the running. It began with a tiny, Caprese-esque salad of GME heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil sorbet, gazpacho vinaigrette and nasturtiums, crescendo-ed with a plate of Pemberton Meadows shortribs that had been cooking for 72 hours, and finished with white chocolate-pistachio nougat glacé dealt by pastry chef Aaron Heath. Wine Director (and charmer) Samantha Rahn made some great and sometimes brave pairing moves – like saddling the beef up to a seven year old Austrian Gruner Veltliner – but…if I can channel Hopper for a sec, it was pure poetry, man…poetry. Here’s the menu…

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ARAXI DINNER

First Course
GBE Heirloom Tomatoes
buffalo mozzarella, basil sorbet, gazpacho vinaigrette and nasturtium
Suavia, Soave Classico, Veneto, Italy 08

Second Course
Sweet Corn + BC Shellfish Soup
Qualicum scallops, Egmont spot prawns and Tofino dungeness crab, basil tops and baby leek oil
Mission Hill ‘Perpetua’ Chardonnay, Okanagan, BC 07

Third Course
Crisp BC Wild Sockeye Salmon
North Arm english peas, summer squash, fava beans and lavender
Fort Ross ‘Fort Ross Vineyard’ Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, California 05

Main Course
72 Hour Cooked Pemberton Meadows Beef Shortrib
with citrus pickled North Arm carrots, romanesco and radish, carrot puree and ponzu reduction
Loimer ‘Spiegel’ Gruner Veltliner, Kamptal, Austria 03

Dessert
White Chocolate-Pistachio Nougat Glace
Pemberton blueberries and Okanagan apricot coulis, flourless pistachio cake
Donnafugata ‘Ben Ryé’, Passito di Pantelleria, Sicily, Italy 06

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And that was just the beginning. The whole point of the trip up was to be reunited with our merry traveling friends of Outstanding In The Field. If you’ve never heard of this operation before, it’s a group out of California led by surfer/artist/chef Jim Denevan that take four months to navigate their way across the continent hooking up with local farmers, chefs, artisan producers and winemakers to host mind-boggling, multi-course dinners in jaw-dropping natural settings, everything from tidal beaches and farmer’s fields to vineyards and forest groves. We’ve been attending every year down in Vancouver, but the extra trek up to Whistler/Pemberton is new relatively new for them and us, it being just the second year. We had such a fantastic time in 2009 (we camped on the farm in our VW Westfalia after dinner), that we were stoked to do it again. What made it especially attractive to us was the fact the James Walt – who cooked the OITF dinner last year – would be doing it again. But I’ll get to that in a minute.

After sleeping off the meal at Araxi and waking up to a benny breakfast at Lift Coffee Co. across from the hotel, we browsed the local Farmer’s Market and prepared for lunch at the Four Seasons. It seemed ill-advised to fill up just hours before we were to sit down at Jordan Sturdy’s gorgeous North Arm Farm for OITF, it was a date that was hard to resist. The hotel had only just rebranded its restaurant, which is now a modern steakhouse called Sidecut.

We sat on the patio and started salivating immediately because one of the cooks was barbecuing huge sides of fish and corn not thirty feet away. This was quickly forgotten, however, as chef Scott Thomas Dolbee soon began doling out plate upon fabulous plate of terrestial proteins to show off his new menu and concept. They’re specialising in rubs and sauces, and we sampled each and every one with venison, lamb, chicken and steak after steak. We practically rolled out of there, not a little concerned as to whether or not we could sustain any further belly lashings, but our appetites were revived after a visit to the certified organic Pemberton Distillery, where we sipped Schramm vodka and took a wee tour.

Thus primed, we made the short haul over to North Arm Farm for the main event, and got carried away with the spirit of the day and night. I’ve got to run now to catch a plane (New York here we come), so I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story from here (after the menu). Thanks to my new American friends for the grand company, and to all who helped to make our weekend an awesome one…

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OUTSTANDING IN THE FIELD

Reception
Food Lovers (North Arm Farm)
Cowichan Bay Duck country pate
vodka mustard, potato bread crisp, golden beets, goat cheese, candied walnut, bing cherry, sweet cicely double cream, cornmeal tuile
Schramm Vodka with spiced beet juice or sweet cicely soda

First Course
Dungeness Crab
crab wrapped in a thin egg crepe with gazpacho, North Arm flowers and herbs with garlic scapes
Leggiero Chardonnay 2009

Second Course
North Arm Farm Squash Blossom
stuffed with Salt Spring Island Moonstruck cheese, cherry tomato vinaigrette and grape must
Vivace Pinot Grigio 2009

Third Course
Ballotine of Wild Sockeye Salmon
Sturdy’s sweet peas, salmon caviar and peppermint, Root Down organic greens and basil
Lastellina Merlot Rosato 2009

Main Course
Pemberton Meadows Beef Fillet
with crisp beef cheeks and shortrib and North Arm horseradish salsa verde with North Arm beets and globe carrots
Maestoso Merlot 2007

Dessert
Duo of North Arm Berries + Oliver Cherries
Valrhona chocolate mousse cakes, brandied cherries, almond crusted choux buns with marinated berries
Moscato d’Osoyoos 2009