Serge into Restaurant Week with Pork
Published:Tuesday | November 8, 2016 | 12:00 AMKrysta Anderson
Pork, pork, and more pork! And while you're at it, got milk?
On Monday, food bloggers and media personnel jumped aboard the Restaurant Week's media bus, courtesy of the Hyundai Food Cruise, to embark on a unique, palatably pleasing journey.
The event came as an 'appetiser', so to speak, to the highly anticipated foodie event of the year The Gleaner-sponsored Restaurant Week.
This year, they decided to do things a little differently, and Restaurant Week sponsors Serge Milk and Caribbean Passion challenged three restaurants to prepare a savoury and/or sweet dish using both brands. Our mission was not only to indulge, but to become food judges, and given a scoring card to critique colour, consistency, flavour, creativity and presentation. We gladly accepted the new terms and agreement.
Our first stop was Fromage Bistro, where we sat down to partake in corned pork mac and cheese with a candied bacon crust. Served so hot, steam escaped with each lift of the fork it was heart-warming on impact, and if you are a pork lover, you would appreciate the combination of creaminess and the savoury nature of pork. It really did delight the taste buds. Add in a little sweet with the candied bacon, and we were in pork heaven!
We tried as best as we could to chow down as fast as we possible, but was told to save space for our next stop Kayter. Known to many as Tooksie Kay Catering, Kayter whipped up for us a milk braised ham bouchÈe with potato mousseline and sauteed Italian sausage, served with a Woodbridge cabernet sauvignon. It was a burst of interesting flavours: sweet meeting savoury, then there was the creaminess from the cheese and myriad sauces, all of which didn't necessarily join forces effectively for a mouth-watering bite. A few liked it, but some of the food agents had a difficulty judging the dish, and consequently gave mixed reviews.
The third stop, Usain Bolt's Tracks and Records created sweet garlic and herb ham steak en croute with stuffed plantain cream cheese mushrooms wrapped in zucchini. Now, I know there can never be too much ham, but large chunks of ham can either make or break the balance of a dish. Again, the jury was still out on the ham steak that appeared intimidating in the sandwich pastry. Some dug right in and others fell short in completing the meal, consuming only half or going straight for the ham. The talk of the dish came from the stuffed plantain cream cheese mushrooms wrapped in zucchini which flew off the plates of many.
The greatest part of the night? Exchanging reviews and indulging in the whole experience with fellow foodies. So you know how they say third time's the charm? Well, for the food bloggers and media personnel aboard the Restaurant Week Media Bus, the first time was definitely the culinary charm for them all: great job, Fromage! The night's big winner.