Canola: Eat Well! Workshop - Thursday March 26th, 2015

In my years of knife wielding, meat tenderizing and salad tossing (stop - stop it right now), it never really dawned on me to study, or get an in depth understanding of individual ingredients - until Articulate Eats, of course. It seems as though the most common, everyday items that are in abundance are usually (but, not always) the ones that hold a rich and intriguing history; usually end up being taken for granted or completely ignored. I guess then, since starting Articulate Eats, and to ensure I keep in line with the content directive, dissection of many of these items, ingredients and specific dish components became an apparent occupational hazard (for lack of a better term) and in turn, my knowledge of the art (and tools of the art) of culinary, ceases to procure.

I had already planned a publication on oil; scheduled for the month-end of August with the intent of accompanying research to begin in the middle of July. The abundant list of oil varieties, their histories and the ongoing discussion of what oils are better than others divulged a lengthy process; I was prepared for it, though. That is until, I received an invitation to attend a Canola Oil inspired event - put on by the Canola Growers Association of Canada with the help of Team Branding & Buzzing and the inspiration of a local, Celebrity Chef. What I wasn't prepared for, caught me off guard in one of the best ways possible. Because, I'm one of those guys who believes in love at first sight, or in this case, love at first bite.

Now, remember, Canola Oil is a cooking ingredient; not necessarily a brand - as there are many brands of canola oil. So, it's very seldom that a cooking ingredient, would expose themselves in the way that a brand would. I've been to my share of culinary events over the years, but none quite like the night of March 26th.

As soon as I arrived I was greeted with warm smiles from beautiful people and the pleasant aroma of an active kitchen. Throw in a few bottles of Samuel Adams, some chilled Chardonnay for good measure, a few hungry bloggers and a celebrity chef; well, you have all the ingredients for a fun and very successful evening!

Having a culinary background, I tend to gravitate to where all the action is. With my camera in one hand and an over filled wineglass in the other, my first order of business was to meet the man behind the stove. Like a soldier in the battlefield playing to a strategic attack plan, the Chef dove in and out of plates and pans, navigating the myriad of artfully arranged root vegetables, half full 'Canola!' branded squeeze bottles, freshly prepped seafood and the odd Samuel Adams bottle cap. The discussion: the menu. A host of Asian-inspired dishes, fresh from the memories of his trip to Thailand and other parts of Asia. My excitement was immediately augmented; having traveled all over Asia myself, including Thailand, and knowing the food as well. Not only was I looking forward to an Asian-inspired feast, but it was a feast at the hands, of who is considered by many, an expert of seafood and a culinary mastermind, Chef Matt Dean Pettit of Rock Lobster.

As the kitchen filled with the aromas of spices and the sounds of snapping camera shutters, we were officially welcomed to the event by the team of individuals that arranged it, accompanied by a short introduction by one of the most fun and passionate people I've ever met. Ellen Pruden, a member of the Canola Growers as it were and Manitoba Canola farmer herself, began by explaining how the oil gets from the farm to the table - using a more interactive approach, we were immersed into the process, hands-on, by replicating the canola seed selection procedure using some very simple and everyday tools. A plastic, ruler-sized stick with 100 perfectly canola-sized indentations with which to filter an exact amount of seedlings, some masking tape and a hand-held roller to squish the seeds. This artisan-style way of farming, unchanged over the years, involved a simple, yet effective way of selecting only the finest and ripest canola seedlings fit for pressing the liquid gold.

After our arts-and-crafts activity with the canola seedlings, Chef Matt continued the evening with an interactive introduction to the dinner menu. Even, I got in on some of the fun and preparations (although I forgot to punch my time-card, so I doubt I'll be seeing a paycheck from Chef Matt anytime soon). He explains that Canola is an ideal oil because of its neutral properties; bringing out the flavours of your ingredients. In addition to it being a non-evasive oil when it comes to cross contamination in regards to allergies. Combine this with a high smoke-point and it makes it great for frying and sautéing. With the bone marrow roasting in the oven along with the spring mix of vegetables, Chef Matt's Sous, Chris MacNeil and myself spearheaded the grilling of the Thai-style salt crusted red snapper; as Chef Matt adds the final touches to the coconut-curry aromatic steam rising from the pan of blue crabs cooking in front of him. The sounds and scent of sizzling pomme-frites and battered smelts augment the already flavour filled air. Meanwhile, behind the backs of the intimate group of spectators gawking and snapping photos of the joyous spread that is to be our Thursday night supper (#NBD), a long, twenty-something seat, family-dinner style table awaits. Forks, on the left.

One by one, we make our way to what looks like a new-age portrait of "The Last Supper" (sans Judas) as heads led by noses follow the fresh, steaming hot menu platters from kitchen to table. The smiles I was greeted with at the beginning of the night seemed bigger than before and coincidentally, so did the quantity of empty Chardonnay and Samuel Adams bottles. From a distance, scores of plates could be seen dipping in and out of frame through the lens of one Brilynn Ferguson - photographer and visual mastermind behind Industry Ink. As a visual artist, myself, I couldn't help but see everything one frame at a time. A delicious coconut-curry-coated blue crab among a collective of frozen-in-time laughter, succulent roasted bone marrow airborne via a passing plate while crumbs of fried anchovies fall to their doom atop perfectly grilled toast, classically presented frites and smelts see travel among friendly hands and let's not forget the endless seasoning and sauce covered electronic devices scattered throughout the table with which the copious amounts of food-selfies have made their mark.

As the curry stained linens made their way from our laps to our empty plates, Chef Matt and Brilynn winded down the evening with the signing of The Great Lobster Cookbook, a collective of delicious recipes accompanied by visually stunning photography all compiled in a beautiful soft cover book (that I had already owned, though, the signed copy was the anchovy on the marrow)! If you listened carefully, conversational subjects ranged from, [when the next event would take place] to [the scientific anomalies of present-day agriculture] to [who had more hair product in, that night].

It's amazing how quickly several strangers can instantly become family with the presence of food. You'd think that the Vietnam war could have been settled over pho and rau muong! In a perfect world, the most tyrant of enemies would be the best of friends by dessert - but not that any of us here were hostile with each other. The only fighting we encountered was over who should get the last of the bone marrow and whether or not there was more bread laying around to soak up the last of the coconut-curry sauce. Needless to say, there were a lot of happy taste-buds in the Luxe Kitchen that night. Twenty-something strangers with everything in common. Now, twenty-something friends with everything to share.

You just can't prepare for the type of night I had. Can you fall in love at first bite?
Yes, we canola!

Article Disclaimer:
This article was sponsored by Canola! Eat Well and facilitated by Branding & Buzzing.
Some form of compensation may have been received to attend this event and write this article.

Yes, We Canola!

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