At the end of this month (January 29 & 30), Chef Alex Chen, the culinary architect at Moxie's Grill and Bar will be competing in Lyon, France to compete against the best chefs from twenty-four countries. After months of preparation, it all comes down to these forty-eight hours! We were invited to Railtown Cafe, where the catering kitchen has been transformed into his private Bocuse d’Or Test Kitchen.
Chef Daniel Craig of Ebo Restaurant at the Delta Burnaby is flipping some of the fish for the first course. And Chef Alex Chen is on the right. Here they are making our French turbot entree. The competition requires the chefs to make a Fish dish as well as a Meat dish. The chosen fish is theFrench Turbot, and judging from a few of the other plates I saw around me, I think I scored the biggest piece of turbot that day. Although the flavour of the fish is quite delicate, the seared outer crust was very crispy and well-charred. Also on the plate were Saffron Potatoes and a Cauliflower Puree. Lobster used three-ways, first, it was Butter Poached, and there was a bit of Lobster Hollandaise, as well as a lighter Lobster Vinaigrette. Presentation was also very delicate and artistic. And now, onto our Meat Dish, a Roasted Beef Tenderloin Roulade with Bone Marrow. And rounding out the plate were Seared Foie Gras, pretty Black Trumpet Mushrooms and Shaved Black Truffles. On, and I can't say enough about the Potato Gratin with that layer of Ox Tail in between. The beef with the marrow and foie gras was so decadent, but despite the heaviness of the ingredients, I was able to finish the whole serving. But then again, I love all three ingredients so having them altogether was heaven for me. The truffle and mushrooms gave the dish an earthy balance. Now, here is a close up of the Ox Tail Gratin, can you see how finely sliced the potatoes are? This was really well done and the ox tail was braised til it was melt-in-your-mouth tender. I could have eaten a few of these. And I now have to remind myself to give this side dish a try at home. For dessert, we had some of Railtown Cafe's delicious Macarons. This is the cherry filled vanilla one but there was another Maple flavoured one as well. For a chance to win an exclusive Moxie's and Bocuse d'or prize pack worth $200, simply Send Alex Your Best Wishes.
Woke up this morning feeling a little sluggish…so couldn’t motivate myself to get a workout in. But, I did take advantage of the gym’s sauna. Stayed in there for about an hour (20 minutes on and then 5 minutes off) and got so relaxed. I think I could have fallen asleep, if I wasn’t twittering! Went to Moxie's for a drink and dinner before the game. See review at Urban Spoon. We walked over to GM Place afterwards and arrived just after the first goal. As we waited to sit down, we saw the second goal. Alas, this was not turning out to be the game my Flames fan wanted to see. Both teams put in a good effort to the season ender, and the Canucks came out on top with a 7-3 win. For some strange reason, I was craving dessert…in the form of ice cream. Stopped off at the Liquor Barn (what a weird place to buy booze) and then heading to Earls for a huge ice cream sundae, served in a candy snap basket, drizzled with chocolate sauce. Whoa – I don’t do this often, but boy, was this heavenly. I think there is a correlation here… desserts help me sleep better…slept right through the night until the next morning…and probably woke up with a smile on my face too.
