couture cuisine

The Olympics are in full-swing and it’s inspired us to create a sumptuous all-Canadian dinner party.  We imagine serving this menu on a table dressed with a rustic, roughly-textured cloth, with the guests seated on natural wooden benches draped in soft fur pelts.  Add some VQA wines and it’s an elegant and delicious tribute to our Canadian team!

As guests arrive, offer a glass of local sparkling wine and a variety of hors d’oeuvres – we like grilled BC salmon on corn cakes with minted basil crème, or frenched ontario lamb chops with rosemary, cumin and date glaze.   Hudson’s Bay-striped cocktail napkins would be a fabulous touch.

to begin:

east coast lobster bisque, topped with an herbed crème fraîche

entrée:

pan roasted rack of venison with juniper crust, sweet potato mousseline

dessert:

maple crème brûlée with crunchy caramel crust

As a late night treat, or perhaps a prettily packaged take-home gift, nanaimo bars or butter tarts would be the perfect Canadian finish.

frenched ontario lamb chops with rosemary, cumin and date glaze

Last weekend we opened the doors of our home venue, Graydon Hall Manor, for an afternoon of prosecco & prettiness.  We set the dining room with a colourful & sparkly collection of rentals from our favourite suppliers, served a variety of hors d’oeuvres & sweets, and popped many prosecco corks.  It was a lovely chance to share our event design & home venue with clients past and present.

the dining room set with fun & flashy rentals

guests sipped cappuccinos in the Conservatory

These are a few of our favourite things: imagining lavish, decadent, whimsical decor for parties big and small.  We love designing events and guiding our clients through decisions: table settings, linens, furniture, lighting…but once a year, we are permitted to truly indulge our own imaginations at the Wedding Co Show (www.theweddingco.com).

This year’s theme was “Burberry & Butterflies” – a perfect mix of posh & playful.  It is the pet project of Event Designer Jennifer Rackham, who always surprises us with tiny, perfect details, such as painstakingly hand-made wood-grain butterflies.  These lovelies were wired to giant topiaries provided by Stemz (www.stemz).

dozens of hand-made butterflies were wired to giant topiaries

a lavish table setting

Guests of the Wedding Co were treated to a menu including rich hot cocoa with home made basil & chocolate marshmallows, or quinoa salad with quail roulade. 

For more photographs of our booth, including a complete behind-the-scenes look at its creation, please become a fan of Couture Cuisine on Facebook.  And to keep up to date with all things Couture, subscribe to our blog today!

Happy New Year!  2010 is beginning with a bang.  January is jam-packed with wedding shows, open houses, and even the launch of a brand-new venue.

Each year, The Wedding Co produces a spectacular showcase of the city’s best wedding industry suppliers, including caterers, florists, musicians, DJs, photographers, and much more.  From January 15^th-17^th, Couture Cuisine will be participating & displaying beautiful table settings, design ideas, and of course the decadent creations of Chef Arpi Magyar at the historic Carlu.  Our designers will be on-hand to discuss your upcoming reception in detail.  For more information, please visit www.theweddingco.com. We hope to see you there!

Toronto’s newest event space, the Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library, is open – and gorgeous!  Located at Yonge & Bloor, the light-filled space officially opens this month after much anticipation.  We are looking forward to planning all kinds of events here – bar & bat mitzvahs, corporate events, even wedding receptions. 

For photographs and more details, visit:  www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/salonrentals.  To arrange a personal consultation & a guided tour of The Salon, please contact Couture Cuisine by email (yummy@couturecuisine.com) or by phone @416.449.5432. 

Finally this month, Couture Cuisine and our home venue, Graydon Hall Manor, welcome you to attend our second annual Open House on Saturday, January 30^th from 1pm-4pm.  This is a wonderful opportunity to explore our Georgian mansion, see beautiful table settings from our favourite suppliers, and sample Couture Cuisine’s hors d’oeuvres.  Event Designers will be pleased to answer your questions about events in-house or off-site.  For more information, please visit www.graydonhall.com.  

As you and yours make final preparations for the holidays, Couture Cuisine is looking forward to a busy 2010 filled with yummy ideas, treats, and surprises. 

We are particularly excited to take part once again in The Wedding Co’s show at the historic Carlu, January 15^th – 17^th.  (www.theweddingco.com)   Created to showcase the finest wedding suppliers in Toronto, The Wedding Show is a wonderful way to gather ideas & inspiration for your upcoming celebrations.  Our Design Team has imagined a whimsical yet chic theme which is sure to set your heart a-flutter!  Be sure to stop by our display near the elevators to enjoy the beautiful table settings & indulgent treats from Chef Arpi Magyar.

couture cuisine's 2009 Wedding Show display (flowers by Stemz)

Also on our radar: sophisticated colour palettes for winter celebrations, recipes for comforting cocktails, baby shower ideas, and photos of simply spectacular events.  2010 is shaping up to be a fabulous, busy, extraordinary year!  We do hope you will join us for the journey.

Couture Cuisine recently sat down with party planner & friend Cachelle Odette of Savoir Flare to chat about holiday party pitfalls – and how to handle them graciously.

Parties come with both thrills and chills at this time of year.  Again, Cachelle stresses preparation.  “Indoor shoes are a must during the winter months,” she advises, encouraging party-goers to comfortably hop from cab to door in season-appropriate boots.  One’s evening shoes may be carried in a pretty silk bag.  This way, you stay comfortable, and the host’s carpets stay slush-free.  Another tip: Cachelle always keeps a bottle of clear nail polish in her coat pocket; a bulky winter coat will hide this little secret, and she is always prepared to stop a pantyhose run in its tracks.

Despite all your preparation, sparkling conversation, and care to be a good guest, spills will still inevitably occur.  As a wedding planner, Cachelle faces all sorts of big-day-disasters like messy spills.  Her rule of thumb is to work quickly, and use cold water.  Vinegar from the host’s pantry is a miracle stain-remover, she reveals.  And it doesn’t hurt if the gentlemen at the party are all carrying clean & pressed handkerchiefs!

conversation-friendly, one-bite canapés by couture cuisine

In sum, Cachelle believes the key to successfully negotiating a cocktail party is a combination of confidence & manners – but mostly the former. If you find yourself awkwardly mishandling a fussy hors d’oeuvre in the middle of a conversation, smile, apologize to your fellow guest and move on.  After all, you’re both in the same situation – dressed up, perhaps teetering on heels, and juggling drinks, food and accessories.  Confidence means you will enjoy the party more, and the party will enriched by you, the poised and cheerful guest.

Cachelle can be reached via her website: www.savoirflare.com or by phone @ 647-342-5065

Your mailbox may already be filled with invitations to holiday celebrations – how to prepare?  Is it possible to manage cocktail, canapé, and clutch all at once?  How do you navigate slushy streets in leather-soled evening shoes, and heaven forbid – what if you spill red wine?

Couture Cuisine interviewed professional party planner, friend, and 30-Day Bride Cachelle Odette (www.savoirflare.com) to learn more about dos and don’ts when it comes to attending holiday cocktail parties.

party planner, friend, & 30-Day Bride Cachelle Odette

As a party planner and active socialite herself, Cachelle attends many celebrations, each very different from the last.  She says the key to being a graceful guest is confidence, and the best way to be confident is to be prepared.  Find out what sort of atmosphere you’ll be in – is this a casual or formal party, or somewhere in between?  Are dates and children invited?  What is the dress code?  Once you have this information in hand, Cachelle says, you will be confident and therefore at ease – and less likely to nervously slosh a martini onto your new shoes.

When you first arrive at the party, do not head directly for the bar or cheese plate.  Cachelle stresses that cocktail parties are designed to facilitate conversation, and your job as guest is to circulate first, then enjoy a drink or canapé.  When you do find yourself with a refreshment in hand, be sure to hold it with your left, so that the other is free for greeting.  And, Cachelle says, even though you might be tempted by delicious circulated treats, do not eat constantly as this hampers your ability to engage others in conversation.  Wait until your fellow guest is speaking to enjoy an hors d’oeuvre – and be sure to enjoy it in one quick bite if possible, to allow the tête-à-tête to flow smoothly. 

Next week: Cachelle advises on what to do when disaster strikes: handling spills, looking put-together in poor weather, and managing complicated canapés.

We recently had the pleasure of attending the VIP preview evening at the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo.  Joining other foodies and wine-lovers, we eagerly indulged in an event showcasing over 150 of the industry’s finest suppliers. 

In particular, we hoped to discover wines from at home and around the globe and to compliment an array of foods, budgets, and occasions.

A few of our favourite wines were…

Chateau Des Charmes VQA Chardonnay

We think this would be a perfect match with the indulgent creamy mushroom sauce on Chef Magyar’s stuffed roasted chicken with tiny oven roasted potatoes, steamed carrots, and sugar snap peas.

stuffed chicken w/creamy mushroom sauce

Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay

This wine from California would pair beautifully with Chef’s ricotta gnocchi tossed with fresh sage, lemon and butter finished with aged reggiano parmesan.

Arboleda Carmenere 2007

A bold red wine from Chile, this would be a natural fit with pan roasted rack of venison with juniper crust.  Accompanied by sweet potato mousseline, rapini, roasted torpedo shallots, and lardoons in a cracked pepper sauce, this is lovely food & wine combination for the holidays.

D’arenberg D’arry’s Original

This Shiraz-Grenache blend from Australia would be yummy paired with our roasted leg of lamb with creamy scalloped potatoes & oyster mushroom jus.

Good news – each of these lovely bottles is available at the LCBO.  Happy sipping!

Imagine arriving at work, taking off your coat, sitting at your desk…

…and pouring yourself a stiff drink?

It may no longer be appropriate to enjoy an early morning cocktail in your office, but you can certainly enjoy a variety of delicious Mad Men-style tipples at your next celebration. 

Don Draper and company have re-popularized “brown liquors,”  and our clients are asking for retro-style cocktails made with whiskey to welcome their guests.  While many whiskey-based cocktails are traditionally American designs, our in-house mixologist has suggestions for adding a Canadian spin.

Traditional Manhattan

1 ½ oz bourbon whiskey

¾ oz sweet vermouth

For a Canadian twist, we recommend this variation:

Grand Bank Manhattan

1 ½ oz Newfoundland Screech rum

 ¾ oz sweet vermouth

Stir both ingredients with ice & strain into a martini glass.  Garnish with a cherry or if you prefer, a twist.

manhattan w/a twist

Another classic is the Old Fashioned.  Sweeter than regular whiskey, bourbon is very popular in America, and is typically used in the Old Fashioned.  North of the border, this drink is created with rye (we like Canadian Club – just like Mr. Draper).

Old Fashioned

1 teaspoon sugar

splash of bitters

1 ½ oz whiskey

2 splashes of soda

Mull the bitters, sugar, and soda in a rocks glass with a cherry & twist of orange.  Top the mixture with ice, whiskey, and a little more soda to taste.

Au courant, richly flavoured, and warming to the core, we think any of these cocktails would be a wondeful welcome to guests arriving at a cool-weather event.

On October 30th, Couture Cuisine’s Chef Arpi Magyar donated his time & a decadent tasting menu to the 5th annual Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival. The event benefits the University Health Network, and has to-date raised $5.5 million in support of research. Taking place in a lavish private mansion, Chef prepared a 10-course tasting menu for 25 guests. The menu was paired with six extraordinary wines, some decades old and highly prized.

As they were served, Chef Magyar personally explained the courses to the guests, who eagerly awaited each new and innovative dish. Complete with sumptuous ingredients and imaginative presentations, the menu was truly a showcase of Chef’s skills, and offered an indulgent evening of culinary adventure for the guests.

The menu was as follows…

egg poached in its shell with Canadian sturgeon caviar & chive foam

first course: egg poached in its shell with caviar

foie gras & fig gelee presented in a white bowl under a Riedel crystal dome filled with applewood smoke

ahi tuna, red wine reduction caramelized chippoline onion & beets

cauliflower with seared scallops, braised beef cheeks

alba truffle

seared breast of squab & leg confit puy lentils,

preserved elderberry compote

intermezzo: poire williams sorbet

lamb chop roasted with rosemary + stew of curried lamb leg

black garlic, heirloom carrots

lamb chop & curried leg stew

munster cheese baked in flaky pastry with toasted cumin seeds

carmelized new apple apple puree chocolate and wine slush with vincotto

millionaire’s shortbread gold bar, covered in 24k gold dust

petit fours, soma chocolates & fruit rinds