Elite Event: Taste of Indigenous Edmonton

Taste of Edmonton’s «Sip ‘n Savour» tent was a blast this year and what better than to have a special Unilocal Elite event for us lucky elitists. We experienced a showdown between four chefs that were given a list of «indigenous ingredients» and had to make indigenously-​themed entrée-​style items.
Unilocalers had a chance to eat all four food items (for free) and cast our vote for the best of the lot. I think Chef Eric (formerly with Niche) had an outstanding entrée dish that set the stage up for some bitter rivalry. If I’m not mistaken, two entrees tied for the first place and that in itself was quite a fantastic outcome.
The front half of the tent was a whisky tasting. Scotch, Irish whisky, Ryes, Bourbons. you name it! I was in whisky heaven. I think the most interesting single malt I tried was Jura (drank better ones, but had had them before). Lots of booze going around.
As usual, Jennie was awesome Miss Unilocal Edmonton. Since branded water bottles weren’t allowed at the Sip ‘n Savour tent, she plastered Unilocal stickers on all the bottles to hide the brand name. She saw a lemon and made lemonade! haha, great event with all round relaxed happiness. Good weather helped us sit out on the couches to our resting heart rate, as alcohol flowed through our veins.

This just may have been my favorite Elite event so far (which is truly saying a lot since we have had some pretty amazing parties along the way). What could be better than VIP access to the Sip N’ Savour tent?! How about sampling all of the wonderful food and beverages available (at the exceptionally low cost of free)?
We had the opportunity to judge the food we tried (all with an indigenous flare to them) and then vote on which dish we liked the best. All of the dishes were plated beautifully and tasted amazingly fresh! Nonetheless, for me, the Bison dish hit it out of the park (please take a look at my fellow Unilocalers’ reviews for a much more detailed description of the dishes). This rich dish of melt in your mouth bison brisket was to die for!
To me, this event made me feel as though I was a prestigious judge on one of Chef Gordon Ramsay’s culinary completion shows! Too cool! Thank you, Jennie for putting together, and for hosting such an amazing event! I just don’t know how you manage to outdo yourself time and time again!

What a wonderful evening! Greeted by champagne with a bison chaser… how could you go wrong?
The Chefs outdid themselves, preparing interesting and delectable dishes with ingredients such as bison, rabbit and jerky. The atmosphere was relaxing and very low key — lots of space to lounge, sip some scotch and enjoy the evening.
Thanks again Jennie!

The food is amazing! It was hard to pick the best one! But the melt-​in-​your-​mouth bison brisket with the rap won out in the end. The smoke infused raps were a sublime puff in your mouth that rounded off the bison like a smooth scotch!

Had a blast at this event! Good weather, great people, tasty food, and Scotch! Let me tell you about the Scotch portion of last night’s hootenanny.
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Dishonourable Mention — Old Trophy
Last night there was single-​malt Scotch, blended Scotch, (bourbons that I won’t get into here), and something else… I’m still coming to terms with what I ingested.
I know that on a technical level, Old Trophy is Scotch. The label says, «Blended Scotch Whisky», it comes from Scotland, and it even smells and looks like Scotch!
So I drank it.
Why, o lord, did it taste like cognac and lighter fluid? As I swallowed the horror of O.T., I thought to myself, «How do I reconcile the loss of feeling in my lips with the multitude of taste sensor alarms going off in my cerebral cortex?»
The answer? You can’t. You are hooped. You just gotta let it burn away, temporarily scarring your esophagus, and triggering tumult in your unfortunate intestines, fear in your stomach, and reprehension in your liver.
Be afraid. Be very afraid of Old Trophy, aka «Scotch».
(Household Hint: Company coming? Keep a bottle of Old Trophy handy for «guests» and this will stop all but the most ardent alky from consuming too much of your good stuff. Save that single-​malt for You and your Guests.)
Fortunately, it got a lot better.
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Honourable Mention — Glen Breton Rare 10 Year
Hmmm… North America’s 1^st Single Malt Whisky… it’s from Nova Scotia, and made by people with Celtic roots. It should be good. And it is!
Not dusky peat-​smoked Scotch, this is light sippin’ Scotch. Designed for winter nights beside the fire with the Evil Dead trilogy playing on the flat panel and your cosplay paramour sporting a winsome yet daunting Catwoman body-​suit. Hells yeah!
The complex nature of a well-​constructed Scotch is not easily broken down. This is a new, young liquor with a bold, fresh taste, rooted in the traditions of the old country. Try it yourself and decide; «Is Canada’s East Coast the hub of the new Uisce?» Hoo-​ahh.
Enough with the verbiage. Here are my top 3;
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#3 JURA Elixir
«Make it so.» Have you ever tore down a V8 big block, bore out the heads for oversized pistons, put in a Funny camshaft, had it balanced and blueprinted, added a nitrous-​oxide boost and then peeled off down the highway in a blaze of glory; laying a strip of smoking rubber as far as the eye can see?
Me neither, but, I think if you hot-​rodded Glen Breton, you would get something like the Elixir, and that is a good thing.
Ok seriously, no more verbiage.
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#2 Tullibardine 500
«Engage!» If you like flavour-​rich Scotch that leans toward a darker experience like the smokey Laphroaig, this is the Scotch for you. There is no guessing with a drink like this. You simply smell it, taste it, and you know. I thought I sensed some Peat in here, but maybe it was just wishful thinking. Delicious anyhow.
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#1 The Dalmore
«Number 1, you have the bridge.» I’m going back to my quarters to taste this amazing fiery liquid, over and over again, until I get it right. Absolutely stunning, I knew as soon as I tasted it that I was done tasting last night. This was the champ for me.
Imagine all of the good and legendary things you have heard about great Scotch and apply them here. This is a classic bottle that walks among us.

Seriously, this Unilocal Elite Event was the cat’s meow!
From the moment we entered the Sip ‘n Savour tent at the Taste of Edmonton we were treated royally — it started wioth a glass of Persecco bubbly to be followed up with scrumptious bites!
My personal favourite was from Chef Eric Hanson (formerly from Niche) who treated us to an artful presentation of Alder Smoked Salmon, pickled fingerlings, saged figs, plum salsa, fried sage, fig balsamic & cress purée! Oh. Emily. Gee. Mouth watering and hitting every palate I could ask for! They had a signature cocktail served alongside their entrée which I would coin as grown up bubble tea consisting of potato vodka, plum reduction, and fig caviar! Chef Eric Hanson got my vote for best entrée of the night and he tied for first with another amazing entrée… Follow Chef Eric Hanson on twitter to see where he will pop us next:
From Chef Doreen Prei — Bison Brisket with cherries, rosemary, ramps, baby potatoes and a champagne vinaigarette! This was phenomenal and full of so many lovely textures and loads of taste. The bison was tender and seasoned perfectly. Follow Chef Doreen Prei on twitter at:
Next up was smoked jerky, turnips, pine nuts, apples, bone marrow, and mint tea from Von’s. This dish definitely hit all the stops for flavour but didn’t wow me like the two above.
And last was Rabbit, by Chef Joel Ghostkeeper, marinated in black tea and then crusted in black tea with sage, maple, corn, morel mushrooms on a tortialla like cake (I’m so sorry that I can’t remember if it was polenta or ???). I quite enjoyed this dish but found it a little difficult to cut and try all the bites at once to combine all the flavours. Later in the evening, the chef suggested I pick it up and eat it like a tostada and that helped me gain a much better appreciation of all the flavours together! This is definitely a dish I would prefer served hot but such a treat and the rabbit was so tender!
The theme for this Master Chef myster box inspired challenge was Aborignal-​Inspired menu ingredients that featured indigenous ingredients! I was a little sad that one booth was missing — the Chef featuring the Arctic Char didn’t show up but the night was still a fabulour treat!
PUR furniture sponsored the outdoor patio and gave us plenty of comfy casual wicker seating with plush cushions that would make anyone’s backyard feel inviting and warm.
The international scotch tastings blew my mind! I didn’t know I could appreciate Scotch, Whiskey, and Bourbon last night but it certainly was a game changer for me! Special props to fellow Eliter George H. for taking me under his wing and helping to me learn about the proper etiquette and ways to enjoy the amazing arrays that spoiled us all night.
I absolutely fell in love with the Jim Beam packaging for their KNOB Creek edition which comes from Kentucky and is named after the creek behind Abraham LIncoln’s childhood home! I would totally pick this up as a classy gift for any of my guy friends!
It was quite a treat getting to try Canada’s only distellery — Glen Breton 10 year.
The Tullibardine 225 (citrus/​vanilla), 228 (vanilla/​chocolate). and the 300 were such a treat! My favourite were the 2 limited editions with less than 20 cases left in Canada: Dalmore 1995 Vintage and Jura Exixir — think fruity and spicy! Any of these would make a great gift :-)
Antiquary — 30 Scotch whiskey was incredibly smooth and aged at least 12 years in the blends!
The weather was perfect. The music played at the perfect volume in the background from the Taste Of Edmonton Stage and the best of company was had!
I uploaded 21 pics of the food, the drinks, and the people! Check ‘em out :-)
Thank you again, Miss Jennie M., for a fabulous night out on the town! From the sampling of more than a dozen bourbons, whiskeys, and scotches to the judging of Master Chef Style mystery boxes prepared by 4 of Edmonton’s Finest Executive Chef’s and Restaurnts to the fabulous outdoor patio furnished by PUR — it just couldn’t get any better.