By Priya and Alex
What could be better than truffles? Not the chocolate kind (although those are pretty fantastic too!) but the really decadent kind that are hunted in forests by dogs!
Most of us have probably owned truffle oil or truffled salt but how many of us have experienced authentic truffle products direct from a family who hunts them?
We’d guess not many!
It’s no surprise then, that we were so excited to meet the Truffle Lady aka Wanda Srdoc of www.whitetruffles.ca. Truffles are her specialty and have been central to her family in Istria, Croatia since the early 1900s – particularly the famed White Truffle.
In fact, her cousin is a certified Truffle Sommelier. The truffles she imports are hunted in peak season and then incorporated into a high quality professional line of truffle products on their property in Croatia.
On Tuesday, May 26th in downtown Toronto we will be hosting a 3-course dinner and wine pairing featuring her truffle products prepared in a cooking demo by Executive Chef, Petar Budisa of Dalma Catering.
Not coincidentally, Chef Petar was born in Croatia and has worked with Wanda at several of her truffle-inspired dinners.
We had a tasting dinner with Wanda and Chef Petar to make sure we had the perfect wine pairings and let us just say, the food was simply sublime!
Mushroom risotto is a staple in our house but the truffle risotto Chef prepared was exceptional in it’s simplicity and flavor. The watercress salad was drizzled with a truffle oil dressing and the dessert options were an almond truffle bundt cake with dark chocolate swirl and a dark chocolate avocado mousse with truffled salt as a vegan-friendly option. Oh and did we neglect to mention the truffled popcorn that was served as an amuse bouche? Sorry for that oversight–it was a special treat indeed!
Alex (Sommelier at celebrity Chef, Susur Lee’s flagship restaurant) has paired some lovely wines for this special evening, including an Alsatian Pinot Gris, a Barolo and a Tokaji. The challenge with putting wine to truffles is in finding the balance of a wine that enhances the delicate, aromatic flavor of truffle without overpowering it.
Everyone at the tasting dinner agreed that the wines were perfectly matched, no surprise since Alex takes pride in making sure his pairings are the best they can be.
The event will be held at Front & Spadina at a lovely venue with a greenhouse dining option.
The best part is that not only will you enjoy a lovely 3-course meal, you’ll see firsthand how to recreate the dishes in your home!
Freshly brewed stock for the risotto, the smells enveloped the kitchen and truthfully, made us a bit impatient to be able to taste the goods!
Dark chocolate mousse topped with truffled salt—the perfect salted dark chocolate treat!
If you’d like some more information about Wine and Truffles: A Cooking Demo & Wine Pairing Event, please visit http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/wine-and-truffles-a-cooking-demo-wine-pairing-event-tickets-16204442925 or contact us directly at [email protected]
We look forward to delighting your senses!
