Stay tuned for more great details to follow……

http://canadianchefscongress.com/

• Culinary demos with Celebrity Chefs
• Watch PEI’s (and the World’s) BEST oyster shuckers battle it out in the Raspberry Point & Shiny Sea oyster shucking competitions.
• Check out the PEI Potato and International chowder championships—sample them all and pick your favourite!
• Enjoy lots of the PEI shellfish at the Festival’s food pavilion, including local mussels, oysters, lobster, clams, quahogs, and even chowder.
• Socialize with family and friends while taking in the best in East Coast musical entertainment and the best in local shellfish.
• Visit their link for further details:http://www.peishellfish.com/

This exceptional event promotes organic agriculture by bringing chefs and farmers together to raise public awareness about organics and to help finance organic projects.

As a guest you can stroll the park and sample delicious organic food and drinks made by Chefs, Artisans, Brewers, and Vintners.

You’ll receive a cookbook containing recipes from all the exhibitors and what an ideal time to have them autographed by your favourite Chefs and Suppliers!

It’s going to be a great day. Look forward seeing you there and don’t forget to bring your cameras.

Check out the link for early bird tickets or for more information:

http://www.feastoffields.org/index.aspx

Michael will be acting as a guest chef for the event. There will be cooking demos, cookbook signing, and much more!

To find out more about events at the CNE visit the link below, you can find us under concerts and events! See you there!

http://www.theex.com/concerts-events/

With Chef Michael Smith at the helm, a host of local ingredients are whipped into a fabulous meal, a veritable feast of fresh island ingredients, and served up to 1000 plus hungry guests.

To find out how you can be one of those guests, or to join our team visit the link below:

http://villagefeast.ca/

60 Chefs and 30 Beverage Purveyors equals 750,000 meals for Toronto’s Hungry.

Come on out and help us pair cuisine and compassion, as  we raise funds have a lot of fun.

See you there! Visit the link below for more information:

http://www.torontotaste.ca/

For preparation, you’ll need:

• Wooden cutting board

• Knife

• Large platter

• Ice

• Oyster knives

• Four martini glasses

What you’ll need:

• 2 dozen PEI Malpeque oysters, largest available

• 1 bottle of PEI Potato Vodka

• 2 large red onions

• 1 cup (250 mL) of sugar

• 1 cup (250 mL) of red wine vinegar

• A bunch of fresh dill

• 1 box coarse sea salt

• Salt and pepper

Start by making the pickled red onion relish, which yields approximately 2 cups. Slice the onions as thinly as possible. You may find it useful to first slice them in half and lay them on their cut side before slicing them further. Cram the sliced onions into a large Mason jar. Pour the sugar and red wine vinegar into a small pot and bring to a boil with the salt and pepper. Add the onions and continue heating just long enough to return the mixture to a simmer. Pour the mixture into the Mason jar, cover and rest overnight in the refrigerator before use. Because sugar and vinegar are such great preservatives, these pickled onions will last indefinitely in your refrigerator. They’re at their best after a day or two in your fridge, once their flavours have had a chance to mature.

Fill vodka glasses with course sea salt and set aside. Shuck the oysters and place them in the half shell on top of salt. Pour a one ounce shot of vodka over the oyster. Garnish with a teaspoon of pickled red onion relish and a sprig of dill.

Johnny Flynn and his brother Leo are the brains and brawn behind Colville Bay Oyster Company. For 20 years they have passionately worked the bays waters and today they’re genuine foodie rock stars. In fact many chefs come to PEI simply to visit them and taste their oysters straight out of the water. They’re oysters are featured on menus all over North America and I’m proud to have taken them with me on Iron Chef America!

Oysters taste like the sea and are one of natures best ingredients for expressing the individuality of their terroir. Colville Bay oysters are known for having a salty sweet flavour that reflects the waters they grow in. Since PEI is basically a giant sand bar floating in the ocean our oysters don’t have the strong mineral flavours that define other locales where waters flow through granite or other stone. Our waters flow through sand so our oysters are much more approachable.

Water temperatures in PEI’s bays and estuaries range from –2°C in winter to 24°C or higher in the summer, while salinities range between 23 to 29 parts per thousand. Because of the cold winter temperatures PEI is considered to be the northern tip of areas suitable for oyster production.

The local environment and the resulting variations in growing conditions can affect the overall quality of oysters. Oysters can feed on plankton from the water column almost continuously when the conditions are right. The warm water conditions found in PEI bays and estuaries allow the oysters to feed almost continuously until the water temperature drops below 40 Celsius.

The shape and outer appearance of the oyster are also impacted by local growing conditions. Shells of oysters that are overcrowded or located on muddy bottoms will grow long and narrow, while the shells of oysters grown on hard, sandy bottoms where there is no overcrowding will grow round and be deep cupped.

The Island’s warm, shallow, food rich waters provide excellent growing conditions for the American or Eastern oyster (Crassotrea virginica). This has resulted in PEI’s attaining an international reputation for producing quality oysters.

This article is partly drawn from aquaculturepei.com. For even more tasty oyster information please visit their web site: http://www.aquaculturepei.com/pei_oyster_industry.php

When you experiment with recipes you will introduce your family and friends to new flavours and turn ordinary recipes into extra special recipes with your special touch.

Ham Hock Lentil Cabbage Stew

Serves 4 to 6

1 smoked ham hock

2 bay leaves

1 large or 2 smaller onions

4 to 8 cloves of peeled garlic

1 cup of lentil

1/2 head of thinly sliced Napa cabbage

1/4 cup of mustard

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Toss the ham hock and bay leaves into a stockpot and cover them with 8 cups of water. Bring the water to a full boil then adjust the heat so it just barely maintains a simmer. Continue cooking the hock until it’s tender and the broth is flavourful, about 2 hours. Using a pair of tongs pull out the bones and break the larger chunks of meat into smaller pieces. Reserve the meat and the broth.

Meanwhile chop the onions. Sautee the onions in a second soup pot with a splash of any cooking oil until the onions are tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir a few minutes longer. Pour in the reserved broth and meat. Bring the mixture to the simmer. Pour in the lentils, stir then cram in the cabbage. Continue simmering as the cabbage wilts and releases moisture. When the cabbage is tender stir in the mustard. Taste the stew and season to your taste with salt and pepper.