The James Beard Experience – dinner

I’ve never been to a JOEY restaurant and I’d never heard of Chef Chris Mills before this dinner, so I had no idea what to expect in the way of food.

Here’s what I had:

Dinner

Citrus-Cured Haida Gwaii Salmon with Dungeness Crab Flan & Cornbread

L’ecole 41 “Walla Voila” Chenin Blanc, Washington

Alaskan Black Cod, BBQ Pork Belly & Squash Dumpling in a Matsutake Mushroom Broth

Sandhill “Small Lots” Viognier, British Columbia

Bonus Apple Salad Course (to cleanse the palate)

Licorice Lacquered Duck Breast, Summer Cherry Conserve, with a Hazelnut-Crusted Korean Duck Roll

Sonoma Cutrer “Russian Valley River” Pinot Noir, California

45-Day-aged Beef Rib with Yukon Gold Potato, Braised Oxtail & Black Trumpet Mushroom Lasagna & Bellmann Farm Carrots

Efeste “Ceidleigh” Syrah, Washington

Dessert

Vietnamese Banana Cake with Tropical Fruit Salad & Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

Inniskillin “Okanagan” Riesling Ice Wine, British Columbia

And they brought out Financiers! Did I start a trend?

As a restaurant reviewer, I have had the good fortune of having a lot of sumptuous, memorable meals.

None have ever  been like this.

Where everything is done to perfection, where flavours abound and delight. Where memories of meals from childhood come floating up, where tastes tangle and tantalize. None that have taken me from awe-inspiring to mesmerizing through all 5 (+ bonus salad = 6) courses. And not only that, but it was done for about 50 of us.

It was one of the greatest, finest meals of my life.

And I got to see how it was done.

Tune in tomorrow for a behind-the-scenes look at how this epic meal was created!

[All photos by Stephanie Dickison - please do not use without permission. Thank you.]