Musical Chairs
An intimate soirée featuring a 13-course dinner, a bathtub full of bubbly and a playlist that had guests dancing in their seats
In February, Toronto Life hosted a dinner in partnership with Sonos, the home sound system company, at the Beaches residence of publisher Ken Hunt. Franco Stalteri, the founder of the CB Wine Program and dinner series Charlie’s Burgers, curated the experience. Chef Patrick Kriss of Alo and the Cheese Boutique’s Afrim Pristine came on board to compose 13 courses.
As guests arrived, they were ushered into the living room, where a claw-foot bathtub had been filled with ice and dozens of bottles of champagne. A bartender served cocktails while guests added songs by Toronto artists to a custom Spotify playlist.
Dinner kicked off with a quartet of amuse-bouches—gougères, foie gras, stuffed quail eggs and caviar soufflé. Guests grooved to an eclectic mix of Metric, Crystal Castles, Drake and The Weeknd, and started dancing in their seats when “Let Your Backbone Slide” by Maestro Fresh-Wes came over the sound system.
The meal continued with caviar served with a cauliflower purée, citrus-cured tuna, foie gras terrine with trumpet mushrooms, and Alo’s famous pain au lait with homemade butter. Then it moved on to more substantial fare, including duck breast with cherry purée and beef cap with winter truffles.
Afrim Pristine then presented a Twilight Beemster made to his demanding specifications, a Loire Valley chevre that had been aged in his own cheese cave and Bleu d’Elizabeth from Quebec, which was served with a tableside grating of pure maple sugar.
The evening ended with three desserts plus grappa, rye, and coffee from local roaster Barocco Coffee Company.
For more pictures from the evening visit: torontolife.com/sonosdinner