The Province

Refined simplicity, beguiling flavours

Chef highlights fresh Okanagan ingredient­s

- MIA STAINSBY mia.stainsby@shaw.ca twitter.com/miastainsb­y

Alessa Valdez's move to the Okanagan was interplane­tary.

“I was in culture shock. I'm a city girl from Toronto. The nightlife here ... there's nothing open when I run to a store to get groceries. I'm still trying to adjust to that,” she says.

But then Valdez, the chef at Restaurant at Phantom Creek Estate, met Okanagan tomatoes. And corn. And potatoes. But it was the tomatoes that stole her heart.

“The produce is so beautiful here, so different. I'm slowly falling in love with the Okanagan,” Valdez says. “Now I like the quiet time to myself, the slower pace.”

And the Okanagan had better love this angel of gastronomy right back. She's most certainly sealed the reputation of Phantom Creek Estates as not only a fine wine destinatio­n under winemaker Mark Beringer, the great-great grandson of one of the founders of the notable Napa's Beringer Vineyards, but for the food as well.

I sure had a lot of love for the lunch and dinner I had there on a recent trip to wine country. Visually, it's jewelry, and her dishes blaze with refined simplicity and beguiling flavours. She's been blessed with a benevolent muse.

Not that she hasn't paid her dues. She previously worked at A-listed restaurant­s in Toronto such as Buca Yorkville, Alobar, Oliver & Bonacini's Auberge de Pommiere and Canoe, as well as Top Chef Canada judge Janet Zuccarini's Gusto 101.

There are plenty of mentors in that group of restaurant­s, but perhaps her muse is her mother, whose Filipino cooking inspired her to pursue culinary arts in high school.

“Her cooking is so much better and I don't want to disappoint her,” Valdez says.

Well, tell her that this critic swooned over lunch and dinner.

For those who haven't visited Phantom Creek Estates, it's a beauty. More angels — flowing, towering, winged white sculptures, repping mother earth and nature — welcome you to the property. A marble Helios sculpture, the Greek god of sun, looks towards one of the vineyards and the Egyptian limestone clad building is surrounded by vineyards.

Inside, three wine tasting areas have vineyard views in every direction. Downstairs, the Founder's Cellar, which can accommodat­e tastings and private events for up to six people, has all the drama of a tentacled Dale Chihuly glass chandelier, which reflects and encircles the glass walls of this circular room.

In summer, they'll welcome the public to concerts in the outdoor amphitheat­re where attendees can enjoy wine and charcuteri­e picnics.

Currently, the restaurant is only open for lunch and for private events in the Founder's Cellar, or private rooms and patios for larger groups.

“The goal is to open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, but we have high expectatio­ns to create a beautiful experience and we're not just going to hire anyone,” says Valdez. “Staffing has been my biggest problem.”

For lunch, I started with a fresh-tasting root salad with tahini dressing followed by poached ling cod over sweet pea purée with cello radish, fennel, and nori beurre blanc. Flavours were radiant.

“I try to let ingredient­s speak for themselves and don't want to mask the beautiful protein and vegetables we get from local farmers,” Valdez says.

For dessert, the Basque cheesecake was topped with mulled wine plum preserves. Those plums were delicious thanks to the royal spa treatment they receive in a lovely 2018 Phantom Creek Becker vineyard Merlot. Valdez sounded a little guilty about the splurge.

The lunch menu is three courses for $55, or $70 with wine matches.

A five-course winemaker private dinner I attended was exquisite.

The first course was swimming scallop crudo with Northern Divine caviar, vegetarian XO oil, and Chardonnay vinegar, with a chive balanced balletical­ly on top.

The second course was mushroom duxelles ravioli with Parmesan foam and Perigord truffles. For the foam, Valdez steeped Parmesan rind in cream with garlic, shallots and herbs then shot it through a siphon gun.

The third course had me bowing in reverence before the chef. Figurative­ly speaking, but were she right there, it would have been literally. An elegant rectangula­r sliced terrine revealed layers of honeyed beet gelée, foie gras and duck terrine with preserved pear and vibrant pops of sea buckthorn berries running along the top. The foie gras turned velveteen with a stint in the sous vide before going through a tami for a creamy, light-as-air texture. The terrine was served with toasted brioche slices cut to the exact same dimensions.

Next, a Brant Lake wagyu rib-eye with potato pavé, heirloom carrots, charred shallots and Bordelaise sauce. The wagyu was utterly delicious and the potato pavé had a bronzed, caramelize­d sear, top and bottom.

For dessert, choux pastry with pecan mousseline, pecan praline and pickled Saskatoon berry along with a plate of local cheeses.

Obviously, Valdez hunts for great ingredient­s, which aren't hard to find in the Okanagan and some of it is grown on the property, thanks to the passionate viticultur­ist, Amy Richards.

The winery offers many tour and tasting options — wines only, wine and food, winery and vineyard tour and tasting, Founder's Cellar tasting with Library and exclusive wines, Founder's Cellar tour and fivecourse wine-tasting dinner. All require prior booking.

Next week: More on Okanagan food destinatio­ns.

 ?? PHOTOS: MIA STAINSBY ?? Alessa Valdez, Phantom Creek Estates chef, says she tries to let ingredient­s speak for themselves.
PHOTOS: MIA STAINSBY Alessa Valdez, Phantom Creek Estates chef, says she tries to let ingredient­s speak for themselves.
 ?? ?? Foie gras and duck terrine features preserved pear and vibrant pops of buckthorn berries along the top.
Foie gras and duck terrine features preserved pear and vibrant pops of buckthorn berries along the top.
 ?? ?? Scallop crudo with Northern Divine caviar
Scallop crudo with Northern Divine caviar

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