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y Lauren Mote<br />

One of the most exciting parts of<br />

being a service professional is<br />

hitting a home run with a food<br />

and beverage pairing that not only works<br />

perfectly but transcends your guests’<br />

expectations.<br />

There is a new concept in restaurant<br />

bartending called “The Cocktail<br />

Kitchen.” The aim of this program is to<br />

develop cocktails based on deconstructed<br />

tasting notes and complementary flavour<br />

profiles against composed dishes in order<br />

to achieve super-pairings. The idea was<br />

born as a glass of dry cava was being<br />

paired with lentil fritters. The realization<br />

came about that, using the concept of<br />

deconstructed tasting notes, a cocktail<br />

made with split-yellow-pea infused gin,<br />

sake lees, lemon and wheat beer paired<br />

with the lentil fritters would be so much<br />

more entertaining to the taste buds.<br />

Analysis suggests that regional<br />

fare – local produce, meats and cheese,<br />

as well as local preparation techniques,<br />

pair well with regional libations. What<br />

happens when you pair a glass of Alsace<br />

Riesling with a bowl of choucroute garnie?<br />

Magic. Riesling’s slightly petroleum nose,<br />

high-acid citrus fruits and rich mouth feel<br />

pairs perfectly with the high-acid, braised<br />

cabbage and pork belly of the region from<br />

which it hails. There is a reason why<br />

these pairings work, all you need is the<br />

knowledge.<br />

The role of a chef is to provide a<br />

sensory food experience of thoughtful<br />

combinations of ingredients, needing<br />

to be enhanced only by the addition<br />

of an appropriate beverage. Similarly,<br />

bartenders can provide a sensory<br />

experience within a glass, the character of<br />

which is only enhanced by the addition<br />

of food. It was just a matter of time before<br />

cocktails were built in the same fashion as<br />

culinary creations. This is The Cocktail<br />

Kitchen program – the integration of food<br />

and beverage science.<br />

The Cocktail Kitchen concept has<br />

since become a competition held at The<br />

Refinery in downtown Vancouver. The<br />

contest showcases the talents of both<br />

young and veteran bartenders in front of<br />

a packed room of guests equipped with<br />

score cards and differing palates and<br />

expectations. Each month, a featured<br />

spirit is matched to a regional cuisine<br />

that creates a theme preliminary pairing.<br />

Examples include tequila and Mexico,<br />

for recipes, please see page 124<br />

Cognac and France, gin and India and<br />

sweet vermouth and Italy. What started as<br />

a few notes scribbled down on a cocktail<br />

napkin during a brainstorming session has<br />

now come to fruition. The first Cocktail<br />

Kitchen Series held its finale in February<br />

and The Refinery will host the second<br />

series starting in March 2011.<br />

Ben de Champlain, The Refinery’s<br />

talented chef and lead bartender, has<br />

13 years of cooking experience and<br />

five years of bartending experience. He<br />

represents exactly what the program is<br />

FRISÉe Au LARdoNS SALAD PAirED WiTH A “CHArEnTE” CoCKTAiL<br />

TASTE 29

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