This is turning into the year of chef collaborations.
First the Underground Chef Cartel popped up. Cafe Bar Pasta is doing monthly guest-chef nights, and Burger Brawl is just getting started.
The Drake Hotel’s chef de cuisine, Alexandra Feswick, throws her hat in the ring with new summer series Feswick’s Freestyle, which features her collaborations with some of her favourite chefs in a fun, casual environment. Limited-seating dinners are at a communal table somewhere in the hotel.
At the first event on April 28, Feswick teamed up with Charlotte Langley of Scout Canning. All mains were canned items served right in the can, with Feswick providing fresh vegetable sides and salads. The long harvest table tucked away in the Sky Yard was playfully decorated with pots of herbs and accompanied by pairs of scissors so guests could snip away and eat to their hearts’ content.
I had no idea canned food could be so beautiful, flavourful and varied. We were served, among others things, fresh ricotta, confit squash and turnip, whitefish with cucumber gravy, and the standout, duck confit and cassoulet.
The next collaboration is inspired by a traditional tea party, except the tea’s replaced by booze. It happens June 10, with Christine Fancy, pastry chef at the Drake, and Sophie Jones of Sweet Jones.
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