Passion for Pork in Calgary

 What is Passion for Pork?

The Passion for Pork initiative is a new project to bring more awareness to pork and pork products here in Canada including cities like Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Calgary’s Passion for Pork week begins today, Monday October 15th and runs until Sunday October 21st. For the whole week, different restaurants around town will be showcasing pork in various ways on their menus.

Yesterday night I had the honor of attending the official kick off event at the great new restaurant Downtownfood right in…you guessed it downtown Calgary. We got a chance to sample ten amazing dishes which either had hints of pork flavour or featured pork as its main ingredient.

We started off the evening with a light Consumme infused with Broek Acres house cured bacon and house made kimchi with pickled Asian vegetables and green apple. It was sweet and warm with a slight spiciness at the end, a good way to amp up the appetite.

Next we had the Beet Tartar which was made with bacon fat aioli and served over a thin cumin crisp. There was just enough cumin to taste it without it overwhelming the gentle flavours of the beets. The bacon aioli gave the bite that nice unctuousness that otherwise would have been missing, a must in a tartar.

The third course was a Crostini topped with lardo infused mushrooms and Noble Meadow goat cheese. It didn’t feel like I was eating mushrooms at all. If it wasn’t for the texture of the mushroom I would have thought that I was biting in to pieces of pork. The infusion of flavour was truly amazing.

To cut the heaviness of the last couple courses, we were presented with a house made (down to the wrapper itself) pork Wonton in a light rice wine and Szechuan chili oil broth. I really enjoyed the chewiness of the wrapper and slight spiciness of the chili oil. It was a great way of utilizing pork in a healthier manner.

Then came the highlight of the evening, the West Coast Oysters. House smoked, then tossed in the Meta4 hot sauce, breaded and fried. The oyster flavour wasn’t overpowered even though it was fried and the smokiness still permeated each bite. It was definitely the favourite of the table and a topic of conversation the rest of the evening.

We were then served a light breakfast of sorts, with breaded quail eggs over buttered toast and bacon. We were all jealous of how perfectly cooked my husband’s dish was, when he cut in to his egg, the egg yolk just ran all over his toast and became the perfect sauce.

Our seventh course of braised Pork Tail Cake has always been one of my favourite dishes at Downtownfood. The pork cake is lightly seared and served with a lightly spiced Korean BBQ vinaigrette and crunchy house made kimchi style vegetables. I really enjoy the combination of sweet, salty and spicy in this dish. Hope they don’t remove it from their menu.

To end our savour courses, we had the Scallop Sashimi cooked with peanut oil heated to 600ºc, accompanied by a ginger garlic puree and topped with a bacon dust. Due to the method used, the scallop had an interesting texture and flavour. I especially liked the addition of ponzu, which made it feel like you were eating an elevated piece of sashimi.

Our first dessert was a Pumpkin Tart topped with a good helping of whipped cream. The perfect seasonal dessert, the filling was smooth and silky, not overly too sweet. We also got to try the Bacon and Apple Fritter, fluffy, cinnamony goodness with just the right amount of honey for that hint of sweetness.

If that wasn’t enough, the night was topped of with a decadent strawberry liquer Truffle. The perfect pairing for coffee!

After that amazing meal, I personally can’t wait to see what else is in store at all the other restaurants around town. I’m sure you must be too and I can help! I have a couple gift certificates to start you on your way to porky goodness! Please respond to this blog with a great pork dish you’ve tried locally in around town. All the entries will be put in to a draw and the winners will be contacted mid week. Good Luck!

Also, be sure to checkout the Passion for Pork website for more details on participating restaurants. You can also get great recipes and tips on how to use pork at home. There area great Chef interviews and videos as well. What better time to try pork!