I get so excited when I hear about free food. When I hear that there’s two tastings a day full of fresh seafood from the Atlantic Canada House it gets me even more excited. Then to top it all off, there are 4 culinary chef instructors from each province (Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland) with their team of student chefs preparing all this food everyday!

The tastings of the day included:
1. Smoked Salmon Spheres with Cream Cheese and Carmelized Apples. (NS)

2. Mussel Toast Point with Smoked Tomato Cream (PEI)

3. Yellow Split Pea Cake with Salted Beef and Pickled Root Vegetables (NF)

4. Halibut Ceviche (NB)

The venue is popular so come early to lineup for the tastings. The chefs also have these great mobile kitchens set up to prepare all the food:

Along with sampling some great food, I was able to talk to some chefs from Atlantic Canada.

I have family in PEI and have been there on a few occasions so I know how fresh and abundant and fresh (and delicious) the lobster, oysters, and fish are there. Chef Kevin Boyce mentioned that PEI residents love to eat seafood in a social setting. You can find lobster dinners in Churches with plenty of famous PEI potatoes. You can find plenty of oyster bars with large group tables to sit at and enjoy food together. The small size of PEI does offer a stronger sense of community where you might know the entire food chain from the fishers and farmers, to the markets, to the restaurants and homes.

The growing season is shorter, as PEI gets very cold very quick in the winter. However, in the short summer, there is an abundance of fresh vegetables and farmer markets in town. Most vegetables and fruits have to be brought in the other times of the year. Chef Kevin Boyce teaches at the Holland College in PEI and was offering a tasting of Mussel Toast Point with a Smoked Tomato Cream. He also sent a recipe for Lobster which we still want to cook before posting!

Chef Dave Irving from New Brunswick spent some time telling me about some special foods that is only found in Atlantic Canada. He told me about Fiddleheads.

I have NEVER heard or seen Fiddleheads in my life. Fiddleheads are the start of young Fern. They can only be harvested for a few weeks in the spring time and taste like asparagus. They look, indeed, like the head of a violin. I am so curious about these and would love to try them when they are in season!

He also talked about a popular New Brunswick tradition of cooking called hodgepodge. A hodgepodge is a stew of seasonal vegetables. Whatever you can pick off your garden, you can combine it in a slow cooker with butter, flour, milk and water and you’ll get delicious hodgepodge! It’ll vary for each house and each season. We’ll be posting a recipe about this shortly!

As for his advice for people at home who are just starting out learning how to cook, Chef Dave says, Keep It Simple. I’m a big dork and have heard this advice as it relates to programming (KISS) but it’s great to hear it being applied to the cooking world as well. I fully agree, it’s more enjoyable when there are very few ingredients and the cooking techniques are simple and the whole process is quick. Less time in the kitchen means more time eating and enjoying it with your loved ones. You don’t need to reproduce some of the restaurant recipes right off the bat and get intimidated. Cooking should be fun and keeping it simple will make the introduction to cooking fun.

Anyway, head down to Atlantic Canada House before the Olympics end for their tastings and nightly concerts! I’m going to go back on February 27 for Sturgeon Caviar for sure!

Stay tuned for recipes from the Atlantic Canada House on our blog.