Top Chef Drumheller

So for my birthday this year, Curtis gave me a card that read something like this:

You and two friends are invited to compete in a Top Chef competition here in Drumheller.  

Bring your own sous-chef, apron and favourite knives.  

Intriguing to say the least :)  Well, last night was the Top Chef extravaganza and it was a blast!  It turns out that Curtis had hired a professional chef to meet us at the foods lab at the high school and he made us (with some help from the Drumheller amateur chefs!) a 5 course gourmet dinner that was better than any food we have tasted at any restaurant here in Drumheller.  (I know that may seem like an extreme statement, but it's really true!)

Menu

amuse bouche:  thai spring roll, mango rice wafer and mixed greens

starter:  chicken tikka massala with raita and fragrant spiced basmati rice

palate cleanser: symphony of melons & vodka

main:  beef tenderloin with mushroom potatoes and drizzled with a bordelais sauce

dessert: flambe a la banane, mixed berries and vanilla frozen yogurt

Once everyone had arrived, the evening started with a briefing from our chef (Rakesh) and then we started on the long job of prepping the meal.  Boys were in charge of proteins and girls did the vegetables.  The prep was the longest part of the evening, but it sure made it easier for the rest of the nights' cooking.

Brad & Shar came ready to work!

Curtis wearing his "just call me Martha" apron!

Chopping, dicing, julienning

Brad & Murray prepping the beef tenderloin

Check out my sweet knife skills :)

One small tray (of about a dozen!) of prepped food

Once all the prep work was finished, we started putting the courses together.  For the amuse-bouche we made a chicken, carrot and cabbage stuffed spring roll and then deep fried it.  The mango rice wafer was lettuce, mango and sweet chili sauce wrapped in rice paper.

Curtis & Murray cooking chicken for the spring rolls

The amuse bouche place nearly assembled

For the starter, our chef made the rice ahead of time because of time constraints and it was so delicious and fragrant.  Putting together the chicken tikka massala was surprisingly simple.

Chicken tikka massala with basmati rice in a little chip bowl kind of thing.
Not shown: raita (yogurt with cucumber, tomato and red onion to cool the heat of the chicken)

After the first two courses, it was already 9:30pm and we were full!  But we valiantly forged ahead as we have never been ones to let food get the better of us!!  We took a short break for our symphony of melons and vodka - just diced melons (canteloupe, honeydew and watermelon) and then frozen and added to vodka with a touch of mint.  Delicious.

The Drumheller Top Chefs

Onto our main.  The boys spent a lot of time prepping our mushroom potatoes which actually turned out to be potatoes in the shape of tiny mushrooms!  And Kirstin prepped the carrots which were a beautiful tear drop shape.  We learned that plate-ing was an important part of each course!

Everyone working together to plate the main while I supervised!

Melt in your mouth beef tenderloin with bacon wrapped asparagus

By this time it is 10:30pm - we were all wishing that we had worn maternity pants - and we still had the dessert!  We coated the bananas in cinnamon and brown sugar, sauteed them in a ridiculous amount of butter and then added flaming brandy.  Yum!

Trying to do the fancy pan toss with a really heavy pan - not working so well

Our chef Rakesh ending our evening with pyrotechnics by setting the bananas on fire

I'm happy to report that even though it was called Top Chef, no one got kicked off the show and everyone learned some new skills that we may or may not put to use in our own kitchens.  At the very least, now we know that the boys know how to make more than just grilled cheese :)  I would highly recommend an evening like this and I think Rakesh is available for hire!

Thanks Curtis for one of the funnest nights I've had in a long time.  You know me - and what I like - well.  I love you!