Love is Freedom Edmonton - Valentine's Event

I’m always looking for something new and fun to drag Dave to. When I saw information on the Love is Freedom event at Only Here for the Food, I knew we had to go. Billed as “a celebration of love through a unique culinary and dining experience like no other”, I was sure it would be a Valentine’s date to remember. The event was held at d’Lish and featured cooking instruction from Edmonton chef, Sebastian Lysz (Relish Culinary Consulting) and lessons from Satesh Narine (Crestwood Fine Wines and Spirits) and Kathleen O'Connor (Gnoble Wines) about wine pairings.

We arrived to a warm welcome from Ariel del Rosario of BranchLab, who took our coats and pointed us to the bar. There was a wonderful mix of people and we enjoyed meeting everyone while we nibbled on great hors d’oeuvres. At around 7:00 pm Chef Sebastian Lysz started the show. He walked us through cooking up mushrooms and asparagus for our Warm Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Salad. I loved this dish, it was quick, simple, tasty and best of all made from ingredients that I frequently have in my fridge. Our first wine pairing of the evening was a 2006 Chardonnay from Virgara wines. Its hints of pineapple and grapefruit went nicely with the salad.

After our dishes were whisked away to be washed in the back, did I mention that this is the best way to cook, we started our butternut squash risotto. I’d heard that risotto was a bit labour intensive, but I wasn’t aware just how much work it really is. I’m sure glad Dave was there to do most of the stirring!

After what seemed forever, but was really just a glass of wine time span, our risotto was cooked to satisfaction. We topped our finished product with a bit of truffle oil. This was another first. I had never tasted truffle oil before. Wow, that little drizzle of oil made the dish for me. The risotto was paired with Alta Vista Atemporal Blend, once again a great match. This is a really nice red with great red fruit, pepper, and spice characteristics.

Once again, those dishes disappeared by themselves and we started on the Coq au Vin. We started by browning the chicken pieces in olive oil, then adding bacon and pearl onions. After cooking this for a bit we added chicken stock and wine to the dish.

Since our dish had to simmer for a while, we were treated to a small charcuterie and cheese plate to share as we sat and enjoyed our wine. The cheeses were from Paddy's International Cheese Market and the Italian Centre. What really stood out for me was the cardamom salami from the Cheesery in southern Alberta. Sadly, when we asked Sebastian where we could find it, he told us we’d have to wait two or three months before it would be available at the Old Strathcona Farmers Market or City Market on 104^th Street. Keep your eyes peeled for it; it’ll be worth the wait.


After our Coq au Vin had simmered for a while we added a beurre manie (equal parts flour and butter) to thicken the sauce.Our dishes tasted very nice, but I couldn’t get over its purple grey colour.

The Coq au Vin was paired with Virgara’s Cabernet Sauvignon, which was also the wine that the chicken was cooked in. This was my wine of choice over the evening; I found it fruity with rich black currant flavours. Very enjoyable.

For dessert, Chef Lysz prepared chocolate ice cream made with Kirsten’s Drinking Chocolate using dry ice to speed up the process. A warm and engaging showman, he demonstrated how dry ice will freeze a rose (a nice valentine’s touch) and then proceeded to smash it for us.

While he continued preparing the ice cream, we were treated to a selection of Kirsten’s Original Source chocolates.

Once the chocolates disappeared we started on our Bananas Flambé. We added a large portion of brown sugar to melted butter and then added our bananas.

Once our bananas were cooked, Chef Lysz came around with his big container of vanilla vodka, adding some to our dish and then lighting it up. Once the fired died down and the smoke cleared we dished it up in a bowl with our fresh chocolate ice cream. Very heavenly!

After dessert we were treated to the great jazz rhythms of Dave Babcock and his Jump Orchestra. The music was fantastic and I was happy to hear some of my favorite jazz songs. Sadly, I was too stuffed to get up and groove.

Thankfully, the organizers had arranged rides home for everyone. It was a perfect end to a fun and memorable evening.