A few days ago, I was thrilled to be invited by GoBarley for an exclusive feast at the Inn at Bay Fortune with Chef Michael Smith. The goal of this lunch was to celebrate the barley industry and to learn of different ways barley can be enjoyed in delicious dishes and its role as an important ingredient in beer crafting. It was a culinary adventure!
We started outside, by the Fire Pit with some freshly chucked Fortune Bay oysters, served with a hop scented bloody mary ice. Chef Michael Smith opened these himself. I passed on the oysters but I did try the beer that was paired with the oysters, which was Keiths White IPA.
The second dish around the Fire Pit was the pork belly taco served on a sprouted barley tortilla with lentil puree and nasturtium chimichurri. The beer that accompanied this was PEI Brewing Co. Setting Day Saison. The little tacos were assembled right there. I asked if I could have one without the pork and my wish was granted...it was amazing! I want to try making this sprouted barley tortilla and the lentil puree at home.
We were welcomed inside for the rest of our feast. The setting of the Inn at Bay Fortune dining area is one of farm style dining, with two long tables set up that invite everyone to talk and eat together. It was wonderful to talk with other bloggers.
Chef Michael Smith and his team The Fire Brigade experimented and created five different delicious dishes and an amazing bread. The FireWorks, the name for his kitchen at the Inn, is "an Atelier of young chefs".
Canadian Barley is grown from coast to coast and is the fourth largest crop after wheat, canola, and corn. Barley is an ancient grain and has a bit of a nutty flavou. In each dish it was used during our lunch, it truly fit perfectly. Barley can be made into a flour, and there are different forms: pearl, pot, de-hulled. Check out gobarley.com for more information and recipes.
Each beer that was served with the courses were hand selected by Cicerone Angeline. Listening to her explanations and descriptions of each beer for each dish was very interesting and encouraged me to at least try each beer!
We enjoyed Today's Catch which was barley hay smoked seawater cured salmon with green bean cabbage slaw. This was served with UpStreet Brewing "80 Bob" Scottish Export Ale (bottom left in the photo below). The next dish was Farmhouse Cooking: smokehouse duck with barley chanterelle porridge, tomatoes, summer squash and broccoli from the Inn's farm garden (bottom right in the photo below). Pumphouse Biere de Garde was served with this dish. My favourite was the barley chanterelle porridge, I used the wood-oven baked naturally-fermented barley bread to soak up all the juices!
The Sweet Finish was the absolute perfect ending to this feast celebrating barley. It was amazing, truly. The barley bread that was served with our meal was transformed into bread pudding and served with barley malt ice cream, barley brittle, and blueberries.
The Barley Feast at The Inn at Bay Fortune was a delicious adventure. I walked around the grounds after our meal and admired the gardens before heading back to Charlottetown. I learned a lot about barley and will be trying some of the recipes I saw on the gobarley website, like this Peachy Pecan Barley Chai Bread and the Lentil, Barley, and Sweet Potato Soup.
We started outside, by the Fire Pit with some freshly chucked Fortune Bay oysters, served with a hop scented bloody mary ice. Chef Michael Smith opened these himself. I passed on the oysters but I did try the beer that was paired with the oysters, which was Keiths White IPA.
The second dish around the Fire Pit was the pork belly taco served on a sprouted barley tortilla with lentil puree and nasturtium chimichurri. The beer that accompanied this was PEI Brewing Co. Setting Day Saison. The little tacos were assembled right there. I asked if I could have one without the pork and my wish was granted...it was amazing! I want to try making this sprouted barley tortilla and the lentil puree at home.
We were welcomed inside for the rest of our feast. The setting of the Inn at Bay Fortune dining area is one of farm style dining, with two long tables set up that invite everyone to talk and eat together. It was wonderful to talk with other bloggers.
Chef Michael Smith and his team The Fire Brigade experimented and created five different delicious dishes and an amazing bread. The FireWorks, the name for his kitchen at the Inn, is "an Atelier of young chefs".
Canadian Barley is grown from coast to coast and is the fourth largest crop after wheat, canola, and corn. Barley is an ancient grain and has a bit of a nutty flavou. In each dish it was used during our lunch, it truly fit perfectly. Barley can be made into a flour, and there are different forms: pearl, pot, de-hulled. Check out gobarley.com for more information and recipes.
Each beer that was served with the courses were hand selected by Cicerone Angeline. Listening to her explanations and descriptions of each beer for each dish was very interesting and encouraged me to at least try each beer!
We enjoyed Today's Catch which was barley hay smoked seawater cured salmon with green bean cabbage slaw. This was served with UpStreet Brewing "80 Bob" Scottish Export Ale (bottom left in the photo below). The next dish was Farmhouse Cooking: smokehouse duck with barley chanterelle porridge, tomatoes, summer squash and broccoli from the Inn's farm garden (bottom right in the photo below). Pumphouse Biere de Garde was served with this dish. My favourite was the barley chanterelle porridge, I used the wood-oven baked naturally-fermented barley bread to soak up all the juices!
The Sweet Finish was the absolute perfect ending to this feast celebrating barley. It was amazing, truly. The barley bread that was served with our meal was transformed into bread pudding and served with barley malt ice cream, barley brittle, and blueberries.
The Barley Feast at The Inn at Bay Fortune was a delicious adventure. I walked around the grounds after our meal and admired the gardens before heading back to Charlottetown. I learned a lot about barley and will be trying some of the recipes I saw on the gobarley website, like this Peachy Pecan Barley Chai Bread and the Lentil, Barley, and Sweet Potato Soup.
Awesome post! I love the photos, too. I really like Chef Michael Smith and enjoy his cooking show. :)
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