The Colour Purple isn’t just the title of a great movie. It’s a recipe for success.
Fireside Grill’s executive chef Morgan Milward discovered that Wednesday night at UVic’s University Club when he took two of the top prizes at Colour Your Palate, the sixth annual culinary competition and fundraiser for ArtsReach programs.
One of 11 regional chefs assigned a colour and challenged to construct a canapé that would express it visually and flavorfully, Milward won the Best Tasting and People’s Choice awards for his Beet Brined Scallop with Austrian Bacon creation featuring purple corn polenta, opal basil aioli and creton. It was the second year in a row he won both awards.
“It wasn’t that easy,” admitted Milward, whose garnish resembled a painter’s palette sprayed purple. “I wanted to do something tasty but it was definitely difficult to plate. Scallops and bacon can be hard to work with, but it’s a nice warm dish.”
Milward made his own beet juice and brine infused with salt, sugar, ginger, garlic, parsley, lemongrass and other vegetables.
“Scallops are very absorbing and soak them right in,” said Milward, who made 370 canapés to feed a crowd of 200-plus.
While chefs take immense pride in their artful, architectural creations, it’s a friendly competition, he said.
“Everybody gets along well and it’s fun and for a good cause, and not an overly stressful cooking event.”
Guests were treated to plenty of scrumptious treats, both savoury and sweet and presented with panache.
Chef Castro Boateng won Most Colourful Creation for his yellow-themed Curry and Vanilla Sous-Vide Scallop, featuring saffron and cauliflower panna cotta, preserved lemon, pickled mango and crispy plantain.
Chefs from Ambrosia Catering, the Beach House, Beacon Landing, Belmiro’s, Camille’s, Hotel Grand Pacific, Royal Victoria Yacht Club, Spinnakers and the University Club cheerfully turned a rainbow of colours into canapés evaluated by Times Colonist food writer Eric Akis and other industry experts.
The event, which raised $13,000, will help the non-profit OCTA (“only creative thinking allowed”) Collective Society continue its development of art and life-skill programs for children in the capital region, said president Maureen Weston.
“We were just over the moon,” said Weston, praising the event held for the first time at the University Club.
“It has a very West Coast feel with lots of windows and it’s so spacious, with lots of room for people to move around.”
Weston said it was while she was principal at Quadra elementary she saw the benefits of Arts-Reach.
“It’s delivering arts programs to children who would most likely not have an opporunity to interact with professional artists,” she said. “They’re so inspired by how the artists can so quickly demonstrate their expertise.”
Programs include theatre, painting and printmaking with two new pilot programs — in-school dance workshops, with an initial focus on hip hop, for Grades 3 to 5; and an after-school video program for Grade 5 students developed with CineVic Society of Independent Film-makers.
