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Swine and Dine – Dish #1 with Chef Doreen Prei @ Zinc Restaurant

The inaugural Swine and Dine in down town Edmonton was so amazing… it deserves a post for each dish prepared by each chef at each restaurant

At 7 pm on a rainy Tuesday following the Canada Day weekend, 22 people got together for a Swine and Dine pork dish crawl. We started at the beautiful Zinc Restaurant at the Art Gallery of Alberta on Churchill Square.

While Alex (Zinc’s sommelier) helped our swine and diners dry out with a glass of wine, I snuck in the back to get a peek at what Sous Chef Doreen Prei was cooking up.

She was crisping up a parmesan pork (fat) cracker and topped with ground pork. Of course I got a sample… and it was lick the pork fat off your fingers delicious!

When we got the word that everyone was in their seats, I watched her take the time to individually style each plate, and as the last garnish was applied – the plates were delievered to the dining room where Doreen welcomed everyone to Zinc, introduced herself, and explained her pork-themed tasting plate.

The parmesan pork cracker was draped on a cup of apple bacon soup. Served like a broth, it felt like Doreen scooped up apple cider used to braise a ham.

The sinful pleasure on the plate for me was her Foie Gras Pafrait wrapped in Parma Ham. When my less adventurous  friend Lena asked what she was eating, I didn’t want to scare her with translation of foie gras into duck liver. Instead I told her it was a little parcel of love… just try it.

If Doreen had let me… I would have eaten 5 more. Of course anything wrapped in pork tastes better – but was unreal. The mouse-like texture inside was sweet, but with a distinct foie gras flavour. The plate was finished with an apple salad, bits of popcorn and a drizzle of salted caramel. (You have no idea how well salted caramel and pork go together… it is heavenly).

A wonderful intro to the evening, it was a treat to have Chef Doreen Prei introduce us to the gourmet side of swine – a great way to serve up Alberta Pork.

We said our goodbyes to the beautiful view at Zinc and started walking across the square to visit Chef Andrew Cowan at Hundred Bar & Kitchen.