A Dinner out with a Friend

30 Jan 16
08:48 hrs.

    

     Last night my dear friend from Over the Hump and I attended the Comox Valley Whiskey fest dinner at the Westerly Hotel on Cliffe. The sponsor was The Macallan scotch whiskey, which just happens to be the preferred drink of Rush's drummer - Neil Peart. Horses Ovaries were at 18:30 hrs. with a traditional Scottish dinner at 19:30 hrs. At the end of the evening our expectations were not met. For the price that we had paid the meal component was lacking of flavour and presented without grace and the volume of whiskey was somewhat lacking.

    

     The first course was smoked haddock from the northern most part of Scotland. We were told that the Orkney Islands are at the same latitude as Scandinavia and that the Vikings once had the controlling interest. Fine. But there is no reason that the haddock could not have been de-boned before it was smoked.  Little thin invisible bones. Until they brushed the roof of your mouth that stated a gag reflex. If Highliner Foods can de-bone their fish the chef at the Westerly could have done it too. In retrospect I believe the kitchen staff at the Westerly did not make this first course other than to pull it out of its packaging and plunk it into the platters from which we served ourselves. Even the plates were stacked unceremoniously in the middle of the table.

    

     The second offering was a cream chicken soup. It was excellent, as was the scotch pairing that went with it. Not a lot of people like or even make soups these days. It should be understood that the sign of a good cook/chef is their ability to make a soup. It shows their ability to use up kitchen left overs to produce another meal. Take a read of Chef Anthony Bourdain's books. Or watch the Mind of a Chef series on Netflix and you will see what I mean.

    

     The third course was the poached pheasant. Tender and moist and totally lacking in any flavour whatsoever. You would expect some savory goodness that could be attributed to Highland cuisine. Nope. And again the servers brought out a stack of plates for us to distribute amongst the diners followed by a large self serve platter. What the hell? Is this a joke? Obviously not. And the tables were so wide the platter could not be passed but had to be slid down with each person awkwardly trying to use the serving device that could have passed for a speculum.

    

     The dirge of an off tune piper announced the arrival of the haggis. It was steaming hot with a single slice along the top that opened the casing. Five of these oatmeal and offal sausages were stacked on the platter. There was no carving knife or serving fork provided making it very tough to deliver a portion of the bland glutinous stuffing. From the presentation I do believe that the product was purchased and then prepared because I don't think any real chef would put for this plate without trying it first. Isn't that a rule to try your food before sending it out. Now, I am not a professional chef but it is not a stretch to give those consuming your fare some sort of seasonings that would recognizably enhance the food. Sage or rosemary.  Something. Anything.  How about some pepper?

    

     The penultimate dish was a roast beef. Big slabs of sliced meat with traditional Scottish veggies. And suet dumplings. Yummy. Well, the meat was enjoyable. But, yet again the well laden serving platter was simply deposited on to the table for the circling patrons to dive into. Fresh plates were passed out and the gray lifeless meat was distributed. Texturally good but devoid of any joy. I really began to wonder of the chef enjoyed his job or was he seeing how far down the scale his food could fall.

   

     Our last dish was the dessert. A whiskey flavoured whipped cream atop these ceramic tiles pretending to be short bread. The slivers of strawberries were but a distraction from the distinct possibility of breaking off a tooth.

    

     Would I attend this function again? Possibly, if the service was brought up to the level of a half descent restaurant.  I paid $60 for the pleasure of dining on a traditional Scottish meal and the table service was below that of a McDonald's. The whiskey itself was the star of the evening but the dribbles doled out to each customer was less than enticing to purchase more.