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Spencer’s chef taking the world of cider to a whole new level

duck serve

Spencer’s at the Waterfront in Burlington is a spectacular venue for brunch, lunch or dinner with an ever-changing menu of creative and seasonal delights.

The view along Lake Ontario — in winter, spring, summer or fall — just can’t be beat and the staff, led by Executive Chef Chris Haworth along with Chef de Cuisine Andrew McLeod, make sure the view isn’t the only thing that keeps you coming back for more.

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The assembly line in the kitchen for the cider pairing dinner with Chef Chris Haworth in the centre of it (no hat).

Haworth, who has worked his way through some of the finest kitchens of London, England, including Marco Pierre White’s Quo Vadis and L’Escargot restaurants, is a chef who draws his influence from the terroir and flavours of Ontario.

So it’s not surprising he would pioneer the growing hard cider trend in Ontario. Especially when you consider Haworth is a budding amateur cider maker and unabashed cheerleader for the fledgling industry.

He is fervent supporter of the cider industry, has developed strong bonds with cider makers, especially with Prince Edward County’s County Cider Company owner Grant Howes, and is working in tandem to prove that cider, in its myriad styles, has a comfortable place at the dinner table.

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Stephen M. Wood and Louisa D. Spencer, proprietors from Farnum Hill Ciders in New Hampshire.

In what is now an annual event, Spencer’s held its second sold-out cider dinner to showcase both the food and the artisanal ciders of Ontario with a special appearance by Stephen M. Wood and Louisa D. Spencer, proprietors from Farnum Hill Ciders in New Hampshire, a bit of a cult cidery garnering plenty of attention south of the border, and establishing a bone-dry, austere style of cider more closely aligned to what Howarth is used to from him homeland in Britain.

Our evening of cider and food pairing began with a tasting of the various ciders, a wider and more stylistically  interesting selection than the original dinner and tasting from a year earlier.

Making their first appearance at the dinner and tasting was Applewood Farm Winery from Stouffville, Coffin Ridge from Grey County, Farnum Hill Cider from New Hampshire and Pommies Dry Cider from Southern Cliff Brands in Caledon.

Pommies was an instant hit at the tasting as they presented a dry, crisp, fruity style made by Howes at County Cider and sold under a clever, eye-catching label that already has attracted the attention of the LCBO (available in June for $13 for a four-pack in 355 Ml bottles that are made to look like wine bottles) and fans of this growing category.

Pommies owner and cider lover, Nick Sutcliffe, who has a marketing background and “always wanted to make cider in Ontario,” approached Howes and explained the kind of cider he wanted to introduce into the market.

“I wanted a refreshing, thirst-quenching cider with a crisp finish,” he explained at the Spencer’s walk around tasting.

He wanted to use all 100% Ontario apples and made as naturally as possible. “I wanted it to be made like wine but drank like beer,” he says.

Sutcliffe’s early success with Pommies will lead to more styles, he says, and he’s in the process of opening his own facility in Caledon.

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Pommies cider.

Pommies, like County Cider’s Waupoos Cider, is  refreshing and crisp, the perfect drink for a hot summer’s day on the deck or by the pool. It’s clean on the palate with green apple flavours all perfectly balanced with cleansing acidity.

It’s not hard to figure out why ciders are growing exponentially in popularity with Ontario drinkers.

And with chefs such as Haworth pioneering food matches for the myriad styles of cider, this popular British tipple will soon be comfortably joining wine on the dinner table.

This is what Haworth paired with a diverse selection of ciders brought to Spencer’s for another fabulous dinner.

A winter salad of valentine radish, turnip, Romelia cheese and almonds started us off and was paired with Pommies Dry Cider. The almonds and turnips folded nicely into the Pommies, which added a zesty lemon twist to the salad.

Next up was a “land and water” dish made up of scallop, oxtail tortellini, Vidalia onion and parsley and matched with Spirit Tree Perry 2011 vintage Cider from Spirit Tree Estate Cidery in Caledon.

The cider is a blend of Bartlett, Bosc and Flemish pears and brought a lovely added dimension to the scallops and matched the texture of the oxtail tortellini. The cider showed apple, citrus and lemon spritz with a subtle note of lychee.

Haworth’s next dish was a mélange of duck, parfait, confit and foie gras with quince and hazelnut.

Looking for something more substantive to pair with this heavierdish, the cider chosen was County Cider’s CHOA Ice Cider 2009. This is a big cider (12% alcohol) that’s aged in barrels made of cherry, hickory, oak and ash (hence CHOA). Wow! What a pairing. This match was a perfect complement. The cider’s smoked apple flavours, orange peel, butterscotch cream and vanilla was particularly delicious with the foie gras. Not only from a textural standpoint, but also for its contrasting flavours. The cider brought a new dimension to the foie gras, rather than just complementing it. Well done!

Howes uses the same recipe for his ice cider as vintners do for icewine. The apples are naturally frozen in the orchard and pressed while frozen. The various styles of wood aging, Howes says, “add complexity. It’s a little better than icewine,” he told the guests at the dinner. Spoken like a true cider maker!

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The intimate setter at Spencer's for the cider dinner.
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Veal loin with cauliflower, sweetbreads, Welsh rarebit and mustard.
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Guests were invited to taste the various ciders before dinner.
scallop
A “land and water” dish made up of scallop, oxtail tortellini, Vidalia onion and parsley.
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A mélange of duck, parfait, confit and foie gras with quince and hazelnut.
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The Waldorf sorbet.

Next out of the kitchen was a Waldorf sorbet made with celery and blue d’Elizabeth cheese and served with grapes and walnut brittle.

The creative take on the classic Waldorf salad was paired with Coffin Ridge Forbidden Fruit Organic Cider, a Grey County cider that uses all organically-grown apples from neighbouring growers.

coffinSorbet and cider? Absolutely! The crisp, fresh apples and juicy citrus notes played beautifully with the blue cheese, grapes and walnut brittle.

Perhaps the most interesting (thought provoking?) pairing of the evening was the veal loin with cauliflower, sweetbreads, Welsh rarebit and mustard matched to the Farnum Hill Cidery’s Extra Dry Still Cider from New Hampshire.

Extra Dry Still is the most austere blend of cider Farnum Hill makes. “When we say dry,” proprietor Stephen Wood told the diners, “we mean dry.” And it didn’t disappoint.

It’s made in dead-still style with no filtration and no bubbles, no dosage of returned sugar, nothing but New Hampshire-grown late-harvest cider apples parading their best in any given year.

This is a cider, actually closer to a wine in style, that is high in tannins, astringent and possesses racy acidity. It’s a style more common in Britain, where ciders have long been appreciated more than in North America.

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Farnum Extra Dry Cider.

The Farnum, at least at our table, was a controversial pairing, a challenging match that offered both complementing flavours and contrasting notes. I would have liked to see this beside a fattier meat, but loved how it mingled with the sweetbreads.

I loved the challenge of the dish, how it made you think about what you were eating and drinking. The cider showed interesting creamy notes, sublime apple flavours, elegance and length through the finish. A thinking diner’s pairing for sure.

Our lovely exploratory cider evening was finished off with carrot cake and cryo apple cream, pistachio and goat’s cheese icecream. It was paired with Applewood Farm’s Iced Cider 2010 from Stouffville.

It was a gorgeous end note with the sweet fuzzy-peach, apricot and intense flavours of the iced cider playing nicely with the inventive take on carrot cake. A sweet and powerful end note to another brilliant cider dinner by Haworth and his choice quality-oriented cider masters.

Bravo!