Tuesday, July 1, 7:00 p.m.
Members $90, guests $115
A first-class golf course can bring guests
from all over the world, and put a somewhat unknown area on the
map. That’s what resort owners and brothers Norm and Elly
Reisman were counting on when they started work on Taboo, an adjunct
to the resort hotel they own on the shores of the spectacular Lake
Muskoka, in Ontario’s cottage country. But once you make a
play to be among the world’s greatest resorts, you need the
cuisine off the course to be up to par. That’s where Wildfire
and chef Michael Pataran come in.
Located in the resort’s lakeside hotel,
which first opened in 1926 as the Muskoka Beach Inn, Wildfire offers
gorgeous views of the lake, accented by the lodge’s rustic
wood paneling and classic decor. However, Pataran’s menu goes
far beyond typically stodgy lodge fare. His cooking brings a worldly
perspective to local ingredients, the result of an international
résumé and a curiosity about new flavors and ingredients.
As the Examiner-Banner put it, Pataran challenges “traditional
culinary boundaries by skillfully adopting innovative fusion techniques
using indigenous local ingredients.” The result? Dishes such
as birch-syrup-and-beet-cured squab breast with caramelized onions,
apple chips, and Mutsu-maple glaze, or drunken Blue Mountain venison
rack with blackberry-togarashi glaze, sautéed chanterelles,
root mash summer mousse, and pak choi.
After graduating from the University of Toronto,
Pataran traveled to Mexico, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Portugal,
Switzerland, Italy, and places in between, imprinting his palate
with the flavors of the world. In Australia he attended culinary
school for the first time, and upon graduation he worked in restaurants
around Sydney. Back in Toronto, he worked at Blues on Bellair, Rain,
and Monsoon (nominated for a Beard Restaurant Design Award), before
Pataran and chef de cuisine Jay Scaife, who will also be coming
to the Beard House, took on the challenge of running Wildfire. The
Muskokan critic Andrew Wagner-Chazalon loved Pataran’s
signature dish of maple-miso cod on a Muskoka stone with cha soba
and lotus chips, writing, “Like all of the food at Wildfire…
it is both delicious and beautiful.” Wagner-Chazalon continued,
“Every plate that comes out of the kitchen here is culinary
artistry, designed to appeal to the eye as well as the nose and
palate.”
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Pacific Bluefin Tuna, Diver
Scallop, and Shiso Tartare with St. Lawrence Sturgeon
Caviar and Yuzu Crème Fraîche in
Soba-Sesame Cone
Cool Spinach, Shiitake, and Avocado Maki Rolls
with Edamame Drizzle
Peking Duck and Pickled Vegetable Lumpia Summer
Rolls with Sweet-and-Sour Umeboshi Plum Sauce
Chinese Red Pork Shoulder Steamer Buns with Sweet
Soy, Lemongrass, and Ginger Dipping Sauce
Vineland Estate Sparkling
Riesling NV
Truffled Aux Champs Foie Gras Dumpling with
Carrot-Cardamom Reduction, Black Mission Figs,
Toasted Pine Nuts, and Organic Daikon Sprouts
Pillitteri Estate
Gewürztraminer/Riesling 2000
Seared Grandview Farms Buffalo Salad with
Peanuts, Red Onion, Coriander, Fish Sauce, Soy,
and Thai Chile–Palm Sugar Dressing
Henry of Pelham
Unoaked Chardonnay 2000
Maple-Miso Black Cod on Muskoka Stone with
Crispy Cha Soba–Shimeji Mushroom Salad and
Lotus Chips
Vineland Estates
Chenin Blanc 2001
Roasted Rack of Blue Mountain Venison with
Xiaoxing Rice Wine–Hoisin Glaze, Candy Cane
Beets, Baby Radishes, and Organic Amaranth Sprouts
Mission Hill Winery
Estate Oculus 2000
Midori Liqueur–Summer Fruit Gelatin
with Raspberry Coulis and Juniper Chantilly Crème
Pillitteri Select
Late Harvest Riesling NV |
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