Mugaritz Chef Andoni Aduriz: Buca Restaurant, Toronto, Entertains.

When the chef of the #3 Resto in the world comes to your city, where would you choose to take him? That was THE MAJOR question dangling on everyone's mind. Here is a chef with impeccable visual and oral aesthetics, at the top of his game. We decided to entertain him at Buca restaurant where chef Rob Gentile creates dishes that are both rustic and sophisticated ethnic representations of his roots and travel experience. Rob Gentile is a talented, fastidious perfectionist whose execution of a range of rustic dishes makes a strong impression on his diners. This rustic, ethnic aesthetic would provide chef Andoni Aduriz with a contrast to his usual experiences visiting other cities, such as New York, where he recently experienced elevated cuisine as a guest of chef Thomas Keller's Per Se and chef Wiley Dufresne's WD-50.


The Cookbook Store event with chef Aduriz, left to right, Alison Fryer, store manager, Chef Aduriz, Annie Sibonney and store owner Josh Josephson.

 
I must thank Annie Sibonney, food network show host and owner of Relish Tours, who made it possible to give chef Aduriz a full range of personal experience here in Canada. This connected experience was made possible by Annie's wide ranging personal relationships with some of the finest chefs in europe, extensive travels and her time living in Spain. Her good taste, flawless command of the Spanish language and her entertaining and lively personality all made it possible for Chef Aduriz and his english speaking hosts to have such an enjoyable social experience. Annie with chef Aduriz, below.

We began with bocconcino, gnocchi fritto accompanied by burro di lardo and Tuscan pistachios. We broke open the gnocchi "puff" and spread the lardo and chopped pistachios.

Crudo di mare

Raw B.C. spot prawns with coriander, unrefined citrus herb salt, Terre di San Mauro olive oil and crisp rosemary leaves. The head was minimally deep fried to perfect doneness so that the soft interior was enjoyed with the crispy shell of the head, legs and antennae, a potato chip of the sea!

Ricci, fresh shucked sea urchin with wild ginger, impeccably fresh!

Antipasti

Salumi di Buca, a selection of house cured salumi served with seasonal preserves, including 1 1/2 year aged elk leg, thinly shaved off the bone, beef tongue, lardo and pork heart sausage and a horse meat bresaola. The elk was particularly noteworthy for it's subtle, complex nutty flavours. Below, chef Gentile proudly displaying the elk leg for slicing.

The sliced elk.

The rest of the charcuterie, from left, beef tongue, lardo and pork heart sausage and the horse meat bresaola.

Nodini, bread knots with olive oil, rosemary, garlic and sea salt (no photo).


Orecchio di Maiale, crisp pig's ears with wild fennel salt. These were addictive, comparable to trying not to eat more than one chip when presented with a bag of truly great potato chips....but better!!

Noteworthy culture columnist of the National Post, food loving Shinan Govani, distracted for a moment....but, not for long!

Pizza alla Romana, Tuscan style porchetta with mostarda, mascarpone and agliata (a Sicilian herb). We were given scissors to cut the pizza. This pizza has a wonderfully addictive flavour/texture combination.

Pasta

Sciallatelli, fresh, hand cut pasta, zucchini soffrito, raw spot prawns and bottarga di riccci (a bottarga made with urchin roe). The pasta was tossed after presentation. A great combination of flavours of the sea.

Orecchiette, saffron infused, hand made pasta with baby octopus, cherry tomatoes and fava beans, finished with fresh chili and bone marrow. Another wow of a dish that filled one's palate with exploding flavour.

Carne

Polenta with smoked pork blood sausage, finished with wild leeks, moscato grapes and cacio di fossa cheese. This from a chef infused with local traditions whose passion brings together the flavours of the region.

Smoked mozzarella cheese foam (spuma), with a texture like hollandaise sauce, but made with olive oil rather than butter, and also scamorza cheese melted into this and mixed together. The top was caramelized and morels, rosemary leaves and a liquid reduction, was added. This was a mouth watering dish, with mild, smokey, rich tasting flavours all enhanced by the wonderful morels.

Sorbetti

Nespole (loquat) sorbetti with boreal honey to which passito (a late harvest wine)was added all topped with coltsfoot flower. This was a truly refreshing, palate intriguing dessert, with wonderful, subtle, complex flavours. The flower contributed a mild mellon like flavour.

Sapori di Sicilia, a tasting of Sicilian cannoli with a filling of buttermilk, riccotta cheese and bergamot; briosche with a pork blood, pistachio and red current wine gelato sandwiched in the briosche; and baba 'al rum soaked with balsam fir gelato and spiced rum, the baba drizzled with maple syrup.

Buca Restaurant, Toronto, New Impressions and Worth Revisiting.

I just returned from New York and Milan, having experienced some wonderful restos, many reflecting regional Italian inspirations. Now I am in Toronto, having enjoyed a truly wonderful meal at Buca. This restaurant keeps evolving, getting better and better. With the quality of dishes, ambitious and well executed menu of chef Rob Gentile, trust me ladies and gents, if I closed my eyes, I could have still be in Milan or NY. For me, this resto is one of the best in Canada, offering a wide selection rustic dishes executed in a sophisticated and knowledgeable way, respectful of the regional traditions that inspired these creations.

Spiced lamb heart tartar, flavoured with cinnamon and cloves, accompanied by shaved Ontario rhubarb and celery salad, quail egg and preserved elderberry. The tartar had a wonderful fresh clean taste and the flavour made vibrant by the clove and cinnamon spices and the remarkable complimentary flavours of the rhubarb and celery.

Crostino con trippa, grilled house made herb bread with braised tripe, guanciale and poached hen egg. A hearty, tasty dish, but the toast became a bit soggy and I might have preferred my toasts on the side.

Porchetta pizza topped with thin slices of roasted tuscan style porchetta, apple mostarda, bits of crackling, mascarpone cheese, agliata (garlic sauce) and crisp rosemary. This is a pizza that any food lover could dream about, easily the best tasting pizza I have enjoyed in toronto. Certainly the most satisfying, not only because of the range of wonderful rustic topping flavours but also, the tasty, thin crispy crust is so flavourful! I can't rave enough about this pizza experience.

Polpetta di buffala, water buffalo meatballs, cooked rare, with pickled green tomatoes, bufala sour cream and crisp rosemary, all on parmesan crisps. This was the only dish that was underwhelming. Good idea but the result had no “wow”. All of the ingredients were "correct" and the meat properly cooked. However, the meatballs were bland tasting and the pickled green tomatoes were so sour that the flavour overwhelmed the taste of the meatballs. Perhaps if I had tried this dish first, before I had experienced all of the other full flavoured dishes, my palate may have been more receptive.

Scialatielli, fresh hand cut pasta, zucchini soffrito, bottarga di muggine and spot prawns, another very genuine tasting hit. Perfectly underdone prawns redolent of the fresh briny taste of the sea, with the complementary sea flavours of the botarga. Once the dish is presented, the waiter tosses and mixes the ingredients. 

The Odd Bits Dinner With a Group of 7 Chefs at Parts and Labour Restaurant

This all offal dinner, at Parts and Labour restaurant honoured chef/author and James Beard award winner Jennifer McLagan. The participating chefs were Scott Vivian of Beast restaurant, Bertrand Alepee of The Tempered Chef Caterers, Chris Brown of The Stop, Rob Gentile of Buca, Mark Cutrara of Cowbell, Matty Matheson of Parts and Labour and Mark DuFour of Earth.


Pass around apps: head cheese on a cracker with a pimento cheese spread.

A slice of bone marrow on a cracker topped with a slice of black truffle, all mounted on a marrow bone for service.

Chicken liver wrapped in bacon lathered with a sweet tangy bbq sauce.

The vultures got to this dish before I could get my photo. A chicken liver pate, slices of head cheese, toasts, sliced girkins and dill pickles.

Thirty six hour braised beef tendon in an intense beef broth with peas and bone with marrow, served with toast, by chef Matty Matheson. A dish for marrow lovers!

Ricotta brown butter gnocchi with fennel and kidneys, by chef Chris Brown. Pillow soft gnocchi with earthy flavours of brown butter and kidneys with the wonderful counter punch flavour of fennel, setting off this dish.

Pig's trotters, shank, ears and snout with smokey paprika, white navy beans and crispy lamb intestines, by chef Kevin Mckenna. Another very earthy, palate pleasing, gutsy dish.

"Tongue and balls", crepenette of lamb testicle made with ground pork and bound in caul fat mounted on a slice of beef tongue and all mounted on thin, crispy sauteed potatoes, by chef Mark Cutrara. the rustic realm of offal refined to a sophisticated level. Another offal triumph!

Pork heart tostado with salsa verde and pickled squash, by chef Scott Vivian. Salsa verde is the perfect complement for beef heart.

Veal brain (no photo), by chef Bertrand Aleppe.

Pork blood chocolate tarte with espresso figs, almond and crema di bufala, by chef Rob Gentile. I had to leave early but I have enjoyed this seductive dish before at Buca. For those put off by the blood component, if they did not know, they would love the rich taste of this dish.

It is truly a special occasion to attend an event when chefs of this caliber get together for such fun.

Gold Medal Plates 2011

Gold medal plates is the big fundraiser held across Canada to raise funds for the olympic athletes. This year, Langdon Hall chef Jonathan Gushue was the winner.

Jason Bangerter, Luma

Confit of chicken liver terrine with liver parfait, shallots and port wine.

 Rob Gentile, Buca

Tortelli d'oca: goose offal and delicate porcini filled pasta with cured goose breast, hazelnut, crisp rosemary leaves and 13th Street merlot vincotto. A liquid butter/egg yolk and merlot reduction surrounded the pasta on which were scattered chopped nuts.

Jonathan Gushue, Langdon Hall (Winner)

Garden brussel sprouts, white salsify, black salsify chips, preserved oysters, duck's egg and smoked trout caviar. This was a remarkably satisfying dish: the brussel sprout leaves still had texture and a slight firmness to the bight; the salsify added and earthy taste; the oyster had a soft texture that matched the firmer texture of the other elements and the briny flavour enhanced the flavours of the sprouts and salsify.

Tom Brodi, Toca

Palacsinta wrapped veal cheek, braised cabbage and pickled Cinnamon Cape mushrooms.

Tony De Luca, De Luca's Wine Country Restaurant

Ice wine roasted Ontario venison tenderloin with chestnut tuile, blue cheese mousseline and celery root puree with vanilla.

 Ted Corrado, C5 Restaurant

Beef short rib, parsley root puree, toasted barley and roasted grape jus. This was a hearty satisfying dish.

Lorenzo Losetto, George

Veal blade, harvest vegetables, chestnut potato.

David Lee, Nota Bene

Roasted squab, David's tortiere ( pastry was filled with a mixture of ground moose, duck and black pig), black pudding sauce. The squab was perfectly cooked and the tortiere gamey and delicious.

Patrick McMurray, Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill and Ceili Cottage Restaurants

Organic chicken liver pate served with a fabulous organic cherry compote that had a bright tangy taste that went so well with the rich tasting chicken liver.

Weathervane scallops which had a wonderful sweetness which combined well with the rich taste of the roe.

Patrick McMurray presents his wonderfully fresh tasting sea urchins.

Peet smoked steel head trout and peet smoked salmon.

Cured steel head trout.

Jason Carter, Centro 

Bison cooked sous vide with fried moss and salsify. The cooking rendered this bison incredibly tender and juicy.

Michael Steh, Red's Bistro and Wine Bar

A play on "bacon and eggs"...... there was no bacon: scallop mousse in a piece of brioche topped with a duck's egg yolk and coffee cured, smoked (with Henry of Pellham oak), chewy duck breast; sided with sweet onion and cheddar soup topped with a thin slice of smoked crispy apple; accompanied by an egg shell filled with lavender and soy custard, diced northern kiwi, crunchy coconut "bacon" and riesling gelee. This was a complex and interesting dish, but the standout was the fabulous brioche "sandwich".

The brigade of the chefs enters the main hall, holding the bottle of wine that was served to match their dish.