Whistler Film Festival ’09: Brightlight Party at Araxi

This February, I would rather spend an evening dining at Araxi than watch a single Olympic competition.  And I’m an athlete.  That is how fantastic the ‘best restaurant in B.C.’, stated so by Gordon ramsay, is.

The minute I learned the Whistler Film Festival event I was driving up the mountain for was being held at Araxi, I stopped eating.  I wanted to be as hungry as possible for what I was expecting to be a memorable night feasting on inventive appetizers…and interviewing, of course.

The FMA crew and I arrived early to set up the camera.  Perfect timing – the stunning appies were just being laid out.  They had my name all over them.

Here we have prawn and scallop stuffed squid on watercress leaves, topped with cucumber pearls and microgreens.  Cucumber pearls?  Don’t know what they are and neither does Wikipedia.  They were delicious (and weirdly soft).

I am a sushi freak, so you can imagine how the sight alone of this next dish made my knees weak:

From left to right, we’ve got:

• spicy tuna roll with cucumber and nori (‘the boring one’ of the bunch – but was actually amazing)
• yuzu marinated sockeye salmon roll with avocado wrapped in yuba (tofu skin)
• dungeness crab and avocado roll wrapped in egg crepe, topped with cucumber pearls (delicate and beautiful!)
• tofu pockets stuffed with sushi rice, mire pois and chilis (the surprise winner of the four)

And now for the scene stealer (before you scroll, guess what this is):

I thought it was tuna.  And I am a huge sucker for tuna (so much so that I went to my doctor to inquire about mercury poisoning).  I grabbed one, took a bite, only to be blown away by the most rich, fatty-tasting, flavorful ‘tuna’ i had ever experienced.  It was not tuna, at all.  That one bite ended up being my last of the foie gras parfait on brioche with pickled apple and microgreens.  It was pure heaven.  I wish tuna tasted like that.

Above, Terry David Mulligan and I bonded over the foie gras – which he called ‘the calling card of a chef’.  The best chat of the night, however, went to the uber lovely Ali Liebert, who tap danced for me.

Dave Levey, winner of Hell’s Kitchen season 6, will soon man the coveted head chef position at Araxi.  Gordon Ramsay will be there for a visit sometime soon, and I am seriously hoping to test their culinary creations upon my return to the mountain’s best restaurant when I interview them for FMA.

You should follow me on twitter @erin_ireland and check out my website: www.erin-ireland.com.

Thank you.