Will Emcee For Diamonds & Duck

For some, being draped in 75 carats of Lugaro diamonds may have been the highlight of emceeing the ‘Rare in Nature – Diamond & Fashion Show‘.  But for me, it was the grilled Muscovy duck with pear and rosemary compote.  Oo la la.

By the time hair was at max height (loved it – thanks Isolde from Avant Garde), the show was almost set to begin and I was starving.  George from Lugaro was glued to me and the jewels, so I couldn’t go far.  I was hoping for at least a vending machine, so you can imagine the thrill of discovering Savoury Chef‘s inventive little appetizers floating around the room.  Thanks to them and the solid leadership of event producer, Viktoria Langton, I made it through the night.

As mentioned, the Muscovy duck skewers were unreal.  The meat was like chicken but oilier and darker:

And it’s all about the sauce, right?  The more the better.  This is Pear Rosemary Jazz (Savoury Chef’s very own compote sold at Whole Foods).  We need a macro shot:

I was also loving the pear and Manchego salad, aka, crunchy heaven in a phyllo cup.

By crunchy heaven, I mean: grilled pear, shaved Manchego cheese, frisee lettuce, basil and toasted almonds.  A true flavor explosion.  I was feeling better with each bite.  And it wasn’t over yet.  Next up:

This little guy deserves a close-up.  He is a the fanciest shredded braised buffalo sandwich I’ve seen – served in a profiterole lathered with chervil (‘gourmet parsley’) mustard cream.  The buffalo (‘Dances with Wolves‘ comes to mind) is braised for 8 glorious hours.

Now, it’s not like I actually ate these next two items:

Ha!  I’m kidding.  I tried the first: creme brulee.  Its cream is infused with coffee overnight.  Hello, caffeine addicts?  Unbelievable twist on a classic.  And doesn’t this tuxedo cake look amazing?  So amazing, that I didn’t even have to try it to know it was delicious.

I love Savoury Chef catering.  And, of course, the diamonds were beautiful, too.  At the night’s end, they were packed up in their large boxes and carted off by the lovely George, who I was worried about alone with that much ice.

Speaking of ice, a bottle of celebratory champagne was later cracked at The Shore Club, where songbirds Malcolm Parry and Catherine Barr sang a duet of Frank Sinatra’s, ‘The Lady is a Tramp‘.  My night was complete.

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

Ciao for now.

Tagged as: Avant Garde Hair Salon, Diamond Week, erin ireland, Lugaro Jewelers, Northern House, Rare in Nature, Savoury Chef, twitter erin_ireland, vancouver