Huybers Retirement Adventure: Beef N’ Blues

Chef Mark McEwan from Top Chef Canada

Ron and I have always talked about going to some of the local events and taking in some of the island culture but we have never gotten around to it. I had remembered the advertisements for the PEI Fall Flavors Festival from previous years but we were never here on the island to attend them.

The PEI Fall Flavors Festival occurs during the month of September and I was always back to work in BC when it was on. So this year, since we are now living on the island, we decided to take in one of the events. It’s all about the local food and wine that is produced right here on the island. They have celebrity chefs host the different events being held throughout the island for the entire month of September.

After looking at all the events, and their locations, we decided to attend the Beef N’ Blues event in Summerside. It’s not too far from home and it had a menu that I thought we could both enjoy. I thought it might be nice to go with another couple so we called our friends Ken and Ella to see if they might be interested in going. They were pleased we thought to ask them and were excited about going. Ken and Ella have lived on the island for years and years and have never gone to the Fall Flavors Festival so this was a new experience for them as well.

We arrived Saturday night at the event and were ushered onto the floor of the hockey arena. Don’t worry … they had covered the ice with an insulated floor, but it was still cold in there when we first arrived. It warmed up later after all the people were in though. There were round tables set up with place settings for 8 people. They had enough seating for 300 people but you never felt crowded and the line ups at the stations were never very long. Many had no line up at all.

There was a blue glow throughout the arena and in the middle of it was a stage with two guys playing Blues music. It was really nice because it wasn’t too loud and you could still talk to people at the table while they were playing. Around the outer edge of the rink were all the food stations. The idea for the evening was that you walked around and if you liked what you saw you just picked up the plate. Some stations had servers who plated your food right in front of you then gave it to you. This was the case at the celebrity Chef’s station.

The celebrity chef for the Beef N’ Blues night was Chef Mark McEwan from the food network show Top Chef Canada. There was just something a little extra special when the celebrity Chef plates your dinner then hands it to you. I was able to chat with Chef McEwan for a while later in the evening as well. I told him that I had a son who was also a Chef. He asked me if he was a professional Chef or a home style Chef. I quickly assured him that he was a professional Chef. I told him that my son was an excellent Chef and produces food just like the one he had dished up tonight. He smiled and said “That’s great!” I think he could tell that I was a proud mother. He was such a nice guy to talk to.

The food for the evening was amazing! Every dish featured Beef hence the name Beef N’ Blues. There were 12 food stations and one local beer brewing station promoting PEI beer called Beach Chair. It was really good. I also just found out that Beach Chair beer is now available in Vancouver, Whistler and in most local liquor stores on the West Coast. It’s a good way to promote PEI and try to help bring tourists to the island.

The following is the menu for the Beef N’ Blues:

Chef Mark McEwan’s dish – Roasted PEI Certified Beef Tenderloin with Braised Short Rib Ravioli, Spiced Carrot Puree, Braised Pearl Onions, Bone Marrow Fritters with Natural Sauce. This was excellent!

Mini Bymark Burger. (another one of Chef McEwan’s dishes and best dish of the night!)

Meatloaf Panini

Oxtail Empanada

Thai PEI Certified Beef Salad in Cucumber Cups

Mini Prime Rib Beef Sandwich with Roasted Pepper and Arugula Horseradish Mayo

Beef Carpaccio

Duo of Braised Short Ribs and Striploin

Slow Braised Beef Brisket

Skirt Steak Salad

Oven Baked Tortiglioni with Meatballs

A Cheese Course was served with 3 different cheeses made on PEI

Dessert: Chocolate Fudge Brownie with Café Latte Cream, Apple & Caramel Upside Down Cake.

There was so much food that we couldn’t get around to taste all of them before we got full. Although some people, and I’m not mentioning any names (men), did manage to visit the dessert table several times during the evening. Next year, if we attend the Beef N’ Blues event, we will know to pace ourselves a little better.

Beside the Blues Band for entertainment, there were a couple of contests that were fun to watch. About an hour and half into the night, they had a steak eating contest! How those people managed to eat a 24 ounce steak after visiting all the stations is beyond me. But they did it. The winner managed to eat the entire steak in just 2 minutes 58 seconds. He was a skinny guy from Saskatoon.

Then they had a potato peeling contest. Each contestant had a sealed 5 pound bag of PEI potatoes that they had to open and then peel as many as they could in just 3 minutes. The winner of that contest was from PEI with 11 potatoes peeled. Since PEI is famous for their potatoes it is only fitting that an Islander would win that contest. J

The whole evening was wonderful. We had a great time with our friends and you couldn’t have asked for better food. On our way home we decided that we would be sure to take in more of PEI’s events in the future. J