Volume 18 Issue 1 » 89
Jamie Long and topped with nicely charred broccolini . But without a doubt , the chicken is the centrepiece of flavour here . The melt-inyour mouth moistness comes from a sous vide preparation . The texture and joy come from an ultra-crispy skin pulled right out of the fire grill . This is poultry perfection .
Dessert is a fitting crescendo courtesy of Pastry Chef Gizelle Paré . The galette arrives as a pinwheel of delicate and flaky pastry . The centre stage boasts a swirling symmetry of layered elephant heart and black plums . It seems a shame to break the perfect rosette , but when we do , there is a homey and gorgeous interplay of sweetand-tart plums , beautifully paired with house-made lemon basil ice cream . It isn ’ t just the chicken ballotine ; the dual-plum galette becomes the other dish that alone , is worth the drive here .
Twelve plates later , we ’ re sated and chatting with Annamarie . On our way out , we exchange contact details to hear more stories behind the scenes at Row Fourteen and Klippers . The Klippensteins are at home and at ease during a video call weeks later . Open and approachable , they describe the growth of their farm from five acres to sixty , recently named Producer of the Year by Vancouver Magazine ’ s prestigious Restaurant Awards 2022 .
Especially memorable ? An intoxicating butter on freshly baked wheat bread , simply seasoned but completely addictive in its smoky and unctuous goodness . This is followed immediately by organic heirloom tomatoes , freshly picked from the farm . The tomatoes are bursting with flavour upon heightened flavour , elevated with sweet lemon basil and locally pressed olive oil from nearby Salt Spring Island .
We ’ ve snared a home cook ’ s version of Chef Gray ’ s corn preparation – see the recipe sidebar . At Row Fourteen , the corn is charred on the grill and topped with a blend of house-made furikake and crispy onions . The fishy seaside notes from the furikake are deliciously combined with the naturally sweet niblets , wood char , and the fried Tropea onions . A dripping aioli sauce is full of garlic-forward presence . Our fingers are begging to be licked , and they are . Never mind fine dining manners ... it ’ s so deeply satisfying .
Our chicken course alone is worth the drive to Cawston . This is a ballotine of deboned whole organic chicken , with layer upon layer of white and dark meat rolled together , and wrapped back into the skin . It arrives with a surrounding jus dotted with nuggets of candied garlic ,
Their lives are a blur of buzzy activity . Heading into winter , they ’ ve juiced 45,000 pounds of apples to make soft cider . There ’ s a field of tomatoes to harvest because you simply can ’ t make tomato chow chow with frozen green tomatoes . The fresh hand-made croissants need to be baked from scratch . It ’ s time to prepare another weekly run to the winter editions of the Vancouver Farmers Markets at Riley Park and Hastings Park . There ’ s a catering job for forty at a nearby winery ... Kevin adds to the list , “ We ’ re making ice cream now ” while Annamarie puts the cherry on top , “ We have a lemon basil ice cream , toasted milk ice cream , walnut cinnamon ice cream , roasted peach and plum sorbet .” It all seems exhausting , inspiring ... and delicious .
Then there are the four kids . “ They ’ re older and very helpful now ,” says Kevin , describing their family with a proud smile . Annamarie goes on through half a laugh ,