The Farm at Trout Point compliments every menu

Trout Point Lodge has always been dedicated to growing its own vegetables, herbs, and flowers without chemical pesticides or herbicides. Each year since 2000, gardens have grown in size & diversity, first in ever-expanding beds next to the main lodge itself, next at River Bend, and last year at a new vineyard/market garden site off the East Branch Road.

This year the edible delicacies sustainably produced at Trout Point are greater than ever!

The sustainability of operations has bounded forward with the addition of Alpacas and a new barn this Spring. While the Alpacas will help pack on day trips to Billy’s Hill in the core of the UNESCO Southwest Nova Scotia Biosphere Reserve, their composted manure will fertilize the extensive plantings. This will compliment the composted organic waste from the kitchen and the local seaweeds we have always used to make our soils more fertile. Plantings are now so large, a new Kubota tractor will help with tilling and hauling. Tests plots of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes continue.

The new Farm at Trout Point encompasses all these great advancements. This is true frontier agriculture, with the Lodge having to clear, fertilize, and sustain virgin soils with every advancement. Guests will see these items on the Trout Point tabel d’hôte menus throughout the summer and fall season. The menu at Trout Point also incorporates wild edibles, wildcrafted seasonally from the local environment.

Here’s a sampling of what we’re planting and/or harvesting this year:

HERBS

Tarragon
Rosemary
parsley, Italian and curly
cilantro
Thai basil (3 varieties)
purple basil
ruffled purple basil
nufar basil
Genovese basil
sage
chervil
lovage
borage
oregano
marjoram
Vietnamese cilantro
dill several varieties
chives
lavender
bergamot
mints, spearmint, mint, pineapple mint
Thyme, French, English and orange

VEGETABLES

Shiitake mushrooms grown on local hardwood logs
Jerusalem artichoke (Fuseau, stampede)
Asparagus
Artichoke Tavares
Squash (golden scallop, buttercup, butternut, crook neck)
Okra, purple and green
Parsley root
Mache
Arugula, wild and cultivated
nasturtium leaves
Purple fleshed potatoes
White and red fingerling potatoes
Sugar snaps
Broad beans
Scarlet runner beans
French snap beans
sprouts (broccoli, alfalfa, clover, fenugreek, mung)
Tomatoes (striped, andean, black plums, amish paste)
Hot peppers (jalepeños and sweet hots)
Mesclun mix, red mix, butterhead mix
eggplant
leeks
kale, white and black
purple brussel sprouts
New Zealand spinach
cantaloupe
Swiss chard
beets
onions
shallots
Heirloom garlic varieties
Brocoli Raab
Chinese brocoli
Chinese cabbages
spinach
cress
chicory
cucumbers (traditional, English, Turkish heirloom)
Cape gooseberries
tomatillos
carrots
French sorrel
spinach
horseradish root
purple Japanese mustard
celery (green & red)

EDIBLE FLOWERS

scarlet runner bean blossoms
nasturtium
pinks
calendula
viloas
marigolds
Monera
squash blossoms
borage flowers
chive blossoms
mustard blossoms
arugula blossoms

WILD FOODS

burdock root
evening of primrose root
dock
sweet fern
violets
pin cherries
sea beans
sea lettuce
kelp
Black trumpet mushrooms
Golden chanterelles
Hen of the woods mushroom
Chicken of the woods mushroom
Lobster mushrooms
various russulas
velvet foot mushrooms
indian cucumber root
wild sorrel

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Trout Point Lodge among top 10 in world

A list of the 10 best hotels with “luxurious lodgings that offer lessons in the fine art of cookery,” has included Trout Point Lodge of Nova Scotia. “Rugged wilderness, sustainable food practices and cozy accommodations that include freestanding cottages make this Atlantic Canada property one of our favorites,” says the independent review.

Other hotels on the list include Casa de Sierra Nevada in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Gayot.com serves as a serious, honest and professional resource on dining, travel and lifestyle for an international readership in search of the best. Gayot guides were founded by André Gayot, who with his friends Henri Gault and Christian Millau coined and promoted the term “Nouvelle Cuisine” in the early 1970s.  André and his children Alain and Sophie have been directing sophisticated travelers to the world’s best restaurants, hotels, shops, sightseeing and cultural attractions for more than 45 years.

Trout Point Lodge has offered culinary vacations and cooking classes since 2000.

 

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The world’s best hard-shell lobster coming up at Trout Point

Lobster Fishing Area 34 in Southwest Nova Scotia covers 8,500 square miles (21,000 km2), an area the size of New Jersey. It has the largest catches of Canada’s 41 lobster fishing areas, accounting for 40 percent of the country’s catch and 23 percent of North American landings. Local fishermen pride themselves on harvesting cold-water lobsters with a hard shell. As luck has it, Trout Point Lodge lies in the centre of it all, just inland from Yarmouth, Shelburne, and Digby.

The winter lobster season is upon us, and there is simply nowhere else in the world to enjoy better lobster! The chefs at Trout Point will make the most of this local delicacy during the season which runs from November through late May. While many people boil lobster, local fishermen in Southwest Nova Scotia steam their lobster (often in sea water) to maintain its delicate texture and delectable flavours! Trout Point will go beyond this simple and effective cooking technique to showcase local lobster throughout the menu!

Stay tuned . . .

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Trout Point chefs to speak at Canadian Chefs’ Congress in Grande Pre

Lodge Chef/Proprietors Vaughn Perret and Charles Leary will participate in the panel on Acadian/Cajun cuisine at the Canadian Chefs’ Congress, September 18, 2012, in Grande Pre, Nova Scotia. Paul Kennedy, host of CBC Radio’s popular Ideas program, will moderate the discussion of how an Acadian food culture based in Atlantic Canada was transplanted to the Mississippi Delta, and transformed into trendy Cajun cooking. Perret & Leary, who operated Chicory Farm and New Orleans’ Chicory Farm Cafe before moving to Nova Scotia, are co-authors of The Trout Point Lodge Cookbook: Creole Cuisine from New Orleans to Nova Scotia. They have served as the Lodge’s chefs as well as cooking school instructors since 2000.

Perret & Leary will share the stage with Stephen Stryjewski, Chef/Owner , Cochon, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Karen Mersereau, Chef/Owner, Hotel Paulin, Caraquet, New Brunswick.

For more information on the Congress, click here.

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Sample menus from 2012: Chez la Tousquet & the Dining Room at Trout Point Lodge

In 2012, Trout Point Lodge placed its new Chez la Tousquet dinner venue into full operation, with white table cloths contrasting with painted wood panelling and a handcut red sandstone fireplace, views of the river. A hewn hemlock bar rests atop wine racks. Riedel crystal stemware and fine flatware complete the picture.  Guests can now enjoy several possible dining spots at the Lodge for an expanded 4-course fixed menu with options . . .

June 22

• Spanish Mojama w/ Breviro caviar
• choice of soups: Black Eyed Pea w/ shrimp or Roasted Yellow Squash w/ mussels
• Fennel & Tangerine Salad
• choice of main dishes: Homemade Fettuccine with Wild Mushroom Sauce or Fresh Local Hadock w/ Dill & Sesame
• Choice of desserts, including Homemade Chocolate & Caramel Ice Creams with Merengue, Chocolate Gourmandise, Raspberry-Rhubarb Custard Tart, or Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

July 7

• choice of amuse bouche: Grilled King Oyster Mushrooms marinated w/ White Wine or Homemade Gravlox w/ Homemade Creme Fraiche
• choice of soup: Oxtail Soup or Eggplant & Pepper Soup w/ Coconut
• Greens from the Garden w/ Tarragon Vinaigrette
• choice of main dishes: Grilled Local Swordfish (harpoon) w/ Sage Beurre Noisette or Homemade Porcini Ravioli
• Choice of Desserts

August 2

• House Smoked Sturgeon w/ Acadian Sturgeon Caviar
• choice of soups: Black Eyed Pea Soup w/ Cabbage & Leak or Wild Mushroom Soup
• Mixed Green Salad from the Gardens
• choice of main dishes: Local Scallops Ravigote w/ Lobster & Chanterelles or Homemade Squid Ink Spaghetti alla Arrabiata
• Choice of Desserts, including Lemon Curd Tart w/ Vanilla Ice Cream or Homemade Passion Fruit Sorbet

September 3

• Charred Trout Point Grape Leaves stuffed with Beef & Lemongrass
• choice of soups: Creole Red Bean Soup w/ Coconut & Pork or Carrot & Ginger Soup w/ Shrimp
• Baby Spinach Salad w/ Homemade Yoghurt Dill Dressing & Lamb Confit
• choice of main dishes: Rainbow Trout Almandine w/ Leek & Potato Mash or Handcut Paparadelli w/ Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
• Choice of desserts, including Blueberry White Chocolate Bread Pudding or Pear Tart w/ Maple Glaze

Trout Point’s 180 selection wine list includes selections from $29 to $1245, with strengths in French and Spanish wines.

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A great Priorat red will find its way onto the Lodge’s wine list this year

Wine Spectator gave the 2005 and 2006 vintages of Bodegas Pinord‘s “+7” blend 92 points. Having recently sampled the 2007–a blend of garnacha (50%), syrah (20%), and Cabernet Sauvignon  (30%)–this producer of organically-certified wine has excelled again.

Silky tannins and featuring the weight and alcohol (14.5%) so typical of Priorat, +7 has a bit of smokiness, but is not so dense that it requires a lot more aging or lacks in subtlety. Berries, briar, and a bit of green pepper.

The wine is fermented in stainless steel, then blended and oak aged for 1 year.

Pinord has pledged to make quality wines here whilst maintaining a close relationship with more traditional grape growing techniques. From the beginning, the vineyards have been organic, using only permitted natural products on the land. All chemical products such as herbicides and pesticides are avoided.

Pinord has firmly adopted Biodynamic Farming techniques in their Mas Blanc vineyard. They believe that by following their own winemaking practices and by attempting to maintain a balance with the land, they will be leaving it a better place for future generations.

Trout Point Lodge of Nova Scotia will have the 2007 +7 on its 2012 season wine list, which specializes in organic and Spanish selections.

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Sustainable seafood to be featured

Chef/proprietors Vaughan Perret and Charles Leary look forward to the 2012 season at Trout Point, which opens May 1, and particularly to making greater use of local and regional sustainable seafood. One particularly exciting event is the availability of Arctic Char and European Sea Bass from Nova Scotia’s cutting-edge Sustainable Blue, which will add to resources like Eel Lake Oyster Farm in the Lodge’s home municipality and Breviro Caviar just across the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick.

The availability of char and sea bass will greatly enhance the menu offerings at the Lodge, which has always focused on local seafood resources like harpooned swordfish, tuna, haddock, and halibut.

Sustainable Blue is a Canadian producer of both exotic and native species of fish, situated close to The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. It uses world leading aquaculture technology, designed in-house, in the operation of land based recirculation fish farms. It is committed to product quality, environmental responsibility and commercial success through technological excellence.

Breviro Caviar has the only CITES licensed captive breeding facility for Acipenser Brevirostrum sturgeon on the planet, and  believes in environmentally sustainable, traceable, and responsible aquaculture. The company’s ongoing commitment to research, testing and innovation produces caviar that is acknowledged to be one of the best available for its egg size, flavour, colour and nutrition.

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Dining at Trout Point in 2012 . . .

Proprietors Vaughan Perret and Charles Leary plan many improvements to the dining experience for 2012. Final touches are being put on the Lodge’s second dining venue, Chez la Tousquet, which features views of La Riviere Tousquet, paneled walls, and a masterful hand-chiseled red sandstone fireplace. There’s also a rough-hewn bar carved from a giant Hemlock tree.

Chez la Tousquet first received diners in 2011, but this year will see padded tables with white linens, crystal stemware, fine china chargers, and silver flatware for an enhanced dining experience unparalleled in the province. This dining room seats up to just 10 persons, either as a private dining room or a more intimate venue for couples.

Following the 2011 season where the table d’hote menu started always offering a fresh, homemade pasta option for the main course, in 2012 the Lodge will offer a choice of 2 full fixed menus, one focused on local seafood.

Trout Point’s cuisine has garnered praise recently, with veteran writer Nigel Richardson giving the Lodge’s food & drink a score of 9/10 in The Telegraph, Departures magazine naming it among the world’s top 10 foodie getaways, and Sarah Barrell writing for The Independent:

Trout Point’s gastronomy looms large on the North American culinary scene. The owners – organic farmers, cookbook writers and restaurateurs – have won numerous accolades, representing three of only a handful of Americans who are members of the French Cheesemakers Guild. The trio have roots in New Orleans and came to Nova Scotia seeking their Acadian heritage – Louisiana’s Cajun culture descends from Atlantic Canada’s 17th century French colonists. Food is a mix of Creole, French and modern North American, with seasonal ingredients drawn from the lodge’s organic garden and surrounding forest.

Couples seeking a romantic, candle-lit dinner can also request seating in front of the fireplace in the main lodge’s Great Room. The longstanding favourite Dining Room remains the venue of choice for most guests as well as those reserving dinner only. Come experience what WHERE Canada recently featured: “a kitchen specializing in Atlantic Acadian cuisine: locally inspired meals that highlight sustainable seafood, foraged ingredients and produce from the extensive on-site garden.”

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Trout Point Cooking & Wine School announces new 2012 offerings

Entering its 13^th year of offering multi-day culinary vacations, Trout Point Lodge of Nova Scotia will add 1-day seminars in a series called l’Art de vivre. Consisting of classes with the Lodge’s chef/proprietors, guests will also receive a Saturday night in a main lodge room or suite plus breakfast and 5-course dinner. The series focuses on food and wine appreciation outside of the kitchen.

Art de vivre topics will include:

• Wines 101 plus themed wine tastings such as Wines of Spain, Bordeaux Regions, or Nova Scotia selections
• Cheese appreciation
• Hot & cold smoking techniques
• Espresso expressions
• Gourmet mushrooms

Planned for May, June, September, and October, 2012, classes will be limited to 10 participants and encompass about 2-3 hours spent learning about special aspects of food & wine.

The cost is $100/person in addition to the regular Lodge rates for room and Half Board.

The purpose of the Art de vivre series is to provide special insight into the finer aspects of living relative to food & drink.

Cheese appreciation will cover the different types of cheese—from soft bodied, surface-ripened ones like Livarot to hard, grating cheese like Reggiano Parmigianno—as well as how to store, age (affinage), and serve cheeses, including the cheese course within a multi-course meal.

Espresso expressions will explore the basics of coffee cultivation, quality, and roasting and then demonstrate how to make the perfect cup of espresso and cappuccino. How to select and operate an espresso machine—including a comparison of 4 different machines at the Lodge—will conclude the class.

The Smoking class will introduce the techniques for infusing seafood and meats with savoury smoke flavour, naturally, including how the Lodge makes its own acclaimed smoked salmon. In the Gourmet mushrooms session, guests will learn about the different kinds & qualities of edible mushrooms—wild & cultivated—as well as how to select and store them.

Trout Point Lodge proprietors Vaughn Perret and Charles Leary operated an award-winning, diversified organic farm before moving to Nova Scotia. They were among a handful of North Americans inducted into the French Guilde des fromagers in 1994 and operated an acclaimed New Orleans restaurant that featured their farm’s organic vegetables, cheeses, and exotic mushrooms. They have cooked at Trout Point since 2000, which has won a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence each year since 2007. This year, Departures magazine chose the Lodge among the world’s top 10 foodie getaways.

The Lodge has also announced dates for its 3-day, 2-night Nova Scotia Seafood Cooking School program. This all-inclusive culinary vacation including accommodation, meals, hands-on instruction, and field trips will be held May 18-20, 2012: Mediterranean Cuisine with an emphasis on seafood as well as June 15-17 and September 28-30, 2012: Seafood Cookery.

About Trout Point Lodge Nova Scotia’s only member of Relais & Chateaux, the Lodge consists of 7 deluxe guest rooms, 2 suites, and 2 cottages. Trout Point has achieved a 4 1/2 star rating from Canada Select since opening in 2000 and won the inaugural Parks Canada Sustainable Tourism Award.

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12th season of “Food Learning Vacations” ends today

The final session of the Nova Scotia Seafood Cooking School wraps up today, with 13 participants from Amherst, Nova Scotia to Yellow Knife and Apalachicola, Florida. The 3-day, 2-night programs have been offered several times a year since July 4, 2000, the day Trout Point Lodge opened for business.

During the weekend, guests stay at the Lodge and learn about everything from how to select quality seafood to how to make cold smoked salmon. Field trips include visits to the Eel Lake Oyster Farm and SeaKist Lobster. Classes include demonstrations and hands-on cookery.

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