French Piggy at Bistro Saisons with Swine and Dine (CLOSED)

Cassoulet

Hosted at the newly opened Bistro Saisons, this particular Swine and Dine featured French piggy dishes such as cassoulet, with Edmonton’s own Passion for Pork ambassador, @ThePorkGirl, hosting. Swine and Dine is an event that features locally sourced pork products, letting local restaurants to shine, showing what they can do with porcine goodness.

Bistro Saisons prides themselves in utilizing as much local product as they can with all of their proteins coming from within 150 KM of Edmonton, with the exception of duck breast which they get from the Fraser Valley. Chef and owner, Scott Ards, sources all of their vegetables weekly at Edmonton’s farmers markets.

Heritage Greens

The evening’s Swine and Dine meal was three courses, served family style for only $50 per person, with an optional wine pairing. Our dining companions for the night was @ThatLawyerGuy, along with the parents of two local Edmonton chefs, making for an entertaining, interesting and informative evening! We started with a heritage greens salad with lardons, duck eggs, vine ripe tomato and apple – Dijon vinaigrette. Although I’m not normally a fan of hard-boiled eggs, as the yolk normally comes out dry and crumbly, the duck egg was incredibly creamy and smooth. The small cassoulet with belly, braised shoulder and white beans was mildly salty with a nice crunch on top. The belly was mooliciously fatty and soft while the braised shoulder was incredibly tender.

Whole Por Loin

Next a large platter of whole roasted loin wrapped in bacon, with cognac and apricot sauce hit the table. The pork loin had a mild sweetness to it from the apricot sauce, with a distinct cognac finish to it, while the boar bacon it was wrapped in was nicely crisp. The black beluga lentil pilaf with caramelized apples and onions was a great accompaniment to the pork loin, counter balancing the sweet sauce on the pork. Meanwhile the honey lavender roasted baby carrots, parsnips and fennel had a hint of sweetness from the honey.

The amount of food served was incredibly generous and I wound up laying down as the food coma started to set in. We finished with a piece of chocolate espresso cake with chocolate-bacon crumble, Grand Marnier caramel and black current compote that was the size of Moo. The cake was decadent, rich and dense, but without being overly sweet. The chocolate bacon crumble added a contrasting texture to the creamy chocolate, although only the larger pieces really tasted of bacon. About a third of the way in, I admitted defeat and was ready for someone to revive me with CPR or roll me home.

Overall, Bistro Saisons did a great job of showcasing pork in delightful and delicious ways, and the company and conversation was fantastic! We will definitely be back to check out Bistro Saisons regular menu.

@ThePorkGirl hopes to host Swine and Dine on a monthly basis at different restaurants around Edmonton. Check out her blog to find out about future events. Swine and Dine was a great way to see what Bistro Saisons could do as it was our first time at their restaurant.

More photos at PhotoBucket!

Bistro Saisons
11358 104 Ave
Edmonton, AB
780-497-7858
Twitter: @bistrosaisons

UPDATED (OCTOBER 30, 2013): CLOSED