The Chef's Table Dinner at White Point

Alan was aware that some of the best restaurants have chef's tables, often located in the restaurant's kitchen, where people get to sit down and taste a chef's flights of fancy. White Point went with Alan's idea and we took part in the third one, on a recent Friday evening.

White Point's chef's table is set up at the back of the Seawatch Dining Room, close to the entrance to the kitchen, so that a steady stream of food and wines can be brought out. Interested people contact the resort, book places at the table and show up for what turns out to be a truly enjoyable evening. And, the cost is surprisingly reasonable.

We sat down at the table with, as we discovered, people who included a hospital administrator, an employee of Air Canada, a couple from New Jersey time-sharing at one of White Point's cottages, a doctor and his wife from the Yarmouth area, and two people connected to the resort. There were 10 of us in all – the table can hold 14 – and we soon were laughing and talking together.

Chef Alan Crosby came out from the kitchen. He stood by the table and said he would give us a rundown on what was going to happen and how it would happen, then he would go back to the kitchen and try to make it happen. He said that a lot of the fun in the evening came from the fact that until a short time before he wasn't sure of what he would be preparing. He said during the afternoon he would try something, and if it didn't turn out the way he wanted, it was out the window with it and he would try something different.

For Alan, the executive chef position at White Point completes a kind of circle. He grew up in Liverpool, went to Mount Allison University, did a brief stint as a tennis instructor, then found his true passion in the culinary arts. He studied at the Culinary Institute of Canada and took a position at the elegant Church Restaurant, located in a former church in Stratford, Ontario.

He then worked as a chef at the Hotel Vancouver, next taking on the position of executive chef at the Delta Barrington, in Halifax. When the opportunity arose to become chef at White Point, he jumped at it, bringing his wife, Jacqueline, and son to his home town of Liverpool. He has been at White Point for four years now.

White Point spends over $650,000 per year on food purchases, under Alan's direction. He said he likes to go to local providers for some ingredients, and prowl around the grocery store to see what's new, working with what is available in the marketplace. He likes the idea of the chef's table because it gives him the chance to experiment with dishes and the freedom to change ideas at a moment's notice.

Alan told the diners that there would be five courses and three wines. At various stages during the meal he would come out and tell us about the food he was preparing. We started off with what to me was ambrosia – an amuse-bouche consisting of a piping hot lobster cappuccino, full of the essence of lobster flavour, and served with a tomato bocconcini croustade. I thought, if the rest of the meal is anything like this, we are in for a great evening.

Well, we were. Next came Wuxi (pronounced wooshy) pork bellies with fennel and apple slaw, the pork melting in the mouth, having simmered for six hours in a broth made with ginger, soy sauce, tangerine, sesame oil, garlic and star anise. Served with it was Cave Spring Riesling, made from grapes grown in the Niagara region, the wine cool and dry. Following that were salmon spring rolls with a mache salad and sesame soy vinaigrette, another taste sensation.

The main course was brought out: roasted beef tenderloin, served with roasted parsnip puree and tiny grilled zucchinis, surrounded by a sauce made by reducing blueberries and black pepper. The beef was perfectly cooked; tender and rare, each slice complemented by the sauce and puree. With that came an Argentinean wine called Chakana Bonarda, made in the Mendoza region, a full-bodied red wine with a silky feel.

By then, we were quite full, but there was more, the dessert being a Manuka honey pear tart, Manuka referring to an organic honey produced in New Zealand. With it was a ginger pear sorbet and a dessert wine, a Spanish Moscatel called Estrella 10, sweet and clean, the perfect way to end the meal. Alan Crosby came out from the kitchen to bid everyone farewell, and we left with the promise to ourselves that we would do this again.

- Tom Sheppard can be reached at twsheppard@gmail.com