06/01/2026
Question: What do you cook for lunch for a world-famous wine critic in the barrel room of one of your favourite wineries?👇
This is my answer. A menu built to show off the Okanagan in spring, and my take on wine country cuisine.
To start - Beef tartare, classically dressed with shallot, caper and mustard, then lifted by 30-year cherry vinegar from the Naramata Bench. Served with fresh local sourdough and wild mustard flowers.
First course - Local asparagus with king prawns, poached in an oil made from their own shells. Whipped ricotta for balance and a rhubarb vinaigrette for brightness.
Second course - Beef two ways, smoked brisket and grilled flank. Alongside it, fondant potatoes left with their natural edges, butter-braised leeks, and garlic scapes, all in season, finished with a port jus and sour cherries preserved last year.
To finish - A strawberry tart on a brown butter and oat crust, with white chocolate, bee pollen and a touch of rose syrup. A taste of the season and the wildflowers, and a quiet nod to France and the winery’s roots there.
I get to cook in a place where the ingredients come from down the road and the season writes the menu for me. Building a meal like this, in a barrel room, with fruit and flowers from the same valley that fills the glass, is a privilege I don’t take lightly. I’m grateful every day to create here, and luckier still to call this place home.
Wine guy: .suckling
Winery:
