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Photo of chef professor Tony de Luca (photo credit: Stephen Dominick).<\/p>\n
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Chef professor Tony de Luca is stirring up memories.<\/p>\n
In preparation for his April 4 dinner event, part of the Canadian Food and Wine Institute\u2019s sold-out Signature Series, de Luca has selected some of his favourite dishes that he has prepared in fine dining establishments around the world during his 30-year career.<\/p>\n
The result: de Luca\u2019s \u2018Gastronimica Della Mia Vita.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the dishes have meaning to me,\u201d says de Luca.<\/p>\n
His amuse bouche was inspired by his memories of working with Jean-Louis Palladin at the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The Whole Roasted Vanilla Foie Gras, that will be carved tableside by culinary students, is from his memories of the Chewton Glen Country House Hotel.<\/p>\n
His Potato crusted Pacific Halibut \u2013\u00a0a dish learned from\u00a0chef Patrick O\u2019Connel and one that has become his personal favourite \u2013 was taken from his memories of The Inn at Little Washington. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The main course is a Tour of Niagara \u2013 a dish that originated in Niagara-on-the-Lake. During de Luca\u2019s time at Hillebrand\u2019s Vineyard Caf\u00e9, the dish of three proteins was meant to playfully interact with three different wines became wildly popular. To re-create the experience, De Luca plans to serve a Pancetta-wrapped bison fillet\/ lamb chatelaine\/Pan Seared Sea Scallop and Braised Pork Belly with Southbrook Vineyards Poetica Cabernet Merlot 2007, Hidden Bench Tete de Cuvee Chardonnay 2009 and Rosewood Estate Reserve Natural Fermentation Pinot Noir 2009.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was probably the most successful dish I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d says de Luca.<\/p>\n
Dessert, chocolate caramel tart, is his memory of Langdon Hall Country House Hotel in Cambridge.<\/p>\n
While the dishes he is presenting are a tribute to his past, they also celebrate his signature style marked by his support for the farming community and celebration of Canadian producers. His Signature Series dinner incorporates both local ingredients and products from across Canada, including a Dragon\u2019s Breath Cheese course he names Memories from Upper Economy,\u00a0after a town in Nova Scotia where That Dutchman’s Cheese farm is located. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have so many amazing producers in Canada and products that are unique to the world \u2013 like icewine,\u201d he says. \u201cOur foie gras is exceptional \u2013 as good as any I\u2019ve had in France.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tied in with his relationship with producers is a respect for the integrity of the ingredients. Munching veggies straight from the garden is de Luca\u2019s version of \u2018fast food.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, our jobs as chefs is not to reinvent the wheel, but to highlight what is already good,\u201d he says. \u201cOften, the less we do to food, the better it is \u2026 if you\u2019ve ever experienced the satisfaction of a juicy ripe peach, what could you do to improve it?\u201d<\/p>\n
De Luca notes that his strong support for the farming community stems back to his exposure to his father\u2019s family\u2019s agricultural background. He was exposed to its importance early in life, long before the \u2018farm-to-table\u2019 movement, and it\u2019s something he values to this day. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have a sticker on my car that says \u2018farmers feed cities,\u2019 he points out. \u201cI think it\u2019s very important.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Luca looks forward to working with a team of students both in preparation for and at the event. He takes pleasure in teaching them to prepare the very same dishes that he once prepared in prominent restaurants around the word.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cool how it goes full circle and funny to think that I was preparing these dishes before some of my students were even born,\u201d he notes with a chuckle.<\/p>\n
While teaching is a new chapter in de Luca\u2019s career that he started two years ago when he joined Niagara College, he finds it rewarding to work with the College\u2019s culinary students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best part is when you see a light go off, and you just know that cooking has gone from just something they wanted to try to something that really gets into their blood and becomes a passion for them,\u201d he says. \u201cI see myself in them in many cases.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
He also values the collaboration with other prominent chefs at the College \u2013 many whom he already knew before he began teaching here \u2013 including Michael Olson, Mark Picone, Osvaldo Avila and Avi Hollo who are also part of the CFWI\u2019s Chef Signature Series.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like an incubator of inspiration being around so much talent every day,\u201d says de Luca. \u201cIt\u2019s also very humbling.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Luca\u2019s passion for cooking runs through his veins. Long before he became a chef, cooking has been a part of de Luca\u2019s life. His mother\u2019s family has been in the restaurant industry for generations and his parents opened a restaurant in 1978. \u00a0The family’s Trattoria was where de Luca got his start, preparing heritage dishes by his mother\u2019s side. <\/p>\n
Eager to branch out, de Luca\u2019s career took him around the world, to fine dining establishments in the United States, France, England, Germany and Italy before arriving in Niagara as Hillebrand Estates\u2019 opening chef. He later opened de Luca\u2019s Cheesemarket and Deli and deLuca\u2019s Wine Country Restaurant and The Old Winery Restaurant before becoming a chef professor at NC.<\/p>\n
As a chef professor, he remains strongly connected to the industry and will be spending the summer working CedarCreek Estate Winery in the Okanagan Valley.<\/p>\n
In addition to cooking, de Luca has published two cookbooks: Recipes from Wine Country (2005) and Simply in Season (2009) and has had numerous chef appearances on Christine Cushing\u2019s Food Net shows.<\/p>\n
De Luca is now turning his \u2018Gastronomica Della Mia Vita\u2019 menu into a recipe book. This one however, will be shared with guests of his Signature Series Dinner.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re all dishes that are personal to me,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s something my guests will be able to take home and enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Photo of chef professor Tony de Luca (photo credit: Stephen Dominick). \u00a0 Chef professor Tony de Luca is stirring up memories. In preparation for his April 4 dinner event, part of the Canadian Food and Wine Institute\u2019s sold-out Signature Series, de Luca has selected some of his favourite dishes that he has prepared in fine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-my-people"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n