The Araxi Big Guns Dinner, part of the annual Cornucopia Whistler festivities celebrating food, drinks and all the finer things in life, is an event that is not to be missed.

We had the pleasure of attending this much-anticipated, intimate gathering this year, which took place in the Cellar by Araxi, where bottles of collectible wines lined the walls. It’s hard to find a spot to begin telling our story of how much we enjoyed the experience, from the reception to encourage guests to mingle with fellow food and drink enthusiasts, to the expert wine pairings to enhance the experience of every dish on the six-course menu.

To start the evening, guests were handed a champagne flute upon arrival filled with Krug Grande Cuvée Champagne 166 émé édition. Having just escaped from the wintry cold outside, we warmed up by slowly sipping our champagne, and were delighted to discover the reception menu featured tasty treats such as a Gnocchi Fritto, Sunchoke Cups, and Pacific Kiss Oysters with Caviar. My pick would be the Gnocchi Fritto, which was served in an elongated, crispy vessel with beef tartare, fresh herbs and cured egg yolk. The Oysters topped with Northern Divine caviar, créme fraiche and seaweed was a close second - but with a menu like this, it’s definitely tough to choose!

RED TUNA CARPACCIO

As we settled in, the serving team presented us with the first course, the Red Tuna Carpaccio with local crab tempura, yuzu gel, avocado, and compressed apple. We were pleasantly surprised by the size of the dish, offering hearty bites of fresh tuna with sweet and zesty notes from the hints of yuzu and apple. A delightful dish to start the evening.

Wine Pairing: Garnier & Fils ‘Les Clos' Grand Cru Chablis France 2011

As guests were enjoying their first courses and chattering excitedly amongst themselves about the evening’s menu, I snuck into the kitchen area for a behind the scenes look of the event. Executive Chef James Walt and his team were busy with plating the next dish, with Chef Walt periodically reviewing the plating to offer tips to his team on the presentation.

To pull off such an elaborate dinner menu for a large group takes a village, well, in this case, a small village of five from what we see here. if you ever have a chance to experience the tremendous amount of organization and coordination it takes to deliver a flawless, elevated culinary experience, observing a culinary team at work will put things into perspective. From the cooking, plating, to the service, you can see that the kitchen and serving team have it down to a science.

WILD SCALLOP VELOUTE

Nothing better than a creamy warm soup on a cold winter day. After a zesty and refreshing first course, we were excited to see warm bowls of veloute poured into our dish. with BC spot prawns, and baby fall vegetables, each sip of the veloute was flavourful and warming, an appreciate interlude to transition us into the pasta course of the evening.

Wine Pairing: Checkmate Attack Chardonnay, Okanagan, BC 2015

WHITE + BLACK TRUFFLES

They had us at truffles. A hearty pasta course with both white and black truffles makes for an indulgent dish. The tortelloni is made with Pemberton celery root, topped with shaved truffles and 30-month Parmiggiano-Reggiano. If you are a pasta lover, you would wish there were more of this dish for you to consume, but then again, we would urge you to save room for all the deliciousness that is still to come.

Wine Pairing: La Spinetta Starderi Barbaresco, Italy 2013

PEPPER CRUSTED VENISON LOIN

We believe there must be a secret recipe or method in how Executive Chef James Walt prepares the meat courses because the tenderness and scrumptious flavor of all of Araxi’s meat dishes are something we rave about long after a dining experience at the restaurant. This creation - the Pepper Crusted Venison Loin - is no exception. Soft and tender and presented at the perfect temperature, this dish is served with Okanagan plums, crosnes, parsley root, and gorgonzola crumb to simply let the meat shine.

Wine Pairing: Tomassi Ca’ Florian Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva, Italy 2010

SLOW COOKED WAGYU BEEF CHEEKS

We would venture to say that Executive Chef James Wall and his team are the experts on preparing beef cheeks that will leave a lasting impression. You will want to come back time and again just to experience the melt-in-your-mouth texture of the beef cheeks you could ‘cut’ with a fork. While the beef is marinated in a medley of flavors, the design of the dish also carefully balances the flavors with more earthy ingredients such as Rootdown Farm carrots and pinenut gremolata.

Wine Pairing: Mt Brave, Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2015

ARAXI ‘BFC’

If you have been looking for the perfect Black Forest Cake, you need not look further, once you have had the opportunity to taste Pastry Chef Aaron Heath’s signature ‘Harmony Ridge Chocolate’ Black Forest Cake. While some may shy away from chocolate cakes because of the perception of them being too rich in flavor and texture, this black forest cake creation has a whipped texture that’s creamy and heavenly. Paired with the Taylor Fladgate Very Old Single Harvest Porto 1969, it was a match made in heaven - we just wish there was more wine to go around!

Wine Pairing: Taylor Fladgate Very Old Single Harvest Porto 1969

Visit

Araxi Restaurant + Oyster Bar

110 - 4222 Village Square, Whistler

(604) 932-4540

Photos by Florence Leung