I spent a lovely evening this week at the urban element with other Ottawa food bloggers and Ron Eades. Invited by the Chicken Farmers of Canada, it was a great opportunity to network and put faces to some of the blogs I read regulary (and any invitation to the urban element must not be missed!).
The urban element’s philosophy is “to provide the ultimate culinary event studio to inspire a love of food and cooking while supporting and bringing together our city’s greatest talent. The urban element believes in community and supports local chefs, food producers, farmers and restaurants” (from the web site).
I was impressed by the Chicken Farmers, they weren’t there plugging the organization or with any agenda. They quietly participated and made the rounds to say hello. They were gracious hosts and thanked us for coming.
Ron Eades spoke to us about food blogging, what draws people to a blog and what to avoid. He spoke about sodium content of products, his own blog, a few of his experiences and his appreciation of originality and being authentic.
We were able to observe Chef Candace Butler (seen above) create a chicken pate and we tested a few that she had already prepared (below).
I had a fabulous German Riesling along with mini-chicken pot pies, pulled-pork on focaccia, cod cakes and lovely chicken dumplings served with a spicy peanut sauce.
The atmosphere is so comfortable. There is a casual elegance about the place. It makes me want to go back, so I have decided take some classes, they have a full schedule of them each month both demonstration and hands on. Now, which ones to take?
the lemon kitchen 