Tasting Notes | Chef Tasting Menu at Laurie Raphael in Quebec City Food|By SHIVANA MAHARAJ| Spring 2009 Dinner Menu
Photography ByK&SMedia
Nancy Lavoie pours sparkling water
Our Welcome
What a treat to be personally cooked for by Chef Daniel Vezina at his signature restaurant Laurie Raphael. We were persuaded to order the chef tasting menu. The atmosphere is convivial and warm against a neutral background (with quirky pops of personality). Take the bright red vintage recycled wild cat wall, or the tree branch wine cellar.
A look at the gift shop
The Brand
Chef Vezina is quite the celebrity in Quebec and it is no surprise that Laurie Raphael has a gift shop (with everything from made in Quebec didshes to Vezina's cookbooks) and the restaurant even has a separate kitchen atelier to host cooking classes. This is a man who loves people and you can tell. Throughout our dinner Vezina visits between tables chatting with patrons.
Served on a beautiful wooden board atop salt, this dish is a revelation
Strawberries and Scallops on a Half Shell
Our dinner begins with scallops on a half shell with strawberries from ile d'Orleans.
A colourful and tasty dish
Potato Chips with Mediterranean Salad and Fish
The next course is a taste of Greece. Crispy potato rounds topped with an olive cucumber and feta cheese salsa. A delicate dish that also featured assertive flavours.
Edible flowers and a playful presentation give this dish pizzaz
Main Course
We next feast on a delicate fish atop a corn salad laced with nasturtiums.
Like a painters palette this dish is an artist's creation
Dessert
Our dessert featuring a brushing of toasted black seasame seeds (mimicking chocolate in taste and appearance) is inventive and surprisingly rich with a subtle bitterness.
