VANCOUVER — Chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson says that when it comes to a fat B.C. peach, there are "endless possibilities" for a fruit that signifies summer.
Maybe a salad? “They play so nicely together with nice blackcurrant leaf oil and maybe some rose vinegar and crunchy salt and some fresh shiso (Japanese mint) and basil,” said Stieffenhofer-Brandson, who has earned a Michelin star for Published on Main in Vancouver, regularly listed among Canada's best restaurants. Perhaps peaches on top of crispy focaccia paired with whipped ricotta, or roast peaches with seared foie gras? And peach desserts never disappoint, said Stieffenhofer-Brandson, as he described blending plump poached peaches with almond cream and rose granita, in a “really lovely combination.” But not this year.
Stieffenhofer-Brandson and other top chefs in B.C. who pride themselves on seasonal and local fare are working without some of their favourite summer ingredients after the province's stone fruit harvest was almost wiped out by a January cold snap.
Others, such as Matt Gostelow, head chef at The Acorn, an acclaimed Vancouver vegetarian restaurant, preserved some of last year's stone fruit crop. He said stone fruit from the Okanagan had been a staple on The Acorn's menu every year, and it was "devastating" to hear of the cold snap's impact. “Luckily, we have some preserved apricots we canned ourselves at their peak last summer that are currently on our menu.
However, with none coming in this y.