When last I hooked up with Chef Eyal Liebman,

he was tempting my senses with a chocolaty Beef Wellington: locally sourced beef loin, wrapped in chocolate crêpe and house made puff pastry with sauce poivrade and wild mushrooms. Space does not permit me to go on about how fabulous this was, nor how totally mind boggling I thought this combination to be. I knew that chocolate and cocoa powder has for years, used as a savoury component of sauces and marinades, most popularly in Mexican recipes and food, but here he was toying with my white boy, beef and yorkshire pud head. I will admit; I wasn’t sold on his choco-thoughts. Until I tasted. Chef Liebman is incorporating cocoa powder and chocolate into remarkable main course meals. ‘Adding chocolate to a dish adds a rich depth of flavour and a great contrast of sweet and savoury’, says Chef. What sets Chef Liebman apart from the crowd? He believes that ‘the fundamentals of classic French cuisine risk extinction’ and he passionately strives to preserve them. AND take them to the next level.

Food and Candy

Liebman now sets his sweet dreams on food and candy, and the sweet, savoury, bitter marriage of two unorthodox partners. There will always be a debate about what tastes constitute a sweet or chocolate dish. Is it sweet, pungent, salty, spicy, sour, bitter, or a combination of possibly all of these? Put aside your first thoughts of sweet as dessert as the corner of Ave and Dav was buzzing Thursday evening with Chef Eyal Liebman ‘Food Beyond This Point’, a rethinking of food & candy, inspired by the art of Marco Sassone and Ian Campbell at Berenson Fine Art.

No Respect

Sweet gets no respect, as far as taste go.  Slandered in solid form, outlawed in liquid, poor, poor simple sugar has largely been relegated to the mass-market, it’s empty calories labelled worthless and wretched. Bitter and sour’s main purpose is to warn our bodies of potential poisoning and has been enjoying quite the halcyon days of late.  Meanwhile, sweet is seen as amateur, the obvious way to palate satisfaction, (or dissatisfaction in some cases). It’s high time sweet stood up for its sweet self and reclaimed a respectable place on the tongue map. And what better to do it than with candy. And Chef Liebman sweetly steps up.

Here  is a run down on our sweet meets savoury, meets bitter, meets spicy food tasting menu, featuring some fine Ontario wines expertly matched by Sommelière and sweet partner in crime, Rebecca Meïr-Liebman featuring  Rosewood Estates Winery, Back 10 Cellars, Stratus Vineyards and  Charles Baker Riesling

A Cake of Fruits
| Olive Oil Lemon Cake | Cucumber | Strawberry Mousse |
Back 10 Cellars Rose Coloured Glasses 2013 Rosé

Sweet! Sea Food
| Candied Shrimp | Valrhona opayls |Crystalized Rose
Rosewood Estates ‘Mima’s Block’ 2013 Riesling

Panna Cotta
|Foie Gras | kumquat jam |basil
Charles Baker Picone Vineyard 2012 Riesling

Marshmallow
| Beef | Pineapple | Sriracha | Haricot Vert
Back 10 Cellars The Big Leap 2013 Cabernet Franc

He’s gone carrots
| Carrot Cake | Goat Cheese Mousse | Valrhona Caraïbe
Rosewood Estates Pinot Noir 2012

McMaCaron
| Potato and Valrhona opayls ganache | Ketchup crème au beurre | Beef Stew
Stratus Vineyard Special Select Late Harvest 2013 Cabernet

Keep your sweet and savoury eyes peeled for future Food Beyond this Point culinary events where Chef Liebman and Sommelièr Rebecca Meïr-Liebman will offer you a glimpse into the (mostly) unexplored worlds of combination flavour possibilities. 

I know my sweet eyes will be.

Should you want to experience Chef Eyal and Sommelièr Rebecca’s extraordinary food & stellar wine service yourself or for an intimate gathering of friends, connect with them directly via their website at Chef & Somm