Tea Room Opening May 1st

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Well we're finally at the point of re-opening the Tea Room and Market for the Season.

At this point, we really have to thank Mayor Dave and his staff for helping us meet our deadlines. The final results, designed by our local contractor (Tucker Construction) look simply superb.

The new Tea Room

The installation of patio windows allow us to provide some protection from wind, rain and insects, while opening up fully to give that great experience of dining outside.

For the month of May we will be open Wednesday to Sunday from 11AM to 7PM. This schedule will be extended to 7 days a week in the Summer months.

We still have a lot of work to do in the coming week, but we're prepared. Chef has worked out our Spring menu:

Table d`Hote High Tea   ...  includes a Selection of  Tea,

Assorted tea sandwiches  (Watercress on brioche with cream cheese, Curried chicken salad on dark Austrian bread, Egg salad on sourdough bread, Prosciutto and Five Brothers cheese with ice wine mustard on white bread); Hard boiled St. Ann's quail egg; Cream raisin scone with preserves and whipped cream; Mignardises and sweets (truffles, seasonal fruit tart, jellies and cookies)

Impromptu seasonal soup 

Green Salad from Herbs by Daniel and the farm with ice wine mustard vinaigrette

Mennonite summer sausage sandwich, lettuce, on sourdough, with soup or salad 

Warm salad of braised mushrooms, little salad from Herbs by Daniel and a soft poached egg and brioche croutons  

Open faced egg salad sandwich on sourdough with Niagara prosciutto, served with soup or green salad with ice wine mustard vinaigrette  

House made and Ontario charcuterie plate, sourdough, ice wine mustard and pickles

Sweet Plate  (a selection of our Mignardises)

Cream and raisin scones, preserve and whipped cream

Of course we will also have daily seasonal specials and deserts based on what is available from the farm and local producers.

As we begin the new Season, we're also proud to have been certified by FeastON, a new program sponsored by the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance. FeastON promotes establishments dedicated to using local foods (our basic operating principle).

The Tea Room is now certified by FeastON for 2014

On another front, it was time to finish our Birch syrup. This process is identical to that of Maple syrup. However, since the syrup is so dark, we decided to double filter before the finishing stage.

Double filtering the Birch syrup

The critical thing about Birch syrup is its rapid tendency to burn. As such, a very watchful eye is needed as the syrup approaches 104 degrees C.

Finishing the very dark Birch syrup

The final product this year has a strong taste of prunes with a molasses finish, perfect for meats and barbecue sauces. 

Birch syrup, bottled and just about ready for sale

Just like our Maple syrup, the Birch syrup will be offered for sale at the Market.

We will leave you this week with a picture of our first Strawberries. Yes they're already coming out...in the Growing Dome that is.

Our first Growing Dome Strawberries