Apprenticeship was the way that many careers skills were taught and passed on. Although most careers have been formalized to academic classroom settings, there still remains the practical hands-on training that is just as valuable. Jane's provides the opportunity for Red River's Hospitality and Culinary Arts students to obtain real world experience in cooking and serving. Similarly, as part of my own career training, it is necessary for me to go through the steps of being both the learner and the teacher, and so I can appreciate what an invaluable opportunity Jane's is for the students. Intrigued to sample the creations of upcoming chefs, we headed off to Jane's.
Located in the beautiful and elegant historical Union Bank building, Jane's serves upscale contemporary dining. The first thing you notice when walking into the restaurant is the wonderfully high ceilings with its ornate finishing. Dispersed throughout the room are large chandeliers that light up the large space. Off to the side is a wide open kitchen where you can see all of the students and chefs hard at work at their cooking stations. You can feel a nervous energy in the air among those in the kitchen and on the floor. I highly commend the excellent service by the students: very attentive, friendly and knowledgeable of the menu. The menu consists of a short list of carefully selected dishes to showcase the students' techniques and skills.
The evening began with an amuse bouche
Lamb Carpaccio. The thinly sliced pieces of raw lamb meat were very tender and delightfully complimented by black lentils and the blend of red pepper purée, chimichurri and yogurt sauce. This sauce was a combination of heat and cool in a creamy blend. Delicious!
My dining companion loves scallops and so it was an easy appetizer choice. Large pieces of
Seared Scallops were served in a carrot butter with sauce béarnaise. The large scallops were excellently seared with a crisp exterior and a melt-in-your-mouth interior.
Spatzle was another of the appetizer's offered on this particular menu. The beautiful top layer presents the Emmental and burnt onion. The Emmental cheese was cooked using the espuma method to a foam-like consistency, but tonight's was more liquid than foamy.
Beneath the top layer is the spatzle, soft, chewy egg noodles. Overall, the creamy cheese and onion flavouring worked well with the spatzle, but the taste was a bit bland for my liking.
Wanting a vegetable option, we opted for the
Brown Butter Sourdough Bread Salad.
The base of this salad is a mix of crisp pieces of butter lettuce and caramelized brussel sprouts. Salads are often more heavily dressed than suits my personal preference, but the sherry vinaigrette was beautifully presented as a ring around the salad allowing you to control the amount of dressing that you mix in. The most unique part of this salad was the sourdough bread. Soft yet crunchy with a slightly sweet taste, the sourdough bread was a nice change from classic croutons.
For the entree, my dining companion chose the
Maple and Birch Braised Pork Belly. Similar to a surf and turf, this dish combined pork belly with scallops. The fatty piece of pork belly was incredibly sweet and tender and the caramelized scallops were excellently cooked. Unfortunately, the overall enjoyment of this dish was detracted by the bitterness of the rutabaga puree.
For myself, I selected the
Tournedos Rossini which is a French steak dish consisting of seared beef tenderloin. Served as medium rare, the beef tenderloin had a nice sear to the exterior, but internally was more of a medium consistency. The tenderloin was served with sauce madeira and accompanied by thin slices of potato galette and juicy mushrooms. Instead of the foie gras, this dish was served with faux gras which is chicken liver. The faux gras had a much stronger liver taste than what I have been used to with foie gras. A bit too strong for my palate. Minus the faux gras, this was an enjoyable dish.
Despite feeling full, the dessert menu was way too tempting to skip. The
Black Forest Torte is a delicious rendition on the traditional Black Forest cake. The chocolate cake was not too dense and the perfect balance of chocolaty sweetness drizzled with a tart and semi-sweet brandied cherry sauce. Instead of whipped cream, the chocolate cake was presented in vanilla marshmallow ring. Fluffy, soft, gooey goodness, the marshmallow was an excellent companion to the chocolate cake.
Unable to pick just one dessert of the four selections offered, we also selected the
Petit Four. Tonight's rendition offered three different items: Birch Ice Cream Sandwich, Chocolate Ganache and Pistachio Cake Pop, and Mini Donuts with Maple Bacon Whisky Glaze. Not knowing what to expect, the birch ice cream sandwich was a delicious surprise. The birch ice cream had a subtle hint of sweetness and tasted a bit like molasses. The taste was refreshing and had a pleasant woodsy flavour. The oat cookie itself was hard and chewy, but its flavour was a great complement to the birch ice cream. Next to try was the chocolate ganache and pistachio cake pop. This was the least successful of all of the desserts. The pistachio cake was very dense and fell apart as you bit into it. Furthermore, it had very little pistachio flavour. In contrast, the star of this collection of desserts was the mini donuts. Delicious soft, gooey, cinnamon goodness. The sweetness of the whisky glaze was excellently paired by the savoury crunchy pieces of bacon.
Jane's is an opportunity for students to practice and perfect their cooking techniques. Classic and innovative dishes are offered in an elegant historic building that has been renovated into a beautiful restaurant. The service is excellent while the food was overall a delicious surprise. If you're looking for a contemporary fine dining experience in The Exchange, consider Jane's.
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