A Picture Perfect Long Table Dinner with Brad Smoliak

Anyone with a remote interest in food should keep an eye on Brad Smoliak’s long table dinners—well, not just keep an eye on them…actually get out and attend one.

Brad and his crew have been doing these dinners for a few years but it was only last month that I attended my first one. Up until then, I had only (ruefully and hungrily) watched from afar people’s posts on social media about the food and the setting and the awesomeness of the event.

In July, I accepted an invite from Edmonton Tourism to tag along and experience a long table dinner out at the Old Red Barn, a very cool venue south of Edmonton near Leduc on the farm of Rudy & Karen Gengler. Their daughter Melissa, and her husband, Matthew, are responsible for organizing and running the long table dinners in the hip roof barn held throughout the year by various chefs. They also run a mobile cocktail bar called the Old Fashioned. You really need to check that out.

Melissa and Matthew Schur

That barn. That setting. Those folks. Such a great experience.

On the night I attended, Brad and his crew cooked up a multi-course meal featuring top quality ingredients from local producers. It’s all about local here… you’re in a barn on a farm. The food is going to be fresh and wholesome and tasty. How could it possibly be anything else?

The fine folks from Red Rooster (Naramata Bench) supplied the wine. Pictured below are just some of the dishes we enjoyed that evening:

Slow-roasted AAA beef stuffed in mini Yorkshire pudding with black pepper horseradish aioli. (Photo credit: Bin Lau)

Ukrainian cole slaw (cabbage, fresh dill, grainy mustard and grated carrots) and navy bean vegetable salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley and thyme tossed in Saskatoon vinaigrette and topped with pea shoots). Photo credit Bin Lau.