Alta + Audain Fine Dining Art Experience returns to Whistler for the summer
Sampler tour of Audain Art Museum is followed by an open-air dinner served out of a vintage Airstream beneath the iconic arts venue
Audain Art Museum and alta Bistro present Alta + Audain Fine Dining Art Experience every Friday night from July 8 to September 2 at Audain Art Museum
THERE’S MORE TO Whistler come summertime than hiking and mountain-biking. Back after last year’s sold-out run, the Alta + Audain Fine Dining Art Experience brings together visual art and the culinary arts with a focus on all things local.
The evening event starts off with a 35-minute sampler tour at Audain Art Museum, whether it’s the Permanent Collection (with some 200 works of art from coastal B.C., including a vast collection of 19-century Northwest Coast masks, one of Canada’s strongest Emily Carr collections, and pieces by post-war modernists such as E.J. Hughes, Gordon Smith, and Jack Shadbolt) or the Special Exhibition. Running now to August 14 is Wolves: The Art of Dempsey Bob. (Read Stir’s feature article with an interview with Bob here.)
After the guided tour by one of the museum’s culture hosts, dinner is served underneath the 56,000-square-foot building designed by Patkau Architects—yes, underneath it, in the open air with views of the museum’s postmodern architecture, a meadow, and Alta Bistro’s sleek restored, vintage 1967 Airstream, retrofitted with a full kitchen. That’s where the culinary team helmed by executive chef Nick Cassettari prepares the four-course meal. There are two menus throughout the series, the first one running for the initial five weeks.
The inspiration for Menu 1 is nature: “Nature is art, art is freedom.” Dishes reflect the surrounding forests, rivers, and mountains.
Here’s a glimpse of what Alta Bistro is cooking up:
Course One—A scene from our coastline: Beach oyster baked with a Dungeness crab custard, fried mussels, and chanterelles with seaweed aioli and kelp chips.
Course Two—The snow melt: Elderflower cured ivory salmon, smoked scallop mousse, Nootka rose & champagne ice, blue spruce snow, cucumber gazpacho, and crème fraiche.
Course Three—Smoky forest: Elk striploin, cedar infused elk jus, tempura pickled ramps, wilderness oil, pine nut risotto, Douglas fir, and charred-onion butter sauce
Course Four—Lost in the woods: Smoked chocolate, morel mushroom, espresso, matcha tea, white chocolate, and lichen
Tickets ($99 per person plus tax and gratuity) include the art tour and dinner; wine pairings are available for $49. Audain members receive $10 off ticket purchases and along with a complimentary welcome beverage for each person in their party.
More information is at Audain Art Museum or Alta Bistro.
Alta Bistro.
Related Articles
