Whimsical Christmas at the Fort Garry

There are seminal moments in peoples' lives and they often revolve around the holidays. I notice everyone being in better spirits and enjoying each others' company. For me, I look forward to the food. The holidays marks the beginning of a month (or few months) long of enticing aromas, delectable flavours and excuses aplenty to stuff oneself silly. When approached with the idea of helping create our Pediatric Holiday Party, I could not help but chime in my food suggestions. After numerous and fierce weeks of debate we finally resolved upon the Fort Garry Hotel as our venue of choice.

The Fort Garry Hotel combines an old world air with modern class and elegance. Hailed as a national historic site, this hotel has been a staple of Winnipeg's downtown and remains the choice numero uno for many Holidays parties, weddings and celebrations. It was difficult for me to not look around this fantastic piece of history, but alas off to the food.

When you are on the "social committee", there needs to be some sacrifices to help ensure the proverbial show goes on. For me, this meant showing up a few hours early and manning the doors. Normally this would not be a concern at all but ... due to a rather exuberant evening of celebrating the previous night ... this became somewhat of a struggle. Nevertheless some liquid courage in the form of the House White (I forgot the name of the wine) perked my spirits and my stomach.

As with most classy events, we started with freshly baked rolls. My choice for the evening was a Blueberry Infused Roll. The addition of the fruit was a wonderful compliment to the crusty bread and lended a hint of sweetness to the much needed starch.

Our meal was buffet style. We started off with the vegetables: Marinated Tomatoes with Mozarella, Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Rosemary Baby Potatoes, Wild Rice Stuffing, Fresh Vegetables, Spring Salad, Steamed Asparagus with Roasted Red Pepper and Brown Sugar Glazed Baby Carrots. Everything was agreeable but nothing stood out. The most unique dish was the Wild Rice Stuffing which had a grainy chewy texture.

The mains included: Beef Sirloin Roast Carvery, Roast Turkey, Four Cheese Spinach Lasagna, Spaghetti Squash Gratin, and Salmon Medallions with Soya Butter Sauce. Highlight of the night goes to the salmon. Incredibly moist and moist, the fatty salmon went well with the soy glaze. The Beef Sirloin Roast was also excellent: a perfect medium rare that melted in your mouth. The turkey was passable but altogether average.

Dessert was definitely a chore to get through: Fresh Fruit, Chocolate Yule Cake, Christmas Bread Pudding with Amaretto, Chocolate Tart. The bread pudding was nice and soft and contrasted well with the amaretto. Lovely!

Because I felt like a glutton I had to try all the desserts (top going clockwise): Caramelized Nut Tart, Almond Toffee Bark, Fresh Fruit, Fruitcake Cookie. At this point all I could do is have a small bite of everything. The fruitcake cookie was the most surprising: with a shortbread base and dried fruit, this had a umami flavour usually not found in desserts.

Overall it was a lovely night at the Fort Garry Hotel. Settling into the pediatrics world, I really view my fellow coworkers as friends and family. When you live, breathe and work with the same people on a daily basis, sometimes it is necessary to unwind and have fun. This night was precisely that: an opportunity to enjoy each others' company without the stress of sick children or deadlines.