Creative expression comes out in many forms. Some are expressed through writing, some are shown through music, and others express themselves through art and visual interpretations. As a food blogger over the past three years I've had some really special meals, devoured some amazing dishes, and learned a lot about the culinary culture along the way. I've seen food used as a vessel for creative masterpieces where a chef will pour their heart and soul into creating a dish that truly showcases their own personality and artistic expression using a blank canvas that we all know as "the plate." FRANK Restaurant at the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) is a prime example of how food, creative expression, and art can intertwine with one another, because quite literally this restaurant is situated inside one of the most famous art installations in all of Canada. Finding inspiration through art here is in every corner of this building, so it's no surprise it shines through in every dish that comes out of the kitchen at FRANK Restaurant.
I came to FRANK Restaurant and the AGO last week to try their limited-edition menu inspired by the once-in-a-lifetime Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition that is taking place right now inside the AGO, making its only stop in North America. Georgia O'Keeffe (November 1887 - March 1986) was an American painter and a trailblazing figure in American modernism best known for her iconic paintings that shows her deep connection to landscape, architecture, and nature.
Renee Bellefeuille is the Executive Chef at the Art Gallery of Ontario and her creative expression comes out through cooking. She's created a marvelous three-course lunch/dinner prix-fixe menu that is inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's timeless art pieces, which focuses on local and seasonal bounty with a New Mexico flair, a place that Georgia took a lot of inspiration from in her art work.
With 20 years of culinary experience, Bellefeuille has worked at some of the city's premier dining establishments including the Drake Hotel, the Consulate General of France in Toronto, and even alongside Jamie Kennedy with whom she worked as a Pastry Chef for five years. Now that she has found herself working at the AGO, where food inspires artful conversation, Bellefeuille leads an extraordinary team of chefs that combines global flavours and locally sourced ingredients to produce aesthetically pleasing dishes that satisfy the senses.
Her exquisite culinary ability has brought her the opportunity to create this limited-edition Georgia O'Keeffe inspired prix-fixe menu. The lunch menu is $35 and the dinner menu is $45. There is also a prix-fixe dinner and exhibition combo at $65 that packages the Georgia O'Keeffe art exhibit entrance fee and dinner prix-fixe menu all in one. Both lunch and dinner menus are the same with a difference in their dessert served at night.
Below you will see the Georgia O'Keeffe $45 prix-fixe dinner menu that has three courses: starters, mains, and dessert.
STARTERS
Bean Salad - fava bean, cranberry bean, grilled poblano pepper, dinosaur kale, heirloom tomato, puffed wild rice, roasted tomato vinaigrette
Goat Cheese - mixed seed flatbread, preserved lemon, fennel fronds, nasturtium oil, hisbiscus dust
MAINS
Grilled Trout - charred green onions, white bean, dill pesto, toasted sunflower seeds, artichoke and cultured cream puree
Duck Confit - dandelion greens, whipped ricotta, puffed quinoa, sea buckthorn, elderflower vinaigrette
DESSERT
Chocolate Rhubarb Tart - bourbon white chocolate mousse, sea salt praline nougatine, rhubarb gastrique
Ontario Wild Rye & Sweet Potato Cake - burnt citrus, toasted birch syrup meringue, goat milk caramel, graham cracker dust
Bonus Dessert (Not on the Georgia O'Keeffe prix-fixe menu, but on the regular menu)
The Georgia O'Keeffe Exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario is running right now until July 30th, 2017. Make sure you head on down to the AGO to experience creative expression two fold. First on the walls and then on your plate! Let all your senses be awaken. To purchase your tickets to the Georgia O'Keeffe Exhibit please visit here, and to reserve your table at FRANK restaurant please visit here. Enjoy!