Topics: cuisine

A culinary tour de force

NAC Executive Chef John Morris and his team know how to throw a party. During just over one hour at last September’s gala evening in support of arts education programs at the NAC, Chef Morris, three sous-chefs, 20 cooks and 50 servers prepared and served 1,500 plates of fine food – smoked…

Experience Ontario’s best artists at the Scene

At the National Arts Centre, we like to say that “Canada is our stage,” a statement that underlines our commitment to work with artists and arts organizations across the country to build a national stage for the performing arts. The Scene festivals are a perfect illustration of that…

Chef John Morris modernizes the classic surf n turf

Feast your eyes on this modern version of a classic surf n turf. Here we have delectably tender filet of Quebec milk-fed veal from the Charlevoix region paired with plump prawns poached in lemon and garlic butter. Organic baby turnips, beets and kohlrabies  sustainably farmed at Juniper…

Citrus cheesecake

Back in the old days, before refrigerators and year-round food imports, people used to equate citrus fruit with the holidays. What a special treat it must have been to enjoy a brightly-coloured, fragrant fruit in the middle of the cold, dark winter. It’s in that spirit that NAC Executive…

Sustainable seafood at le café

The National Arts Centre’s le café is proud to showcase the fresh flavours and ingredients of Canada. Executive Chef John Morris is passionate about cooking with fresh ingredients harvested through sustainable methods. This halibut dish is a perfect example. It was caught using a hook and…

Mill Creek Green Pea Risotto

This dish is a vegetarian adaptation of the classic Northern Italian dish risi e bisi – or rice and peas. In this version, the taste of fresh, sweet peas just pops in your mouth! Deliciously combined with creamy Arborio rice, the flavourful textures of the delicate peas and pea sprouts…

Ontario Government announces support for Ontario Scene

Imagine 600 Ontario artists taking over theatres, concert halls, clubs, galleries and artist-run centres throughout Ottawa-Gatineau. That's Ontario Scene, the next instalment in the National Arts Centre's highly-successful series of Scene festivals.  From April 28 to May 10, 2015, Ontario…

Melting Moments for Valentines Day

NAC Executive Chef John Morris first made these cookies when he was in play school in Scotland. Like any 4 year old he thought it was so much fun to roll out the balls of dough, mark them with your thumb and fill them with jam — it's a fun craft activity that ends with a sweet treat! This…

Banana-nana-nana

Here is a crowd-pleasing dessert recipe from le café that is served warm and guaranteed to chase away the winter doldrums. First you bake fluffy and delicious banana bread. Then cube and mix it into a bread pudding-style custard with chunks of premium white chocolate. Bake it again and add…

Chana Salad

Add a little bit of North Africa and India to your holiday season with this delicious Chana salad. Combining the robust flavours of lamb merguez sausage from North Africa and the warming spices of garam masala, this dish offers a very lean yet high protein boost (perfect for those chilly,…

Chef John Morris cooks Mapo Dofu

Chef John Morris loves the intensity and brightness of flavour in Chinese food. Although traditionally made with meat, John created this version of Mapo Dofu using tofu for his vegetarian sister. John says his mother is responsible for his love of Chinese food. "She craved it all the time…

Mapo Doufu

Vegan Mapo Doufu To celebrate the NAC Orchestra’s China Tour this fall, try this fragrant and spicy dish at home. It’s the NAC’s vegetarian version of the traditional Sichuanese “Mapo Doufu” which, according to legend, originated in the kitchen of an elderly woman living on the outskirts…

Bufala mozzarella with heirloom tomatoes

Mozzarella di bufala Tellicherry pepper | tomato | basil | olive | balsamic Celebrate the fresh flavours and radiant colours of southern Italy with Bufala mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes, the foundations of this dish. Your tastebuds are awakened with torn basil, a drizzle of XV olive…

Meet Le Café‘s John Morris

NAC Niçoise

NAC Niçoise quail egg | tuna | anchovy | new lettuce What makes a classic dish? The essence of a recipe’s success is perfectly-matched flavours. Take the niçoise made famous in America by Julia Child in her cookbook The French Chef. Our version pushes the dish into new territory with…