Sweet Thea » lemon verbena http://www.sweetthea.com Wedding Cakes Vancouver Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:25:30 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Strawberry & White Chocolate Shortcake http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/12/08/strawberry-white-chocolate-shortcake/ http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/12/08/strawberry-white-chocolate-shortcake/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:23:06 +0000 laurie http://sweetthea.com/?p=2633 Strawberry & White chocolate shortcake, with sorrel white chocolate mousse, strawberry lemon verbena sorbet, and strawberry paper crisps.

105_0527_small

Served at Sooke Harbour house June 2004.

]]> http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/12/08/strawberry-white-chocolate-shortcake/feed/ 0 Strawberries & Dianthus http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/08/25/strawberries-dianthus/ http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/08/25/strawberries-dianthus/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:13:37 +0000 laurie http://sweetthea.com/?p=2641 Shady Lane farm fresh strawberries and Dianthus flowers, with strawberry, mable grey scented geranium sorbet, rose honey and lemon verbena ice cream, and chocolate anise custard.

105_0535_small

Served at Sooke Harbour house Wednesday June 23 2004.

]]> http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/08/25/strawberries-dianthus/feed/ 0 Melon Coeur A La Creme http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/07/15/melon-coeur-a-la-creme/ http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/07/15/melon-coeur-a-la-creme/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:57:38 +0000 laurie http://sweetthea.com/?p=2427 Yogurt and lemon verbena Coeur a la crème wrapped in honeydew melon ribbons, with watermelon mint granite, a pumpkin seed lace tuile, yellow tuberous begonia glaze, and mint syrup.

101_0151_small

Served at Sooke Harbour house Thursday September 25 2003.

]]> http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/07/15/melon-coeur-a-la-creme/feed/ 0 Chocolate Cake with Nougatine Flutes http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/06/16/chocolate-cake-with-nougatine-flutes/ http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/06/16/chocolate-cake-with-nougatine-flutes/#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:17:54 +0000 laurie http://sweetthea.com/?p=2569 Chocolate Cake with Cocoa, Espresso, Nougatine Flutes filled with white chocolate mousse, served with coffee, lemon verbena ice cream, pear puree and caramel sauce.

103_0383_small

Served at Sooke Harbour house Friday March 26 2004.

]]> http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/06/16/chocolate-cake-with-nougatine-flutes/feed/ 0 Sooke Harbour House http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/04/05/sooke-harbour-house/ http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/04/05/sooke-harbour-house/#comments Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:57:49 +0000 laurie2 http://sweetthea.com/?p=2818 Read More »]]> sooke-harbour-houseWorking as Pastry Chef at the Sooke Harbour House was one of the most exhilirating, challenging and inspiring jobs in Thea’s career.

One of the top restaurants in the world, the Sooke Harbour House is noted for its  unique menu written every single day that uses only the freshest of local ingredients.   The cooks, including the pastry chef, daily create their dishes from the Sooke Harbour House ‘edible landscape’,  using the over 200 edible herbs, greens, edible flowers and vegetables grown on location. (Watch a Youtube video about the edible gardens here).

Needless to say, this is a fantastic daily challenge for a chef – using only the best ingredients from the Southwestern Coast of Vancouver Island to create desserts that meet or surpass the expectations of the discriminating diners coming to one of the best restaurants in the world.

Here are some of the 2007 Awards the Sooke Harbour House has received:

  • Wine Spectator Grand Award 2007, one of the Top 75 Wine Lists in the World
  • Best Vancouver Island Restaurant, Vancouver Magazine
  • #2 Best Hotel in North America 2007 Reader’s Poll, Travel & Leisure Magazine
  • #8, World’s Best Service 2007 Reader’s Poll,  Travel & Leisure Magazine
  • #8 Best Small Hotel in the World 2007 Reader’s Poll, Travel & Leisure Magazine
  • Gold Star, Conde Naste
  • 5 Stars, Canada Select

Creating unique, flavorful delicious desserts from fresh local ingredients demanded constant communication with local suppliers and the house gardeners, and an exquisite awareness of seasonal freshness and properties of herbs, edible flowers and plants, fruits and vegetables.  Sorbets, reductions, ice creams, pastries and confections all had to be daily made from scratch, not just to serve the diners but to surprise and delight them!

Over the summer I will be matching some of Thea’s photos with Sooke Harbor House menus, and posting pictures and descriptions on the blog.  Enjoy!!!

100_0051_small

Thea working at Sooke Harbour House - the dessert she is building was listed on the menu on Saturday August 16, 2003, as "California bay leaf crème caramel, with lemon thyme poached pears, a pear and anise sorbet, calendula petal cream, and fennel syrup"; also seen is "flourless chocolate cake" and a "selection of garden inspired sorbets: golden plum with fruit sage, Nectarine with mint, and Apricot with Lemon verbena".

]]> http://www.sweetthea.com/blog/2009/04/05/sooke-harbour-house/feed/ 0