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Chef's Choice: Tory Martindale

For a chef who can boast to be the reigning Whistler Harvest Soup Contest winner, Tory Martindale is remarkably humble. The recently appointed executive chef at the Four Seasons Resort is very happy with the win.
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TURKEY TREAT Soup making champion Tory Martindale is getting set for American Thanksgiving and Christmas by locking down the family-style dinner menus offered by the Four Seasons.

For a chef who can boast to be the reigning Whistler Harvest Soup Contest winner, Tory Martindale is remarkably humble. The recently appointed executive chef at the Four Seasons Resort is very happy with the win.

Like any athlete who excels at their sport or businessperson who has made millions, Martindale is looking ahead now to the holiday season. American Thanksgiving is coming up on Nov. 22 and Christmas Day will be here before we know it just one month later. Martindale has big plans for both holidays.

First, there's the matter of the award-winning soup.

The inspiration for the soup that was declared the winner at the contest, which is a fundraiser for the Whistler Waldorf School, came from Santa Barbara, California. While working there the menu included a very popular butternut squash soup.

"Everybody loves butternut squash soup," says Martindale in one of the overly comfortable and extra large leather chairs at Fifty-Two 80 Bar. "Me personally, I'm not a big butternut squash soup guy but people love butternut squash soup and I also love Thai coconut curries because they are very flavourful. I thought, why don't we try something that's a cross between it, so we went and married a Thai coconut red curry soup with butternut squash soup and it was magical."

The soup was created just for the event.

Not bad for a guy who grew up and first did cooks training at the community college in Prince George before moving to Vancouver. Back in 1994 the coast of B.C. called and Martindale's relationship with the Four Seasons began.

Martindale says the Four Seasons will be back to defend its soup title next year and he'll come up with something new and different for the competition in 2013.

"It's either bacon or shrimp. Everybody goes crazy for one or the other," he muses. "It might be bacon-oriented next year, we'll have to see, but then I was already playing with the idea of using a soup I did years ago as a line cook. It's actually an orange and roasted beetroot soup so I might do a combo of that and maybe have a bacon component.

"I'm not sure yet. We'll have to see."

While the soup was created for the event it is a recipe Martindale has been stewing on for more than a year. He first intended to enter the soup in last year's contest but he was called over to the Four Seasons in Dublin at this time last year. He helped open the hotel in 2001 so it is a property he knows well. The chef in Dublin needed some coverage leading up to the Christmas holidays and Martindale took up the challenge, meaning his Whistler soup supremacy was on hold for a year.

The next fall highlight for Martindale and his team is the second coming of Thanksgiving when many of our American friends abandon their homeland for turkey in Canada.

Martindale's team at Sidecut is offering a Take Home Family Style Thanksgiving dinner. Those who pre-order a "Wild Turkey On The Fly" get the choice of a whole roasted free range turkey or boneless breast and leg cooked sous vide (cooked sealed airtight inside plastic bags in a water bath for long periods of time) then finished on Sidecut's infrared grill with wild turkey rub or the very popular Sidecut rub known as Edison's Medicine. The pick-up turkey meal also includes candied yams, wild mushroom bread stuffing, potato puree, caramelized corn, creamed spinach, gravy and cranberry sauce followed by North Arm Farm pumpkin pie or maple pecan pie.

A bunch of orders are already in, says Martindale and the same offer was available at Canadian Thanksgiving, He says 24 turkeys were carefully prepared then transferred to the lobby where the purchaser picked up the meal for six then drove it away to be enjoyed.

For those who really want to splurge for U.S. Thanksgiving Martindale is offering "Pimp My Bird" extras, which includes truffle butter rub or foie gras butter.

Orders have to be placed by Nov. 22 for pickup on Saturday, Nov. 24.

Thai and Butternut Shrimp Soup

Serves 10 people

Ingredients

2 white onions diced

1 head of garlic minced

1 carrot diced

3 celery sticks diced

1 thumb sized knob of ginger - minced

2 lemon grass stocks crushed

1 cup raw chopped shrimp meat

3 tbsp red Thai curry paste

1 bunch of cilantro - chopped stems and leaves

2 large butternut squash - peeled, cored and diced

2 cups coconut milk - unsweetened

4 litres of turkey stock - unsalted

Salt and pepper to taste

6 fresh limes

Garnish

10 ea 16/20 tiger prawn-shell off

1 cup flour

¼ cup corn starch

1 pinch baking powder

½ tsp rice vinegar

1 handful of ice

10 cilantro leaves

Soup Preparation

In a heavy bottomed pot combine the first six ingredients with 1 tbsp of canola oil and sautee for 10 minutes without browning the ingredients over medium heat. Add the shrimp meat and cook through. Add the red curry paste and cilantro. Allow to sauté for a couple minutes without burning to the bottom. Stir constantly.

Pour in the juice from two of the limes to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Add the butternut squash, coconut milk and the turkey stock. Allow to simmer for one hour then cool partially.

Blend small batches in a blender and strain through a fine sieve. Add salt to taste. Then add remaining juice from the four limes.

Warm soup to serve.

Garnish Preparation

Cut each shrimp in three segments.

In a bowl combine the flour and half the cornstarch and baking powder. Add the ice, vinegar and slowly add cold water until the mix is the consistence of a milkshake.

Toss the shrimp segments in the remaining cornstarch and then dust off remaining starch. Dip the shrimp briefly into the batter and fry in oil that heated to 300F.

Remove from oil when they begin to brown slightly. Drain on paper towel and dust lightly with kosher salt. Use three pieces of shrimp and 1 leaf of cilantro to garnish the warm soup.