Spinning veal into gold

 Chef Dan instructs on how valuable good butchery skills can be to the bottom line. 

With his gloved hand, Chef cuts carefully
around the knuckle and along the bone.  

The leg of veal was courtesy of Delft Blue Veal. The entertainment value was added by Chef Dan Notley. With practiced skill, a sharp knife and an alchemist’s outlook, he demonstrated how to transform a $200 primal cut into steaks, roasts and cutlets, and bits and bones for burgers, osso bucco, soup, stews, sandwiches and sauces. Those can translate to at least $1200 at the till in an upscale restaurant: not bad for a one-hour date with a skilled butcher. 

After the demonstration, this hindshank was braised for a couple
of hours until it was melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Break a leg....

Last week an entourage arrived at the Liaison Hamilton campus like a ceremonial procession behind a sacrificial lamb. Well, actually, it was a leg of veal, and the occasion was not a celebration or a right of passage. The visitors were from Delft Blue Veal, delivering not only the week’s meat supply but also an educational exchange of sorts.

Vito Giglio makes quick work of a leg of veal.

While Carol Gibbons (retail merchandising director for Delft Blue) and Ross Blaine (Director of Innovation and Sustainability) snapped photos and kept the video camera rolling, Vito Giglio, the production manager from their Cambridge packing facility rolled up his sleeves and set to work. While Cook Basic and Advanced students watched, he broke down the leg into roasts, steaks and scaloppini, answering questions as his razor-sharp boning knife made quick work of the leg and flank.

Chef Bill shares his preferences for cooking various cuts.

Though our chef-instructors are no strangers to the process of breaking down sides and quarters into manageable cuts of meat, the speed at which Vito worked demonstrated his considerable skill and experience. Once the major cuts were off the shank bone, Chef Bill broke it open, exposing the soft marrow to illustrate where it should be cut for osso buco. He shared his own experience and preferred methods for cooking the various cuts – valuable information for the Delft Blue personnel that accompanied Vito to the Liaison Hamilton campus. Chef Dan got in on the action, grilling the flank steak, slicing it thinly across the grain and dressing it up with a monter au beurre sauce that would make any foodie weak in the knees. He barely had it plated before it disappeared to the clink of a dozen forks followed by lip-smacking groans of approval. 

Of meat and milk: students tour veal barns in Cambridge

by Katrina Simmons

Ross Blaine guides students
through the calf barns. 

Students from Liaison Hamilton spent last Monday learning about the application of probiotics, iron supplements, B vitamins, computerized climate control and daylight-simulating LED lights. No, they weren’t at a resort spa. They visited the calf barns at Delft Blue farm in Cambridge, an innovative veal producer (part of Grober Group) that is striving to reshape the milk- and grain-fed veal industry.

This sector works hand-in-hand with dairy farmers: Milking cows give birth every 12 to 18 months to continue to produce milk. The female calves are added to the herd or sold to other milk producers, but modern dairy operations have no use for male (bull) calves. They are, instead, destined to be raised for meat.

Some calves need to be separated
until their health improves.

Murline Mallette, Liaison Hamilton’s executive director, started life on a dairy farm near Barrie, Ontario, and spent all her summers there even after the family moved to town. She knows well the sounds, the smells, and the realities of life on a farm – the hard work, the connection to the animals that provide meat and milk as well as nutrients for the soil. It is a connection, she says, that everyone should understand, especially those who work in the food sector.

The chef-instructors at Liaison encourage students to shop at the farmers markets, talk to the meat vendors and fruit and vegetable growers. Trips to abbatoirs and meat processors are a regular part of the curriculum.

At 17 weeks these calves
weigh almost 225 kg. 

This tour of Delft Blue was a chance for the current students to learn about where the veal calves come from and the recent innovations in the way that they are housed, fed and cared for before they are slaughtered at about 225 kg (about 18 weeks old).

Fresh from the farm:
Delft Blue veal on the plate at Liaison.

Once they left the barns, the group donned hairnets and lab coats for a tour of the meat packing facility, where the carcasses are hung to age, cut and packaged. Murline hopes that these future chefs brought home a deep respect for the life of the animals so they will strive for minimal waste, and will learn to cook not just the prime cuts, but every other bit possible, from off-cuts to offal.

Muscat and manure talk at the dinner table?

by Katrina Simmons

Barn conditions, computerized feed-on-demand systems, and the science of turning manure into energy are not your average mealtime conversation, but the GO Cooking class on March 20 was no ordinary dinner. Liaison Hamilton brought along a unique crew to serve up lessons on veal that were both unexpected and delicious.

Chef Dan Notley’s demonstration on creating warm brussel sprout salad, rosti potato and zabaglione with fresh berries was delivered with precision and good humour, but it was the saltimbocca –veal layered with prosciutto and sage – that stole the show.

Among Liaison’s entourage was Ross Blaine from Delft Blue, the Cambridge-based supplier for the evening’s entrée. While Corey and Zak (two future chefs from the College) settled in the guests with a poached pear and gorgonzola salad, Ross filled in the finer details of Delft Blue’s high-tech, innovative farm and its efforts to raise the bar on how veal is produced.

Saltimbocca with rosti potato, warm brussel
sprout salad and shaved Parmesan

Chef’s anecdotes made light of spontaneous kitchen wars over conflicting German, Swiss and Austrian rosti recipes, while sommelier Rob MacGregor’s wine choices leaned heavily in the direction of Italy. Corey, Zak and Chef worked quickly to plate the meal while Murline Mallette (our executive director at Liaison Hamilton) relayed stories of community partnerships and graduates discovering their dreams.

Despite many hands already on deck, Ross pitched in to serve and clear tables. While making himself very accessible for instant feedback on the food he was helping to bring to these plates, he also expanded the definition of ‘farm to fork’.

Liaison's Chef Dan Notley at GO Cooking, Hamilton

by Katrina Simmons

On Tuesday, March 20, Liaison's chef instructor Dan Notley will transform humble veal into Saltimbocca for a late winter meal that will make a locavore believer out of any die-hard skeptic.

The veal, sourced from Delft Blue in Cambridge, will be layered with whole sage and proscuitto, rendering its normally mild flavour bold enough to partner with a warm brussel sprout salad – another dish to suspend your disbelief that anything delicious can come from local larders this time of year.

The little brassicas, emerging unscathed from winter storage, are deconstructed, blanched in sugar water and combined with caramelized onion, nutmeg, balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese for a surprising show of colour in these days when we’re longing for the first spring greens.

Chef Dan will round out the meal with equally creative incarnations of pears and potatoes, both still available from farms around Hamilton and Niagara. 

The class, taking shape at 44 Frid Street in Hamilton, is already sold out. To inquire about cancellations or upcoming classes at GO Cooking, contact Karen Aquino at kaquino@thespec.com, or call her at 

905-526-3457.