FOOD & DRINK
Simplicity Served Fresh
Photos: Evan Ceretti
E
ven regular guests at the Pearl Eatery may not have given much thought to the modest garden planted behind the main dining room. Yet much of the
Beach and North Rustico. The dining room is ensconced in a striking building recognizable by its oyster-grey shingles; wide, white-silled windows; and the surrounding meadow, spotted with patches of delicate lupins. The Pearl Eatery has always participated in the farm-to-table movement. In addition to making use of the kitchen garden, says Kingyens, the restaurant sources most ingredients from local suppliers. “We need to be supporting one another,” she explains. “It’s better to know where our food comes from, and how it was raised. There’s no reason not to buy local when there’s so much available to us now.” The Pearl Eatery entrusts its wealth of local produce to Chef Steven Wilson. Chef Wilson, who moved to the Island last year, has worked alongside the Kingyens to create dishes that brings out the best in Island food. “PEI already has the most beautiful, delicious ingredients,” Kingyens emphasizes. “We don’t need to turn them into something else.”
The restaurant’s new three-course prix fixe menu (which features a choice of appetizers, mains, and dessert) offers an exceptional, elegant-yet-understated take on those Island ingredients. At the time of writing, menu items ranged from hallmark PEI seafood dishes (mussels, “Pan-Seared Halibut,” “Lobster Risotto”) to uniquely Maritime desserts including “Rhubarb Fool” and “Blueberry Sorbet.” A number of dishes--for example, “Whiskied Country Pate”--reveal the creativity of the chef and kitchen team. The presence of edible flowers in the kitchen garden likewise hints towards the unexpected, delectable menu items guests may encounter in future. Enjoying the full extent of The Pearl Eatery’s kitchen will clearly require frequent visits. “Guests come here for special occasions, but they also come here when they just want a fantastic evening out,” says Kingyens. “We want our guests to have an amazing experience; we want them to tell their friends. Working and dining at The Pearl is a joyful experience, and we want to share that with everyone.”
Pearl Eatery’s flawless menu comes thanks to this kitchen garden, and its assortment of flavourful herbs and piquant vegetables (from tempting green peas to mouth- watering radishes). Those goods are harvested for use in the restaurant’s recipes, explains Pearl Eatery co-owner Tanyia Kingyens. And the kitchen team’s skills enable diners to enjoy the garden fare even after the brief harvesttime window. “We do our own pickling and preserving in the fall,” she notes, which allows the garden produce to be included in recipes despite the arrival of chillier weather. Tanyia and her husband Rod are in their fourth season as owners of the award- winning Pearl Eatery, an enchanting Island bistro nestled between Cavendish
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www.pei-living.ca SUMMER 2019
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