cooking – Ocean Delight Cottages

July 23, 2015July 23, 2015

‘Just’ Desserts

There may be just desserts, but it’s never just dessert at The Doctor’s House. That’s because Executive Chef Stephen Pynn and his great team don’t ‘just’ make anything. They put their hearts and souls into their dishes, sweet and savory, and it shows. Here are the desserts they made for a recent wedding. True masterpieces, I have it on good authority that they tasted just as good as they looked.

If you’d like to learn more about weddings at The Doctor’s House, please see here. And if you’d like to try out some of Stephen’s other great meals, remember that our dining is now available for dine-in only guests – we just ask that you make a reservation first, by calling 709-582-2754.

September 22, 2014September 21, 2014

Big Congrats to our Awesome Chef

A big congratulations are in order for the fabulous Chris Chafe, Executive Chef at The Doctor’s House and rising star on the Newfoundland culinary scene. This past weekend, Chris competed in the ‘Cod Wars,‘ a cook-off between several top chefs in the province, at the popular Roots, Rants and Roars food festival. The festival is a celebration of Newfoundland cuisine and more, and having experienced Chris’ cooking, we know it deserves to be celebrated! That’s why we’re not surprised but totally elated that his work was recognized. So, congratulations again, Chef Chris!

May 24, 2014May 23, 2014

Second Weekend at the Shag It

It’s hard to believe that summer is finally here – but here it is, and an open Shag It Cafe proves it. This is the second weekend that Cate Dore has run our beautiful cafe this year, serving guests – to great acclaim, we might add – from the beautiful new menu she’s created. The Berry and I will definitely be popping down for a bite – hopefully we’ll see you there!

Thanks to great guest and friend Arlene for the great shot of her Cod Father sandwich wrap, enjoyed last weekend. Stop by today or tomorrow from 11-7pm to try yours!

April 30, 2014April 30, 2014

Welcome Chris Chafe!

We’re so excited to welcome and introduce our new Executive Chef, Chris Chafe. We first met Chris at the Eat the Hill culinary event in Clarenville this past winter, as we were delighted by his unique, delicious creations. We know that our guests will love his newly created Spring Menu, which we’ll be featuring every Thursday through Sunday throughout May.

Born and raised in St. John’s, NL, Chris Chafe earned the role of executive chef at age 22 as a result of hard work and passion. Chris began his culinary career working part-time as a dishwasher while attending university, and from there, he decided to pursue cooking full-time.

Completely self-taught, Chris honed his skills through apprentice work with experienced chefs. When he is not spending time with his wife and two-year-old son, Chris absorbs any information he can through television, recipe books, the Internet and other local chefs. Competitor on Food Networks show Top Chef Canada and winner of the silver medal at Gold Plates St. John’s 2011, Chris continues to challenge himself by participating in local charity and community events.

April 12, 2014April 11, 2014

Savour Show a Success!

Many thanks to Chefs Anna Dohey and Chris Chafe would ran a fabulous booth at the Savour Food and Wine Show. They worked hard, made fantastic food, and it was quite the success. We got lots of great feedback. But, with chefs as amazing as these two, is that a surprise?

April 10, 2014April 9, 2014

Savour It!

If you’re enjoying the 7th Annual Savour, Atlantic Canada’s premier Food & Wine Show , then you’re in for a treat tonight. Our beloved Chef Anna Dohey is pairing up with stellar up-and-comer Chris Chafe (whom you may remember from a previous fabulous weekend) to prepare what we can only imagine will be out-of-this-world – cod and salt beef croqueta, with romesco, pickled vegetables, micro-greens and smoked paprika oil. Can you say yum?

Of course, we’re lucky to have Anna prepare our meals at The Doctor’s House each weekend – so if you can’t make it to Savour, then make sure to check out our weekly menus!

February 14, 2014February 14, 2014

Eat the Hill Leftovers

A few left over shots sent by a friend who also enjoyed Eat the Hill last week, a yearly event in Clarenville to celebrate local food and cooking. If ever there was a doubt that we boast world-class chefs on this magical island of ours, that weekend made clear how great their talent really is. Just like I’m sure the happy couples enjoying our special Valentine’s meal will see this weekend.

So Happy Valentine’s to you and yours, and I hope you have a loving day filled with lots of good food, lots of good desserts, and lots of, well, love!

February 5, 2014February 5, 2014

Eat the Hill Day 3 – The Best for Last

Our last day at the annual Eat the Hill – an extravaganza in Clarenville showcasing local chefs, ingredients and cooking – was the best of the weekend. We got to meet all the chefs one-on-one, which was a treat. But of course not as big a treat as the food they prepared, all which was like nothing I’ve ever tasted. Cod tacos, braised beef on mashed potatoes, special sliders, Newfoundland-style gnocchi, apple pork pie and deserts – it was all truly unbelievable, an original food mosaic that was so unique and so ‘Newfoundland’ and so delicious. We’ll definitely be back next year and encourage you to keep this great event on your radar.

We also enjoyed a performance from Clarenville band, Disisit. They were stunning, one of the best local band I’ve heard. Great times, great people, great venue – Eat the Hill was probably the best time we’ve had in at least a year.

The Berry and I were at Eat the Hill on behalf of the wonderful LCENDMO, the Legendary Coasts of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador Destination Management Organization, of which I’m currently the vice-chair. We’ve gotten so much out of membership from LCENDMO, sing its praises whenever we can, and encourage others in our region to sign up. You won’t regret it.

If you’d like to see more photos of our weekend, please see our album on our Facebook page. It’s back to the usual grind for us now (we’re currently renovating at The Doctor’s House and promoting our new winter package at the cottages, Stay in and Stay Warm), but we’ll treasure the memory of this wonderful weekend, and can’t wait for next year.

February 4, 2014February 3, 2014

Eat the Hill Day 2

This weekend, Laurelyn and I were lucky enough to represent the Legendary Coasts of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador Destination Management Organization at the brilliant, second annual Eat the Hill at the White Hills Resort in Clarenville. Here’s Day Two:

With a spectacular venue, 160 people showed up to experience seven chefs from St. John’s, Marystown, Clarenville and the Bonavista area celebrating our food in our place with our local ingredients. Yes – it was all as amazing as you would expect.

Our evening started with hors d’oeuvres and martinis, followed by a seven course meal from the seven artist/chefs. We had bread, scallops, salad, scallop bisque, halibut, dessert, and coffee. All prepared in a unique way with a unique Newfoundland and Labrador taste.

It was one taste explosion after another. Then Kelly Ann Evans got up to entertain and again blew us away. Like our chefs, she and her group are also great artists. How blessed are we in this province to have such artists walk amongst us? And better still, we are so grateful that they choose to stay here when they could make fortunes elsewhere.

The Berry and I made lots of new friends and really enjoyed ourselves. Being a member of this organization has been such a positive experience, and it can do wonderful things for others in the Destination Management Organization. I would encourage anyone in our region to sign up and get the benefits that come with membership. It is the best value package I have seen in a very long time.

For more pictures of Day 2, please see our Facebook page. And we love using our blog and social media to promote regional tourism events, so stay tuned to learn more about upcoming happenings as we move into spring. Tomorrow I’ll be sharing ‘Day 3’ at Eat the Hill plus some video – see you then!

February 3, 2014February 3, 2014

Eat the Hill Day 1

The Berry and I had an amazing, fun and eye-opening weekend in Clarenville, as we attended the second annual Eat the Hill, a weekend of some of the province’s best chefs, pastry chefs and musicians paired with awesome winter activities at White Hills Resort. We went representing the LCENDMO, the Legendary Coasts of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador Destination Management Organization – say that three times fast (I’m the currently the Vice Chair).

We experienced too much to describe in one blog post, so here’s a round up of day one. It began with a wonderful and social introductory night, one delicious bite of dessert after another. Martinis greeted us on the way in, creating a welcoming mood.

Chris Sheppard, a fine chef of Clarenville, was the key organizer. He teaches at the Bonavista Institute of Sustainable Tourism, has the Kildare B & B, is a fantastic chef, and is also a great guy.

The desserts were fabulous with contributions from the Fogo Inn, Baccalao, The Rocket Bakery, Coffee Matters and others. We had a couple (or more!) of each.

The food was amazing, but, and I know it is hard to believe, it was all outdone by the entertainment. We had two groups.

First, Three Shades of Grey. What an amazing voice. They did a Leonard Cohen cover that was the best I’ve heard. Then Glen Young of Grey River and Leeland Wareham of Arnold’s Cove took they stage. They weren’t first class –they were world class. Without doubt, they are probably the best in Atlantic Canada at what they do.

All in all, it was a great evening doing what we love best – celebrating Newfoundland and revelling in all the artistic talent – culinary or otherwise – we have in this tiny province. Please see our Facebook page for more pictures, and stay tuned to the blog to hear about the rest of the weekend.