Whistling Boar is the crowning culinary expression of local chef David Pitula, I was told by his wife and co-owner of Whistling Boar, Debbie Seaford-Pitula, as she handed my sister and me our Weekender Boar Box. The locally-sourced food box consisted of ingredients to make two dinners, two brunches, a charcuterie board, and dessert. Everything from the breads to the desserts are made in-house.
Our Weekender box consisted of a generous array of made Challah French toast, Samosa Chaat, Chicken Paillard, Red wine Braised Rancho Largo Short Ribs, an Eggnog Cheesecake with a gingersnap crust and Cranberry Coulis, homemade potato chips and ranch, Hazel Dell mushroom-vegetable spaetzle, Berber spiced cauliflower, citrus garlic roasted Infinity Farms beets, and twice-baked potatoes. Needless to say, we were presented with quite the menu that held a variety of flavours from all over the globe.
While some items came premade and needed only a few finishing touches or to be reheated then served, the rest was accompanied with easy-to-follow instructions that allowed for restaurant-grade food in our home kitchen. We started with a dinner meal late Thursday afternoon after Debbie dropped off our huge box at our doorstep. We chose to make the Chicken Paillard, twice baked potatoes, and citrus garlic roasted beets—with the cheesecake for dessert, of course.
“For the chicken, peel back only one side of the vacuum seal bag. Season it with a little salt and pepper. Heat whatever method you choose to cook it. If you are grilling, spray a little nonstick spray or oil on the meat; it’ll help keep it from sticking,” the instructions read.
“When the oil or grill is just about smoking hot, carefully lay the chicken down. Cook until it’s almost done’ you’ll see the meat get opaque. When about 80% cooked flip and finish the breast,” it continued.
Short, simple, and self-explanatory. Perfect for any expert or novice cook—case in point, my family and I successfully executed a delicious meal for the evening. The chicken came pre-seasoned and needed only some salt and pepper added to our liking to finish it off. The citrus garlic beets proved to be a new experience for us—no one in my family had thought to roast beets with oranges before, and they were magnificent. The cheesecake was like no other we had tried before, it was creamy and held an array of spices to tie the dessert together. It had come premade and needed only to have the cranberry coulis added on top to finish it off. At the end of the night, we had a five-star dining experience from the comfort of our kitchen table.
Whistling Boar has many different boxes to choose from, and with the menu being hand-selected each month, there are a variety of new experiences waiting to be had. They are perfect for any weekend getaway to the mountains, date night activities, or if you are looking for an easy and delectable meal to make at the end of a long day. To learn more about their offerings or place an order, please visit www.whistlingboar.com
*There is the Date Night Box for an intimate dinner experience, the Holiday Gathering Dinner Box for that special celebration made easy and the Weekly Box for the 'no contact' private chef experience with meals for 6 dinners.
Farm List
Short ribs - Rancho LargoLettuce - Community Table
Mushrooms - hazel dell
Sausage and eggs - sky pilot
Dairy - origin milk
Beets - Infinity farms
Oil - oil barn
Tomatoes for sauce - metacarbon organic farm