Blown Away (by the experience and the food)

 I am a fan of the series on Netflix called "Blown Away". It documents a glass blowing competition and, knowing this, Christine, for my birthday, bought us a glass blowing workshop.

The studio is in the Artscape Wychwood Barns complex.

 

 Artscape is made up of a group of not-for-profit organizations with a mission to make space for creativity and transform communities. To fulfill our mission and vision, we engage in social enterprise in the following fields: real estate development; property management; performance and event services; consulting and knowledge exchange; artistic programming and community animation; and creative entrepreneurship development. From their website.

When we arrived we parked and walked past some of the live/work spaces as this complex houses some artists, has some studios, a large event space, green space and community garden.

There are a number of Artscape locations in Toronto but this one is in the old streetcar maintenance barns.

This studio is just a teaching space and Chris had booked us for a " date night" workshop so there were just the two of us.

After signing waivers we chose the items we would make and were talked through the process

We decided to make a little glass bird and a bud vase. Next we had to pick our colours.

First the instructor got some melted glass (which is kept constantly melted in this oven) on to the end of a rod.

Handed it off to Chris. She went first and I took photos.

She then rolled it tapped it into 3 different colours while rotating the rod.

The instructor smoothed it in a small wooden cup and

periodically put it into "the glory hole" (another extremely hot oven) to keep it pliable.

Then with pincers the tail is formed. Another blob of melted glass is attached and the pincers used to make the beak. It is then placed in a cooler oven to gradually cool down (over night)

I went through the same process to make my bird. I found it surprisingly difficult to manipulate the glass. I had been hoping for a Blue Jay but think it will look more like a Bluebird as I couldn't get the tail long enough. Photos of me are by Chris

Then it was on to the bud vase. Blob of melted clear glass, dipped and turned in coloured glass

and blowing it into an orb. Usually you blow straight into the rod but we blew into a hose attached to the rod so we could see the effect. In this case I was surprised by how easy it was to blow the bubble and then, more gently, until it was an orb.

Then it was Christine's turn to go through the same process (she chose different colours  though)

We wont be able to pick them up for a few days but I am looking forward  to see how they turned out.

Our instructor was is a helper on the Blown Away show which is filmed in Hamilton and said that they have just finished filming another season. Our workshop was from 5pm to 7pm so we were hungry afterwards and I proposed that we just walk the block to St Clair and eat somewhere there. Chris said she had heard that there was a restaurant with a Michelin Star close by but doubted that we could get in without a reservation. We decided to try. Surprisingly we had no problem though we were definitely under dressed ( the workshop instructions had been to wear no synthetics and nothing loose so I was in a cotton tshirt and jeans)

The restaurant was FK (Franks Kitchen) and it turns out it was a Michelin recommended restaurant (still way more than I had ever experienced).

This was my appetizer. One solitary Nova Scotia scallop....raw, slightly ceviche with the vinaigrette. It was one very tasty mouthfull but I then ordered the beet salad as well. (pureed beet base, cheese centre, surrounded by golden beets ... plated beautifully and absolutely delicious)

Squash in pasta, with a light cream herbed sauce and shaved truffle. The helpings looked small but the intense flavours would have been too much with larger helpings.

Chris had the Iberian pork chop on a bed of braised cabbage with a berry compote on top.

Of course we had desserts, no pictures of those, The service was just right: attentive without being intrusive, thoughtful not pushy, informative and enthusiastic without going on too long. We left feeling that we had eaten but were not stuffed. I loved the meal but wow it was rich. Chris compared the prices to two other restaurants that she had eaten at in the last couple of weeks and said that it was about the same price but the food and the service were far superior here.