I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Zach Littlejohn and his lovely Brazilian wife, Luhana, when he cooked at one of the classic Closson Chase dinners as part of their Sunday Night Supper Club series earlier this year. If you have not yet tried one of these events - you really must. I've said it before, but Closson Chase's events are second-to-none. They have introduced us to some outstanding chefs and experiences in the past, and a dinner prepared by Zach Littlejohn is no exception.
Items on his menu that evening included torched scallop with apple kimchi, salted cucumber, seaweed cracker; Spanish mackerel with cauliflower puree, green romesco, pickled grapes (picked grapes!!); Beets with goat's yogurt, honey, lavender shortbread and well, I could go on and on but this should give you an idea of how inventive he is - that is just a fraction of what was served over the course of the evening.
Later in the summer - we were invited to their home which is also an educational farm + sustainability learning centre that both he and Luhana run. It's basically a wellness retreat where you can take cooking and gardening-based workshops and classes. What an honour it was. Not only did we learn to make sourdough bread and pasta while enjoying incredibly delicious and healthy smoothies that Luhana whipped up for us, but, we also were able to indulge in the bread and pasta we made along with some other delicous farm-to-table menu items that Zach had prepared for us. And, if that wasn't already awesome enough - we enjoyed this meal in terrific company while sitting outside overlooking their gorgeous property.
Their home/retreat is located on a working farm that includes pigs, hilariously cute tree-climbing goats, chickens, ducks and honey bees. It really is an amazing experience.
If you are starting to plan your travels for next year - I would for sure check out what they have to offer. If you see the Littlejohn name associated with any dinner or food-related events - do yourself a favour and treat yourself to it. And - when you meet these two, be SURE to ask them to tell you their romantic story of how they met along the Camino de Santiago trail just a few years ago. It's such a lovely story from a truly lovely and talented couple, and Prince Edward County is darned lucky that they chose to settle here :)
