In the early 1900's, Group of Seven Canadian painters such as Tom Thomson, J.E.H. MacDonald, and Arthur Lismer frequented the restaurant and lounges on the 7th floor of the former Eaton's College Street department store. So it's fitting that McMichael Canadian Art Collection chose to hold its fourth-annual benefit in the same space, which was renovated in 2004 and renamed Carlu (after Jacques Carlu, the original designer of the space). The event, dubbed 100 percent Canadian at the Carlu, gave the nearly 400 guests an opportunity to view more than a dozen works by Group of Seven artists and their contemporaries. The pieces, drawn from McMichael's permanent collections, were housed temporarily in Carlu's Sky Room. Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers and several off-duty police provided security for the valuable artworks.After the viewing, guests moved to the Round Room for a Canadian dinner from Eatertainment Catering & Special Events. Peter Ross, McMichael's director of development, said the Canadian cuisine supported the fund-raiser's theme, which he called a "celebration of Canada."
Passed hors d'oeuvres, served by caterwaiters from LPG Catering Management wearing red ties with yellow maple leaves, included free-range chicken bundles with lemongrass, British Columbia seafood cakes with saffron aioli, and French Canadian leek stuffed with duck confit. Food stations served menu items reflecting cuisine common to different areas of the country. The East Coast station offered hot smoked salmon and mini Prince Edward Island herb potatoes; the Ontario station countered with a wild mushroom risotto; the Alberta station served sirloin of beef; and the Prairies station chipped in an array of vegetables and flatbreads, plus a variety of dips like curried pumpkin and roasted sweet pepper.
Each food station displayed a cylindrical paper menu card and a variety of arts and crafts items such as sterling silver horses and a tepee in a glass vase.
Passed hors d'oeuvres, served by caterwaiters from LPG Catering Management wearing red ties with yellow maple leaves, included free-range chicken bundles with lemongrass, British Columbia seafood cakes with saffron aioli, and French Canadian leek stuffed with duck confit. Food stations served menu items reflecting cuisine common to different areas of the country. The East Coast station offered hot smoked salmon and mini Prince Edward Island herb potatoes; the Ontario station countered with a wild mushroom risotto; the Alberta station served sirloin of beef; and the Prairies station chipped in an array of vegetables and flatbreads, plus a variety of dips like curried pumpkin and roasted sweet pepper.
Each food station displayed a cylindrical paper menu card and a variety of arts and crafts items such as sterling silver horses and a tepee in a glass vase.
Eatertainment Catering & Special Events served micro salads stuffed in cherry tomatoes at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection's fourth annual fund-raiser, held at the Carlu.
Arts and crafts items such as sterling silver horses and a tepee in a glass vase decorated the Alberta food station.
Cater waiters wore ties with yellow maple leaves.
The passed hors d'oeuvre menu included free-range chicken bundles with lemongrass skewers.
Lighthouse and lantern knickknacks adorned the East Coast food station.
Cylindrical paper menus detailed the menu items available at each food station.
