Pear Diver launches Cooper's Room & Scholarship

Rudy Guo and Michael Blackie

 I was back at Pearl Diver Restaurant once again for a special dinner to launch Cooper's Room a room dedicated to the late Brian Cooper who was the former Dean of Hospitality and Tourism at George Brown College.  George Brown graduate and Pearl Diver partner Rudy Guo talked about the importance of what he learned about hospitality from Brian and his wife Midge that he brings into his business practices. The Coopers always hosted culinary students in their home so Guo wants to continue this hospitality by hosting special dinners at Pearl Diver that will bring established guest chefs and pair them with hospitality students.  These dinners will fund a new "Spirit of Hospitality Scholarship" that will continue these efforts to build the culinary and hospitality community.

Cooper's Room

 Chef Michael Blackie from NeXT Restaurant in Ottawa was the special guest chef for the first of the dinner series events that will help match up future chefs with established visiting chefs.  He was born in Leicestershire, England and raised in Montreal and has cooked around the world in some of the best restaurants including the Windsor Arms (Toronto) Oberoi (Bali) and the Mandarin Oriental (Hong Kong) among others. He is known for his innovative cuisine and has one of the top restaurants in Ottawa.

For the first of these special dinners we sampled an array of things from Pearl Diver's menu and the special creations by Chef Blackie.   From Left to Right.  Shrimp, Oyster, Mussel platter, The Dirty Frenchman, Tempura Cheese Curds, Rare Tuna Sashimi Pizza, and 36 hour sous vide Pork Belly and Digby Scallops.  Not pictured was Pork Ribs and Duck Confit Grilled Cheese. 

My favourites were the Pork Belly and the Tuna and the marinated mussels were great too.

 Pearl Diver has a fantastic pastry chef named Sooji and she rolled out a few of her signature desserts including the much loved Hibiscus cake and the Chocolate ganache Tarte and I really loved the stewed peaches too.

Pearl Diver is always trying to do special things for their customers and there will be a series of upcoming dinners so if you are interested in attending give them a call to see when they will be
416-366-7827 or make a reservation for their 100 oyster Wednesday nights or their Tuesday Oyster specials and leave room for desert because it's fantastic.

Pearl Diver
100 Adelaide St. E.
Toronto, ON
416-366-7827
www.pearldiver.ca
Info@pearldiver.ca
Social @pearldiverTO