LAUNCH | Toben Food by Design launches their new catering division, Twisted

2nd Floor Events on King St. W is in for a treat with it's newest tenant Toben Food by Design Catering (TFBD) hosting a pop-up restaurant from August 6-8 and August 12-13.

Chef Toben Kochman will be featuring dishes from their new catering division "Twisted" which takes familiar dishes to a new level with a twist of global street style flare. 

The evening begins with drinks and hors d'oeuvres including a few of their signature cocktails and a variety of wines, beers, liquors and non alcoholics drinks.

From left: Bourbon-Ginger-Lemongrass Iced Tea, Cucumber-Thai Basil Martini

The martini was very refreshing with a hint of spiciness from the pickled chili. The iced tea was a bit on the stronger side with more stable flavours

Chef Toben Kochman giving the guests a bit of insight into the vision that he and his sister share for TFBD.  Their new Twisted catering division is inspired by personal travel experiences and the variety of flavours and cuisines that cultures all over the world have to offer.

After guests have enjoyed a few drinks and hor d'eourves, the 4 course tasting menu begins with the amuse - a Jerk Seared Ahi Tuna with charred corn-compressed watermelon salad, crispy plaintain. 

We all know how extremely important first impressions are and this dish definitely steps up to the plate. Even in its simplicity, the components come together to create a stunning dish to start off the night.

First Course:  "Tastes" of Heirloom Tomato lemongrass tomato water - mango kim chi, pickled cucmber, radish, cashew, scallion pancake. 

Second Course: Lime Leaf-Sesame Fried Chicken with lobster mash, khao soy curry, bacon-apple heirloom beet slaw. 

Third Course: Korean Braised Beef Short Rib bibimbap dumpling, sweet & sour brasied cabage, fried henès egg, Scallion - Mint 'Chimichurri'

With the exception of the ribs being a tad too salty, this dish was great if each component of the dish came separately but as a whole it was a little bit difficult to eat together.

Fourth Course from left: Green Tea Genoise, Coconut Tempura Peach, Chocolate Peanut Butter Shortcake 

Our favourite dessert of the night was definitely the tempura peach with the vanilla bean ice cream. Tempura is a common Japanese dessert but Chef Toben kicks it up a notch by using peaches instead of traditional banana.

 

Along with their drinks list comes a few beers and we particularly took notice of the Lucky Buddha with its distinctive bottle and light taste.

Although we didn't find the dishes to be spectacular we loved the Asian Fusion concept of the dishes and the creation of new dishes which doesn't stray far from the comforting dishes that we all love.

Don't forget that the pop up restaurant is only here for another 2 days and there is limited seating so get your tickets here while you still can!

-Our meal at this event was complimentary but opinions are our own-