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Greetings!

YELLOW DOOR COMING SOON

Hotel Arts is building a new bistro in the space formerly occupied by our tenant, St Germain. In November, we'll be opening a new full service bistro that will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Executive Chef Duncan Ly has been developing a menu that reflects his respect for classics with twist of contemporary innovations. A menu rich with approachable gourmet dishes will be accompanied with an exciting wine program focused on great flavours at great value. Yellow Door will feature several enomatic machines pouring wines with 1 oz, 3 oz or 5 oz pours.

Andrea and Carl Raimondi from Ingenium have been engaged to design a warm bistro atmosphere with classic elements invigorated with some contemporary flourishes...and, of course, a big Yellow Door.

As construction proceeds on the space, we're also building up our team. We are now hiring for a variety of positions and invite interested applicants to contact Human Resources at hr@yellowdoorbistro.ca or 403.266.4611. 

Stay tuned for more details.

RAW BAR & HOTEL ARTS    

Two for Twenty Express Lunch in Raw Bar

Hot off her win in Dueling Chefs during the Stampede, Raw Bar Sous Chef JinHee Lee has been working with Executive Chef Duncan Ly to introduce some new exciting items onto the lunch menu.  They've introduced the "Two for Twenty Express Lunch" which features a choice of appetizers, an entrée, dessert to go and a non-alcoholic beverage for $20.00.  Ever the innovator, JinHee has been experimenting with more Asian flavours and showcasing more Pacific Rim influenced cuisine with this lunch special.  JinHee will showcase new offerings daily so stay tuned to our Facebook and Twitter posts to learn what she's cooking up in the Raw Bar.

While the sunny weather is still out, our "Two for Twenty Express Lunch" can be enjoyed poolside at Hotel Arts. We even have some sunscreen if you need it too. Creative excuses for late lunches available upon request ;)

Fall Cocktails & Bitters

With the summer patio season winding down as the fall chill sets in, our Raw Bartenders are preparing to launch a new Fall Cocktail Menu reflecting seasonal flavours as well as showcasing some of the classics. Stay tuned for the announcement of the launch. In the interim, they're hard at work conducting "research".

Over the course of their work, they make an occasional trek over to a nearby lab to source some new products.  Our neighbours at Vine Arts have an amazing selection of wines and spirits. We always find some great surprises to uncork and enjoy. Our Raw Bartenders have unearthed a treasure trove of bitters ideal for both the home and commercial bartender...as well as chefs that like to cook with flavoured bitters. We're happy to share our sources and invite you to visit our neighbours at Vine Arts located 1/2 block South of Hotel Arts on 1st Street SW. Visit their website at www.vinearts.ca.

CHEF'S TABLE AND KRI  

Vignamaggio Wine Dinner

Our first wine makers dinner of the Fall Season kicks off tomorrow at Chef's Table with the Vignamaggio Wine Dinner.

Galileo Wine & Spirits is graciously bringing us Vignamaggio where you will have the opportunity to try their Chianti Classico DOCG 2008, as well as the famous Chianti Classico Riserva Castello di Mona Lisa DOCG 2007, perfectly paired with our Chef's selections.

Vignamaggio, a Tuscan historical villa from the 14th century, is surrounded by vineyards and olive groves, offering accommodation in its finely renovated farmhouses, and producing wines that have received several international prizes and awards.

Let us transport you to Tuscany, where, at Vignamaggio, the famous Mona Lisa, la "Gioconda," painted by Leonardo da Vinci, was born. Vignamaggio produces around 230,000 bottles a year and we're excited to uncork a few tomorrow night at a fabulous Wine Makers Dinner.

The event will take place at Chef's Table on Tuesday, September 11. Reception will begin at 6:30pm followed by dinner at 7:15pm. Tickets are $125/person including wine, tax and gratuity.

For more information visit www.vignamaggio.it.

Thanksgiving at the Inn

Chef's Table will be offering a Thanksgiving inspired tasting menu on October 6th & 7th in celebration of Thanksgiving. Make your reservations today by calling 403.228.4442.

Details about the event will be posted at www.kensingtonriversideinn.com soon.

Taste of the Neighbourhood

Chef's Table will be participating in this year's "Taste of the Neighbourhood"; an event that brings together restaurants surrounding the West Hillhurst Area to provide delicious food, wine and beer samples for attendees. This event will assist in raising funds for the West Hillhurst Community Centre that will improve and upgrade the facility with a new roof, hockey/skating rink, ice resurfacer, ice plant and hockey/skating dressing rooms.  

Interested in attending? The event will be held on Saturday, September 22 at the West Hillhurst Community Association Centre. Tickets are $50/person and include food, wine and beer samples as well as an invite to the after party featuring a live DJ.

Visit www.westhillhurst.com/taste-of-the-neighbourhood for more information and to purchase tickets to the event.

TRUFFLES AT CHEF'S TABLE BY CRAIG BOJE  

I've been sitting here thinking about some of the many new and exciting products we are using in the kitchen right now. Should I talk about the fantastic fruit we've been getting from BC, maybe the Santa Rosa Plums (burst in your mouth delicious), or the amazing peaches. To be honest, I wanted something more unique, then I remembered something that's not only creating quite a stir in our kitchen amongst our guests but also throughout the city - Hungarian Honey Truffles!!!!! These beautiful white sweet truffles are the new craze right now and we have one truffle crazed Calgarian to thank for them; Keith Goodale.

Keith is the owner of "Fifth Element" a company solely dedicated to truffles. Keith has a passion for truffles and you can tell by the subtle smile he gives himself every time he smells and talks about his product. He has sourced out the best suppliers of truffles from Spain, Italy, France, Hungary and Australia. Their quality is fantastic and we are now able to offer Perigord Truffles during our summer, thanks to Australia's ability to grow these rare gems. Australia's climate especially in the west of the country near Perth, seems ideal for the growing and cultivating of these truffles. Recently, many of these have been far superior to the usual ones we get from over in Europe. Unfortunately, Calgary is often the last stop for the truffles and many, if not all, of the best have made it to other restaurants for us to enjoy in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto etc.. Keith is now able to go straight to the source and provide consistent product.

The Hungarian Honey Truffles sourced by Keith have an incredible sweetness to them reminiscent of fresh corn shoots. That sweetness lingers after the truffle flavour and is ideal when paired with cheese or desserts. We decided to use them on our dessert tasting menu. We have a thyme dark chocolate valhrona ganache that is paired with seasonal berries that are presented in a variety of textures and forms. Added to this we have fresh honeycomb, bee pollen, tarragon slate, sorbet, gelee's and fluid gel. The dish is finished off with a few shaved slices of Hungarian honey truffle....simply amazing!

Try out our offerings at Chef's Table at the Kensington Riverside Inn. For reservations, please contact 403.228.4442.

ART PROFILE: EVAN PENNY   

The Kensington Riverside Inn has an array of treasures that capture the eye and entice the senses. One of these treasures that is impossible to ignore is an Evan Penny sculpture called "The Back of Danny" located on the lobby level of the Inn.

"The Back of Danny" was a part of Evan Penny's "Back" series between 2004 and 2008. The pieces on this series are created from portraits of real individuals, which are then sculpted, and mounted facing the wall. The sculptures continue the domain of neither fully two-dimensional nor three-dimensional forms in Penny's work. There are no faces on the sculptures; however, the detailing of the head, neck and shoulders is astonishing. "The Back of Danny" sculpture at the Kensington Riverside Inn is made entirely of bronze.

Evan Penny is a Canadian artist who was born in South Africa in 1953. In 1978, Penny graduated from Alberta College of Art and Design, where he received a post-graduate degree in sculpture. Evan Penny makes unique sculptures of human forms out of silicone, pigment, hair, and aluminum. Occasionally, Penny will transform his sculptures into bronze figures, similar to "The Back of Danny." His pieces range from the almost precisely life-like, to the blurred or stretched.

Though his creations are lifelike, Penny believes that "the real can't be represented or symbolized," leaving everything to be a representation for his audience. Evan Penny's work is currently displayed in the Museum der Moderne in Salzburg, Austria as well as the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. He currently lives and works in Toronto, Canada.

We invite you to stroll through the Inn after an exquisite dinner at Chef's Table and discover the wondrous art for yourself.

For more information on Evan Penny, please visit www.evanpenny.com.

OUR FRIENDS AT THE HOT YOGA LOUNGE 

The Hot Yoga Lounge, tenant in the Hotel Arts Complex, is a trendsetting yoga studio leading the way with creativity in Calgary. Whether it's hosting a glow-in-the-dark yoga class, or supporting community activities, the Hot Yoga Lounge is one of a kind.

The Hot Yoga Lounge is focused on creating connections with people, whether it is a client or a within the community. The interior layout is designed with comfort to encourage mingling among clients. Instructors are passionate and eager to help clients achieve their yoga goals, regardless of their level.

Classes are designed for all different levels of practice. The beginner classes, such as 26 Hot, offer clients the opportunity to acclimatize themselves to the heat. The power classes, like Hot n' Hip, offer new challenges for experienced yoga clients. There are also fun specialty classes for all levels, such as glow-in-the-dark night, where hot yoga is done with a black light turned on and clients wear special glow paint.

Hot Yoga goes beyond ordinary yoga because the positions are done in rooms with high heat and humidity. The high heat warms up the body faster, making it easier to get into positions. This allows the body to go deeper into positions while decreasing the risk of an injury occurring. Furthermore, the heat causes the body to sweat and flush out unwanted toxins.

Karri Egan and the team at The Hot Yoga Lounge are excited for the new fall lineup of classes, with several favourites returning, along with new classes to experience.

For more information about the Hot Yoga Lounge, please visit www.thehotyogalounge.com.  

UPCOMING EVENTS

Feast of Fields

Executive Chef Duncan Ly and the team from the Hotel Arts Group will be participating in Slow Food Calgary's Feast of Fields again this year.

This year's event takes place on Sunday, September 16th from 1pm - 4pm in the garden at Rouge Restaurant (1240 - 8th Avenue SE) in Inglewood.  It's a great afternoon of grazing and sipping while having the opportunity to interact with the people who grow your food and the chefs who create dynamic dishes with our wonderful Alberta harvest.

For tickets, please contact the Cookbook Company Cooks at 403.265.6066.

Music In Motion

Hotel Arts is pleased to help sponsor the Calgary Health Trust's "Music in Motion" on Tuesday, September 18th at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in the EPCOR Centre for Performing Arts. This evening of musical entertainment stars the Canadian Tenors, Senator Tommy Banks, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and a special appearance by the Calgary Stampede Showband.

Funds raised through this benefit concert will be used to support bone and joint health research to support the work being done by some of the world's finest researchers and practitioners working in our province at the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health at the University of Calgary, the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute and the University of Alberta's Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. Together, these dynamic partners are working together, making Alberta a leader for bone and joint health in Canada.

General Tickets to the event can be purchased via www.epcorcentre.org or by calling 403.294.9494.

Calgary Home & Design Show

Hotel Arts is an annual supporter of the Calgary Home & Design Show which will be held September 20 - 23 at the BMO Centre. Executive Chef Duncan Ly will be making an appearance at the event on the cooking stage presented by Trail Appliances. He'll be discussing the "Raw Food" philosophy on September 20 at 5:00pm. Join Chef Ly from to learn all there is to know about raw foods and a healthy approach to using fresh seasonal ingredients!

The show will also feature a variety of exhibits, celebrity guests, food trucks, Ikea chair lift, a cooking challenge and more! Don't miss out on this great weekend event!

For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.calgaryhds.com.

YYComedy

Calgary is Canada's Cultural Capital of 2012 and September hosts an array of events that showcases some of the city's best offerings. Hotel Arts is thrilled to help sponsor YYComedy Festival (Sept 24-30) which brings the city's best to celebrate Calgary's comedy past, present and future featuring an array of performances, events and workshops. Kids in the Hall alumni Bruce McCulloch and Mark McKinney and great comics like Ryan Belleville and Gavin Crawford will be performing. The big gala is booked at the Jubilee Auditorium on September 29th.

For more information and to purchase tickets  www.yycomedy.ca.

Loose Moose

Hotel Arts is also sponsoring another great engine of cultural activity in our young city.  Celebrating their 35th Anniversary in Calgary, Loose Moose has an international reputation for innovation and excellence in improvisational theatre. Techniques for training and presenting improvisation which have been created by co-founder and former Artistic Director Keith Johnstone, and developed at Loose Moose are currently used worldwide. The Loose Moose also acts as a training centre for individuals interested in improvisational theatre, and there are many alumni that are now working in the areas of film, television, and stage. 

To learn more about their upcoming shows, visit their site at www.loosemoose.com.

Gold Medal Plates

Executive Chef Duncan Ly is competing again in the Calgary round for Gold Medal Plates raising funds for the Canadian Olympic Foundation which supports the Own the Podium Program. Chef Ly won the Calgary Competitions a few years ago and competed in the Canadian Culinary Championships that are held annually in Kelowna. Our team is cheering him on in the hopes that he can showcase his talents again on the national stage and bring home Gold for Calgary.

This year's event will take place on Thursday, October 25th at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre. Ten of the city's top chefs will be vying for the top prize and helping raise funds for Olympians and Paralympians alike.

Tickets can be ordered through Tracy Aylesworth at 403 874 3572 or via email at calgary@goldmedalplates.com.

Grave Gala

Hotel Arts is pleased to co-host Grave Gala with Calgary Opera on Saturday, October 27th.

As Calgary Opera is celebrating "Viva Verdi! - and all things Italian", it's no surprise that this year's theme for Calgary's most outrageous Halloween party should have an Italian influence as well.

"Venice is Sinking" will transport you into the world of Venetian mystique with moonlit canals, swarthy gondoliers and carnival entertainers.  You will no doubt encounter famous Italian artists, composers and explorers - as well as characters from the colourful underbelly of the famous European city. 

Voted one of Calgary's best parties of the year, Grave Gala is always a sell-out, so get your tickets early. 

Tickets can be purchased through Calgary Opera's Box Office at 403.262.7286. For more information visit www.calgaryopera.com/performancesandevents/grave.php.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT 

The 5th Annual Kick for the Cure Hotel Soccer Tournament

For the fifth consecutive year, Hotel Arts was proud to take part in the Kick for the Cure Hotel Soccer Tournament in July. Staff members from all different departments came together as a team to join other Calgary hotels in the fight against cancer. All proceeds from the tournament went directly to the Alberta Cancer Foundation.

The Hotel Arts Soccer Team was led this year by Simon Chamberlin, Associate Director of Food and Beverage. Simon, a passionate soccer player, had an awesome time training with the Hotel Arts team, making new friends and raising money for cancer research. Not only was the tournament a lot of fun for all the teams involved, it left a lasting impression on all the staff.

"The players on the team had a great experience. We bonded and got to know one another. We played as a team, all trying to achieve the same goal. The team building we experienced on the field, stayed with us long after we left the field."

More than that, the tournament blossomed renewed feelings of morale throughout Hotel Arts. "Our hotel is very synergistic. We rely on each other every day to succeed. We can only win when we all work together. We win as a team, and we lose as a team."

Overall, Hotel Arts Group raised over $300.00 towards Kick for the Cure. The staff is already looking forward to next year's tournament, with plans to double our fundraising goals for the Alberta Cancer Foundation. Hotel Arts is dedicated to working hard and playing hard - as a team!

Calgary Run for Water

The second annual Calgary Run for Water took place on Saturday, September 8 at Eau Claire Market and the beautiful running paths surrounding Prince's Island Park and the Bow River. Hotel Arts Group was a sponsor of the run again this year. H'Arts of Service Committee also supported the run by registering a team of 12 who participated in the 5KM run.

By registering our team, we collectively donated over $420.00, which supports Hope International Development Agency to provide villages in Ethiopia with access to clean drinking water. Calgary Run for Water is helping HOPE International Development Agency with a project involving the development of a sustainable water system.

Aside from supporting a worthy cause, it was also a fun morning filled with activity, food, juices, entertainment and beautiful weather!

For more information on the Run for Water visit calgary.runforwater.ca.

Photo: Michael Ford, Front Office, H'Arts of Service Committee Member 

CHAÎNE DINNER AT HOTEL ARTS  

On Sunday, September 9, Hotel Arts hosted a scrumptious 8-course dinner event for the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, a member organization made up of industry professionals as well as non-professionals who have a love for food, wine and great dining. On a larger scale,The Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is an "international gastronomic society with 24,000 members in more than 70 countries around the world". Being a member of this organization gives you the opportunity to attend special dinners locally, nationally and internationally.

Mark Wilson, General Manager of Hotel Arts Group and Duncan Ly, Executive Chef of Hotel Arts Group, (both members of the Chaîne organization) hosted the group with an evening of live music, impressive décor, personalized service, and delectable food & beverage offerings. The evening was one specially crafted for this high-profile event and it certainly showcased what we do best!

The food, wine and decor was selected by our team of professionals, in particular Duncan Ly, Executive Chef; Simon Chamberlin, Associate Director of Food & Beverage; and Tanya Cropley, Director of Events. Below you'll find a menu to give you a glimpse into this extraordinary evening.

Amuse Bouche