FIRST LOOK: Prelude

Prelude

A Peggy’s Cove Pop-up

BY LAURA OAKLEY
PHOTOS MICHELLE DOUCETTE

Making my way to Prelude on a late summer’s evening starts with a peaceful drive along the glassy ocean inlets on the road to Peggy’s Cove. The twists and turns are easy to navigate before dusk falls, the cool September sun dipping closer to the earth. When I arrive at a stand-alone building that falls just shy of Peggy’s Cove, across the road from the glistening water, I have no idea what else is inside. Aside from Prelude, that is. The pop-up restaurant has been operating since the first week of July under chef Colin Bebbington through his business Scotian Heritage Foods, with the help of his partner Alex Boudreau, sous chef James Whan, and server Madison Gurney.

Much to my delight, when I get inside the dated, split-level building, one side has been cleared out to become a restaurant, and the other is a very much alive antique store. The antique shop is closed for the evening, but its contents spill into the pop-up restaurant’s space. A collection of English tea cups inside a glass case, shelves of gorgeous water pitchers—memorabilia of the British royal family. And, of course, a couple of ceramic clowns. It’s delightful.

The space opposite the antique store has a pale-coloured tiled floor, windows that face the ocean flanked by vintage stained glass sconces and retro style, short beige curtains. The room has simple oak tables, high-backed, antique wooden chairs, and of course, behind a swinging door—a dated-but-clean kitchen. The space screams 1970s seafood restaurant, or maybe lobster dinner hall. Either way, I love everything about it.

“Scotian Heritage Foods sort of came to be by accident, kind of a product of the pandemic,” says Bebbington, who is from here but was working in London, England, when the first wave hit. “I came home during a lockdown in London with no idea how long it would last.” Says Bebbington. “As things opened up here, I began offering private four-course dinners for small groups of people in their homes. This led to a couple of small weekend pop-ups in different restaurants and a few small events.” Bebbington returned to London between the first and second waves of the pandemic, working in a Michelin-starred restaurant called Davies and Brook, opened by Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park fame.

Tuna, Watermelon and Nasturtium Crudo

“Prelude came to be by total chance. In December of last year, I had my first pop-up, which ran for a month at the back of Ratinaud,” says Bebbington. “After that, I was looking for any opportunity for a short-term pop-up restaurant, but I couldn’t find anything. Then in May, I was introduced to this location.” 8545 Peggy’s Cove Road in Indian Harbour wasn’t Bebbington’s first choice for a summer pop-up, but he became determined to make it work.

On my visit to Indian Harbour, the late-day sun warmly fills up the room as the other diners begin to pour in for the meal. The room is ready for the reservations the pop-up is expecting that evening. The room remains spacious but quickly achieves an upbeat, jovial vibe as voices easily bounce off the tiled floor and conversations pick up steam. With hip-hop tunes from the ‘90s and early aughts coming out of the stereo—let’s just say I’m very comfortable here.

The first course is a bright pink Atlantic tuna and watermelon crudo on a bed of crunchy quinoa salad, on top of vividly green nasturtium aioli, popping with orange nasturtium petals and arugula leaves. There are also pieces of torn mint and a couple of pickled watermelon rinds. Nasturtium aioli is new to me—and so good. The fresh, spicy, herbaceousness is balanced perfectly by the rich texture of the aioli. The delicate tuna crudo is perfect, and the watermelon’s juicy sweetness works wonderfully with the crunchy quinoa, bright aioli and fresh mint. It’s the ideal summer dish, almost cleansing your palate as you eat. An impressive lead-up to the second course; chowder.

Chef Colin Bebbington

A beautiful bowl of halibut and smoked bacon chowder arrives. To the left side of the bowl sits a pile of summer corn chow-chow, pickled fennel, burnt cabbage, brown butter onions, new potatoes, a few sprigs of fresh dill, and the halibut and bacon. The rest of the bowl is a smooth pool of creamy chowder amply topped with cracked black pepper. Boudreau, who is serving the entire room single-handedly, recommends I try a bite or two of the ‘pile,’ then mix it in with the chowder and enjoy. In doing so, I taste the sweet acidity from the corn chow-chow, which, to my delight, carries throughout the dish even after submerging it in the rich chowder base. While this is tagged a halibut and bacon chowder, and the halibut is delicious—clean and meaty—the corn steals the show. I’m not surprised. When corn is in season in Nova Scotia, it’s a powerhouse.

“Our main priority is always the food first. We source local ingredients while they are in peak season and use global inspiration to try and put together our own version of different dishes,” says Bebbington of his and Whan’s approach to the menu at Prelude. “One of the most important aspects to the company is our relationships with our farmers and suppliers, and the weekly conversations we have with them tend to be the building blocks for our weekly menus.” Says Bebbington.

Beef Short Rib, Purple Potato, Corn, Peppers, Chimichurri

Back in Indian Harbour, the sun has sunk below the tree line, and inside I’m staring down number three of four courses. The meat course, if you will. It’s braised short rib, the beef from Prince Edward Island’s Atlantic Beef. The short rib is on a puddle of intensely green, puréed chimichurri sauce. It tastes almost concentrated in flavour. According to Bebbington, one of his culinary mentors was from Brazil, and the sauce and beef take a nod from that influence. Chimichurri, an uncooked sauce from Argentina and Uruguay, is one of my favourites. The simple preparation typically involves parsley, garlic, olive oil, oregano and red wine vinegar—but there are many ways to riff on it. Usually, it’s rustic, hand-chopped, and not so finely puréed, so this is a more refined way of serving it. But back to the beef. Finely sliced, pickled radish and shoots sit on top. Alongside the meat are creamed corn (made dairy-free), confited sweet peppers, pickled tomatoes and tiny smoked nugget potatoes. The short rib is rich and melty, falling apart as it should be, and is just incredible with the succulent creamed corn and sharp pickled tomatoes.

Chef Colin Bebbington, Alex Boudreau

Dessert sounds fun, and the back story is, too. Bebbington first stumbled upon gooey butter cake at a White Castle while working in Chicago. At the fast-food chain, it comes on a stick. He fell in love with it on his late-night train commute and has been recreating it ever since. Tonight it’s served in a half-circle dusted with icing sugar, brandied local peaches and house-made maple granola. The boozy peaches and crunchy granola are an excellent little addition, but the cake is something special: sticky, firm edges and melty, gooey cake centre with just a hint of citrus. I can only compare it to maybe the inside of a warm butter tart.

“For now, I am looking for a location(s) to do a pop-up over the winter and for the future,” says Bebbington, who wants to open a permanent restaurant eventually but is committed to taking his time. The even longer-term goal, says Bebbington, is a maple farm and sugar shack culinary destination.

Prelude will be running until the end of October for dinner service only, so check it out while you still can. And be sure to keep your eyes on what’s next for Scotian Heritage Foods.