by hans peter meyer
Driving into Cumberland, just off the Inland Highway, it’s easy to see why old nickname of “Dodge City” still has currency. On reaching the restaurant, however, the faded frontier town is left behind as one steps into yet another aspect of the cultural phenomenon that is transforming this former mining boom town. Chef Nicola Cuhna and her partner in The Great Escape, Jean-Francois Larche, are symptomatic of what is happening here. Young, talented, entrepreneurial, and visionary they are helping to shift the cultural centre of the Comox Valley. Others are doing it with music. Chef Nicola and Jean-Francois are doing it with food.
Raised on her mother’s cuisine, Chef Nicola draws her inspiration from the cooking of Gujarat (Northwestern India), Karnataka(Southwest), and Goa. This is lighter fare than the Punjabi and Bengali-based cuisine I usually associate with Indian food. She also pays homage to the modernizing influence of Vancouver’s Vij. This is evident in the lightness and the combination of flavours and colours that make eating at The Great Escape such a treat.
My dinner date and I started with the two recommended cocktails – a Lychee martini that was sweet and smooth, and a rum-based Spicy Mango drink that was substantial, warm, and spicy. These were accompanied by several appetizers. First, intense little chicken samosas served with in-house plum chutney. “The best chutney I’ve ever had,” opined my friend, somewhat of a chutney fiend. We also enjoyed the Papadam Cigars, a kind of “Indian spring roll” served with tamarind chutney, and Masala Wadas, subtley flavoured lentil patties served with in-house organic pumpkin chutney. These were accompanied by Chef Nicola’s special variation on naan - a moist flat bread rich with flavour.
The drinks and the appetizers were an indication of all that was to follow: richness of variety, subtley of texture and flavour, layers of flavour, all of it a light collage of sensation that was delightful without being overwhelming.
For our main courses we sampled several dishes. The smoked local lingcod cakes in a fenugreek-fennel curry offered a mild blend of flavours layered above the delicate smokiness of the fish. The Pathrade presented us with a Gujarati specialty of spinach, ground rice, and lentils, steamed and sliced, served in a clinging cocount-tamarind curry. Because I don’t know when to stop, I had to have the pork vandaloo. This time with the flavours of Goa: cinnamon, clove, ginger, and chilies. Very tasty, but a little over the top, given what else we’d been tucking into and enjoying.
Pairing wine with Indian food is generally a challenge, given the heavy, hot, and spicy nature of much Indian cuisine. At The Great Escape, however, we experienced the happy marriage of a lighter, “modern” Indian cuisine as prepared by Chef Nicola – and Jean-Franciose’s devotion to wine. He suggested a half litre of Domain de la Grand ‘Ribe Organic Cotes du Rhone 2004. This blend of syrah and grenache from old vines with it’s own smokey, spicy flavours complemented meal.
For dessert we shared the cardomom studded marshmallow – a bouyant and chewy concotion – and the chocolate pate drizzled with red wine and pear sauce. Both very nice ways to ice the cake.
A note on portions: When The Great Escape opened several years ago some patrons were unhappy with portion sizes. The owners paid heed, and increased portions. They also noticed an increase in take-home boxes for leftovers. They remain committed to “healthy” serving sizes, enjoyment of the meal, with room for a variety of different flavours. For my part, I was satisfied, and I had a bit of take-home as well. Enough for a light lunch the next day, with pleasant memories.
The Vancouver Sun, May 3, 2007
Comox Valley no longer virgin territory
- Vancouver Island Atlas Café, Martine’s Bistro and Great Escape are all top spots to dine
By Mia Stainsby, Restaurant Critic
The Great Escape was a serendipitous find in sleepy little Cumberland. On a Saturday evening, the main street was all zipped up and slumbering, but the restaurant was bursting with life and music. The young couple behind the restaurant with an urban feel are Nicola Cunha and Jean-Francois Larche.
Cunha, who once catered for the film industry (thus the restaurant’s movie title name) cooks the food she grew up with as a Catholic Indian with some modern tweaks. About 95 per cent of her ingredients are organic, she says. The dishes tend to be mildly spiced.
In fact, the Side Stripe Shrimps in Goan Curry was oddly devoid of spices but the quality of ingredients and clean cooking made up for it; Chicken Makhani is redolent with cardamom, clove and cinnamon. Vegetable Pakoras with Pear Chutney was light and crisp; we gobbled the Tandoori Chicken over Potato Latkes with Yoghurt Sauce. Mango Cheesecake was light and lovely. Also, try the Hornby Island’s Middle Mountain Mead, for local flavour. We were sold on Cumberland prices – starters are $5 to $7 and mains are $10 to $14.
Vancouver magazine February 2007
The Great Escape
Nicola Cunha and Jean-Francois Larche escaped the rigours of the film industry
to open a modern Indian restaurant in historic Cumberland.Small but expertly
prepared Indian menu, with organic meats and many vegan options. Hand-ground
spices and family curry recipes compete with modern flourishes of tandoori
chicken over potato latkes or Indian-spiced tamales. Weekend brunch of chocolate
challah French toast with cardamon-scented whipped cream is Oscar-worthy. Small
wine card includes Hornby Island meads to complement the show.
Eat Magazine July 2006
Escape Artists
“Cumberland, a former mining town, is just a short 10-minute jaunt by car from downtown Courtenay. It maintains a somewhat untouched rustic charm, evoking a film set
That visual appeal is what immediately attracted Nicola Cunha and Jean-François Larche, both from the Vancouver film industry, as they sought to escape from their urban trappings. They bought a 19th-century building on the historic main street and made it their own. After a three-year restoration, the couple have settled in and opened a unique modern Indian restaurant on the main floor. Welcome then, The Great Escape.
Upon entering, silvery sari fabrics and the benevolent Hindu elephant god Ganesha (remover of obstacles) create a welcome ambience among the quirky furniture, purchased from film sets, no less. While you take in your visual feast, Larche quietly works the room serving up beverages from his creative list that goes from a rum-infused mango lassi to Hornby Island meads, to Indian and B.C. brews.
Start things off with the more-ish snack of Karrakadis, a salt-and-spiced chickpea flour snack, similar to sev. Luckily you can purchase some for takeout because you will now be addicted. Cunha heads up a small but diverse menu reflecting her Indian roots, her extensive travel and time catering in the film biz.
She hand-grinds spices in ode to her mother and they appear in the spiced wild salmon wontons with a cooling tomato chutney and the main of Mangalorean meatball curry made luxurious with a touch of coconut milk.
For a creative twist, organic tandoori chicken is shredded over potato latkes and the appetizer of yam fries are given an unusual treatment of Kerala salt balanced with a curry mayonnaise. Spicing here is a delicate balanced hand. The spiciest offering is the pork vindaloo, a tomato-based curry made with Kashmiri chilies. Local organic meat and produce are used whenever available and many vegan-friendly dishes are offered. An Indian-spiced tamale drizzled with a pomegranate-orange glaze was a recent special. Organic basmati, housemade flatbreads and tomato or plum chutneys are all ordered separately, and if you still have room, mango cheesecake or chocolate mousse with a three-ginger cookie are the dessert mainstays.”
Eat Magazine July 2006
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The Great Escape
Last updated :
24 January 2010