In the almost 5 years since Robbie’s Gourmet Sausage Company started, owner Rob Bornais developed a lot of recipes. This weekend, the shop is launching their 100th official sausage flavour available for purchase and it’s a beauty.
As part of their Master Chef Sausage Series, Robbie’s Gourmet Sausage Company partnered with chef and co-owner of The Grand Cantina, Rosemary Woods, to create the Ramen Sausage. The sausage will be available in limited quantity beginning on Saturday, February 22, 2020.
In its essence, the Master Chef Sausage Series is a partnership between Robbie’s Gourmet Sausage Co. and WindsorEats that will attempt to elevate the craft of sausage making while shining a spotlight on the culinary artistry of Southern Ontario’s most talented and imaginative gastronomists.
The recipes for these links will come from a place of culture, personal history, daring creativity and originality. More importantly however, these collaborations are meant to highlight the epicurean talent that’s been hiding in the backs of hot, hectic kitchens where too many have sacrificed long days and so much more for the love of their craft.
Each chef has worked with Robbie on a unique sausage with flavours that represent their skills and passion. Each creation will only be available a for a month inside Robbie’s Gourmet Sausage Co. shop.
We spoke with chef Rosemary about the sausage and how the idea came about:
Description of your sausage?
My sausage is a ramen sausage. A bowl of ramen includes lots of ingredients cooked over hours to fully develop. Ramen is different depending on the region in Japan you are in. My ramen includes kelp (dried seaweed), roasted pork and chicken bones, bonito flakes (a dried smoked fish which has been flaked into thin sheets), soy sauce and dried shiitake mushrooms. Those flavours are prevalent in my sausage.
This sausage has HUGE umami – which plainly translates to “pleasant, savoury taste”. Umami is so much more – it’s anexperience. My sausage – thanks to the genius of Robbie – is a symphony of flavours changing from bite to bite.
Where do you currently ply your trade?
I am chef and 50% owner of F&B Walkerville, The Grand Cantina in Ford City and soon to be new restaurant in the Walkerville Power Building. Chef John Alvarez is my business partner owning the other 50%.
Personal culinary highlights/awards?
I am relatively new to the culinary field. I spend almost 15 years as an architect before deciding to leave my successful career and get into cooking – my passion. I have to say probably my biggest highlight has been this past October we did a ramen night at The Grand Cantina where we completely sold out and had a line up out the door 45 minutes before we even opened up. I received so much positive feedback and saw many smiling and stuffed faces leaving.
Your biggest culinary influence?
David Chang – he was probably once of the most influential chefs to bring ramen to North America. He really got me into ramen (and cooking in general). Second to him would be Ivan Orkin. He has lead a pretty crazy life of moving from the US to Japan to have a very successful ramen shot for several years.
What influenced you in making the flavours of this sausage?
I was trying to recreate that feeling of love and being hugged which I feel when I eat my ramen. I have spent several years perfecting my ramen broth and am really really proud of it. My ramen is surprising and evolves as you eat more and more and I think this sausage does a great job of doing that.
What is your favourite spice in your pantry at home?
SALT! As simple as people think salt is, not having enough salt in a dish can really make it taste flat. Salt really elevates your dish and brings the flavours out to their full potential.
How do you recommend topping your sausage?
I made an egg yolk sauce, which is a gel of egg yolks. Think of the awesomeness that comes out of perfectly poached eggs onto your eggs benedict. Then I added some pickled red onions, scallions, toasted sesame seeds and nori strips (nori is seaweed which you typically see wrapped around sushi).
