Oliver Winery hosts Sunday brunch

On Sunday afternoon, longtime Bloomington staple Oliver Winery invited patrons to delight in the tastes and sounds of Europe with a multi-course menu paired with wines and musical stylings prepared to complement each course.

The 32 attendees feasted on four courses paired with two different wines as part of a collaborative partnership with the chefs at Phresh Start — who own Soup’s On — the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, Oliver Winery and Studio Forza.

Mike Walker is both an Oliver Winery employee and co-founder and artistic director of Studio Forza, which offers private music and art instruction.

“We kind of came up with the idea and then we worked with the Parks and Rec Department to put it on,” Walker said. “The chefs came from Phresh Start, we put it on at Oliver Winery with Oliver wines, and teachers from Studio Forza as well as members of an Indianapolis-based opera played. We have a total of nine people performing. It’s a Cabaret-style, so lots of singers, a violin player, pianist, guitar, a French horn ... Chamber music.”

In addition to European cheese and local fruit, the menu featured bilini with house-cured salmon, savory rabbit crepe with sautéed vegetables and chives, sweet crepe with local seasonal fruit and house-made whipped cream; deconstructed lamb hash with braised local lamb, hachier of pommes and local assorted root vegetables, fruit torte with apricot glaze, and Greek torte with eggs, spinach, tomato, and feta.

“They’re doing it in four different sets featuring four different countries’ music and food paired with wine.” Assistant Training Manager Cathy Vodle-Perez said as she supervised the setting of tables and arrangement of flowers.

Given that the two seem like such separate entities, how did Walker pair music with food?

“To me, it seems like a natural thing, you know?” Walker said. “If you’re gonna have great food, (have) music to pair with it. We sat down with the chefs to prepare different vignettes of various cultures.

“Today we’re doing French, Italian and Irish and came up with a menu that paired well with the music. For instance, when we went to match the characterists of French food with those of French music, we’re doing some fruit and berry crepes, and there’s a whole cooking demonstration on it. They’re light and fluffy, and there’s a lot of those characteristics in French music — light rhythms — so it pairs really well.”