Sips, Sweets & Snacks

Christmas dinner may be the tradition, but we feel very strongly about Christmas brunch! Just think, all of your favourite holiday flavours infused into all of your favourite breakfast foods! Oh, and did we mention the cocktails?

No brunch is complete without a good bubbly, fruity brunch cocktail, and due to our obsession with all things sparkly, champagne was obviously a must. We also can’t resist good packaging, so Chambord was also a shoe-in… but what about the delightful concord grape flavour?

We were lucky enough to scoop up one of the very limited edition jars of Kitten and the Bear’s handcrafted concord grape jelly before it sold out, and we knew it would be the perfect touch to our festive berry cocktail. Don’t worry- if you missed the boat on their seasonal batch this bubbly beverage is also incredible with our exclusive Rosé All Day jam (and it adds little floating gold flakes to your cup!)

Scroll down for the full recipe!

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Ingredients //

Champagne or sparkling wine
Grape jam (we used Kitten and the Bear’s Concord Grape)
Chambord
Grapes
Sugar sprinkles

First, make your garnish – frozen, sugar dusted and Chambord infused grapes! You’ll want to start this the night before. In a small jar allow grapes to soak in about 3 oz Chambord for 3-4 hours. Drain the alcohol and place the grapes on a tray lined with parchment paper, dust with sugar and place in the freezer. Halfway through freezing, turn and dust again with sugar.

To make the cocktail, start with a teaspoon of jam at the bottom of your glass. Add 1 oz of Chambord and top it off with Champagne. Finish it off with the frozen infused grapes. Cheers!

Party Time

There’s something so enchanted about a good garden party. For one, they can really only be successful on those perfect days of the year that are neither too hot nor too cold. They also require a beautiful outdoor space, which can be quite hard to come by in the city, and there’s the bug issue to contend with…

But then sometimes, as if by magic, it just all comes together.

Sophie, my dear friend from Kitten and the Bear, and I have been talking about styling a pastel garden party shoot in her secret Parkdale garden for what seems like years. The ideas constantly morphed, but the general feel always stayed the same: there would be treats, there would be tea, and there would be flowers in every corner.

When we finally settled upon a date, all the details just fell into place from there. After much discussion we decided on brunch as our meal time of choice, and quickly joined forces with Chambord to craft some jam-infused breakfast cocktails (recipe here). Sophie got to work dreaming up simple yet decadent tea sandwiches (recipe here), and Delysees offered to provide the dreamiest sweet treats in the land for our spread. Last but not least, Amira (aka one of our favourite local flower queens) from Coriander Girl offered her green thumb, filling the space with blooms and plants on every possible surface.

The final result was full tilt Marie-Antoinette garden party perfection. There were sparkling golden eclairs, there were tiny “jam window” and lavender cucumber sandwiches, and there were endless sparkling Chambord cocktails. We hung had dyed baby blue muslin over the table to help with sunburns and melting desserts, and draped the same fabric over our dessert table to pull the scene together. By the time the models finally poured in, dressed to the nines in lace and flower crowns, the whole space had filled with a glittering energy – warm, bright, and so quintessentially summer.

What are you waiting for? Come celebrate with us!

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Brown-Forman Corporation, Louisville, KY, Black Raspberry 16.5%, 21+

Styling and concept by Alyssa Garrison of RAOP
Photos by Bobbyand Johanna
Savoury creations by Sophie of Kitten and the Bear
Sweet treats by Delysees
Florals and greenery by Amira of Coriander Girl
A special thanks to our models Meghan, Sasha, Amanda, Aneta, & Mari

Originally posted by Hooray Magazine

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Sips, Sweets & Snacks

I can’t speak much to the French revolution (after all, I wasn’t around), but I do know for a fact that I want my life to look as much like Sophia Coppola’s silver screen version of Marie Antoinette as humanly possible. The treats! The fashion! The cocktails! Oh how I dream of living in a world filled with sugar and champagne… but luckily, I sort of already do!

Years ago I worked at a decadent chocolate themed restaurant in Yorkville, and that was where I fell in love with macarons, chocolate dipped candied orange peels, and Chambord. Delicately packaged in the most divine packaging, Chambord’s sweet syrupy berry flavour quickly became an essential addition to almost everything I sipped.

We also just happen to be all about brunch at RAOP Hq, and we’ll never pass up an excuse to dream up a new breakfast cocktail concoction. Introducing our Clementine Violet Jam Chambord Mimosas, aka the best darn mimosa you’ll ever sip! With a healthy dose of Chambord, a splash of champagne, fresh clementine juice, and a heaping spoonful of locally crafted confiture from Kitten and the Bear, it really doesn’t get more indulgent than this drink- especially when you pair it with french pastries! We splurged on a whole spread of glimmering goodies from Delysèes and their rich flavours made for a perfect pairing.

Scroll down for the recipe!

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Ingredients //

1oz Chambord
2oz Clementine Juice (3 large clementines = 1 cup)
2 Tbsp Kitten and the Bear Blackberry, Plum & Violet Jam
3oz Champagne to top off

Recipe //

1. Pour Chambord and clementine juice into champagne flutes. Add dollops of jam to the mix but don’t stir it up!

2. Add champagne to your glasses until they are full. Garnish with glittery straws, clementine slices, or cake of some kind (we went with macarons from Delysèes!

Craving more Chambord brunch magic? Enter their amazing ultimate brunch contest to win a trip to Las Vegas here! Plus, stay tuned for our styled Marie-Antoinette inspired Chambord brunch shoot coming later this year!

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Brown-Forman Corporation, Louisville, KY, Black Raspberry 16.5%, 21+

This post was sponsored, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please email jess@shineinfluencers.com