Slow Food Lions Gate is no more; a fact that does make me a little sad. But our hearts, palates and bellies were made extremely happy on Saturday night when Brenda Farrell invited to a final slow dinner in West Vancouver.  It was as relaxed as you'd expect a slow evening to be. The food was almost entirely local and prepared by our host, Graham, who has a magical way with beef shanks and pumpkin cheesecake.

Although I've enjoyed many restaurant meals over the years, there is something extra special about the leisurely pace and warm ambiance of gathering in someone's home for a meal on a wet autumn night. Don't you think? It's cozier and more intimate than a restaurant can ever be. My most memorable dinners have been made by home cooks and eaten in their kitchens or dining rooms, or sometimes from plates on our laps by the fire. I am the sort of person who can't cook and talk at the same time (really!), so I would not be capable of cooking for a crowd of 10, and I'm full of admiration for those who so competently and gracefully manage it.

So I want to thank Brenda for inviting us (and for preparing absolutely gorgeous greens from her garden), and Graham for opening his house to us and spending all day over the heat of the stove, and Anthony for carefully choosing perfect wines for each course, and Sebastian for the exceptional beef, and all of them plus Jessica, Janet, Sue, John and Bruce for the entertaining stories.

We started the evening in the living room with charcuterie from Moccia and Oyama Sausage, cold-smoked albacore tuna and Raincoast Crisps from Lesley Stowe. Then we moved into the dining room for pine mushroom-filled pasta in a light broth; the wheat for the pasta was grown in the Fraser Valley and obtained through a grain CSA program. Then the beef shanks arrived, courtesy of Blue Goose Cattle Company via Sebastian & Co. The meat had been in the oven for hours and of course it fell away from the bone as soon as we glanced its way. Its marvellous sauce dribbled nicely over the mashed potatoes and parsnips. Brenda sauteed her home-grown chard in olive oil and lemon; mmmmm. It's hard to believe, but those greens were as enjoyable as the beef. Then, after an appropriate interlude, the pumpkin cheesecake arrived. I LOVED it. Not too sweet or too rich, it had a delicate fluffy texture as opposed to being overly dense. Graham has had the recipe for I think something like 30 years, and I can see why he considers it a keeper. Perhaps my favourite cheesecake of all time. The wines were artisan-made, small batch, imported from Europe by Farmstead. And they were exquisite.

So long, Slow Food Lions Gate. But hello to the season of feeding our friends in the comfort of our own homes.