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Awards |
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Volunteer Service
Award (2005): 10-year Service
Award presented to Joan Karstens,
Huron Tourism Association, Ontario
Ministry of Citizenship &
Immigration.
Spirit of Excellence Hospitality
Awards (2001) – Finalist:
In recognition of outstanding
service which has enhanced the
Spirit of Hospitality in London
and Southwestern Ontario.
Blyth Festival Annual
Tourism Development Award (2000)
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Articles |
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Quaint
getaway offers luxury hotel extras
(Source: Hank Daniszewski / London
Free Press)
The small comforts and high-end
benefits at this Lake Huron lodge
keep happy visitors returning.
As you sway in a hammock overlooking
the beach and listen to a soothing
waterfall, it’s hard to
imagine a more relaxing place
on the entire Lake Huron coastline.
It’s just one of the many
comforts that’s made Brentwood
on the Beach a favourite of the
bed and breakfast set for 18 years.
Located on a quite residential
court just off Highway 21, Brentwood
on the Breach is halfway between
Grand Bend and Bayfield.
It’s a sprawling suburban
house with nine guest rooms, all
with private bathrooms and some
fireplaces, Jacuzzis and desks.
Proprietors Joan and Peter Karstens
said the Brentwood has steadily
evolved through the years with
renovations and features to suite
the guests.
"I learned
from my guests what they wanted
and what they needed," said
Joan.
Although it’s a bed and
breakfast, it has many luxury
hotel amenities including an indoor
saltwater pool, sauna, hot tub
and available spa treatments.
Read
the rest of this London Free Press
article |
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Excerpt
from “Escape to Romance"
(Source: Susan R. Pollack / The
Detroit News)
Paula Tutman, Channel 4 reporter,
escapes to Brentwood on the Beach,
a Lake Huron-hugging bed and breakfast
in St. Joseph, Ont., about three
hours from Metro Detroit.
"You can actually hear
the lake crash on the shore,"
she says. “When you pull
up, you think, ‘Oh, this
looks like somebody’s house’
– you have no idea how huge
this place is, and there are cottages,
too.
"There’s
an indoor pool and sauna and an
elaborate library, and some of
the rooms have whirlpools and
fireplaces. And they serve incredible
sunrise breakfasts.
"I
love Ontario – I run away
from home often." |
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German
apple pancakes are flavored with
passion
(Source: Kate Lawson / The Detroit
News)
The only recipe Peter Karstens
ever follows is his recipe for
fun. Karstens, who owns Brentwood
on the Beach with wife Joan, near
Grand Bend, Ontario, works hard
to maintain their beautiful bed
and breakfast/spa as well as the
private luxury cottages the couple
owns on the shores of Lake Huron,
but he also enjoys himself in
the kitchen whenever he can.
I had the pleasure to spend some
time with the couple earlier this
year when I stayed in their gorgeous
log cabin overlooking the lake.
And when Peter invited me to join
him in the kitchen one Sunday
morning while he prepared his
special German Apple Pancakes,
I jumped at the chance.
Karstens is indeed a character
and a passionate chef. "I
learned to cook from my German
mother," says Karstens, whose
sunburned face is never without
a smile. "She showed me how
to make German dishes such as
rouladen (which consists of sliced
beef, rolled around a pickle)
and hot, red, cabbage."
But his favorite is the apple
pancakes that his mother, Else
Karstens, used to make for him
as a child. As Karstens dumped
flour in a bowl, splashed in some
vanilla, cracked eggs and whipped
whites, I tried to follow along,
recording ingredients and preparation.
But, as with most good cooks,
Karstens never measures ingredients,
so I have adapted another recipe
that is similar to his for you
to make at home.
Peter's Pancakes (as some of the
Japanese guests who stay at the
inn from time to time like to
call them) are dense and delicious.
But they're filling, so plan on
one pancake per person.
Simply the Best You can reach
Kate Lawson at (313) 222-6026
or klawson@detnews.com
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Recipe adapted
from Peter Karstens, Brentwood
on the Beach, Zurich, Ontario.
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
4 large eggs, divided
1 1/2 pounds Gala apples (3 or
4)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons unsalted butter,
cut into 12 pieces |
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- Preheat
oven to 200 degrees. Stir together
1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon, and
set aside.
- Whisk
together flour, salt and remaining
2 teaspoons sugar in a large bowl.
Add milk in a slow stream, whisking,
then add egg yolks, one at a time,
whisking well after each addition.
Fold in egg whites.
Peel apples, then cut into 1/8
-inch thick slices and toss with
lemon juice in a bowl. Heat 1/2
tablespoon butter in a 6-inch
nonstick skillet over moderate
heat until foam subsides, then
add 1/3 cup batter, spreading
evenly to cover bottom. Top with
sliced apples to cover the top
of pancake.
- Cook,
reducing heat if browning too
quickly and turning pancake over
once with a thin, flexible, heatproof
spatula, until golden on both
sides, about 4 minutes total.
Slide pancake onto a platter and
keep warm in oven. Make more pancakes
with remaining butter and batter
in same manner. Sprinkle with
cinnamon sugar and serve immediately.
- Makes about 12 pancakes.
- Batter can be made
3 hours ahead and kept chilled,
covered. Stir before using.
- Per serving: 182 calories;
9 g fat (5 g saturated fat; 45
percent calories from fat); 22
g carbohydrates; 91 mg cholesterol;
134 mg sodium; 4 g protein; 1
g fiber.
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