Aquatopia launches BBQ delivery

CARP – With an executive chef catering to some of Ottawa’s most glamourous weddings at Carp’s Aquatopia Water Garden Conservatory, owners Nicholas Bott and Catherine Neville thought why not share those talents with everyone?

Green Turtle was born and starting Jan. 18, on Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays, executive chef Hary Haidau will be offering his barbecue specialties and a list of favourites, slow smoked in the conservatory’s commercial kitchen and delivered right to your home ready for dinner.

“We want to cater to the surrounding area and offer something for the family,” Haidau told West Carleton Online last Wednesday (Jan. 11) from the conservatory a regular on Top 10 wedding venues in Canada lists.

The food is a big part of that acclaim.

“We really pride ourselves in our food in general,” Haidau said. “We’re kicking off a brand-new menu for the wedding season. That menu was designed with this beautiful venue in mind.”

Haidau says the Green Turtle menu is separate from the wedding menu, unique and designed to be enjoyed at home with family and friends.

“Very flavourable and completely homemade,” Haidau said.

The menu includes apple wood barbecue smoked chicken and hickory wood smoked baby back ribs.

The chickens are farm-raised, grain-fed, free-roam, grown in Ontario. Haidau marinates whole chickens for 48 hours then puts them through the apple wood long-smoke cooker until they’re perfect. They come with Aquatopia’s famous coleslaw, chip truck style fries and barbecue sauce.

The ribs start as full-sized 32-ounce slabs, marinated with a savoury sweet sticky rub for two days. They too are long-smoked using a hickory wood process.

“It’s basically a 10-year recipe,” Haidau said. “Everything from the rub, the marinating, the smoking, what catches the most flavour. I do a wet smoke. Almost a pull-away rib. Definitely finger licking good.”

There are chicken club sandwiches, smoked chicken poutine, homemade chicken fingers, some chip truck favourites, coleslaw, Danish potato salad and more.

“It will have a mom-and-pop feel,” Haidau said. “We’re going to serve until we run out. We’re making real food from scratch. A lot of love, time and technique went in to it. I don’t know where else you would get this?”

While there are a few items for individuals, a lot of the menu is geared at feeding the family. The full chicken dinner serves five to six, the full rack rib dinner feeds three to four, and they have a family dinner that feeds as many as eight and the house party dinner that can satisfy up to 14 people.

“We’re very much guided to that family meal,” Haidau said.

Haidau is a Winnipegger with 27 years experience as a chef.

“I’m very familiar with much colder temperatures than here,” he said. “I love cooking. Especially the process of smoking and barbecue. I’ve trained under award-winning chefs. I’ve cooked for the Winnipeg Jets and the prime minister. I’m a die-hard food guy. I love it and I’ve really nurtured that smoke shack muscle. I’m here now and I’m surrounded by a great team.”

Green Turtle BBQ Chicken and Ribs grand opening is Jan. 18 and will be open for delivery Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays from 4 to 9 p.m. You can order directly at 613-806-6516 or through the Skip the Dishes app. Green Turtle is hosting a grand opening special. Every purchase until Feb. 10 comes with a free poutine.

To visit the Green Turtle menu, click here.