Wikaninnish Silent Gala Dinner – Pacific Rim Whale Festival
The Wickaninnish Inn will host the 15th annual Gala Dinner & Silent Auction on Thursday, March 4th, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Pacific Rim Whale Festival. This is the largest fundraising event for the Whale Festival, with over $15,000.00 raised in 2009! Results of the silent auction will be announced at the Whale Festival Opening Ceremonies. Tickets can be purchased through our Special Events team at 250-725-3100 ext.222.
Culinaire Victoria to take place at The Crystal Garden
On April 22, 2010 Victoria will showcase the rich offerings of our local food scene at Culinaire – Victoria’s Premier Food Tasting Experience at The Crystal Garden.
Victoria’s newest food event will provide locals the opportunity to savour signature menu items and inspired dishes from an abundant selection of restaurants, lounges, pubs, cafes, and specialty food producers.
“Culinaire is a food focused event that will give our regional restaurants and fine food purveyors the opportunity to showcase their culinary vision to a captive audience of Foodies and lovers of great cuisine”, said Scott Gurney, creator of Culinaire. “Victoria’s food scene is large and sometimes daunting. With so many great choices and unique places available, it can be very hard to choose from. This event will give the guest the chance to try an assortment of new foods and exclusive dishes in a relaxed environment.” added Gurney.
While sampling different offerings, guests will be able to interact with the chefs and get first hand information about the business, the menu, and location.
Over 40 exhibitors will be showcased at the event. The $20 admission includes 10 food tastings from presenters. Additional tastings are available at a cost of only $1 per item. The event also supports students in the industry as partial proceeds from the event will be providing scholarship opportunities to the Camosun College Culinary Arts Program.
Ticket sales have been strong with close to 600 sold to date. Tickets are $20 in advance at www.selectyourtickets.com or charge by phone at 250-220-7777
Tickets are also available through the event website.
For full event details and a list of who will be presenting visit www.culinairevictoria.com
For information on exhibiting at the event please email: info@culinairevictoria.com
or call 250-516-9797
Island Chef’s Collaborative Food Festival
Calling All Foodies! Mark your calendars and get ready for the feast to end all feasts. Fresh oysters, home-baked breads, salad greens, micro-brewery beers, decadent desserts and meads are just a small part of a local cornucopia banquet that will have even the most hardened foodie salivating with anticipation.
Every manner of sumptuous local offering is on the menu at the Island Chefs’ Collaborative (ICC) Local Food Festival: Defending Our Backyard on May 30th (Sunday) at Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site in British Columbia. The popular event pairs top chefs with local food producers from all over the region, showcasing and serving up the best of what the community has to offer while engaging and inspiring the public via their palettes.
“The rising demand for local food has outstripped what Island growers can currently supply. A lot more people need to get dirt under their fingernails if we are going to eat as well as we should. Somehow wannabe farmers need to be transformed into real farmers, and how that happens is a shared responsibility,” explains Bob Mitchell, President of the Island Farmers’ Alliance.
Local food is a growing and urgent priority. Vancouver Island supplies only 5% of the food its population consumes each year, and has only a three-day supply of food available if transportation services from the mainland are ever disrupted. The ICC helps educate the public about the importance of local food and farms when they put Island flavors on their menus and raise the profile of local food security.
“ICC members are passionate about local foods that deliver world-class flavor. By working collaboratively with farmers, making plans and commitments to grow and prepare more local foods, we are making our community’s shared food future more secure,” says Ken Nakano, President of the Island Chefs’ Collaborative and Executive Sous Chef at the Empress Hotel.
The ICC Local Food Festival: Defending Our Backyard, aside from being a marvelous local feast, operates as a fundraiser in support of local farms and farmers in their efforts to become more successful. Over the last 5 years, the ICC has provided CAN$22,000 worth of equipment to 16 small farms on Vancouver Island — helping to make those farms more sustainable.
This year’s festival entertainment line-up features local talent with Kings Without, Children of Celebrities and The Ecclestons. Festival participants will also have the opportunity to learn about growing more of their own food, composting, the ethical harvest of seafood, local wineries and breweries, and the work of food-related special interest groups.
The Island Chefs’ Collaborative Local Food Festival: Defending Our Backyard on May 30th (Sunday) at Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site in British Columbia. Tickets are now on sale. Early bird tickets qualify you for monthly dinner draws at the best eateries in the region.
Tofino Food and Wine Festival 2010
Friday, June 4th, 2010 – Sunday, June 6th, 2010
An eclectic community makes for a delicious combination of people and flavours on this lauded June week-end, with a series of events designed to tickle all palates.
The Tofino Food and Wine Festival also hosts a Silent Auction Fundraiser at the main event, specifically for the Tofino Community Children’s Centre, an invaluable service for local families providing much needed child care and healthy structure for our children. The centre, operated under the umbrella of Tofino Parks & Recreation provides an enriched program for children attending the centre.
The mission of the Tofino Food and Wine Festival is to promote BC Culinary Tourism and Sustainable Food Sources while enjoying the company of friends and family of the culinary community. Culinary tourism is an economic driver that helps showcase local restaurants as dining destinations and generates demand for locally grown/raised/caught or processed food and beverage products.
The festival also promotes education and professionalism in the hospitality industry, promoting culinary and sommelier programs as well as Slow Food, a non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization dedicated to recognizing the importance of pleasure connected to food in conjunction with agricultural biodiversity.
We hope that the Tofino Food and Wine Festival will encourage foodies from all over to develop an interested and caring attitude towards eating locally with increased awareness on sustainable food sources.
Watch for details and updates at:
http://www.tofinofoodandwinefestival.com
Battle of the Chefs at The Fairmont Empress
MISSION EMP-POSSIBLE – BATTLE OF THE CHEFS
One fantastic winemaker & two talented chefs create an unforgettable gourmand evening
The Fairmont Empress in partnership with Mission Hill Family Estate are pleased to present the inaugural Mission Emp-Possible – Battle of the Chefs, hosted by world-renowned Iron Chef America and The Thirsty Traveler personality, Kevin Brauch, on Wednesday, February 24, 2010.
Join us as we embark on an epicurean journey with Executive Chef, Takashi Ito of The Fairmont Empress, who will challenge Mission Hill Executive Winery Chef, Matthew Batey, in a “battle-of-the-chefs” competition. Each Chef will prepare a decadent five-course tasting menu paired with five exquisite wines personally selected and presented by Mission Hill’s chief winemaker, John Simes.
“The lively engagement of Brauch with the expertise of winemaker Simes and culinary talents of Ito and Batey will be a potent combination,” says Martin Leclerc, General Manager, The Fairmont Empress. “Having attended culinary school on the Island and apprenticed at the Empress in the nineties, I’m thrilled to return to my hometown and work with Chef Ito in what will undoubtedly be an entertaining epicurean showdown,” says Chef Matthew Batey.
Critiqued by a panel of celebrity judges from the Pacific Northwest, each Chef will battle to present their courses with gastronomic flair including flavour, appearance and complementary wine pairing. Ultimately, the winning Chef will celebrate the glory of being crowned the winner of Mission Emp-Possible – Battle of the Chefs.
Tickets for this event are C$150 per person exclusive of taxes and gratuities, and only 130 spaces are available. Reservations are available by calling 250.389.2727. Book now for the culinary event of the year which is expected to sell out quickly.
ABOUT THE FAIRMONT EMPRESS
The Fairmont Empress majestically rises over Victoria’s Inner Harbour. This luxury hotel showcases the spirit and energy of Vancouver Island in grand style. With her turn-of-the-century beauty, The Fairmont Empress resort regally captures the grandeur and elegance of a bygone era, while her facilities and services meet the needs of today’s traveler. Whether its 18-holes of world-class golf in a pristine setting or a soothing aromatic massage with essential oils in our Willow Stream Spa at The Fairmont Empress, the luxury castle-style of The Fairmont Empress Resort Hotel in Victoria offers the perfect escape from the stresses of a hectic lifestyle. From exhilarating ocean-bound whale watching safaris, world-class cultural exhibits and epicurean-rich local cuisine to picturesque garden and vineyard tours, you will be awestruck by the countless experiences The Fairmont Empress, Victoria and Vancouver Island has to offer!
ABOUT FAIRMONT HOTELS & RESORTS
A leader in the global hospitality industry, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a celebrated collection of 59 distinctive hotels, which includes iconic landmarks like The Fairmont San Francisco, Fairmont The Norfolk, Nairobi and Canada’s Fairmont Banff Springs. Fairmont hotels are one-of-a-kind properties where sophisticated travelers can discover culturally rich experiences that are authentic to the destination. Situated in some of the most exclusive and pristine areas in the world, Fairmont is committed to responsible tourism and is an industry leader in sustainable hotel management with its award-winning Green Partnership program.
Fairmont is owned by Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, a leading global hotel company with 94 hotels worldwide under the Raffles, Fairmont and Swissôtel brands. The company also manages Fairmont and Raffles branded Residences, Estates and luxury private residence club properties. For more information or reservations, please call 1.800.441.1414 or vsit fairmont.com.
ABOUT MISSION HILL FAMILY ESTATE
Located in the heart of British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, Mission Hill Family Estate is world renowned for its award-winning wines, stunning setting and architecture, and its Cuisine de Terroir-based Terrace Restaurant. Honoured as one of the Top Five Winery Restaurants globally, the restaurant and epicurean program is led by our culinary team, Chefs Matthew Batey and Riley Bennett. Majestic mountains, scenic lakes and lush orchards encase the winery’s dramatic architecture and culminate in a setting that celebrates wine, food and the arts. With sustainable practices that ensure care for the environment, and a timelessness that respects the family’s European heritage, guests experience the height of winemaking in an incomparable lakeside mountaintop winery. Visit missionhillwinery.com for more information.
