The 12th Annual Grazing in the Gardens event welcomes a community of food and drink. The afternoon includes canapes by local chefs and island purveyors, paired with BC wines and island microbrews, carefully tucked away throughout 12 acres of the rainforest, in the Tofino Botanical Gardens. Live music with long time friend of the festival, Dinah D’s Contraband Swingclub and DJ Kevin West, as well as newcomers One Bright Morning and Michael Horne. Discover the local food scene on the west coast, and support the local and like-minded community of foodies. Funds raised support the Tofino Botanical Gardens Foundation, with a Silent Auction to…
Author: Cassandra Anderton
Tour the city’s best Latin American restaurants on June 25 with your route planned by Vancouver Foodster. Each restaurant will be serving up special bites for hungry visitors; a variety of different Latin cuisines will be presented by some of Vancouver’s top chefs. From 6-9 pm that night hop on a bike, walk, bus or carpool and sample dishes from Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, El Salvador, Peru, Venezuala and Mexico. Expect ceviche, tortillas, tamales, tacos, pupusas, arepas, empanadas, tortas and certainly lots of salsa. On the sweet side dulce de leche, alfajor, rice pudding, tres leches cake, teja and flan might…
I’ve attended this festival twice and absolutely love this day of seafood, chowder competitions, oysters and more! Gets better every year. Location: Filberg Lodge and Park – Comox, BC – TICKETS! Time: 12:00pm – 5:00pm Cost: $15 per person, children 10 and under free. Food tasting tickets $1.00 each. Celebrate the touch, tastes, and sounds of BC’s best shellfish and seafood products presented by innovative producers and renowned chefs at this stunning oceanside venue at the Filberg Lodge and grounds. Learn how to prepare seafood dishes at fun chef demonstrations and taste the creative and diverse shellfish and seafood items…
Summer’s almost here and it’s time to celebrate with friends in Chef Robin at the Swallow Tail Supper Club’s garden! A few teasers from the menu: Chef Robin’s heather smoked bison ribs and blackened ping gai chicken, all prepared on her Jamaican drum smoker. This feast will be served buffet style and includes dessert. Bring your own bottle of big juicy red wine or beer to share at the long table if you wish. When: May 31st, Saturday – rain or shine (we’ll eat in the wine cellar room if it’s a cool day) Times: Two seatings: 5:30pm & 7:30pm…
La Pentola’s Famiglia Supper Series continues this May with a delectable seafood dinner. Sunday, May 25th at 6pm dine family style at a communal table. For this 10+ course Italian feast Chef Lucais will feature Organic Ocean’s freshest seafood including spot prawns, pacific octopus, squid ink risotto, albacore tuna, ‘bottarga’, Haida Gwaii Halibut and more. $55 per person / 10 + Courses #FamigliaSupper Call 604.642.0557 info@lapentola.ca http://www.opentable.com/la-pentola-della-quercia
Missed out on the May 18th Blackbird’s spot prawn boil? Here’s another change to get your prawns on June 1, 2014. The Blackbird Public House & Oyster Bar & Driftwood Brewing present a second BC Spot Prawn Boil. They’ll boil them up traditionally and dump them out on the newspaper covered table in front of you. It’s full contact prawn feasting! Welcome drinks: 6:30pm First pot of prawns: 7pm A “Three Course” dinner paired with three different styles of Driftwood Brewing’s finest ales as well as a beer cocktail. Tickets:$49 (plus tax & fees) For more information contact tk@donnellygroup.ca or: www.donnellygroup.ca/locations/pubs/the-blackbird
JERICHO CAFÉ PRESENTS Our talented chef pal Stephen John Letts presents a pop-up Dinner on Monday May 26th and a more formal evening on May 27th at Foxglove Inn and Gardens in Crofton to celebrate the spring bounty of the Cowichan Valley. MENU $50.00 Plus Taxes Does not and Tip (BYOW) Possible variations of the 5 Course Dinner (depending on availability) Spicy BC Spot Prawns Salad Rolls Arugala Tomato salad with Local Buffalo Mozarella Venturi Shultz Balsalmic Local Free Range Cowichan Valley Chicken Chocolate Hazelnut Torte Local Cheeses jerichocafe@hotmail.com Accommodation specials at the Inn still possible – book soon…
What’s that? Beer and BBQ? Well it’s been done before, but certainly not as well as it will be with this particular beer and BBQ team starting May 25th, 2014. Last Sunday we saw Mark Urwin of 46 South Fish Co. shucking up Kaipara Oysters at 33 acres and sampled through all their current stellar beers and while we’d ideally like to see oysters, beer and BBQ, we’ll be happy to stop in for this delicious marriage. The Big Lou’s Butcher Shop team will be on hand cooking up a range of locally-sourced slow-cooked treats to enjoy with some delicious 33 Acres…
Cirque du Soleil has once again brought its circus talent to town under the hard-to-miss giant blue and yellow tent at Concord Pacific Place. The show begins with a human crystal ball descending from the ceiling into a tortoise shell filled with amphibian-like creatures that jump, flip and spin, setting the stage for another amazing production. The theme here is human evolution and at one point the stage is even cleverly circled by characters ascending from monkey to man. The magic of Cirque productions is the manner in which the shows build excitement; just when you think the performers couldn’t…
Author Don Genova will be at Barbara Jo’s Books to Cooks to celebrate the publication of his book, Food Artisans of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Don will be visiting from Vancouver Island to lead a salon discussion about the food artisans of these regions. It’s also a celebration the anniversary of Don and his wife who were married in Books to Cook’s Yaletown shop. Another great pairing! Cost: $35, includes a copy of Food Artisans of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands and refreshments. Wednesday, June 11, 2014 6:30pm – 8:00pm Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks (map)
Tuesday June 3 6:00 pm- Late $20 (+ taxes & fees) Ten of Vancouver’s Top Bartenders will square off at The Blackbird with only bar tools and their imagination to create a beer-cocktail using one feature Craft beer. Annual bragging rights and a Craft beer focused prize are on the line. Attendees will judge draught versions of each cocktail made by the competitors, with their votes determining the people’s choice award. Your $20 ticket includes cocktail samples, beer samples, & canapés.
Vancouver Craft Beer Week presents. Wednesday June 4 6:00-10:00pm $115 (+ taxes & fees) The ultimate food pairing challenge! Returning beer champion Cicerone Don Farion (BierCraft, Bomber Brewing) will square off against wine expert Michaela Morris from House Wine over a luxurious five course tasting menu created by ARC Executive Chef Alessandro Vianello. Each course will be paired with a selected beer and wine with the dinner guests choosing the winner! Tickets
May 30, 2014 – The Peak Presents VCBW Opening Night hosted by Prevail 5-10 pm – who’s in? The top of the hops, the beast of the yeast, not our fault if you don’t love malt – best damn party ever thrown! Join Prevail Prevail of Swollen Members, DJ Flipout, the Hip Hop Karaoke All Stars, and 22 of the craft brewing industries finest as they kick off this year’s festivities. Your $49 ticket gets you entertainment, unlimited craft beer samples (Serving It Right rules do apply), a souvenir VCBW tasting glass, and door prizes for the those dressed in…
First there was one award, then another, another, and yet another, bringing the trophy count now to an impressive five for Okanagan-based writer Jennifer Schell. Schell grew up in the sunny Okanagan, a farm girl at heart, who’s equally comfortable dressing to the nines to check out the latest hot spot in dining. She’s traveled the world but has come home to her roots to promote the Valley she grew up in. The result? The Butcher, The Baker, The Wine & Cheese Maker – An Okanagan Cookbook a celebration of the Okanagan Valleys farmers, artisans and chefs. The book is full…
Glamping Weekend Fundraiser combines Canadian wine, celebrity chefs and musical icons Clayoquot Unplugged – A Unique Gig for Good, June 19 to 22, 2014 Here is your chance to chill with top Canadian vintners, chefs and performers in one of the most beautiful destinations in BC, while making a difference for youth and families. This year, guests arriving for four days and three nights, Thursday, June 19 through Sunday, June 22, 2014, will be hosted by Terry David Mulligan, fed by Chefs David Hawksworth of Hawksworth Restaurant, and Pino Posteraro of Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill & Enoteca, and entertained by Jim & Devin Cuddy, Ed Robertson, Anne Lindsay and…
If you’ve visited Malaysia in the last ten years you are bound to have run into PappaRoti, a buttery and coffee-caramel coated bun. The PappaRoti Cafe’s now number 400 worldwide; the first location recently opened on Canada down towards the end of Robson Street. So what are these buns all about? Well they sound sweeter than they taste, which, in this case, is a good thing. They are soft on the inside, crisp on the outside and filled with a buttery centre. Toppings for these snacks include maple syrup, ice cream, caramel chocolate, nutella, whipped cream, strawberry and banana; rotis…
Missed out on the Chef’s Table spot prawns festival last weekend? Here’s another change to get you prawn on. On May 18th, The Blackbird Public House & Oyster Bar & Driftwood Brewing present a BC Spot Prawn Boil. They’ll boil them up traditionally and dump them out on the newspaper covered table in front of you. It’s full contact prawn feasting! Welcome drinks: 6:30pm First pot of prawns: 7pm A “Three Course” dinner paired with three different styles of Driftwood Brewing’s finest ales as well as a beer cocktail. Tickets:$50 (plus tax & fees) For more information contact tk@donnellygroup.ca or: www.donnellygroup.ca/locations/pubs/the-blackbird
WHAT? Oysters in the Okanagan? I’ve been asked far too many times “are there oysters farms in the Okanagan?” Well no, they don’t yet grow in Osoyoos Lake, but contrary to popular belief, oysters can live outside the ocean for several weeks and I guarantee that all the oysters in this Osoyoos Oyster Festival got there in just days, if not hours, after they left their ocean beds. Jon and Anne Marie Crofts, owners of my fav Okanagan fishmongers, Codfather’s in Kelowna, certainly ensure this. And why should we deny oysters to those not right on the ocean? It would…
On Friday May 23, 2014, ‘Food For Thought’ will take place at Science World in support of Vancouver’s much-loved Backpack Buddies Program. The interactive and fun-filled evening will raise funds for this charity that provides students in Vancouver’s inner city schools with backpacks filled with nutritious food to help sustain them through the weekend. Supported by children for children, Backpack Buddies currently works with partner schools Collingwood, West Bay Elementary, Brockton and Kenneth Gordon Maplewood School to fundraise and prepare backpacks for Queen Alexandra and Grandview Elementary School in the Downtown Eastside. In operation since 2012, the program currently provides…
Support the Arts Club Theatre Company on May 22, 2014 at the BEST OF BC WINEMAKERS DINNER. Taste incredible wines along with excellent local ingredients on this special night at Provence Marinaside. EVENT INFORMATION: Best of BC Winemakers Dinner Thursday, May 22, 6–9 PM Provence Marinaside (1177 Marinaside Crescent, Vancouver) Tickets: $175 (with a $100 tax receipt) To purchase: contact specialevents@artsclub.com or call 604.687.5315, ext. 279 Provence Marinaside, a southern French restaurant situated on the Yaletown waterfront, provides an idyllic setting for this exclusive event. The menu, devised by Executive Chef and owner Jean-Francis Quaglia, will feature a sophisticated four-course dinner with an accent on high-end produce…
