Taste: Victoria’s Festival of Food and Wine brings neighbours together to celebrate our backyard bounty
Drawing from the bounty of their backyard, neighbours Finest at Sea (FAS) and The Inn at Laurel Point have collaborated to host a celebration of fresh local seafood for Taste: Victoria’s Festival of Food and Wine. Sips and Seafood will be held on the seaside terrace of The Inn at Laurel Point on Friday, July 17.
Finest at Sea, based in Victoria’s James Bay, operates a commercial fishing fleet of 13 vessels which catch Sablefish, Albacore Tuna, Halibut, Salmon, Spot Prawns, Dungeness Crab, Mussels, Clams, Oysters, Green Sea Urchins, Pacific Scallops and Sea Asparagus. FAS supplies fresh wild seafood to Victoria and Vancouver restaurants as well as to the public from their store on Erie Street in Victoria.
Sips and Seafood guests can expect numerous seafood stations around the Marina Room and on the terrace, each with a host from the hotel’s culinary team paired with a fisher from FAS. Executive Chef Brad Horen steps out of the kitchen to demonstrate different ways to prepare some of the seafood, and will encourage guests to do some crab bashing! At each seafood station, FAS fishers will offer background information on the seafood being prepared.
“This is an opportunity for Victorians to get to know their backyard”, says Bob Fraumeni, Fisherman/Owner of FAS. He describes the event as “pivotal for Victorians who are serious about their diet and want to understand more of what our wonderful Island and coastal fabric has to offer.”
Fraumeni has been a leading advocate for sustainable fisheries since starting business in the 1970’s. Finest at Sea is Canada’s only provider of 100% known-origin sustainable seafood. “Our vessels only fish in the cold waters of the North Pacific” he explains. “The terms known-origin and sustainable mean that my staff can tell you when, where and what vessel your choice of seafood is from, and can guarantee that the seafood has a Fishery Management System in place.”
Sips and Seafood will pair FAS’ freshly caught seafood with wine from Vancouver Island’s Venturi-Schulze Vineyard and from Okanagan wineries, Red Rooster and Peller Estates. Craft brews from Victoria’s Phillips Brewery, teas from Silk Road and Victoria Gin will also be poured.
The event takes place from 7pm to 10pm on July 17 on the seashore at The Inn at Laurel Point. Tickets are $99 and available at www.VictoriaTaste.com.
Taste: Victoria’s Festival of Food and Wine, includes over 20 events between July 16 and 19, 2009, around Victoria, the Cowichan Valley and the Saanich Peninsula. Wine and food seminars, chocolate and tea tastings, an urban foraging expedition and a pig roast, ensure that there really is something for everyone who enjoys a bite or a beverage. Finest at Sea is hosting an informative seafood session at the FAS Plant in James Bay on Friday, July 17 for those wishing to learn more about Sustainable Seafood.
Individual event tickets are priced between $10 and $169 and are on sale now at www.VictoriaTaste.com. A complete schedule and description of Taste Festival events is available at www.VictoriaTaste.com/events.
