Stir Up Something Festive With Grant’s Award-Wining Whisky Grant’s Blended Scotch Whisky took home four prestigious medals, two gold and two silver, at the International Spirits Challenge (ISC). For over 130 years, Grant’s Whisky has mastered the art of blending, creating rich, layered flavours inspired by the pioneering spirit of William Grant, earning these wins among 473 entries in the contests field. GOLD: Grant’s 8-Year-Old Sherry Cask Edition – A rich and smooth whisky with a distinctive sherried character, designed to captivate the senses with its balanced sweetness and depth. GOLD: Grant’s Triple Wood 12 – Known for its multi-layered…
Author: cassandra
Penticton’s Orolo and the Chronos Tasting Room Spread Local Love This Holiday Season The holiday season is here. With OROLO Restaurant + Cocktail Bar, Chronos Tasting Room, and Evolve Sparkling all under one festive roof, this year’s celebrations are delightful and convenient. Whether you’re toasting with friends, indulging in a festive meal, or shopping for the perfect gift, these Okanagan gems make holiday celebrations warm, inviting and delicious. Evolve Sparkling House: A 2025 Debut Evolve Sparkling’s refreshed lineup of traditional method bubbles is here, just in time for your holiday celebrations. Available now, and recently featured in Vitis magazine, Evolve…
Pour Some Local Bubble into your Glass this Holiday Season What’s in your glass this holiday season? How about some BC Bubbles to help you celebrate the close of one year and the start of a new one? Listed in alphabetical order so I didn’t pick favourites. Priced as sold in BC at the winery, cidery, or BCLDB. More on Wine Evolve 2020 Brut Premiere $43.99 Evolve Sparkling’s refreshed lineup of traditional method bubbles includes this top-notch candidate. Made in the traditional method from 67% Chardonnay and 33% Pinot Noir grapes., with lees stirring on the Chardonnay component and blended to age for 3…
Simplify Your Holiday Entertaining with President’s Choice I am always excited about the PC® Holiday Insiders Report™. I worked in the marketing department for a grocery retailer, and I know what it takes to make something like this report happen. I drool over the graphics, food styling, recipes, and everything inside it. I’d like to have the time to make things all from scratch. I used to bake biscotti, cookies and even cheddar shortbread crackers, but I am rather busy these days, and there aren’t as many people around to enjoy these treats. While I still do many things from…
Purdys Chocolatier Holiday Edition We’ve been nibbling away on the Purdys Holiday Edition chocolates to make sure they’re worthy of recommending, and the answer is….be careful with these if they’re around because they’re extermely addictive. Very grateful for my gym membership! More on Gourmet Groceries Purdys White Chocolate Himalayan Pink Salt Caramels ($28.50) The caramels were the first to go. These chocolates have serious caramel chew, and are enrobed in white chocolate topped with Himalayan pink salt crystals. Purdys Holiday Treats Gift Basket Looking for a perfect gift for your chocolate loving family and friends? The Holiday Classics Gift Box…
Lidia’s From Our Family Table to Yours – More Than 100 Recipes Made with Love for All Occasions Lidia Bastianich’s newest cookbook is co-authored by her daughter, Tanya Bastianich Manuali, and is full of family stories and passed-down recipes. Lidia shares the dishes she cooks for the ones she loves the most. I’ve had the good fortone of meeting Lidia several times, and I always hope she’ll come to one of our Les Dames d’Escoffier Conferences, as she’s a fellow Dame, but no sign of her yet. We dined in Del Posto, her restaurant in New York and it was…
Swallow Tail Supper Club and Chef Bruno Feldeisen Present BC Truffles Star Chef Bruno Feldeisen from The Great Canadian Bake Off is creating a 6-course truffle dinner menu for the annual Christmas celebration dinner at Swallow Tail’s Underground Supper Club. Truffle hunter Launie Fairbairn will be out hunting for truffles for dinner, and you get to meet her adorable truffle dog, Fancy, at the dinner. This is a great excuse to share wine with friends and tuck into a luxurious, fine meal this winter. TICKETS Chef Bruno will showcase the finest fresh truffles from Europe and BC to turn Christmas…
Get Down for Dames with a Fried Chicken Meal from Downlow Chicken GET DOWN FOR DAMES with a Fried Chicken Party Pack ($35 + value for just $29.99). On Sunday, December 15th at Downlow Chicken Shack, 905 Commercial Drive, from 12pm until sold out. ONLY 50 AVAILABLE! More Events You’ve shopped till you dropped and partied hard this holiday season. Take a night off cooking, forget the dishes and finish up that decorating. WHEN: Sunday December 15th, 2024, 12 pm until SOLD OUT (closed at 4 pm) WHERE: Downlow Chicken Shack. 905 Commercial Drive WHY: Funding Les Dames d’Escoffier BC…
Let Provence Marinaside Take Care Of Your Holiday Needs The holiday season is suddenly upon us. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa or none, this is when people gather to eat, drink and make merry. It’s the most wine-derful time of the year! Meeting with friends and family over good food and drink helps dispel the gloom during this darkest time of the year. At Provence Marinaside, Chief Elf (er Chef) Jean-Francis Quaglia and his team are cooking up some tasty ways to have a tree-mendous time while Wine Director Joshua Carlson has made sure the cellar…
2024 Rise Awards Winners Celebrated at 17th Annual Rise Awards Night by BC Food & Beverage The 2024 winners were honoured at the Rise Awards Night, hosted by BC Food & Beverage on November 28, 2024, in front of a packed crowd of over 400 attendees. This year’s event, which took place at a new venue, the Anvil Centre in New Westminster, was dedicated to acknowledging creativity, resilience, and community impact within British Columbia’s food and beverage industry. Scroll down for a recipe from Product of the Year. Learn More about the Finallists BC Food & Beverage proudly recognized exceptional…
Chinese Winter Soltice at Chinatown BBQ honouring the Dongzhi Festival In celebration of the upcoming Dongzhi (Winter Solstice) Festival, Chinatown BBQ is hosting a special pop-up with chef William Lew of Pacific Reach on December 9, 2024. For one day only, from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., guests can feast on two exclusive Chinatown BBQ Dongzhi Festival tasting menus, for lunch or dinner, thoughtfully curated to honour the traditions of family, warmth, and heritage. Highlights include salted egg yolk pork belly, BBQ lamb ribs, fresh local seafood, and tang yuan — a classic Chinese dessert of glutinous rice balls, symbolizing…
Carmenère makes its way from France to Chile and the Okanagan Valley On November 24th, wine lovers around the world will celebrate Carmenère Day. This often misunderstood grape once considered extinct in its native France, has found an ideal home and a renewed reputation in Chile and, more recently, in British Columbia’s Southern Okanagan Valley. More from Good Wine Gal Good Wine Gal’s Website A Bordeaux Legacy Carmenère, a red wine grape variety, originated in the Bordeaux region of France. It was once a key component of classic Bordeaux blends, contributing its distinctive flavours of red and black fruit, herbs,…
Cookbook Corner – Crust Bakery Fans of Victoria, B.C’s Crust Bakery can now satisfy their sweet and savoury cravings at home when they cook from Crust: Essential Sweets and Savories from Victoria’s Beloved Bakery. With over 85 recipes, home bakers will learn the secrets behind those delicious bakery items. More on Cookbooks Within the pages of this debut cookbook, Crust founding chef Tom Moore shares recipes for the bakery’s most popular menu items, breaking them down into manageable steps and peppering in hints and tips to help you achieve success at home. You’ll have no trouble making the perfect…
Burdock & Co Celebrates Radicchio On Wednesday, November 27th, Michelin-starred Burdock & Co is hosting a unique tasting experience that will celebrate radicchio. Guests will enjoy delicious culinary creations prepared by several talented chefs, highlighting the complex flavour profile of radicchio. Sea Cider will be there! More Evetns Three time slots are available, and tickets range from $55 to $65. Dusk Tasting from 5 pm – 6:30 pm Evening Tasting from 6:30 pm – 8 pm Late Night Tasting from 8 pm – 9:30 pm The ticket includes a Feast of Fields cedar tasting plank, cider from Sea Cider Farm…
Support the Dr. Peter Centre at Passions 2024 Passions promises a night of incredible food, artisanal cocktails, and exciting auction items. Passions, now in its 21st year, brings together the best restaurants in Vancouver offering tasting plate creations for you to enjoy. Meet and mingle with Vancouver’s most talented head chefs, bartenders and beverage professionals and mingle with culinary connoisseurs, all while helping fund the Dr. Peter Centre support margalized persons in our community. More Events Date: November 27, 2024 Time: 5:30pm Address: Performance Works – Granville Island 1218 Cartwright Street. Vancouver, BC Over 20 restaurants and bars have committed…
Uncorking a Bold Grape: Zinfandel’s Journey from California to British Columbia Raise a glass, wine lovers! November 20th marks Zinfandel Day, a celebration of this red, robust, versatile grape variety. While California may be its traditional home, Zinfandel’s story takes on a local vibe with plantings in and around Oliver in the southern Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. BC Zinfandel is indeed alive and well! More from Good Wine Gal Good Wine Gal’s Website California’s Zinfandel Legacy: A Story of Sunshine and Rich Flavors Zinfandel found its Californian calling in the late 19th century. Recent DNA testing has revealed that…
Venture to Port Moody to Pizzeria Spacca Napoli We braved the cold last night and headed out to Port Moody, which is a nice drive from Kits and has a ton to offer, including Pizzeria Spacca Napoli, who just won the award for best pizza in Canada! We sampled several pizza’s including a new one that the one and only Pino Posterero from the award winning Cioppino’s. We sipped negroni’s (of course) and a divine, cheesy, crunch potatoe croquette or two kept us from starving as we waited the pizza party. More dining adventures Pizzeria Spacca Napoli, a…
Fresh St. North Van Market in Lower Lonsdale Partners with FoodMesh to Donate Meals B.C.-based and family-owned Fresh St. Market North Van celebrated the official opening; it’s now the eighth location at 150 Esplanade West, in North Vancouver on November 15. We attended the opening and were super proud to see Sea Cider Temperance Series non-alcoholic cider on their shelves. I am the BC Mainland Sea Cider Ambassador for those who don’t know. That’s how much I love this family-owned and operated Vancouver Island Cidery and our ciders. Click here for more on groceries “We are proud to open Fresh…
British Columbia’s Tempranillo – Good Wine Gal’s BC Picks On November 14th, it’s time to raise a glass and celebrate International Tempranillo Day. This famous grape from Spain grows here in beautiful British Columbia with an attitude. It’s found a home in sun-soaked southern Okanagan Valley where wineries like Moon Curser, Black Hills, Three Sisters and Stag’s Hollow showcase bottles of fleshy, fragrant and age-worthy wines styled from youthful to classic as only BC can. If you have not yet tasted a BC Tempranillo, here are a few recommendations. Grab a bottle and pour a glass on November 14th. Join…
BC Food and Beverage Rise Awards Reward BC’s Innovative Products and Rising Stars On November 28th, the BC Food and Beverage Rise Awards will celebrate the fantastic leaders, rising stars and innovative products that make up our beautiful province of BC. Best in Brand Award Finalists The Best in Brand Award celebrates brands achieving growth through innovative strategies, recognized as leaders in their category, utilizing diverse consumer-facing media and distinctive packaging design. Legends Haul Legends Haul started in a 1500-square-foot facility in North Vancouver in 2018. Chocxo Chocxo is on a mission to share the joy of genuinely indulgent, better-for-you…
