This yearly festival includes some seriously impressive seminars, dinners and workshops – and even a few parties. If you’re still wondering whether you should go, here are a few enticements to tempt you down the merry path.
Araxi: Best of BC with guest chef Benito Molina
Friday, November 11, 6pm
$179
Everyone and their great aunt has likely heard about – and salivated over – Araxi’s Big Guns dinner, which is among the few remnants of Cornucopia’s obscenely decadent past. (If you’re going, I recommend skipping breakfast and lunch – and maybe dinner the night before – and not drinking for 24 hours prior). But if you’ve never been to one of the restaurant’s more intimate dinners in the cellar, you need to get on that. Executive chef James Walt is launching this year’s series with a special dinner that will include guest chefs Benito Molina and Solange Muris, the husband-and-wife team behind Manzanilla, cited as one of Latin America’s 50 best restaurants. (Molina is widely credited with being one of the founding chefs of Baja cuisine.) Araxi wine director Samantha Rahn will be pairing each dish in this culinary showdown with a B.C. wine.
Bearfoot Bistro Dessert Tasting Extravaganza
Friday, November 11, 10pm
$85
The Bearfoot is famous for its lively hospitality, Ketel One Vodka ice room, gargantuan wine cellar and, of course, the food of executive chef Melissa Craig. What’s slightly less known is the amazing skills of executive pastry chef Dominic Fortin, a young talent who has been putting Bearfoot under the dessert spotlight for some time now. This four-course tasting menu, served in the restaurant’s famous cellar, offers a quartet of sweet creations, each paired with a wine or spirit. It’s well timed for some post-dinner fun, but I recommend eating lightly beforehand.
Nourish: Health and Wellness Microfestival
Multiple days and events
You’ve gotta get rid of that hangover somehow, so you may as well do it with some relaxing yoga moves at the Nourish Retreat, followed by healing foods, forest tramps, an exploration of local First Nations history, spa treatments and more. Apart from the retreat, the fest features seminars and workshops on natural fermentation and raw-food cooking, as well as interactive meals and discussions with chefs from around the world.
Brewed: The BC Craft Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival
Friday, November 18
$39
And you thought it was all about the wine. For hops aficionados, this event – presented by the BC Craft Brewers Guild, which represents more than 80 craft breweries and brewpubs – moves to the front of the line. Meet the makers while you sample a wide variety of their wares, including sneak-preview sips of new holiday and winter releases. Tickets include a souvenir glass and five tasting tokens (additional tokens are $1.50 each).
Bubbly Cocktails: The Life of the Party
Saturday November 19
$42
Home entertaining is increasingly taking its cues from the retro cocktail party. Join cocktail writer and enthusiast Joanne Sasvari, alongside bartenders Sabrine Dhaliwal (Uva Wine & Cocktail Bar) and Julia Diakow (Sovereign Canada), for an interactive seminar on cocktails made with bubbly. You’ll learn some classic recipes, develop your own signature cocktails, and get ideas for savoury snacks to pair with the libations.
Anya Levykh is a freelance food, drink and travel writer who covers all things ingestible. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @foodgirlfriday.
