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Victoria takes summer seriously and one key event is the Taste-Festival of Food and Wine.
Kathy McAree, a culinary aficionada who loves to share her passion for local produce, decided five years ago to stage a festival that would emphasize British Columbia by featuring Vancouver Island wineries and Victoria restaurants. The result – Taste: Festival of Food and Wine – is a proven treat for participants whether they are paying guests, trading in wine and food, or volunteers.
Kathy McAree serving local foods from the Chefs’ Market, Bastion Square, Victoria, 2010
With the 4th annual event just over, Kathy said “It began with an idea to bring back a festival that would celebrate our wonderful backyard of local food and wines.” McAree has her ear to the ground on these matters. Owner and operator of Vancouver Island’s first culinary tour company, Travel With Taste Tours Ltd. she conducts personalized outings of Victoria and area, tabbed as indulgent culinary adventures. Also a radio host on local CFAX 1070, Kathy supports events and foodies around town with her weekly program In Good Taste; and she finds time to contribute to Eat magazine which celebrates BC food and drink.
If you want something done, give it to a busy person and McAree is that. In a recent interview (Deanna Ladret, Eat, June 12, 2012), she said, “I’d like to get the festival to where it’s a financial success with more people getting involved each year. But it’s more important to me to run the festival with a conscience than to fill the room with moneymakers,” says McAree. “It really is, first and foremost, about enjoyment.”
Taking place over four days in mid-July, the festival begins on Thursday with the Main Event, comprised in two parts and held in the Crystal Gardens, an iconic heritage building as part of Victoria’s Conference Centre. First there is a trade show for restaurateurs and vintners followed by the public event. Last year, 38 wineries and cider houses plus 21 restaurants participated, offering food samples under the Gardens’ glass roof with tasteful décor of burgundy banners, a diver/mannikin (the venue was once a swimming pool) in a Taste apron and chef’s hat, and a bold centerpiece of local flowers and vegetables. The approximately 1,000 guests and trade attendees were regaled with live jazz music and attended to by almost 60 volunteers.
Main Event at the Crystal Gardens, 4th Annual Taste: Festival of Food and Wine, July, 2012, Photo by James Ellsworth, Troy Media
Then, Friday through Sunday, there were seminars and workshops at other venues with thematic delights. For instance, the Inn at Laurel Point, overlooking the Inner Harbour near Fisherman’s Wharf, provided Sips and Seafood, matching wine with all manner of fruits du mer. Others included
- The Hotel Grand Pacific provided porcine fare on their patio called Swine and The Vine, featuring an organically-raised whole pig spinning on a spit, plus offerings of sausages and pâtés, all paired with BC wines.
- Vista 18, sitting atop the Chateau Victoria, prepared a discrete brunch called Band, Bubbly and Bennys, a variety of eggs Benedict paired with sparkling wines accompanied by a dollop of jazz.
- The Oak Bay Marina restaurant chefs cooked an outdoor local organic produce meal, paired with Sandhill vintages. It was served on white table-clothed rectory tables in the open farm field at Vantreight Farms, a truly Tuscan ambience with views of the Haro Strait in the setting sun.
Local Food Display at Taste: Festival of Food and Wine, Crystal Gardens, 2012
If experiential learning was more to one’s taste, participants learned about sustainable seafood at Finest At Sea, or tea and chocolate pairings with tea master Daniela Cubelic of Silk Road, or blind tastings of Pinot Noir, comparing B.C. to international vintages, with sommelier Pam Sanderson. For those who were more budget conscious, they could taste great B.C. wines for under $20 at a seminar called, Bang For Your Buck, with Wine Access magazine contributors, Kurtis Kolt and Tom Firth.
Kathy’s goal though is to educate people about the local culinary riches. “People are taking a greater interest in what they eat these days and the idea of eating local and buying local is achieving a greater place in consumer’s minds”, (Good Life Vancouver, April 17, 2012). Her four-day festival walked the talk by collaborating with many like-minded local foodies- winemakers, chefs, artisan producers, farmers and fishers- all key players in helping to make Vancouver Island a vibrant culinary destination.
John Schreiner, the prolific writer on British Columbia’s wine scene, warned wineries and oenophiles on his blog after Taste 2010 that “sitting out events like Taste might not be an option.” Like a seer, his prognosis has proven correct. Taste: Victoria’s Festival of Food and Wine is definitely a summer time event to attend.
There were only 13 wineries in British Columbia in 1988 and now there are 206 producers. See http://www.winesnw.com/bchome.html .
IF YOU GO:
Hotels & Restaurants:
Crystal Gardens: 713 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC, Canada was designed by famed BC architect Francis Rattenbury and it opened in 1925 as a saltwater swimming pool, one of the largest in the British Empire. Attending Taste provides an inside view of this unique building.
Vista 18: 740 Burdett Ave, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 1B2, 250) 382-9258 affords a brilliant 360° view of downtown Victoria atop the Chateau Victoria hotel. With live music, slow food menus, and central location, Taste is in theme and a few blocks walk from here.
Inn at Laurel Point: 680 Montreal Street, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8V 1Z8, .800.663.7667 was ranked among Canada’s top 25 hotels by Condé Nast (2007) and boasts oceanside views plus the chef’s own herbal garden.
Hotel Grand Pacific: 463 Belleville Street Victoria, BC V8V 1X3, (800) 663-7550) was Condé Nast’s best Canadian Hotel (2008). It is central to the harbour’s amenities and also caters to a kids’ program for families wanting to attend Taste.
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