02 Dec 2019
2nd December 2019
A round up of seven culinary stories from across Canada
Prince Edward County – Ontario
No, Not Prince Edward Island, the province, but the cool kid sister region to Niagara's wine country. Many chefs from Toronto are relocating to the county for its community vibe, easy access to farmers and yes, perhaps to some surprising , white sand beaches.
The Royal Hotel is about to open and by all accounts is going to be fabulous. The area is already home to a lot of boutique inns such as The June, The Drake Devonshire , Angelines. Of note is the Farm Cooking School who offer up a unique Shop+Cook 'thing' using only local ingredients. Eateries of note are Sand and Pearl Oyster Bar, Drake Devonshire Dining and La Condesa Cocina Mexicana.
www.thedrake.ca/drakedeveonshire
Toronto -Ontario
Canada's downtown! The city is home to a booming vegan scene including its own neighbourhood : Vegandale. Some amazing new restaurants include : Planta Queen and Rosalinda, the city's only plant based Mexican restaurant.
www.plantarestaurants.com/location/planta-queen
Visitors can also now experience indigenous cuisine at Pow Wow Café and Ku –Kum Kitchen
www.instagram.com/powwowcafeto/?hl=en
And fusion cuisine like Rasta Pasta and Barrio Coreana , a Mexican and Korean hybrid:
Vancouver - British Columbia
The metro Vancouver Communities have worked with Translink to encourage people to “Dine the Line”, and discover culinary offerings along the Skytrain routes and via transit as Vancouver is a very walkable, bikeable and transit friendly city. The city is also home to Western Canada's largest Culinary Festival Dine Out Vancouver, which happens over 17 days in January with special Prix Fixe menus in over 300 restaurants and countless events from collaboration dinners to pairing events , street food celebrations and brunches.
Vegan Eats also feature including The Acorn, an award winning vegetable forward restaurant and bar located at the heart of Vancouvers Main Street where diners seeking some of the best and most creative meals made from fresh, locally sourced ingredients congregate , Heirloom, which opened its doors back in 2012 inside one of Vancouver's many beautiful heritage buildings and which offers a contemporary dining experience coupled with a creative current menu and Virtuous Pie, located in Vancouvers's historic Chinatown where meatless pizza lovers can find some of the city's best Pie. This popular pizza joint also serves up dairy free ice cream, organic Kombucha and local craft beer.
Indigenous cuisine in British Columbia
A growing number of indigenous chefs are sharing modern takes on their traditional cuisine. These include for example Keenawaii's Kitchen on Haida Gwaii where Haida chef Roberta Olson serves wild, local food gathered by her family and where Ocean House is a luxury resort that serves creative food focused on local ingredients freshly sourced. Or for example, Thunderbird Café located at the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre in Whistler, which offers a daily indigenous inspired menu . Meanwhile back in Vancouver there is Salmon n'Bannock , the only First Nations restaurant in Vancouver and the Mr. Bannock Food Truck serving fusion Indigenous cuisine.
The Savoury Green Onion Cake - Alberta
The savoury Green Onion Cake has its roots in northern china and is now Edmonton, Alberta's unofficial dish. Siu To came from northern China and started his first restaurant in 1978. His green onion cakes were an immediate hit. No other restaurants in Edmonton were serving them at that time so anyone who wanted them had to go to Happy Garden or his other restaurant, Mongolian Food Experience. The cakes weren't truly an Edmonton staple until they were sold widely at festivals like Taste of Edmonton, Folk Festival or the Fringe Theatre Festival. To this day, at every Edmonton Festival, the green onion cake stall always has the longest queue. Nowadays many restaurants in the city are now selling green Onion Cakes, both in the shape of pancakes or a doughnut type shape.
Siu has a small restaurant north of downtown called Green Onion Cake Man, and has even created a YouTube video to teach people how to make the delicious pancake.
Lobster Crawl Festival and Trail - Nova Scotia
Fishing is a cornerstone industry sector in Nova Scotia. Today, the export value of Nova Scotia fish and seafood is over $1billion annually, with products exported to almost 90 countries worldwide. Nova Scotia produces one quarter of Canada's seafood, the largest proportion of any province. The lobster grounds off southwestern Nova Scotia are amongst the richest in the world and lobster is fished and available fresh in the province 365 days a year. Lobster Season in Southwest Nova Scotia in particular runs from the last week of November to the last week in May and lobsters caught in this area account for approximately 40% of all lobster caught in Canada annually.
The Lobster Crawl takes place in the month of February along the South Shore of Nova Scotia and activities include Lobster Roll Challenge, Lobster Crawl Beer Fest, tour a Lobster Pound, spend a day with a lobster fisherman – and of course, lots of Lobster dishes to try.
The Lobster Trail brings together a collection of restaurant, retail and fisheries experiences that highlight the provinces favourite crustacean – the lobster! Discover some of the freshest lobster dishes and lobster related experiences the province has to offer www.novascotiallobstertrail.com whilst not forgetting the Chowder Trail and the Good Cheer Trail:
www.novascotiachowdertrail.com
www.novescotiaculinarytrails.com/trails/goodcheer
Le Chemin du Terrior – Quebec
The Laurentians is a gastronomic destination par excellence, offering many local products that give chefs impressive results. The “Chemin du Terroir' is a signposted trail that takes you through 226 KM of country backroads and byways with discoveries at every turn. The Laurentian Terrior, features a wealth of agricultural tourism , but that's not all ; the regions heritage, culture and history are also presented as you make your way through a delightful rural route. The visit takes you through the Basses – Laurentides and Argenteuil via a route that changes with each season. The locals await you with open arms to help you savour and experience the Laurentians. (www.laurentides.com/en/chemin-du-terrior-0)
The route includes the Vignoble et Microbrasserie Les Ventes d'Anges – a vineyard and a microbrewery or if you visit in September and October you can include the Squash Interpretation Centre – where yes, you can learn about more than 40 varieties of gourds – whilst the bistro will tempt taste buds and delight foodies with a 100% squash menu (Year round) www.laurentides.com/en/members/vignoble-et-microbrasseries-les-vents-dange
Renowned local restaurants include Choux Gras Brasseries in Tremblant , La Quintessance Restaurant where the chef and his team pride themselves on delivering an extraordinary culinary experience artfully blending styles and Laurentian flavours, and lastly Patrick Bermand Restaurant.
www.fairmont.com/tremblant/dining/choux-gras-brasserie-culinaire
www.hotelquintesseance.com/en/restaurant/restaurant-la-quintessance
For more media information please contact Ms. Nim Singh, singh.nim@destinationcanada.com 0207 389 9983 (not for publication)
