UPDATE, 3pm Nov 9, 2009: Congratulations to Lesley Chang for winning the Chocolat Ce Soir ticket giveaway worth $250 at the bottom of this post. This event is now sold out – thanks everyone for your help in spreading the word!

In the beginning of October, Eagranie Yuh of The Well-Tempered Chocolatier mentioned that she was readying for her presentation at a local chocolate festival.

“There’s a chocolate festival in the Lower Mainland?!” exclaimed I, my trigger-happy sweet tooth already wiggling in delight.

“Yes, a three-week festival starting in mid-October…but there hasn’t been a lot of promo [on Twitter and Facebook],” she replied.

I returned home that evening to look it up. Sure enough, an event called the West Coast Chocolate Festival was putting on its 7th appearance in Greater Vancouver after a one year hiatus. At the helm for 2009 is festival director Dawn Donahue, whom I have worked with in the past year to cover the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame Gala, the Culinary Tourism conference, and a number of charity golf events that benefit the BC Hospitality Foundation.

Not just a food fest

On the face, this festival looks like any other food extravaganza: a myriad of events peppered from October 15th through November 10th with a truly sinful theme of chocolate. Chocolate and scotch; chocolate and high tea; chocolate and beer; chocolate with wine; cooking with chocolate… if you can think up an angle for feeding your mind and mouth on chocolate, there was an event geared towards it.

What caught my attention is that this festival is jointly a fundraiser and a mentorship program for youth. Entirely volunteer-run, the West Coast Chocolate Festival is staffed by a team of mentors in event management, who take on interns ranging from high school through university, and put them through the ringer so they can gain real-world experience in organizing a massive, complex event.

This struck a chord with me. Some of my earliest forays into project management involved running events such as SFU’s 2001 Career Days fair and other university outreach events. Having recently been mentored by a terrific project manager through the Project Management Institute and wanting to pay it forward, I contacted Dawn and arranged to be a last-minute volunteer mentor for their social media effort this year (and hopefully for the next one).

Chocolate fun to date

In the process of re-jigging their Twitter and Facebook presences and exchanging emails with the volunteer team on social media tactics, I had the pleasure of attending a number of festival events, all of which I would shell out cash to attend again next year in a heartbeat. Here are my highlights in photo format:

Salon du Chocolat, October 15th

Single Malt Scotch and Chocolate, October 16th

Chocolate High Tea, October 17th

Cooking with Chocolate, October 23rd

Chocolate fun ahead

There are still a few events to enjoy before the West Coast Chocolate Festival winds down next week. Browse through them and grab your tickets while they’re hot.

A Tealicious Chocolate Tasting

Sunday, November 8th, 2-4:30pm
Heritage Tea House | 2224 Clarke St, Port Moody

Tea Master Nancy Prokosh of Tealicious will guide you through this afternoon tea tasting offering a variety of pairings from green tea to black, white chocolate to dark; the event will also include light refreshments and entertainment by emerging local talent. $35 per person.

Charlie’s Chocolate Factory Tours

Monday, November 9th, 2009
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
9am, 10am, 11am tours
Charlie’s Chocolate Factory | 3746 Canada Way, Burnaby

See the famous Chocolate River in person and learn about the History of Chocolate and the Owner, Charlie and his Factory. Pre-book your  spot online at $5 a person, as no tickets are sold at the door. For groups of 15 to 20, please call Maria at 604-818-1849 or maria@chocolatefestival.ca – a private tour will be booked for your group. (Ages 6 or above.)

Chocolat Ce Soir

Tuesday, November 10th, 5:30-10:30pm
Horizons Restaurant | 100 Centennial Way, Burnaby Mountain

The festival will close with an upscale dinner gala hosted at Horizons Restaurant on Burnaby Mountain. Featuring an exquisite five-course menu designed by Chef John Garrett of Horizons and Maître Chocolatier Wim Tas of ChocolaTas, the dinner will incorporate West Coast cuisine paired with fabulous wines, and of course, chocolate! This signature event is sure to top off a fantastic festival with a top of the mountain experience. $125.00 per person.

Chocolate High Tea

Due to popular demand, Schokolade Café has added extra Saturday chocolate high teas beyond the duration of the West Coast Chocolate Festival. Your tea experience includes a platter of chocolate petite fours, mini chocolate dessert pralines, tea sandwiches, savoury scones and strawberries dipped in chocolate sauce. Accompany it with your choice of Spicy Ancient Aztec drinking chocolate or herbal tea. $25 per person.

November 14 – 11am, 1pm, 3pm seatings
November 21 – 1pm, 3pm seatings
November 28 – 11am, 1pm, 3pm seatings
December 5 – 11am, 1pm, 3pm seatings
December 12 – 1pm, 3pm seatings
December 19 – 11am, 1pm, 3pm seatings

Schokolade Café | 2263 E. Hastings Street, Vancouver

Win 2 tickets to the Chocolat Ce Soir festival closer

No matter whether you’ve been to every festival event or have just heard about this today, we’re giving you a chance to win two tickets to the finale: a luxurious multi-course, chocolate-themed meal at Horizons Restaurant on Tuesday, November 10th.

How to win

We’ll randomly draw the winner of these two tickets–$250 worth of eating, drinking, and chocolate decadence–at noon on Monday, November 9, 2009.

You don’t have to do much to be eligible. By the deadline, anyone following @chocolatefest09 on Twitter or is a Fan of the West Coast Chocolate Festival on Facebook automatically gets one ballot into the draw.

If you’d like to increase your odds, help us spread the word about the remaining events on the West Coast Chocolate Festival calendar. Each of the actions below that you do before Monday awards you one more ballot for the draw, so if you’re our biggest promoter, it’s more likely that your name will be the one picked!

• Retweet this message to your friends on Twitter.
• Tweet a #FollowFriday recommendation for @chocolatefest09 (tag it with #wccf09 too).
• Tweet event links to any of the upcoming Chocolate Festival events (tag your tweets with #wccf09).
• Share any of the upcoming Chocolate Festival events through your Facebook profile.
• Upload photos you’ve taken during this year’s festival to the Facebook page.
• Write a recap of your festival experiences on our Facebook page’s Wall.
• Publish a blog post about your festival experience and tell us where to find it.

Guarantee your seat at Chocolat Ce Soir

If you don’t want to leave your invite to Chocolate Ce Soir to chance, buy your dinner tickets online.

Good luck, everyone, and thank you in advance on behalf of the West Coast Chocolate Festival!

My 30th birthday called for another Birthday Cake of Immortality project. This time, we decided to re-create Ghostbusters’ Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in – of course – homemade marshmallow. No corners were cut: it was 3D with a little bit of help from my large cutting board to stay upright, with legs made of marshmallow fondant so not to collapse in an immediate heap during the party.

What you’ll need to make this yourself

Ingredients per marshmallow batch (2 batches made a week ahead)

We needed two batches of marshmallow for this project. The first gave us the first dome halves of the head and body plus Mr. Stay Puft’s hat. The second gave us the other halves of the head and body with enough leftover batter for a mini-muffin pan that would mold us cute little arm segments.

• 1/2 cup white/light corn syrup or the equivalent in liquid glucose
• 2 cups of granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 cup measurements of very (ice) cold water
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 egg whites
• 2.5 tablespoons of gelatin (~47.5mL)

Ingredients for marshmallow fondant (1 batch, split into several colours, made days ahead)

Since we needed a denser base for the legs of our marshmallow man, we decided to employ marshmallow fondant for the legs. We also reserved a bit of this fondant, tinged with the appropriate food colouring, to give us Stay Puft’s clothing and hat detail.

• 1 16 ounce bag of mini marshmallows
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 lbs confectioners’ or icing sugar (~8 cups)

Ingredients for royal icing (1 batch on Assembly Day)

We used royal icing to glue together all the body parts. In retrospect, we should have allowed the body to set in the freezer so that the icing froze or dried before we made the cake upright. Keep this in mind if you re-attempt this project.

• 3 ounces (pasteurized) egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners’ or icing sugar

Supplies

Most marshmallow recipes call for a 9×13 baking pan, resulting in about 96 cubes of 1″ marshmallow goodness. Since we were creating a monster, we had to figure out how to mold our creation into round shapes instead. This is the arsenal we wound up collecting for this project:

• Parchment paper
• 3 round bowls for molds – we used 2 stainless steel mixing bowl for head + body and a tiny ramekin for the hat
• Mini-muffin pan or piping bag for arm segment molds
• Piping bag for marshmallow fondant / icing detailing
• 2 large cutting boards
• A heckofalot of icing or confectioner’s sugar at the ready (at least one package, but have 2 just in case)
• Cooking spray or vegetable oil
• Vegetable shortening
• Stand mixer with balloon whisk attachment
• Hand mixer
• 3 quart saucepan
• Candy thermometer (one that works!) and knowledge of what the candy soft ball stage looks like

Making the marshmallow

Grease molds with oil and line bottom with parchment paper. Sprinkle crazily with icing sugar till it looks like a blanket of snow. Better to have more icing sugar than you need, because marshmallow is extremely sticky.

Pour 1/2 cup of ice cold water into your stand mixer’s bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin on top and let bloom while you move on to the next step.

In your (small to medium sized) saucepan, stir together the sugar, salt, corn syrup or glucose, and remaining cold water with a wooden spoon. Set element to low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium and stop stirring, using a combination of your candy thermometer and cold water tests to stop at the point where your sugar syrup reaches the soft ball stage.

Don’t rely just on a thermometer reading like we did for our first batch. Your syrup should be clear, around the 230-240F mark depending on your altitude, and should form a pliant ball when dropped into cold water. You’ve gone way too far if your syrup turns colour.

Pour your sugar syrup over the bloomed gelatin. It’ll start to bubble and froth so just be careful not to get hit by the candy splatter.

Set your bowl into the stand mixer and gear your whisk up to high (8-10 on a Kitchenaid mixer), starting slowing from Stir and making your way up to high speeds in increments. This will let your super hot sugar cool without splattering you and your home with liquid that will burn your delicate spots.

Once up to speed, whip for approximately 6 minutes until your mixture has tripled in volume, turned marshmallow white, and starts to pull away from the edge of the mixing bowl like chewing gum from the underside of a desk.

During those 6 minutes, whip your egg whites in a separate bowl with your hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Don’t do this step any earlier or you’ll find that your egg whites will deflate or re-liquidate on you.

Slip the vanilla and whipped egg whites into your stand mixer batter and whip just long enough to incorporate the three together into one silky smooth batter of marshmallow yum. It should look like this:

Pour into your readied molds, using a spatula if you need to, but try not to get anything else in the batter — it’ll stick to everything!

If you have extra batter left over, pour it into a prepped rectangular baking pan sized small enough to contain the batter in an inch-high layer.

Dust with another generous layer of icing sugar and place in your fridge, uncovered, at least 3 hours or overnight.

When your molds are set, take out your icing sugar and an airtight container system that you can use to store your marshmallow in the fridge. Dip a small, sharp knife into icing sugar and pry the marshmallow out of the molds. Remove the parchment paper from your marshmallow and dust the areas that were in contact with the mold with more icing sugar. Close your container and place in your fridge until assembly. These babies will keep like this for up to one week.

Making the marshmallow fondant

I don’t have pictures of this process as Jason had followed this recipe and this two-part video tutorial from the comfort of his own home. Hayley, our resident fondant expert, did email the following steps and tips to share with you:

1. Prepare a workspace: Using shortening, grease a counter top or cutting board large enough to knead the fondant. Keep shortening accessible and in a container from which you can scoop out additional shortening with your fingers (I usually put about 1/2 c. in a small bowl).  Open your bag of icing sugar.
2. Put entire bag of marshmallows in a microwave-proof bowl and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of water.
3. Melt marshmallows in 20-30 second intervals, stirring between each.
4. When all the lumps are melted, start adding icing sugar in intervals, stirring gently to incorporate.
5. After several additions of icing sugar, the dough will become stiff enough to knead. You will use almost the entire bag of icing sugar.
6. You are now ready to start kneading. Grease your hands generously! Front and back of both hands plus in between your fingers.
7. Remove mixing spoon and with greased hands, begin kneading in the bowl until all the incing sugar from the bowl has been incorporated.
8. Remove dough from bowl and knead on greased cutting board/counter top, adding additional icing sugar as needed.
9. Keep your workspace well greased! Until your dough comes together, it will be very sticky and re-greasing of both your hands and kneading area will be necessary.
10. If your fondant looks tough or dry, add additional shortening.
11. Knead until the dough comes togther and is smooth in texture.

Your end product should be smooth and even in texture, very pliable but strong. Rub fondant with a small amount of shortening on both sides and cover well in plastic wrap until ready to use.

Game Day finishing touches

Piecing together the head and body

Prepare a batch of royal icing using this Alton Brown recipe or something similar. Spread a layer of icing on each of the flat sides of the 4 domes you have for the head and body. Form a large sphere for the body and a smaller sphere for the head.

Unlike what we did, place spheres uncovered in the fridge or freezer to let the icing harden as you assemble the rest of Mr. Stay Puft.

Marshmallow fondant and icing details

Based on the size of your body, warm up and shape flattened discs of marshmallow fondant to create 2 stacks of fondant legs, like above. We used 75% of our fondant batch to form 6 discs.

The rest of the fondant was then tinged generously with blue food colouring and rolled out into a 1/8 or 1/4″ thick layer, from which we cut a large rectangle for Stay Puft’s bib and a long stripe to wrap around the base of his hat. We draped the bib over the top of the body and piped lines of white royal icing to achieve his sailor panache.

We bought a tube  of brown gel and red icing paste to paint on eyes, a mouth, and the red ribbon at the bottom of the blue bib. You can do the same or choose different methods to attach these details to your marshmallow man.

Final assembly

On a cutting board wrapped in cling film, we attached the head, body, hat, and fondant legs to each other using the remaining royal icing. We pierced the body with two bamboo skewers where the arms should go, and stacked the arm segments from our mini-muffin molds onto the sticks until we achieved an arm length we liked. The final arm was not skewered through all the way and was stacked with the non-flat side out to imply ghostly fingershapes.

It’s Alive!

Throughout our house party where we served him up, Mr. Stay Puft remained horizontal on said cutting board until we were ready for dessert. We then used two cutting boards to get him upright for 5 minutes – long enough for our guests to take rounds of photos with him intact.

Before long, our hunger and the non-set state of our royal icing caused our dear marshmallow man to be pulled apart and knifed into 1″ segments, to be served on the cutting board along with graham crackers and mini-Rolos for a s’moretastic cake alternative for my 30th birthday.

The celebration

Reaching its first anniversary, small Franco-German bistro La Brasserie cleared its tables and opened its doors for an Oktoberfest celebration earlier this month. Men in lederhosen, women in dirndl, and a whole lot of (partially alcohol induced) platonic love were ready to greet you at the door.

The first part of the evening was by media-invite only. Established magazines to new local food bloggers made it a varied crowd bound by a common passion.

The food

While La Brasserie offers a special limited-time Oktoberfest menu, on this day a slightly different selection of German favourites was made available: suckling pig sandwiches, in-bone roast chicken, soft pretzels, bratwurst, and the expected selection of beers on tap.

If the term ’suckling pig’ sounds deliciously disturbing, that’s because it is. Think pork veal. Think succulent pork veal on rye with a healthy dose of sauerkraut. Now imagine that available on a kaiser roll, too.

Hungry yet? Yeah, me too. It’s funny how things that taste so good and comforting in sandwich form can taste even better in mini-hamburger form.

The pretzels were a definite hit, with the Tiny Bites team gobbling up more than our fair share. They were leaning a touch on the salty side for my tastes, but the quality of the fresh-baked breading more than made up for it. If you’re ever lucky enough to see these on the menu, order them quick because they’re not likely to show up again. To paraphrase one of the cooks, ‘they’re a bitch to roll’.

The wurst was far from the worst (yuk, yuk) and all together it brought back fond memories of my brief stint in Germany, where my typical backpacker’s lunch consisted of street vendor provided bratwurst, pretzels, and beer.

Only, this time I didn’t have to first ask, “Sprechen Sie Englisch?”

La Brasserie
1091 Davie Street | Vancouver
(604) 568-6499

The Question

Yessenia writes,

Would you be able to advise where I can purchase good maple syrup as I will be visiting Vancouver and travelling from Australia and would like original maple syrup. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

Our Answer

Hello Yessenia,

I personally just go to a neighbourhood grocer and pick up whatever brand and grade (there are 3 grades: light / medium #1, amber #2, and dark #3) are on sale at the time. Avoid the tourist shops – they’ll totally rip you off with ones in fancy bottles and containers shaped like maple leafs. Good for gifts, I guess, but that doesn’t mean the quality is there.

Twitter crowdsourcing

When put to Twitter, this is what the early responders in Vancouver’s Twitteratti had to say on the subject:

• @VanMarkets: Maples Sugar Shack will be at the West End Market today – his family has a sugar bush in Que. & he processes here in BC.
• @buzzbishop: Something with “Made in Quebec” on the label.
• @casualbaker: I’ve also heard that the Edible BC store at Granville Island market stocks BC syrup from time to time…

Your Answer

What brand of maple syrup do you enjoy most? Where do you get your supply? Comment here with your feedback for Yessenia.

Last week Chilean winemakers descended on Vancouver en masse for the Wines of Chile tasting at the Sutton Hotel.  The Wines of Chile event took place in three parts; the Trade Tasting in the afternoon, the Consumer Tasting Reception, and a stroke-of-genius winemakers’ dinner where guests were bussed to one of fourteen different restaurants to sit down with the winemakers to sample the wines paired with local food.

Trade Tasting

Winemakers and reps watched closely as people filled the huge room to swirl, sniff and sip some of the best wine that Chile has to offer. Faced with so much wine – there were 30 wineries represented! – I decided I needed a strategy. Notebook in hand, I checked in with some Twitter folk and started in on the Sauvignon Blancs, the primary white in Chile.

One of my favorite whites was the first one I sampled – Vina Ventisquero’s Yali Sauvignon Blanc – a crisp and light wine with notes of grapefruit. And one I’ve had before and tried again anyways is the Morandé, a fruitier wine reminiscent of melon. I enjoyed everything I tried from this winery, but their House of Morandé Reserve (80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot) is particularly exquisite. Chocolatey and floral, it’s complex with a long finish.

I managed to make it through to the dark and decadent Nebbiolo and Syrah Nebbiolo from Botalcura (unfortunately not available in Canada) that I am still thinking of a week later. Ruby red, they both tasted similarly fruity, like fresh strawberries out of the garden with a bit of dirt still clinging to the leaves.  Delicious. The nebbiolo has an intensity and spiciness to it that the mellower blend lacks, but I’m still not sure which one I like better.

Consumer Reception

After the trade tasting wrapped up, Karen and I were joined by her husband and our friend Annika and we circled around again, stopping in at the wineries I’d missed as well as a couple of the favorites.

One I’d overlooked was Cono Sur, the “bicycle” wine. I hadn’t tasted it at the trade tasting because I’ve had it so many times before, but here we tasted the whole range, including all three pinot noirs.  I was enchanted by the explanation for the bicycles on the label; in Chile the workers at the vineyard come to work on bikes and the winemakers wanted to give them a tribute. Equally enchanting was the Vision Pinot Noir, a single vineyard wine with cherry and chocolate notes, which features a goose on the bottle, possibly also as a tribute.

Winemakers Dinner at Diva at the Met

Our dinner was at Diva at the Met, hosted by winemakers Emiliana and Cousino Macul. Introducing themselves, they joked that the old was paired with the young, Emiliana having been founded in the 80’s, whereas Cousino Macul has been in the wine business since 1856.  I was interested to see how these two would work together and excited because I had tasted these wines earlier in the day and enjoyed them. I was also excited because  it seems like a very long time since I’ve been to Diva or dined from a kitchen captained by Jeff van Geest. All makings of a fantastic evening.

We had spotted Executive Chef Dino Renaerts and Executive Sous Chef Jeff van Geest tasting some of Emiliana’s wines, but we already knew what was being paired with what:

Menu

• Stony Paradise Heirloom Tomato Salad, paired with Vinedos Emiliana S.A. Adobe Sauvignon Blanc 2009
• Halibut and Spot Prawn Ceviche, paired with Cousino Macul Sauvignon Gris 2008
• Spice Braised Chicken in Beer and Cilantro, paired with Vinedos Emiliana S.A. Coyam 2007 and Cousino Macul Antiguas Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
• Dry Rubbed and Grilled Flank Steak, paired with Emiliana Novas Winemaker Series Syrah 2006 and Cousino Macul Finis Terrae Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot 2007
• Cinnamon Churros with fried pastry crème

First up, the heirloom tomato salad was resplendent in bright greens and oranges and the soft boiled egg perched on one of the tomatoes was a delectable touch. Broken, its creaminess balanced perfectly with the Adobe Sauvignon Blanc’s clean, clear citrus and apple notes.

Cousino Macul’s Sauvignon Gris had intrigued me at the trade tasting with its honeyed fullness. Tasting of tropical fruits and pineapple, the crispness cut through the oiliness of the halibut ceviche and was absorbed by the accompanying corn nuts and crackers.

Surprisingly, the braised chicken was probably my favorite dish of the evening. Surprising because I often don’t appreciate chicken and while I had liked Emiliana’s Coyam on its own, it hadn’t stood out as a favorite. Paired with spicy shredded meat, however, this gorgeous ruby wine shone. Black fruit and berries, followed by a hint of chocolate on the palate, it’s a blend of primarily syrah and carmenere and one I will keep an eye out for again. The chicken, sitting on top of a bed of polenta in a foamy beer sauce and topped with pale yucca chips, was simply fantastic and I wish I could get my hands on some more of it.

This dish had two wines paired with it, so we also sampled the Antiguas Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon by Cousino Macul. This was a fuller-bodied wine with spicier notes than the Coyam and in reverse, I enjoyed it better on its own at the tasting.

The last course was also paired with a wine from each winery and so we sipped Syrah from Emiliana and the Finis Terrae blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Cousino Macul with bites of flank steak. The steak was thinly sliced with a salsa verde and veal reduction and the complex flavours balanced perfectly. I loved the Finis Terrae, rich in both colour and flavour. It tasted of plum, coffee and chocolate and matched the complexity of the meal bit for bit. The syrah was also delicious with more plum notes. It’s a cool-climate syrah, aged fifteen months in oak barrels and the body stood up well to the flavourful meat.  I savoured both longingly into dessert.

Diva at the Met
645 Howe Street | Downtown
(604) 602-7788

October birthdays of note

First off, I’m turning the big 3-0 on October 28, and am still figuring out how I’m going to celebrate the occasion besides dressing up as Juno and baking another Birthday Cake of Immortality. Any ideas?

Wild Rice celebrates its 8th year tonight and you’re invited! Come by the restaurant on October 1st from 8pm onwards – I may see you there.

La Brasserie is also celebrating its first birthday this weekend. As is fitting for a Franco-German restaurant, they’re bringing out the lederhosen and other Oktoberfest goodies from 7pm – midnight on Sunday, October 4th. We’ll be there too, so find us and introduce yourself.

October 1-11: Okanagan Fall Wine Festival

A bit outside of Vancouver’s borders, but worth the day trip if you are a lover of BC wine and have someplace to work off the alcohol sweats.

We’ll be in the area during the last weekend of the festival for the Kelowna Marathon and a Thanksgiving reunion with the scattered Hamilton family. If the runners of the group are up for libations before the big run, you may find us at the Grape Stomp or the WAM Festival on Saturday, October 9th.

Check out the full Fall Wine Festival agenda >

October 1-31: Eat & Drink BC

The BC Restaurant & Foodservices Association (BCRFA) is blitzing our province with a huge “buy local, eat local” initiative: Eat & Drink BC. This month-long campaign means 31 days of menu specials and consumer packages (called BC Bundles) across the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, and beyond. Yay, us!

With the sheer volume of growers, suppliers, retailers, and service providers participating in this event, BCRFA has made it easy for us as consumers to see what offers are available – they’re categorized down the page by region and across the page by budget.

Look up the specials near you that fit your wallet and support BC! >

October 3-16: Sustenance Festival

The first annual Sustenance Festival aims to depict our love of food through arts and culture…and food, of course. From festival start on October 3rd to their wrap-up on World Food Day on October 16th, this event claims to have something for everyone.

We’re planning to cover as much of this festival as we can, including, but not limited to:

• El Maiz Es Nuestra Vida exhibit from Oaxaca [wah-HA-cuh]
• 100 Mile Diet Society’s food shed map of the Lower Mainland
• Jackie Connelly’s Food Photography 101 workshop on October 7th
• Oooh, Food! “adult night” on October 8th
• Tableland screening on October 14th
• Family Day on October 10th

We hope that our media coverage will be supplemented by updates from our friends over at Foodists, and by the feedback you provide about the workshops and events that you’re able to catch.

Check out the full festival lineup at the Roundhouse Community Centre website >

October 4: Township 7 Harvest Picking Party

If you can’t make it all the way out to the Okanagan for the wine fest, consider a day trip to Langley this Sunday to help local winery Township 7 with their grape harvest efforts. To thank you for coming out early and picking grapes with the team, you get a hot chili lunch, coffee / tea / wine to drink, and a bottle to take home. Space is limited so let them know that you’re coming as soon as you can.

(If you can’t make it out to the harvest party, come by for their Fall Release Party on October 10th and 11th.)

View the Township 7 Harvest Picking Party details and RSVP >

October 14 & 15: Coffee and Tea Show + 2009 Canadian Barista Championship

Whether you’re a Coffee Geek, a tea aficionado, or you bat for both teams, this 2-day industry trade show will have something for you. Don’t worry if you’re not “industry” – I’m not, and I’m still planning to be there to catch the final day of the 2009 Canadian Barista Championship and cheer on our Western Canada reps.

If I weren’t missing half the fun by being in the Okanagan, I’d be seriously considering the Certified Tea Sommelier program: a 2-day Basic Level course put on by the Tea Association of Canada. I’ll be popping in on the 15th to snap photos and glean what I can…perhaps it’ll help me do a better job of reporting on future installments of our High Tea Series!

Want to catch some of the action? Register using the coupon code Online9 for free Trade Show (Package C) access, which grants you show floor privileges and Barista Championship spectatorship for both days.

Visit the Canadian Coffee and Tea Show website for full details >

October 17 & 18: UBC Apple Festival

Lawrence and Hayley mentioned how they loved last year’s UBC Apple Festival when I was hanging out with them at the Gastown Blues & Chile Fest, so we made tentative plans to check it out together this year.

From what I understand, the UBC Botanical Garden gets transformed into a consumer classroom, market, and tasting room for over 60 varieties of apples, from new breeds to crowd favourites to BC heritage varietals.

General admission is $2 for adults and free for children under 12. To get in on the apple tasting, bring $3 more dollars, and even more if you want to take home some of the ~30,000 lbs of apples that they’ll have on sale.

Info, transit, and parking directions for the 2009 UBC Apple Festival >

October 15-31: Taste of Yaletown

Overlapping with Eat & Drink BC is Yaletown’s 5th annual restaurant extravaganza. As with previous years, Yaletown eateries will be offering $25, $35, and $45 set menus. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society.

Menus should be announced some time today so bookmark this page >

Submit more October food happenings

Got wind of any other events in October that a food lover cannot miss? Post the details below in a comment for all of us to see!

As much fun as that was, I am nowhere near as fortunate or generous as Victor (Pick) Tang, who this July won our Top Donor challenge during Blogathon 2009. His $180 individual donation was rewarded with a 3-restaurant progressive dinner with Top Table.

Name doesn’t ring a bell? They’re the group that operates Blue Water Cafe, CinCin, West, and Whistler’s Araxi (which impressed chef Gordon Ramsay enough to sing its praises on The Hour and make it the focal point of this season’s Hell’s Kitchen).

I asked Victor to let me know how his dinner went. He went a step further and took Gigi as his +1.  You may already know Gigi; she’s a Vancouver food blogger and the woman behind Ho Yummy. This week, she and Victor shared the highlights of their evening over a series of three posts.

1. Top Table Progressive Dinner Part 1 – Blue Water Cafe
2. Top Table Progressive Dinner Part 2 – West
3. Top Table Progressive Dinner Part 3 – CinCin Ristorante + Bar

Check out her recaps and photos and drool along with me.

It was therefore with much anticipation and carnivorous craving that I headed to the 2009 Gastown Blues and Chili Festival, a first-year block party on Abbott between Cordova and Water. I was joined by friends Lawrence and Hayley, who graced this blog once before with their participation in Operation Operation. Here is our collective story.

Festival observations

We arrived an hour into the festivities, where the cordoned area was already jam-packed with musicians, music lovers, cooks, judges, chili, and eager taste testers. At the front of it all was the beer garden and the sound stage, kept constantly occupied with live blues performances or the emcee stylings of BT’s Dawn Chubai.

Neighbouring the doors of the Revel Room was the ticket booth for the chili cook-off tastings. One could buy a $15 bracelet for 2oz samples of all the entries, or be more selective with $1/$3 tickets for 2oz/8oz quantities. Our threesome opted for the bracelets and proceeded directly to the white tents scattered throughout the block, the scent of red meat, spices, and peppers already getting our appetites in gear.

As we quickly discovered, the 2oz samples were more than enough to appraise each contender. In fact, 2 ounces proved far too generous; we were absolutely stuffed after only 10 booths, and had to ask for half portions even after the first three. The 1-hour breather we decided to take at the nearby Gastown Farmers Market was essential for some culinary contrast, chair time, and iced tea.

Chilied out

When we returned at 3 o’clock, we were dismayed to see the remaining tents devoid of food and cookery. Left on those tables were the red checkered tablecloths and apologetic “sold out” signage. Had we known that taking a chili break would result in a shut-out, I think we would have forged ahead after our 10 samples. It was disappointing, yes, but being quite satiated from our earlier tastings and the bounty of the farmers market, we were more saddened that festival visitors arriving in the last 4 hours of the event would be denied such tasty dining.

There were still eating options available to latecomers, and plenty of blues stylings, of course. Restaurant staff returned to their home bases to welcome the converted for dinner. On Abbott Street, the ticket booth now sold watermelon slices for a buck. The beer garden by the Revel Room was still in full swing, and there was still even a few scoops of chili available from some of the original competitors by the time we left at 4pm.

Suggestions for next time

It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that the chili ran out because of those $15 bracelets and the $3 portions of 8 whopping ounces. With the crowds, it would have been too easy for bracelet wearers to return for seconds to their favourite booths before their servers got suspicious. And the value was certainly there to take advantage of; I would have personally paid up to $5 each for an 8oz portion of the top 3 entries. Paying $15 for 18×2 = 36 theoretical ounces of chili goodness seemed a crime!

Next time around, we’d like to suggest stamp cards in lieu of bracelets to control portions.  It may work better to ensure that all festival visitors get exactly one shot to try a particular booth’s chili (fair to the booth, fair to the rest of the crowd, methinks). If a restaurant excels in its chili concoction, I daresay they merit extra payment for additional portions, no?

For festival goers, here are our tips for the next Gastown Blues and Chili Festival (which I truly hope is something that happens next year):

• Bring your own (tea)spoon and save a little plastic, pretty please.
• Bring a bottle of your favourite coolant. The lineup for bottled water was the same as the one for ticket sales, and you don’t want to be caught unprepared with fire in your mouth.
• Don’t wear white. Hayley and I did and were too worried about our clothes to be fully relaxed. Lawrence wisely chose a white shirt striped with red and orange, which he claims could have camouflaged any spills. Sure, buddy.
• Arrive early and hungry. The later you get there, the less likely you’ll get a shot to have chili with your blues.
• If you’re coming with a partner and the festival still offers a $15 bracelet option with 2oz samples…share it. It was a hell of a lot of chili, even for Lawrence, who once scarfed down at greasy spoons with the best of them. We were done after 10 ounces!

Chili tasting notes

Although we didn’t get to try all the chili that was on hand for the cook-off, all three of us felt like we got our money’s worth sampling the 10 that we did get to taste. We share our thoughts below.

Alibi Room

Our first chili try of the day incorporated three different types of shredded bison meat. Nice heat in the back of the throat with a gamey finish that didn’t fully manifest until our 2oz sample was completely inhaled. It appealed to me overall but I suspected that it could be forgotten as the tastings wore on. Lawrence found the flavour to be a little thin.

Black Frog

Black Frog’s entry was a chili verde made with diced pork, tomatillo, corn, and other greenstuffs. Clean and refreshing, making it an unforgettable sample amongst the more unusual offerings had that day. This was my and Hayley’s favourite out of the ones we tried and Lawrence’s runner-up choice. Points were docked for a lack of true smoky or BBQ essence and its watery first impression.

The Diamond

A memorable concoction containing bratwurst, chipotle, porter, bourbon, and dark chocolate. The chocolate was the standout ingredient, combining with the liquors to produce molasses and hickory notes. All three of us agreed that this was easily our favourite of the “looks like a chili, tastes like a chili” contenders.

Boneta

Chili-cum-gumbo of pork rib, chicken, Mexican chorizo, and what Hayley guesses are Roman beans. With its pale complexion and lack of heat, it resembled stew much more than it did anything else. With the high expectations we had for Boneta, this entry did disappoint. Perhaps it was a deliberate ploy to garner greater attention for The Diamond, younger sister to Boneta. Who really knows for sure…

Lamplighter

What a bland, soggy mess. This chili seeped through our double-paper-cup containers before we were even halfway through our tasting. I didn’t even think to take a photo, so unimpressed was I.

Lawrence said it best: “This must have been made with the pigs that didn’t make it onto Noah’s Ark.”

La Casita

We didn’t fare much better at La Casita. Bonus points for the shredded cheese that topped our samples, providing a delightful ooziness in the mouth. But those same points get docked for the blatent cheese-for-your-vote exchange and the overall impression of “cafeteria-style chili” that this entry imparted.

Chill Winstons

It’s easy to see why the Chill Winstons booth won the popular vote. It was colourful, friendly, aesthetically pleasing in an Earls’ Girls kind of way, and was the only booth in our experience to announce that their secret ingredient was love.

Besides the love, we found rum, Red Stripe beer, and shredded pork in the mix. Lawrence thought it needed corn, kick, and a bit more ingredient breadth to win him over as a good chili, but we all thought that as a filling, it’d make for a terrific pulled pork sandwich.

Revel Room

Block party host Revel naturally entered into this chili cook-off. Their take was sweet and smoky, likely a product of the woodchip-smoked meat, Makers’ Mark bourbon, Agave nectar, and coffee bean rub. A bit of crunch and contrast provided by the slivers of celery root. If it weren’t so wet that it soaked through our paper containers, this would be higher up in our rankings.

Wild Rice

I was a little perplexed by the “3 odd balls and a ladle” sign next to the pot of chili at the Wild Rice booth, but I suppose it makes sense for an entry that contained mini meatballs of lamb, bison, and pork mince. Kudos for the East-meets-Deep-South concept…but the three of us were still seeking glimmers of Texan or Mexican flair that didn’t seem to be present in the more exotic entries.

So.cial at Le Magasin

Hayley loved this chili. She particularly enjoyed the extra-strong hit of (organic) tomato; I shared her enthusiasm for the squares of bison meat that marbled away in our mouths as we chewed. Lawrence’s sample was devoid of bison so he had to ask us whether this entry was vegetarian. He was not a fan; I was leaning towards a favourable impression despite the ketchup-red colouring and Prego-like consistency.

Results of the Gastown Blues & Chili cook-off

Our verdict wouldn’t be complete given our partial sampling. Instead, give these pieces a read for takes from the official festival judges and event promoters:

• Gastown Indeed! 16 Bowls of Chili & Blues Shut Down Abbott St. (Scout Magazine on Sept 21, 2009)
• Gastown Blues and Chili Fest (Gastown Blog on Sept 21, 2009)

Your take on the 2009 Gastown Blues & Chili Festival

Our inquiring minds want to know. Leave a comment here or catch us on Facebook or Twitter.

When Divino opened on the Drive, I was so excited. I went ito check it out immediately and then never went back. Not because there was anything at all wrong with it – I love their zebrawood tables, bright windows and delectable wine list – but I lived only a block away from it and while I’m sometimes lacking in groceries, I always have wine and cheese. So it’s been a while since I’ve been in. Now that Commercial Drive is a destination for me, I think I’ll be back a lot more.

I settled on a glass of the 2004 Muga Rioja Reserva, a peppery, almost chewy Spanish red that was perfect for an overcast afternoon. To eat, we had a bruscetta sampler plate – five different bruscettas all with different toppings, from caramelized onion and brie to carpaccio – and antipasto. The antipasto, pictured above, was a picnic-like plate of soppressatta, proscuitto, olives, gherkins, peppers, mustard and a litle  jar of salad. It was all very tasty and summery and while the wine would have paired better with red meat, I certainly had no complaints.

Divino Wine Bar
1590 Commercial Drive | Vancouver
(604) 258-0005
www.divinovancouver.com

Rumour has it they may make a whisky as well. Can’t wait.