Alas! I must admit, Canadians are much more poised and dignified versus us Statesmen when it comes to proper behavior at Food festivals where the booze is a-flowing!
Surprisingly, I didn't run into one sloppy, obnoxious joker in the Grapes & Hops section of EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival where, admittedly, I spent most of my time along with Cooking Presentations by global celebrity chefs!
Cooking Demonstrations:
3 primary stages were set up for a multitude of cooking & spirits demonstrations, including:
1. Food Network Celebrity Stage
2. International Culinary Stage & Fit to EAT Stage
3. Grapes & Hops Stage
The International Culinary & Fit to EAT Stage:
The SuperChefs Kids created delicious fresh berry parfaits and frozen yogurts for all attendees to sample!
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| SuperChefs! |
Chef Patrick Mould lead us on an expedition where we "Explored the Spice of Louisiana!"
"You have to understand the history of a culture to understand the
significance of its cuisine. Most chefs that prepare Cajun Cooking
outside the state think of it as a pile of ingredients or a style of
cooking. They don’t grasp the true meaning of this type of food
preparation. We have over 300 hundred years of cooking this particular
style of cuisine under our belt and that’s just in this part of the
world. This food is very sacred to us and we take it personally when it
is done an injustice at the stove.” -Chef Patrick Mould
Phenom, Chef Patrick presented a delicious Shrimp Creole over rice!
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| Me, posing with the crawfish and my plate of Shrimp Creole! |
Bite of Vancouver Restaurants
(my two favorites samplings)
Goldilocks Pancit noodles and calamansi juice
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| Tender, flavorful pancit noodles with pork, chicken, & veggies |
Other options at Goldilocks:
New India Buffet & Restaurant:
The chicken masala was delicious with a spicy, creamy sauce over basmati rice! The veggie samosa was wonderful: flaky on the outside and moist on the inside! Large portions were served!
More cooking demonstrations:
On the Food Network Celebrity Stage
(Presented by Born 3 Eggs):
Celebrity Chef David Rocco, Host of Food Network's (Canada) David Rocco's Dolce Vita demonstrated how to make a simple Chicken Saltimbocca.
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| A fan from the audience, assisting Chef David on stage. |
The International Culinary & Fit to EAT Stage:
Taste of Peru
Chef Alvaro Musso prepared a risotto with yellow Peruvian peppers, parmesan, and Peruvian asparagus. The dish was lovely and perfectly rich. Pedro, the MC enlightened us that this is what is considered a 'nuvo dish'. He also shared that over 500 species of fruits and plants originating in Peru. (It’s said that there are around 3000 types
of potatoes in Peru with hundreds of dishes made from them) along with…tomatoes,
onion, etc. Interesting development over the last 100 years there has been an interesting development in that rice is now
a common accompaniment with almost every dish, outshining potato which is the
classic accompaniment.
I really enjoyed the peppers. They were tangy and smoky, yet mild. Similar to Anaheim peppers.
Chef Alvaro encouraged the audience not to be intimidated by risotto. He had two major tips for preparing a good risotto:
1. Don't overcook it. When it's creamy and al dente...it's done!
2. Add lots of liquid. Don't use chicken broth as it may mask the Peruvian yellow peppers. (Chef Alvaro added white wine)
It was quite a beautiful dish!
Grapes & Hops Stage:
Exploring Wine & Cheese Pairings
with Wine Diva Deanna Van Mulligen
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| Wine Diva Deanna Van Mulligen |
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| The wine and cheese! |
The pairings:
Overview:
When tasting wines, take note of the following...
Visual. Look at the color.
Light colored white wines (ones that may look like water even) are typically light, crisp, and fresh. The fruits you may expect are white-fleshed, such as pear and apples.
Darker, golden wines tend to evoke tropical fruit (pineapple or mango) notes.
Nose.
Put the glass to your nose before you swirl. Put your nose deep into the mouth of the glass. If there’s a problem with the wine, you will likely notice here. Questions you should ask yourself: Does it smell fresh? Does it smell clean? If it smells musty or
like rotten fruit, return the bottle.
Swirl.
This is everyone's favorite moment. Swirl the wine with the glass resting on a table or
cover the mouth of the glass with hand then swirl...then smell aromas.
Glassware with narrow
top with large base is best as all of the aromas (after adding oxygen) has a narrow opening through which to escape.
Over our lifetime, we gather ~20,000 smells. You pinpoint what's in the glass with smell and
confirm it by taste.
Taste: Suck air
in once wine is in your mouth (like a slurp). Can you pick up citrus peel (tart),
mouthwatering?
First Pairing:
Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
(typically from New Zealand). Ours was from France: JaJa (~ $13)
The Sauvignon was very clear, tart (like green apple), and dry.
Color/Visual: Nearly clear (like water)
Nose: Green apple
Cheese: Fresh Chevre This is a classic pairing.
After eating a bite of chevre, follow it with a sip of wine. Both products are tangy. The
cheese softens the acidity but balances
the pungency.
Chev with Shiraz (or other heave reds) would be metallic on the palate.
Second Pairing
Grape: Chardonnay (Australia). Barefoot (~10)
Color/Visual: More
color vs. the Sauvignon with a more golden hue. It was not as overly rich and buttery as I've come to expect of a oaked chardonnays.
Nose: Butterscotch,
caramel, burnt sugar toffee, rich,
smells sweet
Palate: Caramel
flavors came through. There was roundness, honey notes, and this Chard was definitely oak.
NOTE: Chards are most
commonly oaked. Oak barrels cost 1000-1200 so oaked chards are expensive. Inexpensive wines will place oak pieces in
the wine when aging to give it its oakiness.
Cheese: Smoked
cheese (gouda). This was a beautiful
pairing! Other pairings suggested by the Wine Diva: Cream sauces on pasta,
buttered popcorn, etc. Anything buttery.
Third Pairing (paired
with two cheeses):
Grape: Dominant Cabernet Franc + Cabernet Sauvignon by Haywire (Crush pad), a new
winery out of Summerland, bc. Started
last year, boxed wine (make a rose, white, and red). 54 per box (15 bucks per
bottle as an average)
Color/Visual: Red,
not opaque (middling)
Nose: cherry,
raspberry, red fruits
Palate: tart fruit,
not full bodied. Chill down a bit with
light bodied reds, place in fridge for 10 minutes. The myth of serving reds at room temp
reflects a historic time when room temp was cooler than it is today. We keep our rooms a bit warmer. Coolness livens up the fruit/wine
Cheese: 1. Brie:
the brie softened the harshness/stringency on the palate (camembert with
merlot).
2. Smoked blue cheese was amazing: loved it! My favorite pairing for the reds. It changes the wine. This is definitely a food wine.
2. Smoked blue cheese was amazing: loved it! My favorite pairing for the reds. It changes the wine. This is definitely a food wine.
Fourth Pairing:
Grape: Laya
2010 Grenache, Monastrell ($13.99)
Color/Visual: Opaque, deep dark burgundy
Nose: Dark red fruit like
black cherry and rich like chocolate
Palate/Body: Full
bodied
Cheese:Aged Parmesan, makes the wine silky. Double
or triple cream. I was happy to hear that ounce for ounce triple creams are less fatty than hard
cheeses.
Great for bbqs.
Great for bbqs.
Other pairing suggestions: Aged cheddar or gouda, and protein such as steak because it’s dense and hefty. Deanna says protein and tannins
love each other!
Haywire had a booth at the festival:
The Rosé was pretty phenomenal as well!
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| Neat marketing package! |
The 12 year Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva was velvety and smooth with great viscosity that sits with the palate nicely. Drink neat!
I also unexpectedly enjoyed the Screech.
Fee Brothers Bitters...
...has been around since 1800's ( a fierce rival to Angustora)…
Fee Brothers survived Prohibition!
...has been around since 1800's ( a fierce rival to Angustora)…
Fee Brothers survived Prohibition!
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| Awesomely extensive selection! I have the cherry (not pictured) at home! |
*Cherry bitters, coke, and Jack Daniels cocktail: very good
The rep discussed how the Grapefruit bitters transforms a gin and tonic a whole new drink!
She also shared how she uses a few in food recipes, namely the Celery bitters in rice dishes and the Cranberry bitters in icing for the color, aroma, and flavor (the trifecta)!
She also shared how she uses a few in food recipes, namely the Celery bitters in rice dishes and the Cranberry bitters in icing for the color, aroma, and flavor (the trifecta)!
Other Cocktails I tasted at the Fee Brothers Table:
*Old fashioned: made with classic bitters. I tasted cinnamon, clove, and orange notes (the peel is used). Only one drop was needed.
*Cranberry lemonade: Made with the Cranberry bitters. I'm certain this would be wonderfully refreshing on a warm summer day
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El Jimador margarita in a can!
I love the Canadians!
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The El Jimador was mixed with Grapefruit bitters. Just one drop really elevates the
margarita.
Fee Bros. are out of Rochester, NY
The distillery is located in Georgetown, Guyana.
Since the 1700's, Demerara has process 'made-to-order' rum for other companies such as Lemon Hart dark rum, Pyrat (a new favorite of mine), and Screech. Rum companies would simple send their recipes to Demerara for processing. Now Demerara primarily creates it's own rum, El Dorado.
Since the 1700's, Demerara has process 'made-to-order' rum for other companies such as Lemon Hart dark rum, Pyrat (a new favorite of mine), and Screech. Rum companies would simple send their recipes to Demerara for processing. Now Demerara primarily creates it's own rum, El Dorado.
The El Dorado booth offered interesting chasers such as lavender-lemon and rosemary-lime soda
but encouraged patrons to try the product neat. They didn't have to tell me twice!
One patron thought it was stronger than Bacardi amber.
I am still learning rums (I'm a scotch/bourbon girl myself), so I inquired about what is the minimum "respectable" age at which rum should be
consumed. For instance, I would never be inclined to drink a single malt scotch under 12 years of age. The rep offered that I try the “young” rums and decide for myself, so I assumed
there’s no actual minimum.
The 12 year old was not bad at all. The 21 year old was smooth. I was told that the blender was focused on those who like the taste of
rum and that aging shows off the flavors.
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| The youngins |
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| The Demerara booth served very special and tasty chocolate made with 61% cocoa! |
Indian scotch-whiskey
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| The peated whiskey is actually sent over to Scotland for finishing. |
Amrut's beer is finished off in the whiskey barrels.
Other tastings...
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| http://www.juansantosrum.com/ |
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| I enjoyed the viscosity and flavor of the Sljivovica! |
The EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival overall was great fun!
I definitely recommend checking it out next year, May 24-26, 2013!
I definitely recommend checking it out next year, May 24-26, 2013!
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