Victoria’s festival of food and wine
When the summer months arrive, we can expect Victoria’s finest festival of food and wine to be just around the corner – Taste. Now in its fifth year, Taste is the premier culinary tourism experience for exquisite local cuisine and wine.
The festival launches at the Hotel Grand Pacific on Thursday July 25, with an evening that promises to be unforgettable; time spent tasting delicious food samplers from local chefs and more than 100 British Columbia wines. This is the first year that Taste and the Hotel Grand Pacific have worked together – although the pairing seems rather perfect, both parties pride themselves on offering superior quality experiences, and the sourcing of local, sustainable products.
NICHE was invited to Hotel Grand Pacific for a special sneak peek at one of this year’s events – Swine and the Vine. The Pacific Restaurant’s patio was set for mingling, pork canapés were being passed around and the hotel’s Executive Sous Chef was barbecuing a number of pork dish samplers. Cocktails included organic wine by Covert Farms and the hotel’s delicious tea cocktail made from a blend of vodka and Silk Road Tea.
The main Swine and the Vine event will take place on the third day of the festival at Hotel Grand Pacific. The event will feature a suckling pig roasted on a spit, live music and a variety of BC wines, teas and ciders. The hotel’s Executive Chef Rick Choy and his team will be preparing the ultimate locally inspired summer barbecue – all on the gorgeous Pacific Restaurant’s patio.
The idea for the Swine and the Vine event came from the Hotel Grand Pacific’s Director of Operations, Emery Haines, who wanted to recreate the spectacular pig roasts he had in his youth. Taste’s founder and director, Kathryn McAree further explained the concept and passion behind the event:
“Everything has a story. Everything needs to be an experience and needs to be very memorable.”
Taste is really more than a food festival, it is a celebration of our community and the talent and relationships we have within it. McAree described what the festival means to her, “I don’t know of many places who have the incredible ability of chefs and farmers and suppliers, who work together as well as the do here on South Vancouver Island. We live in a very special place, and that is what Taste is all about.”
If the Swine on the Vine event isn’t for you, check out the other events that will be happening throughout the festival. There is sure to be something for every palette and every interest – http://www.victoriataste.com/taste-events/
