More than 30,000 food and drink aficionados were happy to bite off more than they could chew — and support a number of local charities in the process — at the 2015
EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival.
The 13th annual culinary extravaganza and consumer food showcase took place at venues throughout the city April 26 to May 3 and raised $15,607 for a host of local charity partners including the BC Hospitality Foundation, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society, Vancouver Aquarium Ocean Wise™ program, and Project CHEF.
The 2015 edition of EAT! Vancouver was highlighted by unprecedented growth, record attendance and sold-out events across the board, having expanded from a three-day festival to eight days of brand-new programming including the Collaborative Chef Dinner Series, Hands-on Workshops, Hospitality Symposium and Canadian Flavours Gala.
The festival culminated with the three-day EAT! Vancouver at BC Place showcase, with hundreds of restaurants, food artisans and exhibitors taking part in such new features as Talk & Taste Master Classes, the Canadian Food Artisan Pavilion sponsored by Edible Canada and Craft Beer Alley sponsored by the BC Craft Brewers Guild, as well as returning favourites like Culinary Classes presented by the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, complimentary Cheese Seminars presented by the Dairy Farmers of Canada, Bites from Around the World and the World Culinary Travel Expo sponsored by Global EAT.
For the first time in the festival’s 13-year history, the entire floor of the EAT! Vancouver at BC Place showcase was licensed, allowing guests to wander, explore and enjoy all of the festival features with a drink in hand and food pairings to sample.
The EAT! Vancouver Celebrity Chef Stage presented by Zwilling thrilled the crowds with appearances and live cooking demos from visiting Food Network Canada celebrity chefs Susur Lee, Mark McEwan and Anna Olson along with celebrity chefs Rob Feenie, Ned Bell, Michael P. Clive and Vikram Vij. For families, Dr. Greg Chang’s SuperChefs Cookery for Kids sponsored by Westin™ Hotels was a crowd pleaser for all ages and included a hands-on pasta station for junior chef volunteers.
Food Network pastry queen Anna Olson won the annual EAT! Vancouver Celebrity Chef Throwdown, beating out local favourites Jonathan Chovancek (Café Medina) and Jackie Kai Ellis (Beaucoup Bakery) with a savoury dish of seared Ocean Wise™ halibut and shaved asparagus, while Veronica Saye from Toronto’s Food & Liquor edged out 17 of Canada’s best female bartenders to win the inaugural Speed Rack Canada charity competition. Organized by Vancouver’s own superstar bartenders Lauren Mote (UVA Wine & Cocktail Bar / Bittered Sling) and Danielle Tatarin (The Keefer Bar), Speed Rack Canada raised $5,007.25 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, BC/Yukon Region.
“We are extremely pleased with the success of this year’s expanded lineup and wish to thank our incredible chefs, sponsors, exhibitors, participants, charitable partners and, of course, attendees for their support,” said EAT! Vancouver owner Alan Fogel. “This was our biggest and best event to date and we look forward to returning to Vancouver and building on this momentum in 2016.”
Fogel also announced the dates of the 14th annual EAT! Vancouver at BC Place showcase, which will take place from April 29 to May 1, 2016, with additional EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival programming dates to be announced.
The 2015 EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival by the numbers:
Tickets to Canada’s Largest Celebration of Food and Drink on Sale March 5
EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival Announces BC Place Lineup, May 1 to 3
Hawksworth Restaurant Awarded Best Upscale Restaurant For Fourth Consecutive Year
Le Vieux Pin 10 year anniversary dinner
GIARDINO RESTAURANT OFFICIALLY OPENS ON HORNBY STREET
when is the food festival for 2016.. i thought it was the first week of may but cannot find anything
Looks like it’s going to be in the Fall this year.