ARAXI RESTAURANT WELCOMES MANZANILLA TO WHISTLER’S CORNUCOPIA

– Tickets Now Available for Araxi Restaurant’s Exclusive Wine Dinners –

Araxi Restaurant and Oyster Bar’s award-winning leaders – Executive Chef James Walt, Restaurant Director Neil Henderson, and Wine Director Samantha Rahn – present a lineup of spectacular wine dinners in honour of the 20th anniversary of Cornucopia, Whistler’s celebration of food and drink. This year, Araxi Restaurant’s events will be held in the exclusive private-dining space, The Cellar by Araxi.

On Friday, November 11th, Chef James will welcome acclaimed Chefs Benito Molina and Solange Muris, the husband-and-wife duo behind Mexico’s Manzanilla Restaurant – rated as one of ‘Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants’ – for an epic culinary collaboration. A founding chef of Baja cuisine, Chef Benito headlines this year’s auspicious Cornucopia celebrations. Chef James joined Chef Benito in Ensenada for the 2015 Festival de las Conchas el Vino and was challenged to craft dishes applying his international repertoire to local fare. Now with the tables turned, Chef Benito will create Baja-inspired dishes using the very best ingredients and wines of British Columbia to present a multi-course feast with Chef James for an extraordinary evening.

“We are very excited to welcome Chefs Benito and Solange to Cornucopia this year,” Chef James said. “The evolution of Mexican gastronomy is definitively due to their passion to share the riches of this wonderful culture with the food community from all corners of the world. Chef Benito’s early commitment to sustainability has shaped his perspective on sourcing and cooking local – his thoughtful treatment of seafood pulled from his back door is truly remarkable and outstanding.”

The following evening, Araxi Restaurant will celebrate its 35th anniversary during the highly-anticipated Araxi Big Guns Dinner. Beginning with a champagne reception, Chef James and his brigade will prepare a six-course tasting menu focused on prime local ingredients, drawn from the Pemberton Valley fields and pastures as well as the pristine waters of coastal British Columbia. 2013 Sommelier of the Year Samantha Rahn will pair each course with highly rated, rare, and collectible wines selected from the carefully curated Araxi cellar, with fabled stops in both the Old and the New Worlds. Guests will be offered tastings from exceptional houses such as Taittinger ‘Comtes de Champagne’ 2006 and Chapoutier ‘Pavillon’ Hermitage Rouge 1998.

Each evening from Sunday, November 13th to Friday, November 18th, Araxi Restaurant will present a series of intimate wine dinners featuring some of South Africa’s and Cascadia’s finest wineries, including Anthonij Rupert, Burrowing Owl, Chateau Ste Michelle, Foxtrot, The Similkameen Collective with Road 13, and Culmina.

Araxi Restaurant’s Cornucopia wine dinners sell out quickly. To learn more and to purchase tickets, visit www.whistlercornucopia.com.

ABOUT TOPTABLE:
One of Canada’s leading hospitality groups, Toptable Group has six elegant yet approachable restaurants in Vancouver and Whistler: Araxi Restaurant and Oyster Bar and The Cellar by Araxi, Bar Oso, CinCin Ristorante, Blue Water Cafe, West Restaurant, and Thierry Cafe. More information can be found online at www.toptable.ca.