I was perusing the interwebs one day this week when I stumbled upon a notice for The Rocky Mountain Food & Wine Festival in Edmonton. "Hmmmm", I thought to myself, "this sounds like it could be interesting!". A quick Google search brought up the website (above) and after a bit of reading, I was in! Now, who could I get to go with me? Culinary adventures such as these should not be experienced alone, after all.
I sent off a couple of texts to invite a few people along and got a response back from Sarah. I'd met Sarah on the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer back in August. A fellow rider with a great attitude! I was looking forward to seeing her again. A few detail texts back and forth and we were set to meet at her place in Edmonton. A neighbor of her's would join us as well as provide transportation from Sarah's house to Canada Place, where the event was being held. Whoo Hoo! It was going to be a fun night.
Arriving at Sarah's just before 7, we hopped in the car with Ron and drove over to Canada Place debating parking options. The Library Lot or under the Pink Building. I am still not quite sure what the Pink Building is and I should have paid better attention to where we parked. I can tell you it was connected to Canada Place and you didn't have to walk outside to get into the building. Canada Place is something else. A large complex of offices, open spaces filled with plants & fountains, shops, restaurants, and conference halls. The festival was being held in Exhibit Halls A, B, & C.
We purchased our food/wine tickets and proceeded into the hall. On the way in you receive a hand stamp and a clean wine glass. We were ready to roll! Opening the floor map brochure, we were overwhelmed with the number of vendors and offerings. Wine, Beer, Spirits, Liquors, as far as the eye could see. Where to start? As Mark put it, "with the wine, of course. What are you thinking?" And with the wine, we did start!
First up, a Moldova wine booth. The name escapes me but I'll have it later when I look it up (It was a Bastardo wine by Bostavan - I found the name!). :) Not a bad red table wine! Next, on to Tussock Jumper Wines. Cute animals in cute red jumpers. We sampled the Tempranillo & Carmenere and then set off to find some food to taste with the wine.
Wandering along the back wall of the show floor, we noticed that the vendors were about 90% alcohol, 10% food. On offer for food were, Chips & Artichoke Dip, Moroccan Spiced Lamb Burger shooters. Chili, Crepes, Cheeses, Soups, Grilled Sandwiches, Rice Dishes, Vegetarian Fare, Deserts, and of course, Chocolate (to name a few options). We spied the Moroccan Lamb Burgers early on and after a quick peek around, decided that would go best with the red wines we had in hand.
Next up, Noorish Conscious Eatery for Sarah. She sampled the Laughing Buddha Belly Bowl. While it looked good, I was saving room for the Salmon and Brie Crepe from Sunterra Market. Not only was it a super tasty treat, the crepe making was a show in itself.
Topped with grainy mustard, red onions, dill, and capers. It was fantastic! There was a slight sweetness in the crepe that the spicy mustard accented wonderfully and the salmon & brie inside was both melty and tasty!
Next up, dessert and dessert wine! We'd passed a booth offering Therapy wine and hoped that perhaps there was a sweet, dessert type wine available. No such luck so I moved down the row a bit to Giusti to sample the Prosecco extra dry. With wine in hand, I now needed a dessert to go with the wine. I recalled a Creme Brulee back at the Ramada booth but was curious as to what else might be on offer. I'm glad I looked! Tucked away at the far edge of the hall was papa chocolat!
I've not yet had the joy of tasting what has been described to me as the best chocolate EVER, made here in Canada at Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut. But now Bernard has opened a new company, papa chocolat, and I enjoyed it VERY much! Earl Grey & Salted Caramel chocolates that simply melt in your mouth (along with many other flavors)! :D
After lingering over the lovely chocolates, Sarah & I still had tickets to burn on food & drink and so off we went once again to see what would tempt us.
I've only had the opportunity to try Earl's twice since coming to Canada. When the restaurant was first recommended to me, I thought that it was unique to Vancouver, BC. I've since learned that it is a chain but they do it well. And someone in the kitchen at Earl's Tin Palace in Edmonton is pretty creative (not to mention, a ham!)! The cinnamon buns were good but weren't quite what we were looking for and so, onward in search of dessert!
We hadn't yet perused the right hand end wall of the show and so headed that way. Many of the venders on this end were spirits and liqueurs. I was delighted to find St. Germain (watch for a recipe coming soon) and figured it would go pretty well with anything sweet. Meanwhile Sarah was trying out a 12 year old whiskey (I think). This truly is a global event when it comes to drinks and I'm planning to attend next year to try some new things.
Wandering back to where we started the evening, in the back right hand corner of the room, we found Sunshine Mountain Lodge offering exactly what we were looking for: Desserts! Cheesecake, Carrot Cake, and Key Lime Pie. A great finish to the evening and even enough tickets left over for creme brulee too! Hey, everyone needs 2 desserts to eat with their dessert drink! :) I had the Key Lime Pie, Sarah had the Carrot Cake.
It was a fantastic evening that I am looking forward to repeating next year!
