The Culinary Sampler!

For the culinary connoisseur, this itinerary offers a learning experience encompassing the tastes of Vancouver Island. Explore the many facets of the culinary heritage of Victoria and Vancouver Island and learn about and sample a wide variety of local products in the perfect West Coast setting over the course of five days.

Day 1:

Your culinary journey of Victoria and Vancouver Island begins at the Chef’s Table of Feys & Hobbs Catered Arts. You will be treated to a cooking demonstration, a discussion on Victoria’s culinary scene and the Island Chef’s Collaborative while you enjoy an exquisite multi-course gourmet breakfast.

After breakfast enjoy a historical and culinary themed walking tour of Victoria’s Old Town and inner harbour area. Learn all about the area’s First Nations heritage and the native foods that came from land and sea. Wander down the narrowest street in North America in the continent’s oldest Chinatown visiting Asian inspired shops. Further down Government street, special treats await you such as visits to Murchies and Roger’s Chocolates.

After having time to browse in shops and explore the esplanade, the extended walking tour will end with a lunch of  fresh West Coast seafood and fine BC wines paired with a stunning view of Victoria’s outer harbour.

The late afternoon is yours to explore as you wish or simply relax before heading out for your evening of fun.

Journey to Canada’s only remaining Edwardian estate, Royal Roads University. Located on the shores of Juan de Fuca Strait overlooking the Olympic Mountains, the campus is part of the Hatley Park National Historic Site. Before the sun sets, enjoy lawn bowling, toss horseshoes or tour the historic gardens. In the ballroom of Hatley Castle, you will enjoy A Taste of Vancouver Island's culinary extravaganza presented by Truffles Catering.

Day 2:

This morning, enjoy an edible journey through the Cowichan Valley visiting many small farms featuring rare breeds, gourmet ingredients and heirloom products. You can walk the fields with the local farmers, attend chef demonstrations and even participate in hands on cooking classes! Local wineries and cheese purveyors are also on the day’s itinerary as well as a light lunch served at a local vineyard in their fire lit dining room.

If your trip is in the autumn, the afternoon will be spent foraging for mushrooms in an Island forest with the Executive Chef of the Aerie Resort. At other times of the year, a variety of other activities such as golf and spa treatments will be outlined as you check into The Aerie Resort, a luxurious Relais & Chateaux property perched high atop the Malahat.

Day 3-5:

From beautiful Victoria to the rugged West Coast of Vancouver Island, this morning you will travel by chartered floatplane from Victoria to a remote Wilderness Resort. Your flight will give you a bird’s eye view of Vancouver Island before landing in peaceful Quait Bay in Clayoquot Sound.

Here your home for the next two nights will be the Wilderness Outpost Camp at Bedwell River. Your exclusive quarters are roomy prospector style white canvas tents on raised wooden platforms with woodstove-housed propane heaters, handmade Adirondack furnishings, antique accessories, oil lamps, tropical netting and generous furnished porches overlooking the Bedwell River and Bedwell Sound.

An array of activities await you from hiking or mountain biking on old-growth forest trails surrounding three private lakes to kayaking, fishing or indulging in spa treatments from the Wellness Centre. Whatever your pleasure the choice is yours!

At the end of each day, you will be treated to the Camp Chef’s demonstration, wine pairing and discussion about the evening’s meal in the open kitchen. Savor the freshest West Coast ingredients in an impressive multi-course culinary experience in the dining tent. Each night after dinner, sip sherry in the lounge tent, enjoy a dip in the wood-fired cedar hot tub or opt for the intimacy of your own private fire pit outside your tent.

Please visit our Business Directory for more great information and ideas on Catering, Dining and Culinary Tours!