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CULINARY & FARM TOURS
Victoria, British Columbia's capital, has the second highest number of restaurants per capita in North America. International influences have resulted in a variety of choices from around the world. Many Victorian restaurants feature fresh produce grown locally, organic meats and edible flowers and herbs. Throughout the Victoria area, there are restaurants for everyone. Vietnamese, Japanese, East Indian, West Coast, Greek, Szechwan, Italian, French, Mexican, but of course, Victoria's specialty is fresh salmon and shellfish from the Pacific Ocean. Victoria offers many opportunities to visit farms, vegetable gardens and learn to cook with renowned chefs of the West Coast. Victoria has unique culinary tours developed by professionals who can show you the Island while tasting some of the finest West Coast cuisine.
In Victoria and the Islands, agricultural tourism is taking root. Many discerning travellers are not only interested in unique experiences, but are taking a "back to the land" approach to travel. Many visitors want not only to meet the chef who prepared their dinner, but also the farmer who grew or raised the produce used. BC is responsible for some of the freshest produce in the world. The Island's coastal climate is mild and promotes a long growing season compared to the rest of Canada. Fresh greens and herbs, fruit and berries, cheese, poultry, lamb, ostrich and fallow deer are just a few of the products to be found.
Gourmet Trail
Canada's trademarked Gourmet Trail has been reborn, this time featuring the three Relais & Châteaux properties on Canada's West Coast, with an additional opportunity to dine at Lumière, Western Canada's only Relais Gourmand. Since the Gourmet Trail was first cooked up in 1998, guests have been exploring Canada's rugged Pacific Coast while linking up with chefs and the destination inns where they preside over fine restaurants. Located in an area with the longest growing season in the country and some of the richest farmland in North America, the trail was designed to encourage guests to leave their luxury hotels and explore the local growers and local bounty all around them. Suggested trips include visits to local wine makers, cheese purveyors and organic growers. Today, the Gourmet Trail focuses on three properties; The Wickanninish Inn in Tofino, The Aerie Resort on the Malahat, and Hastings House Country House Hotel on Salt Spring Island. Guests may call each hotel directly and arrange for their accommodation, while receiving assistance in booking the rest of their West Coast culinary adventure. A new addition is an opportunity to go on a Gourmet Farm Tour of the Cowichan Valley or take a "Feasts of the Valley" cooking class, in the summer or mushroom hunts in the fall, while staying at The Aerie Resort.
The Aerie Resort's Great Fall Mushroom Hunts
While some people hate to see the days shorten and the sun fade away, mushroom lovers hope for rain as the cooler evenings and moist ground brings forth each year's crop of delectable mushrooms. Southern Vancouver Island's unique geography and weather provide almost perfect conditions for mushrooms Continuing the tradition of previous seasons, The Aerie Resort offers mushroom hunts into Vancouver Island's Cowichan Valley. Joining Executive Chef Christophe Letard on these forays will be Christin Geall of the BC Museums Association, who has been teaching mushroom workshops on the coast for 5 years. Educated in environmental studies and interpretation, Christin brings her wit and wisdom to the hunt. She is a member of the Vancouver Island Mycological Society and Slow Food International. The Great Fall Mushroom includes return transportation from The Aerie Resort and a reception following "the hunt" where Chef Letard will prepare the mushrooms for tasting and describe the best way to cook them along with recipe suggestions. The Aerie mushroom hunt is open to the public and reservations are strongly recommended.
"Feasts of the Valley"
The Aerie Resort offers Cooking Classes at Cowichan Valley's Engeler Farm. Now guests to The Aerie Resort on Vancouver Island can fully experience the bounty of the Cowichan Valley with hands-on cooking classes in addition to the resort's successful Gourmet Farm Tours. The Aerie has partnered once again with Chef Mara Jernigan and Engeler Farm to offer guests the opportunity to not only taste the Cowichan Valley but to experience first-hand the joys of cooking with the freshest local ingredients. The three-night, two and a half day "Feasts of the Valley" package is offered every weekend (arriving on Friday, departing on Monday) and it includes three nights accommodation, three full breakfasts, a menu discussion with Executive Chef Christophe Letard followed by five-course dinner in the award winning dining room, and an introduction to the two days ahead by Jernigan. Guests spend the next two days exploring the local farms and markets of the Cowichan Valley and preparing, cooking and feasting on the locally gathered bounty in Jernigan's large, open, teaching kitchen on her working farm. Lunches and all ingredients are also included with the package. Minimum participation is two guests. The Aerie will accommodate other dates upon request.
The one-day Saturday Farmer's Market Tour and Cooking Class is offered every Saturday, beginning April 27, 2002 to September 28, 2002. Jernigan meets with the group over morning coffee at The Aerie to establish culinary preferences, takes the group on a trip around the local farmers markets and ends up back at her kitchen where everyone participates in preparing a three course lunch based on products chosen by the group and recipes provided by Jernigan. An afternoon of feasting completes this Cowichan Valley culinary experience. The package includes transportation, all ingredients, and lunch
For those who prefer others to cook for them, Jernigan offers, through The Aerie Resort, Sunday Gourmet Farm Tours. Guests are picked up at The Aerie Resort and escorted to the most delicious small farms on Vancouver Island, featuring rare breeds, gourmet ingredients and heirloom produce. Guests explore the local wineries and cheese purveyors, including a light lunch of farm-fresh ingredients. Returning to The Aerie, guests can enjoy the amenities of the resort, prepare for dinner and discover, when they review the menu, that they have met many of the producers or sampled their products!
For reservations for any of the above packages, call The Aerie Resort, 1-800-518-1933.
Mara Jernigan & Engeler Farm
A trained chef with over fifteen years experience working in Toronto and Europe, Jernigan taught the professional program at The Dubrulle Culinary School in Vancouver in 1994-95. In the years that followed, she established the "Feast of Fields", one of BC's top culinary events, and worked with the FarmFolk/CityFolk Society advocating for local food and the preservation of agricultural land. "We want to prove that you don't need to go to Europe to have a culinary vacation", says Jernigan. "Here on Vancouver Island we have it all, fresh wild seafood, pasture raised meats, artisan cheeses, outstanding organic produce and wild foods from the forest." Within her fully-renovated teaching kitchen on her working farm, Jernigan will focus on teaching the time-honoured methods of slow food cooking, fresh pasta, homemade breads baked in an outdoor wood burning oven, slowly braised local meats combined with fresh seasonal produce. For more information visit www.engelerfarm.com.
Travel With Taste Tours
Take a six-day, seven-night guided tour tasting remarkable foods and outstanding local wines on Vancouver Island. You will visit only the best and be invited to participate in chef demonstrations not available to the general public. Imagine an entire week tasting lavish foods and outstanding local wines on Vancouver Island - tender and flavorful Salt Spring Island lamb grilled to perfection, superb produce from innovative local food producers, delicious local seafoods such as wild salmon, halibut and rock fish and shellfish including oysters, mussels and dungeness crab. Your accommodations are both luxurious and comfortable at Victoria's premier boutique hotel just steps from the Inner Harbour. The hotel spa creates a restful and peaceful atmosphere dedicated to wellness and beauty. By special request, day tours are also available.
The Cowichan Valley
Surrounded by scenic waters and rugged mountains, the Cowichan Valley lies between Victoria and Nanaimo. Cowichan means "the warm land" in its native language and the valley receives more sunlight and warmer temperatures than anywhere else on Vancouver Island, making it an ideal growing region, The Cowichan Valley is a working landscape with an impressive range of fresh farm products. Cheese, asparagus, lamb, pastured poultry, balsamic vinegar and of course fine wines are all locally crafted by a handful of determined, visionary individuals who see the potential for the Cowichan Valley to be British Columbia's first real appellation; the name given by the French to a region famous for superior quality local wine and food products.
Oldfield Orchard & Bakery
A winner of the 2001 "AgriOpenFarm" award for all of British Columbia. Winner of the 2000 & 2001 "ArgiOpenFarm" award for Vancouver Island, this very diversified active farm, 20 minutes from Victoria, offers the freshest fruits and vegetables picked daily. The bakery offers the "Berry Best" pies and goodies. A petting farm and many special family-oriented events are available throughout the season. A special "Medieval Knights Dinner Theatre" is offered in July and August. A family-oriented event has knights and wenches loading you into covered hay wagons and taking you back in time. The evening event includes delicious food, jovial company and great entertainment.
Saanichton Christmas Tree and Ostrich Farm
Enjoy a close up view of the ostrich and Christmas tree industry on Southern Vancouver Island. See adult breeding ostriches, yearlings, and baby chicks. Tour the incubation and hatchery facility. Learn interesting facts about these living dinosaurs, their nutritional needs and husbandry. Informative and educational tours last approximately 1hour and leave a long lasting impression of farming on the Saanich Peninsula. The farm also produces a wide array of organic fruit and vegetables, flowers and culinary herbs. Enjoy the many varieties of Christmas Trees grown on our farm and the unique way that stump culture has impacted the sustainability of Christmas Tree production. Learn interesting traditions and myths regarding the use of Christmas Trees around the world. After the farm tour, enjoy the quaint rural setting of the Farmers Market Store where all aspects of the farm are on display and for sale. The farm supplies many restaurants and hotels with ostrich meat and also has ostrich steaks, roasts, breakfast sausages, Italian smokies, burger patties, ground pâté, pepperoni and jerky available in its gift shop. Guided farm tours by appointment only.
Chef's Table
Join Chef David Feys for an exhibition of his keen interest in cutting-edge cuisine. Nestle around beautifully-appointed tables in his catering kitchen, which is designed to incorporate a private, intimate setting for entertaining guests. Menus are planned for groups of six to thirty guests and feature fresh local produce. Wine is supplied by guests so an opportunity to sample the best vintages of the region is always possible.
Iron Chefs of the West Coast
You've never seen anything quite like it: this high-energy interactive event brings two of Victoria's Premiere Chefs head-to head in a culinary showdown performance. Guests will be entertained as each renowned chef prepares their favourite dishes on the spot, using a number of "secret ingredients" they are given on the night of the competition. Chopping, tossing, barbequing, baking, sautéing and simmering with finesse, each chef attempts to entice the audience's taste buds and declare himself the winner. Members of the audience are even invited to slip on an apron and act as sous-chef! The audience will learn a variety of cooking techniques and tips on how to produce gourmet meals. You be the judge - after completing the generous taste test, guests decide who the winner is and finish off with luscious desserts.
Sooke Harbour House - Wine cellar & West Coast cooking
The cellars of Sooke Harbour House offer a vast collection of BC wines and Canadian ice wines. The Sooke Harbour House has been awarded the Grand Award by the Wine Spectator Magazine for three consecutive years, recognizing the establishment's wine list as one of the top 95 in the world. Grand Award winners offer unparalleled wine cellars, with comprehensive coverage of many wine-producing regions coupled with often mind-boggling vintage depths and a selection of the world's best producers. With their superior wine service and cuisine, these restaurants truly merit being a destination for any serious wine lover.
Sooke Harbour House has gained an international reputation for Pacific Northwest cuisine that is as creative as it is delicious.
The menu changes daily to accommodate only the freshest local ingredients, as they become available. Ingredients include: meats, such as organic rabbit and veal; poultry, including organically raised chickens and local duck; seafoods such as Pacific salmon, rockfish, and halibut; shellfish, including oysters, crab and scallops., generally served the very day they are caught by local fishers The kitchen gardens (which you are welcome to explore when you visit) also provide over 400 varieties of fresh and sometimes unusual herbs, salad greens and edible flowers for the restaurant.
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