In the words of WIA blogger, Tyler Mills: “we got flushed, then we got CRUSHed.”
Friday evening at Cornucopia started off with a fabulous dinner at Alta Bistro. The “Symphony Bowl” 3-course menu included a Fresh Fall Salad with carrots, beets and candied walnuts; a second course of Goat Cheese Terrine and a main of Arctic Char with heavenly gnocchi.
Our cocktail wizard just so happened to be the restaurant’s co-owner, Ed Dangerfield. He mixed up a delightful daiquiri, followed by a mysterious lime and mint-infused rum concoction that can only be described as a party in my mouth. Arriba!
Next, we headed to Cornucopia’s Gala Grand Tasting event in the Whistler Conference Centre.
As always, the people watching was spectacular; from Vancouver’s glitterati to Whistler’s Twitterati and everyone in between. There were people there wearing furry boots, bejeweled cocktail dresses, Tom Selleck mustaches; as well as a man who looked like “The Situation” in 20 years.“I prefer tails over ties,” said the man dressed as a giraffe. No one said “dressing up” for an event can’t mean coming in costume.
As expected, the wine selection was spectacular, especially for the armchair sommeliers in the crowd. Attendees flocked to Cornucopia’s Top 25 wines, which were identified with white stickers. Other popular tastings included Argentina Wines, Black Hills, Blasted Church, Sterling Vineyards, and Painted Rock.
While food plays a much smaller role at CRUSH, the few food stations that were there offered a variety of sumptuous treats, including Nita Lake Lodge charcuterie, Crepe Montagne, SIDECUT at the Four Seasons, Terra Breads and Agropur Fine Cheese.
This past weekend I ate my way through town. It wasn’t intentional, but these things never are. One of my favourite things about Whistler is that, for such a small town, we have the culinary world at our fingertips. The BC Day Long Weekend was a whirlwind of dining adventures, from the Canadian National BBQ Championships to Feast in the Mountains; with a few cocktails in between.
The weekend kicked off at 6,000 feet at Christine’s Restaurant on Blackcomb Mountain. In my opinion – even though I do work for WB – I believe this is one of the hidden gem restaurants in Whistler. The menu contains Pemberton organic beef and greens, Ocean Wise seafood and a great selection of BC wines. Chef Sebastien was raised in Paris, but has spent more than a decade in Canada. He brings with him his grandparent’s charcuterie recipe and an amazing French fusion menu. The Christine’s Caeser Royale is killer – and comes with my personal favourite ingredient: horse radish. Try the Tomato Threesome and Salmon Sampler for a taste of summer.
Next stop on the dining adventure was the BBQ Championships. We cruised the food stalls and then settled in on Dusty’s sunny patio for a few drinks and a big ol’ bucket of ribs. Saturday was burger day, and there were certainly some creative entries. Props to the Troutsmen for pulling together a full weekend of submissions – in between “getting Iced” by Smirnoff. This burger pretty much sums up the meatfest:
As delightful as the food was, the highlight of my weekend for me was finally checking out Cure Lounge and Patio, the cocktail lounge in Nita Lake Lodge. The patio view is absolutely stunning – and it’s quiet and peaceful. There’s nothing better in the world than sipping a hand-crafted cocktail made with love by well-known mixologist Hailey Pasemko. She even infuses her own spirits with fresh herbs from their home-grown rooftop garden. You should absolutely try the Chimi Churri cocktail (second photo).
The final stop on this festival of food was Feast in the Mountains. This event, which takes place in Rebagliati Park, has been running for several years. The decadent oysters and venison from Sidecut restaurant at the Four Seasons, Alta Bistro and the Nita Lake Lodge were the food highlights. Whistler Brewing Company’s new Grapefruit Ale, and the vast array of sumptuous Okanagan wines was the perfect – boozy – end to a tasty weekend.
Bubbles and oysters; dresses and heels; feathers and sequins; burlesque and beer; and even a few fresh powder turns in between. Cornucopia was a weekend to remember!
When I was invited to participate in Whistler’s Cornucopia 2009, I was beyond excited. I’d heard for years about the wine tastings and seminars, sensational gastronomic experiences and the exclusive parties where girls wear heels – even whistler girls – and inhibitions are set aside. Cornucopia – which was recently ranked one of the top Top 10 International Food and Wine Festivals by Forbestraveler.com – lives up to the hype, and then exceeds it.
My first stop was the House Party, Best of BC – a festival opener featuring a variety of food and wine tastings in the foyer of the Whistler Conference Centre, including Pemberton’s potato vodka and seared halibut by Windset Farms.
Here’s a great little preview video of ARTrageous:
A feast for the five senses, this event featured artists creating live paintings and roaming characters wearing costumes created out of materials donated by home improvement stores – the work of Carey from Paintertainment. The craft table is my favourite station at ARTrageous, complete with glue guns, feathers, beads, sequins and all kinds of delightful crafty bits and bobs. This year, the theme was burlesque so the craft was nipple tassels.
The grand finale of the night was Big John Bates and the Voodoo Dollz, a rockabilly punk act featuring live burlesque dancers. The girls are sexy, the costumes are elaborate, and the nipple tassels are swinging – and occasionally on fire!
Friday night, I headed to the infamous Casino Royale at Ric’s Grill. Vegas show girls, topless Bond Girls painted head to toe in gold glitter, Vegas-style games with fake money, fire dancers, Go-Go dancers, a contact juggler and hula hoop girls were all part of the circus of colour, sex, and magic.
The showgirls were cute, but in high demand. My friend and I got shuffled out of a photo shoot with them by an affluent gentleman who wanted to take a picture with them. Our egos were wounded.
We enjoyed canapes, a buffet meal, and a decadent chocolate fountain. Of course the open bars throughout the venue made for a fun night – especially that strawberry-infused champagne.
Somehow, I managed to wake up the next morning for Whistler Blackcomb’s early opening to do a few turns – which were epic, by the way. After a quick disco nap, I was off to my third night of Cornucopia.
Cornucopia is a girl’s chance to get dressed up. So, a few of us ladies – including one girlfriend in bejewelled Manolos, braved the snow in heels and short dresses.
The first stop was the CRUSH Gala Grand tasting, one of the signature events of Cornucopia that takes place in the Whistler conference Centre ballroom. This sellout wine showcase has been expanded to two days due to popularity. I’m certainly no wine guru, but I know what pleases my palate. Some of my favourites were Dirty Laundry‘s Pinot Noir, Road 13‘s Riesling, Inniskillin‘s Ice Wine, Miner Family‘s Oracle, and Poplar Grove‘s Syrah. The Dirty Laundry clothes peg made my night.
After CRUSH it was on to our final – and most anticipated – destination, the Bubbles + Oceans Afterparty at Araxi Restaurant. The spotlights out front illuminated huge fluffy white snowflakes, and created a sense of anticipation for night to come.
Araxi does seafood and they do it well. The oyster bar was amazing as always, and the canapes were melt in your mouth.
We enjoyed sampling from the champagne stations along the perimeter of the room, including one of the more unique blends by Ayala, which should be available in Whistler in the coming months, according to the rep.
After a great night of socializing, drinking and eating, I finished the night off with a chocolate espresso cocktail in the lounge. I left Araxi with the most delicious feeling of contentment.
By the end of the weekend, I had consumed copious amounts of champagne and food – and slept very little. But I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. Snow sports are the heart and lifeblood of this town I call home, but cultural events like this are what give Whistler its dancing shoes.
