We Do Cornucopia 2014

Cornucopia just celebrated its 18th year, although, for me, taking part in Whistler’s major food and wine festival was a first.

Some Coles Notes for the uninitiated: taking place over 11 days, the festival is comprised of seminars and special events that celebrate local food and drink. Since B.C. (and especially Whistler with Pemberton up north, where organic pork frolics and the ground is just potatoes) is spoiled with bounty, Cornucopia is an easy triumph. Here’s what I checked out:

Alsace Afternoon Cooking Demo at Araxi: Chef James Walt whips up a three-course lunch laden with the cream, cabbage and bacon of Germanic-French culture. Highlights include choucroute garnis—a sauerkraut studded with local pork raised specifically for just this lunch (so we practised some serious gratitude). An incredible meal, fit for holiday tables if you’re foregoing turkey this year. (Araxi proved so delicious I returned later for negronis and sashimi—recommended.)

Whiskey Revolution: I’m a whiskey fan, so it was great to taste 10 in succession and really get an idea of how the flavours differ. Vancouver’s Liberty Distillery Railspur white dog (underage whiskey) is sweet-hot with a beeswax nose and grappa character, but purists will prefer Alberta Premium Dark Horse—a Canadian rye (corn-distilled) with orange and spice cake notes. Johnnie Walker Black went down easiest (maybe that’s why 130 million bottles of it sell per year), but my favourite was Bulleit Rye: with its white-pepper and florals, it’s the perfect cocktail whiskey.

Poured: Held at the Whistler Convention Centre, Poured is like a night market but only for local booze. Best discoveries of the evening: Mission Springs Brewery’s Cranberry Ginger Radler, the holiday beer for people who miss summer. Driftwood’s White Bark Belgian-style wheat ale is dry and floral—a match for duck and sweet potatoes (so, everything I like). For something harder try Pemberton Distillery Schramm Organic Potato Vodka, the realized potential of potatoes deemed too homely for grocery shelves but fabulous with soda and a cranberry splash.

Round out your Whistler experience with a few good hikes and something non-alcoholic from the new Green Moustache juicery and café, and you’ve got the makings of a very satisfying (satiating) trip. —Adrienne Matei