Vancouver, BC: The trees are dressed, light displays are up, and Vancouver chefs and organizers are gearing up for Canada’s largest food and drink festival. Presented by Tourism Vancouver, the 13th annual Dine Out Vancouver Festival is a little over a month away – and just in time for the holiday shopping season, event tickets and hotel bookings are now available at www.dineoutvancouver.com.
Taking place January 16 to February 1, Dine Out Vancouver Festival features 17 days of flash-in-the pan events crafted by Vancouver’s top chefs, restaurateurs and food experts. In addition to an array of returning favourites (including The Grape Debate, Grand Tasting on Granville Island, and Street Food City), are brand-new offerings that make perfect gifts for loved ones craving a unique culinary adventure. Here’s a look at what’s new:
• Club Amuse-Bouche. Available for select Dine Out events, festival-goers can now purchase premium tickets for exclusive VIP experiences and perks – ranging from cocktail receptions and priority access to special gifts and chef meet and greets.
• International Chef Exchange. What happens when you combine two internationally acclaimed food festivals? An out-of-this world dining experience! Join Dine Out Vancouver Festival and the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival for a one-night-only collaborative dinner prepared by two award-winning vegetarian restaurants: the U.K.’s Terre à Terre, helmed by Executive Chef Matty Bowling, and Vancouver’s The Parker, under Executive Chef Felix Zhou. January 18; tickets $66.
• Mamie’s Southern Feast Longtable Dinner. Ditch the winter blues with a three-course, family-style Southern dinner at Mamie Taylor’s. You’ll feel like you’re sitting in Mama’s kitchen with a menu of deviled eggs, biscuits smothered in Bourbon butter, fried green tomatoes, scalloped potatoes, whole-roast suckling pig (carved table-side) and Mississippi Mud Pie. January 19; tickets $48.
• Robbie Burns Whisky Supper. Celebrate the birth of Scotland’s favourite son as Café Medina owner Robbie Kane and Executive Chef Jonathan Chovancek mark Robbie Burns Night with a three-course, family-style dinner paired with cocktails prepared by internationally acclaimed bartender Lauren Mote. January 25; tickets $78.
Gift-givers can also choose from more than 20 hotels offering special Dine Out Vancouver Festival room rates (price points are $78, $108 and $138), and "Dine and Stay" packages. And new this year are a limited number of exclusive, two-night Club Amuse-Bouche Collection hotel packages, which pair Dine Out event tickets with once-in-a-lifetime culinary experiences and luxe accommodation. Highlights include:
• The Listel Hotel’s Forage & Feast package includes accommodation; a two-hour rainforest walk and edible food identification tour led by Executive Chef Chris Whittaker of Forage restaurant; 10-course West Coast winter tasting menu; preserving workshop that will teach attendees to make and preserve IPA mustard and jam; foraging and preserving welcome gift; and tickets to Dine Out Vancouver Festivals’ Grape Debate and West End Brunch Crawl events. Available January 30 to February 1; starting from $1,798 (based on double occupancy).
• The Sutton Place Hotel’s Ultimate West Coast Culinary Adventure package includes accommodation; a market shop with Executive Chef Alex Chen of Boulevard Kitchen and Oyster Bar; six-course tasting menu with wine pairings; 30-minute shucking demo and tasting with "Oyster Bob"; spa treatments; and tickets to Dine Out’s Film Feast and Main Street Brunch Crawl events. Available January 23 to 25; starting from $1,998 (based on double occupancy).
• Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver’s Local Luxury – Dine Out Vancouver Festival Edition package includes accommodation; a Granville Island market tour with Executive Chef Ned Bell of YEW Restaurant; sustainable seafood cooking class; five-course sustainable seafood dinner with wine pairings; spa treatments; and tickets to Dine Out’s Secret Supper Soiree and Kitsilano Brunch Crawl events. Available January 16 to 18; starting from $2,250 (based on double occupancy).
• Fairmont Pacific Rim’s Sushi & Sips package includes accommodation; a sushi and cocktail making class with Chef Taka Omi and head bartender Grant Sceney; multi-course omakase sushi dinner at RawBar; and tickets to Dine Out’s Grape Debate and West End Brunch Crawl events. Available January 30 to February 1; starting from $1,599 (based on double occupancy).
Dine Out room bookings are available for stays taking place January 16 through February 1. To view full details – including package inclusions, rates and availability – visit www.dineoutvancouver.com/hotels.
