How To Get On A Restaurant's Hit List

By Anne Kingston

[re-posted with permission]

The owner of a popular Toronto gastropub who asks to remain nameless is showing off what he calls his 'nightly journal,' dull details of restaurant life - nightly sales, tables turned, supplier snafus. Where reading turns interesting, even salacious, is in its dutiful recording of customer misbehaviour collected via staff and fellow customer complaints. Names are used when they're known. Otherwise, physical descriptions suffice.

READ MORE HERE>>>>> on MacLeans.ca

Anne Kingston is a staffwriter for MacLean's

Twitter @LocalFoodWine 

Vancouver Food And Wine * Okanagan Food And Wine

Local Food And Wine

Anne Kingston is a staffwriter for MacLean's

Posted via web from Vancouver Food And Wine

Nk'Mip Cellars' Randy Picton

Nk'Mip Cellars, Osoyoos, Okanagan

"Qwam Qwmt means the best of our Reserve Tier wines. QQ Chardonnay, for example, is one of our upper tier wines. It starts with the grapes in the vineyard," says Randy. "I know going into it that this crop of grapes will be giving us our Reserve Tier wines. These wines we put into French oak," he explains, noting their toasty vanilla and butterscotch essences.

Randy Picton, Nk'Mip Cellars, Winemaker

Picton was the pioneer in the Okanagan who began the method of picking the grapes at different times in the harvesting season. "Even three weeks later, so there's an evenness in the wine/grapes," he explains. He began at Nk'Mip Cellars, the celebrated first winery in North America to be aboriginal owned, in 2002.

Nk'Mip is known for their Pinots and Chardonnays. Picton is the first to admit that pinot, at least in the Okanagan, can be a "fussy" grape to grow well.  Their $20 bottles of Merlot are very popular choices however the winery is shifting their portfolio focus to upper tier wines. They are capped at about 18,000 cases per year production so they are looking to focus on, for example, a Q2 Riesling and a higher end Meritage that will retail for approximately $50-$60 a bottle.

The pairing of Nk'Mip's outstanding wines with Kanata Cuisine's tasting menu is the making of a perfect culinary evening. If you are one of the lucky ones to opt in for this culinary adventure, your tastebuds and senses await delight.

Aboriginal Feast and Wine Pairings. Doesn't just the sound of that say it all?  The evening of fine dining and entertainment is the brainchild of a partnership between Theresa Contois and chef Ben Genaille, owners of Kanata Cuisine.

Kanata Cuisine was formed in the last six months when Theresa was noted for her exquisite "front of house" hospitality skills while putting the finishing touches on her training at Vancouver Community College's Aboriginal Culinary program. Chef Ben Genaille, an expert in Aboriginal Cuisine, and Theresa got to talking and Kanata Cuisine is the result of their pairing strength with strength.

Nk'Mip Cellars winemaker, Randy Picton, has chosen versatile pairings for the cuisine, including selections from their critically acclaimed Qwam Qwmt, known in the vernacular as their Q2 selections.

Kanata Cuisine, Chef Ben Genaille and Theresa Contois

Nk'Mip Cellars

Okanagan Food And Wine * Vancouver Food And Wine

*Local Food And Wine*

Nk'Mip Cellars' Randy Picton

Nk'Mip Cellars, Osoyoos, Okanagan

"Qwam Qwmt means the best of our Reserve Tier wines. QQ Chardonnay, for example, is one of our upper tier wines. It starts with the grapes in the vineyard," says Randy. "I know going into it that this crop of grapes will be giving us our Reserve Tier wines. These wines we put into French oak," he explains, noting their toasty vanilla and butterscotch essences.

Randy Picton, Nk'Mip Cellars, Winemaker

Picton was the pioneer in the Okanagan who began the method of picking the grapes at different times in the harvesting season. "Even three weeks later, so there's an evenness in the wine/grapes," he explains. He began at Nk'Mip Cellars, the celebrated first winery in North America to be aboriginal owned, in 2002.

Nk'Mip is known for their Pinots and Chardonnays. Picton is the first to admit that pinot, at least in the Okanagan, can be a "fussy" grape to grow well.  Their $20 bottles of Merlot are very popular choices however the winery is shifting their portfolio focus to upper tier wines. They are capped at about 18,000 cases per year production so they are looking to focus on, for example, a Q2 Riesling and a higher end Meritage that will retail for approximately $50-$60 a bottle.

The pairing of Nk'Mip's outstanding wines with Kanata Cuisine's tasting menu is the making of a perfect culinary evening. If you are one of the lucky ones to opt in for this culinary adventure, your tastebuds and senses await delight.

Aboriginal Feast and Wine Pairings. Doesn't just the sound of that say it all?  The evening of fine dining and entertainment is the brainchild of a partnership between Theresa Contois and chef Ben Genaille, owners of Kanata Cuisine.

Kanata Cuisine was formed in the last six months when Theresa was noted for her exquisite "front of house" hospitality skills while putting the finishing touches on her training at Vancouver Community College's Aboriginal Culinary program. Chef Ben Genaille, an expert in Aboriginal Cuisine, and Theresa got to talking and Kanata Cuisine is the result of their pairing strength with strength.

Nk'Mip Cellars winemaker, Randy Picton, has chosen versatile pairings for the cuisine, including selections from their critically acclaimed Qwam Qwmt, known in the vernacular as their Q2 selections.

Kanata Cuisine, Chef Ben Genaille and Theresa Contois

Nk'Mip Cellars

Okanagan Food And Wine * Vancouver Food And Wine

*Local Food And Wine*

Okanagan Wineries' WineTripper App for the iPhone

by Jeff Pennal

Every year my wife and I take a tour through the Okanagan hitting many of our favourite wineries, tasting and purchasing many bottles of wine, and basking in the glory of the majestic interior, with its breath-taking scenery and lovely lakes. 

Last Spring, we decided to take an early trip through the Okanagan to pick up some more wine and enjoy the beautiful spring blossoms in the orchards – we had stopped at the local tourist info centre and grabbed a handful of winery brochures and maps of the wineries and we were off.  We discovered that there were some downfalls to using the maps – the hours were not listed nor their open season.  We were there early in the spring and some of our favourite wineries were not open!  This is when we decided to create an iPhone App that would eliminate the need to stop for maps and brochures altogether.

Wine Tripper has a great map of the wineries in BC, a comprehensive list of those wineries including their address and hours of operation, and a place where you can make notes on the wines you have tasted and your opinions.  My wife’s favourite aspect of the Wine Tripper app is that when you pull up the map of the area the red dots indicate wineries that are closed and the green ones are open – this eliminates the extra time and disappointment of driving by a winery that is closed for the off-season.  I like that you can easily get a listing of the wineries that are closest to you based on proximity.  You will like that the Wine Tripper BC iPhone app costs only $2.99 to buy and will save you time and make your wine touring much more enjoyable!
Check it out at http://www.bennalsoft.com/winetripper

Vancouver Food And Wine *  Local Food And Wine

Okanagan Food And Wine

Okanagan Wineries' WineTripper App for the iPhone

by Jeff Pennal

Every year my wife and I take a tour through the Okanagan hitting many of our favourite wineries, tasting and purchasing many bottles of wine, and basking in the glory of the majestic interior, with its breath-taking scenery and lovely lakes. 

Last Spring, we decided to take an early trip through the Okanagan to pick up some more wine and enjoy the beautiful spring blossoms in the orchards – we had stopped at the local tourist info centre and grabbed a handful of winery brochures and maps of the wineries and we were off.  We discovered that there were some downfalls to using the maps – the hours were not listed nor their open season.  We were there early in the spring and some of our favourite wineries were not open!  This is when we decided to create an iPhone App that would eliminate the need to stop for maps and brochures altogether.

Wine Tripper has a great map of the wineries in BC, a comprehensive list of those wineries including their address and hours of operation, and a place where you can make notes on the wines you have tasted and your opinions.  My wife’s favourite aspect of the Wine Tripper app is that when you pull up the map of the area the red dots indicate wineries that are closed and the green ones are open – this eliminates the extra time and disappointment of driving by a winery that is closed for the off-season.  I like that you can easily get a listing of the wineries that are closest to you based on proximity.  You will like that the Wine Tripper BC iPhone app costs only $2.99 to buy and will save you time and make your wine touring much more enjoyable!
Check it out at http://www.bennalsoft.com/winetripper

Vancouver Food And Wine *  Local Food And Wine

Okanagan Food And Wine

Okanagan Greens A Conduit For Local Food

Okanagan Greens A Conduit For Local Food

Okanagan Greens hosted this weekend their Conduit Festival.  It was a celebration of live music, local farms, art, emerging artists and all things Okanagan.There were over 100 local poets, musicians, crafters and artists contributing.  Story tellers from En’Owkin shared ancient stories of the land and generations past.

Okanagan Greens’ Conduit Festival Event 2010

Conduit is all about the Global Green Movement. It is a Zero Waste all Organic and Local faire, self-sufficiency Festival that dealt with the issue of Climate change with proactive creative solutions from the Okanagan community. It is for everyone to be inspired and involved in our societal evolution, understanding and wellbeing.


The 5th Annual Organic Okanagan Festival will be held at Summerhill Pyramid Winery September 26th, 2010.
For  more Information please go to:  Okanagan Greens

Vancouver Food And Wine *  Local Food And Wine

Okanagan Food And Wine

Posted via web from Okanagan Food And Wine

Okanagan Greens A Conduit For Local Food

Okanagan Greens A Conduit For Local Food

Okanagan Greens hosted this weekend their Conduit Festival.  It was a celebration of live music, local farms, art, emerging artists and all things Okanagan.There were over 100 local poets, musicians, crafters and artists contributing.  Story tellers from En’Owkin shared ancient stories of the land and generations past.

Okanagan Greens’ Conduit Festival Event 2010

Conduit is all about the Global Green Movement. It is a Zero Waste all Organic and Local faire, self-sufficiency Festival that dealt with the issue of Climate change with proactive creative solutions from the Okanagan community. It is for everyone to be inspired and involved in our societal evolution, understanding and wellbeing.


The 5th Annual Organic Okanagan Festival will be held at Summerhill Pyramid Winery September 26th, 2010.
For  more Information please go to:  Okanagan Greens

Vancouver Food And Wine *  Local Food And Wine

Okanagan Food And Wine

Posted via web from Okanagan Food And Wine