A festival you’ll want to
OSOYOOS — Devour! Osoyoos Food Film Fest returns to the South Okanagan, May 5 - 7. The festival’s menus and food-inspired films have been finalized, and Osoyoos’ hospitality pros are looking forward to playing host as food and film fans gravitate to this B.C. hotspot.
The weekend-long culinary celebration features some of Western Canada’s best chefs, plus festival founder Chef Michael Howell and managing director, Lia Rinaldo, of Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
Devour! deftly fuses two great arts – food and film – in one thoroughly satisfying festival. It launches on Friday, May 5 at Black Hills Estate Winery. Chef Michael Howell co-hosts a cocktail party with celebrated Vancouver chef Ned Bell, with silent films as backdrop.
Saturday afternoon, Watermark Beach Resort hosts an Ocean Wise Chowder Smackdown, with chefs vying to be voted Chowder Champion. Bell – a champion of sustainable seafood in Canada – will lead a team of hungry judges.
Saturday night marks the gala, a five-course dinner at Watermark Beach resort where five top chefs – from Wolfville, Calgary, Vancouver and Osoyoos – each create a dish inspired by one of six shorts about food.
Alexandre Lampron’s film, Lobster Fishing, for example, will precede Chef Michael Howell’s Lobster Salad Roll, featuring Nova Scotia lobster, paired with wines from Nova Scotia’s Domaine De Grand Pré Winery, Jost Vineyards, Luckett Vineyards and Mercator Vineyards.
The dinner, otherwise served with Okanagan wines from Maverick Estate Winery, Church & State, Covert Farms and Kismet Estate Winery, will also include Watermark executive chef Adair Scott’s sweet onion fritter with locally-foraged stinging nettle purée (inspired by the film Daylily Fritters directed by Aube Giroux); birchbark smoked Okanagan sockeye salmon (inspired by the film Slow Food in Canada, directed by Kevin Kossowan) prepared by Calgary’s chef Paul Rogalski, of Rouge; beef short rib with bean puree and “seco à la norteña jus” (inspired by the film Why This Road: Dan Portelance, directed by Ben Proudfoot) prepared by chef Ricardo Valverde of Vancouver’s Ancora Waterfront Dining and Patio; a dessert that marries rhubarb, bay leaf, mascarpone, yuzu and hazelnuts (inspired by the film Loss of Taste, directed by Luca Nestola) by chef Julian Bond of Vancouver’s Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (PICA); and a plate of Nova Scotia and B.C. cheeses, selected by chefs Howell and Scott and introduced by Hannah Cheesman’s short comic film, Cheese.
Guests enjoy each of the films, curated by Devour’s managing director Lia Rinaldo, then savour the dish and the wine(s) with which it’s paired, leading to stimulating conversations and a truly memorable evening. Insights provided by the participating chefs and winemakers round out the experience.
Sunday’s event is the Bubbles Brunch at Watermark Beach Resort, featuring a buffet prepared by PICA’s chef Julian Bond and his visiting culinary students, as well as Watermark's chef Adair Scott – all paired with sparkling wines. Short films will be screened and an awards ceremony will anoint the People’s Choice Awards to Best Film, Best Dish and Best Wine from Saturday’s Gala Dinner.
Individual events range in price from $20 to $149. For event tickets or overnight packages visit Destination Osoyoos' website: desintationosoyoos.com.