Spotlight on women at Devour! The Food Film Fest
Wolfville and Kings County are the places to be this Nov. 2 to 6, when the sixth edition of Devour! The Food Film Fest returns.
Wolfville chef Michael Howell calls this year one the most anticipated lineups yet with a celebration of women and gastronomy planned.
The focus is women chefs, filmmakers and industry guests to infuse the entire festival program. The Power of Women in Gastronomy is set for Saturday, Nov. 5.
On Nov. 5, Devour will screen the world premiere of Vérane Frédiani’s highly-anticipated feature, ‘ The Goddesses of Food.’ Featuring stories from some of the greats like Barbara Lynch and Dominique Crenn, the film explores the unique world of women and cuisine, from the trials to the triumphs.
The screening at Acadia University’s Denton Hall, Howell says, will be followed by a Q&A with Frédiani.
Saturday’s Spotlight Gala dinner will be a clash of the culinary titans, with six legendary female chefs working together to create a decadent dinner inspired by the film.
Three visiting chefs, Boston’s Barbara Lynch (No 9 Park), Los Angeles’ Mary Sue Milliken (Border Grill) and Toronto’s Christine Flynn (Chef Jacques La Merde), will join three local chefs, The Canteen’s Renée Lavallée, The Prince George’s Bee Choo Char and The Old Apothecary’s Laura MacLeod to create the ultimate feast for the senses. Longtime festival partner, Bishop’s Cellar, will pair each course with a selection from all-female winemakers.
Tickets to the sixth edition of Devour! The Food Film Fest will become available online Sept. 16 through Ticketpro. For more information visit devourfest.com.
Devour makes local connections
The five-day festival takes place in the culinary epicentre of Nova Scotia – Wolfville and Kings County and it will be making some new connections with chefs in training this year.
According to Howell, Kingstec NSCC chefs Don Mailman and Peter Dewar will take part in an even bigger way this year and four culinary students and chef Glen White from George Brown College in Toronto are coming.
This year the popular Food Truck Night is turning into a Street Food Party, he suggested, with a number of restaurants and farms taking part.
Attendance at the outdoor event has risen from 1,700 in 2014 to 2,400 last year. Howell expects 3,000 this November.