Special Big Taste Sneak Peek

One of my favourite parts of The Big Taste is the special culinary events.  The set menus are fantastic too, but if you’re looking for an out-of-the-box experience then you’ll want to purchase tickets to one of these beauties.

In the last couple of years I’ve had a ‘Nose to Tail’ Bison feast at Charcut, a knock out brunch at Home Tasting Room, and a gourmet lunch at Teatro, all in the presence of fellow food-lovers, and Calgary’s king of all things food, John Gilchrist.

I’m so excited to be going to three of these incredible events this year!

MARCH 1st at 12:00PM at Rush Restaurant - John Gilchrist will be hosting lunch at Rush, with Chef Ray Bear, who will create a customized Big Taste menu for 2013 (with wine pairings sponsored by BC VQA Wines). Every day of the year, you can count on Rush for modern Canadian dishes paired with carefully curated wines – combinations that garner local, national and international awards and recognition.

MARCH 6th at 6:30PM - Brewmasters Dinner at The Libertine - Beer is always best when enjoyed with others, isn’t it? Join Larry Kerwin, Brewmaster at Village Brewery, as he leads a conversation on all things beer in tandem with Chef Raquel Crerar of Libertine Lounge. Implementing a “fresh is better” philosophy to food and beverage, the Libertine’s beer list showcases breweries that share the sentiment. Eat, drink and be merry at the Libertine.

The menu features fresh oyster on the half shell, Welsh Rarebit made with Village spent grain bread, Dirty Blonde mac and cheese with Ale braised pork and a Village Wit Beer Float with Orange Sorbet. All paired with amazing, local beer!

MARCH 7th at 7:00PM - BC Wine Dinner @ MARKET - Come join executive Chef Geoff Rogers and Chef de Cuisine Dave Bohati from Calgary’s newest inner city restaurant, Market Calgary, for a night of fresh food and BC wines. All of Market’s cuisine is created from authentically local, seasonal and fresh farm ingredients; some of it was grown as close as their own kitchen, and the rest is from as far as a neighbour’s farm. Now, that’s local.

The recently opened MARKET’s chef Geoff Rogers, formerly of Home Tasting Room, will be competing in the upcoming Season 3 of Top Chef Canada, which premieres on March 18th on Food Network Canada.

Every March food lovers from Calgary and beyond head downtown to be awed and inspired by the best of what local restos have to offer during The Big Taste, Calgary’s Annual Dining Festival, so mark your calendar now for March 1-10, 2013 and prepare yourself for 10 days of edible adventures.

The official website with all the 2013 participants and menus is now live, and don’t forget to watch for the special Big Taste dining guide in the February 20th home deliveries of the Calgary Herald.

If you’d like to receive updates on The Big Taste and other dining events follow along on Twitter with the hash tags #foodiesyyc and #bigtasteyyc or visit us on Facebook.

This year there are going to be a ton of chances to win great prizes during The Big Taste! When you post photos, reviews and action shots of your culinary experiences on Instagram using #foodiesyyc, you will be automatically entered to win 1 of 10 prizes each day of the festival, including more than 60 restaurant gift cards.

Plus, one lucky hashtagger will win the ultimate prize of a meal per month for a year! That’s right, a $100 restaurant gift card for every month for the next 12 months. Plus, one night at the Marriott.

There is also an incredible BC Wine Adventure in BC’s Okanagan Valley up for grabs from our partners at BC Wine. For full details please visit www.bigtastecalgary.com.

Tagged as: big taste, Calgary, dining, downtown