Issue link: http://read.canadatravelguides.ca/i/809166
Heirloom produce from local farms, indige- nous wild foods foraged from the forests, organic meats and fresh seafood fi shed from the oceans and lakes are among their cherished ingredients. Sustainable, artisanal and locavore are their buzz words. BRITISH COLUMBIA BOUNTY FROM THE OCEAN, FORESTS & LAND Specialties on the menu in British Columbia include wild salmon, golden honey mussels, spot prawns, geoduck, BC bison, Fraser Valley duck and Salt Spring Island lamb. There is a wide range of guided culinary tours—sometimes led by chefs—in southern B.C., particularly near the Okanagan Valley, Cowichan Valley and Fraser Valley. City tasting tours in Victoria, Vancouver and Whistler visit restaurants and culinary neighbourhoods ( www.hellobc.com ). Cornucopia Whistler, celebrating 21 years in November, is an annual 11-day indul- gence of local food and drink, that pairs homegrown chefs with top B.C. producers, breweries, distilleries, and wineries ( www. whistlercornucopia.com). Kissa Tanto, a jewel of a place that fuses Japanese with Italian in Vancouver's Chinatown, was named Canada's Best New Restaurant in 2016 by Air Canada's enRoute magazine ( www.kissatanto.com ). Off the Eaten Track off ers fun foodie tours such as the Gourmet Ice Cream Tour of Vancouver and the Craft Beer and Culinary Tour of Victoria ( www.off theeatentrack tours.ca/vancouver ). On the Wild Foraging – BC Rainforest Lunch & Walk, off ered by Swallow Tail Culinary Tours, participants discover native B.C. ingredients in the forest: fi ddleheads, licorice fern, big leaf maple fl owers, nettles, oyster mushrooms and wild chamomile, to name a few ( www. swallowtail.ca ). Edible Canada on Granville Island off ers a restaurant, artisan retail shop and an appetizing selection of culinary tours, events and adventures in Vancouver ( www.ediblecanada.com ). THE PRAIRIES GRASSLAND GRAINS AND RANCHLAND MEATS Manitoba's Parkland region has a self-guided Flavour Trail with about 14 trail stops along the way, including Elkhorn Resort where local specialties such as Northern Manitoba pickerel, wild rice and saskatoon berries are on the menu ( www.fl avourtrail.ca). Culinary tourism is a force of nature in Canada. From walking food tours of cities to tasty rural trails, there's a cornucopia of good eats on the road. Creative young chefs reinterpret Canada's regional dishes, showcase ethnic infl uences and play with exotic spicing. A TASTE OF CANADA BY MARGARET SWAINE CAPE D'OR LIGHTHOUSE • NS TOURISM/SCOTT MUNN 49