Issue link: http://read.canadatravelguides.ca/i/809166
NEW GLASGOW LOBSTER BOIL • TOURISM PEI/YVONNE DUIVENVOORDEN In season, Winnipeg's Exchange District BIZ off ers tours to some of their delectable one- of-a-kind restaurants (www.exchangedistrict. org/tours/food-tours). West End BIZ covers the eateries in the west of the city (www. westendbiz.ca/visiting-the-west-end/tours/ food-tours-4). Eating and drinking tours of the downtown area feature patio crawls, moveable feasts and even breakfast samplings ( www.downtownwinnipegbiz.com/tours). The rolling grassland plains of Saskatchewan are best known for growing grains. The most exotic is wild rice, an aquatic grass grown in shallow waters. Saskatoon berries are baked into all kinds of desserts at places such as The Berry Barn, near the shores of the South Saskatchewan River ( www.berrybarn.ca ). In Alberta, as Canada's ranch heartland, elk, bison, wild boar, caribou and beef— which many refer to as Canadian Rocky Mountain Cuisine—are plentiful. Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts has their own 500 acre game ranch to provide for their four restaurants in the city of Calgary and dining at the lodges in Banff , Lake Louise and Emerald Lake ( www.crmr.com/mountain-city- restaurants-rockies). In Calgary, at The Guild, Chef Ryan O'Flynn, who spent time learning cooking techniques from the Dene, off ers Indigenous-inspired Jacob's Ladder Bison served Saskatoon style with wild rice and prairie corn ( www.theguildrestaurant.com ). ONTARIO COUNTLESS TASTE TRAILS AND FOOD FESTIVALS Home to the Ontario Pork Council, Stratford, famous for the Stratford Festival, boasts a Bacon & Ale Trail along with a Chocolate Trail and seasonal trails such as the Savour Stratford Maple Trail. On Prince Edward County's Taste Trail, visitors can pop into a cidery, brewery, or ice cream shop for a cold treat or sample fi ne pinots and chardonnays at wineries in this picturesque area on the north shore of Lake Ontario ( www.tastetrail.ca ). Check out the cool cocktail and food scene at the Drake Devonshire (www.drakedevonshire.ca ), enjoy fresh laid eggs for breakfast at one of the bucolic B&Bs such as Wilfrid Boutique Farmhouse ( www.thewilfrid.com ) or sign up for a cooking class to learn the tools of the trade at The Waring House (www.waring house.com ). Butter tarts were a staple of pioneer cooking in both Upper and Lower Canada (now Ontario and Québec). The townships of Minto, Southgate and Wellington North's self-guided Butter Tarts and Buggies Trail combines these sweetly delicious pastries with insights into the Mennonite culture ( www.buttertartsandbuggies.com ). Ottawa is home to the only Canadian campus of the renowned Le Cordon Bleu French cooking school ( www.lcbottawa.com ). C'est Bon's gourmet walking tours are an ideal introduction to the National Capital Region's vibrant food scene ( www.cest boncooking.ca/gourmet-food-tours ). Ontario has some 450 annual culinary- themed festivals and events listed in their on-line calendar ( www.ontarioculinary.com ). QUÉBEC A GOLDMINE OF FRENCH-CANADIAN SPECIALTIES New France's fi rst inhabitants ate hearty meals to cope with the rigours of everyday life and the cold winter climate—evolving a distinct home-cooking style over the centuries, that became Québec classics, such as: tourtière, meat and pork pie; cipaille, a layered wild meat pie; fèves au lard, baked beans; cretons, a fatty pork spread; tarte au sucre, sugar pie; and soupe aux gourganes, broad bean soup ( www.quebecoriginal.com/ en-ca/food#local-specialties). Maple syrup plays a big role in tradi- tional food with more than 10,000 produc- ers in the province. In spring, Québécois gather at some 400 cabanes à sucre (sugar shacks) to enjoy baked beans, oreilles des crisse (crispy pork rinds), and pancakes LE CORDON BLEU CULINARY ARTS INSTITUTE, OTTAWA, ON 50