Food & Drink

Dining experience coming

Photo: Castanet Diners will have their pick of 10 three-course meals from Kamloops restaurants thanks to a new program beginning Wednesday. Tourism Kamloops has partnered with the BC Restaurant and Food Association to offer Dine Around BC, starting Wednesday and running through Feb. 11

An intoxicating blend

Photo: Contributed Wine: Vanessa Vineyard 2022 V Series Winery: Vanessa Vineyard Why drink it: A lovely white blend from winemaker Howard Soon and his team at Vanessa Vineyard, the V series is an intoxicating blend, mostly Sémillon, with barrel-fermented Marsanne, Viognier an

Comfort food or health food

Photo: Contributed The "Ultimate" Bread Pudding It’s a new year and some of us get excited for a reason to have a fresh start, while others feel the pressure of making resolutions to make a show of improving ourselves. It can be a tough combination, to be in hibernat

Cereal, bars recalled

Photo: Quaker Quaker Canada is announcing a voluntary recall of more than three dozen types of cereals and granola bars due to possible exposure to salmonella. The recall includes Harvest Crunch cereals, Chewy granola bars, Dipps granola bars, yogurt granola bars, as well as Cap'n

Fresh vision at Red Barn

Contributed A story of passion and innovation is unfolding at Red Barn Winery, and at the heart of is Kaylee Barss. Barss is Red Barn’s winemaker who, after a brief sojourn to Ontario to extend her winemaking knowledge at Brock University, returned to her roots, bringing a fresh visi

New convention for growers

Photo: Pexels A new project from the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with tree fruit and grape industries will be presented at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre next month. The Southern Interior Horticultural Show will take place from February 16-17 to provide produ

Eat your way across BC

Photo: Contributed OAK + CRU Social Kitchen & Wine Bar Dine Around 2024 is right around the corner. The British Columbia Restaurant and Foodservice Association is getting ready to serve up culinary excellence for its annual celebration starting next week. Starting Jan. 17 rig

Quails' Gate 2021 Queue

Photo: Contributed Wine: Quails’ Gate 2021 Queue Winery: Quails’ Gate Estate Vineyard Why drink it: Queue is a new addition to the Quails’ Gate lineup and is part of the winery’s Distinction Collection, a small lots program of experimental and small productio

A new year and new trends

Photo: Contributed Those in the know say ube will be the flavour of the year for 2024 When I heard that Pantone, the company that categorizes colours for design, chose “Peach Fuzz” as the colour for 2024, I knew this week’s column had to be about the food trends for t

Dog-meat stereotype persists

Photo: The Canadian Press Crispy Pork Belly is presented at "Love & Thai" restaurant in Fresno, Calif. on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The Thai restaurant, is back in operation after being wrongfully accused of abusing a dog to turn it into meat. It may be astonishing to some that

Instant ramen from machine

Chelsey Mutter Vernon is home to the Okanagan’s first instant ramen machine. The EZ Cook machine can be found at Rich Tea, allowing people to make their own customizable ramen or hot pot. Owner Daryl Andrade says the machines are popular in South Korea, and are slowly gaining popu

Evolve Pink Effervescence

Photo: Contributed Wine: Evolve Pink Effervescence Winery: Time Family of Wines, Evolve Cellars Why drink it: Winemaker Lynzee Schatz started her career at Summerhill Pyramid Winery before going to school in Australia. She worked vintages at Tawse in Ontario and California’s D

Food banks rising demand

Photo: The Canadian Press Boxes of donated food items are shown at the Moisson Montreal food bank in Montreal, Saturday, December 7, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes Increasing demand for food assistance this year, coupled with a regular spike in users during the holiday season,

Auld Lang Syne

Photo: Contributed Here we are, at the end of another year. Now that all the hustle and bustle of Christmas is done, it’s time to focus on winding up the year in style. There is reminiscing to do and the setting of new goals. When it comes down to ringing in the New Year, we a

Crush of money for local biz

Photo: Crush Dynamics A Summerland company that uses wine waste to produce a high-performance food ingredient recently received nearly $2 million in government funding to fund a project that will attempt to reduce sugar content in chocolate. Crush Dynamics received the money from the C

Beat the holiday hangover

Photo: Pexels If holiday family gatherings had you nursing a hangover – here's some advice before 'never again' becomes 'one more time' on New Year's Eve. The easiest way to avoid a hangover is not to drink at all, or modestly at least. But as one drink tu

Classic Cabernet Sauvignon

Photo: Contributed Wine: Jackson-Triggs, Okanagan Estate 2021 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Winery: Jackson-Triggs Estate Wines Why drink it: This classic OK Cab Sauv is just what you need as a weeknight red or Christmas toast when you realize you’ve overspent on your holiday sho

What are sugar plums?

Photo: Contributed I mentioned the tale last week of The Night Before Christmas. Do you remember how it starts out, with children dreaming of sugar plums? Did you, like me, wonder what those were? Well, in hopes you have a bit of time this week to reminisce and wonder about such superf

A sip for the season

Photo: Okanagan Spirits A special seasonal sip from Vernon's Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery helps support a much-loved cultural phenomenon in the North Okanagan. "Proceeds from each bottle of Winter Spiced Whisky sold will help fund our talented friends at Caravan Farm Thea

Tims to bring dutchie back

Photo: The Canadian Press For roughly two decades, Canadians have been telling Tim Hortons something's missing from the company's menu: The dutchie.  The sweet, square-shaped treat speckled with raisins dates back to the brand's 1964 inception but was taken off the men