A first-of-its-kind 10-day culinary experience is coming to New Westminster this fall.
Tourism New West, in partnership with The Brewery District by WesGroup Properties, will be serving up Feast on the Fraser from Sept. 25 to Oct. 4.
The inaugural event pairs businesses together as a way of fusing food and fun. For example, there’s going to be a paint night at 100 Braid Street Studios, where Pacific Breeze Winery will be on hand to provide cocktails while an instructor leads the group from a blank canvas to a masterpiece. There’s also an evening at Anvil Centre, where the chef from Truffles Fine Foods will host cooking demos for different courses, and then sharing it with guests. Boston Pizza, meanwhile, will host a Master Chef cook-off.
“It’s about celebrating New Westminster’s culinary scene,” Tej Kainth, executive director of Tourism New West, enthusiastically told the Record. “It’s just a different way of dining. It’s not your typical ‘here’s your meal’ and that’s it. You’re actually getting to experience some entertainment, or art, or history. People are going to find a lot of value in this.”
Over on the waterfront, Wild Rice has committed to recreating dishes found on an old King Neptune Restaurant menu.
“I think that one is going to be celebrating a real piece of New West history that so many folks remember. It was before my time, but I’m constantly being reminded and told how much of a great restaurant that was,” she said.
Kainth added the idea for Feast on the Fraser came from a desire to develop a culinary program for New West. Originally, Kainth wanted to do a dine-out program similar to what surrounding communities have done, but thought against it. Instead, she envisioned something different.
“Eventually I’d like to invite other communities to participate in this; so now we’ve got this big regional culinary event where each community is doing their own set of innovative and engaging pairings,” she noted.
More Royal City businesses need to be collaborating in general, according to Kainth, who said Feast on the Fraser is a great opportunity to do exactly that and grow those relationships.
There will be an official kick-off party on Friday, Sept. 25 at The Boathouse, with brews supplied by Steel & Oak. Other participating establishments include Longtail Kitchen, Rain City Juicery, Starlight Casino, The Heritage Grill, Paddlewheeler Riverboat Tours and Taverna Greka. Each event is ticketed (between $25 and $85).
For more information or to buy tickets, visit www.feastonthefraser.com.
