Les Dames d’Escoffier – B.C. Chapter has released a new wine, Les Dames Rosé. It’s made by Mireille Sauvé, a Les Dames member who was a scholarship recipient and went on to become the youngest certified wine sommelier in Canada. Sauvé also went on to learn winemaking and her initial red and white Les Dames wines were created as a way to give back to the society that had helped her so much and also as a major fundraising initiative. The rosé is a pale, Provençal-style wine with chalky minerality and strawberry-rhubarb flavours. Find at restaurants and private liquor stores. dameswine.com
H2 Rotisserie and Bar at The Westin Bayshore Hotel has added items to its daily breakfast buffet. The $32 weekday buffet now includes dim sum, including pork or chicken siu mai, prawn har gow, steamed or fried dumplings and bao buns. Also look for rotating Indian dishes. The $35 weekend buffet will also include action stations where guests can build their own Buddha bowl, enjoy rotisserie chicken and get French toast made to order. h2restaurant.com
Fancy exploring Burnaby Heights? The Crave dining event is the perfect opportunity. Running through to Aug. 30, visit participating restaurants, cafés and patisseries for special deals, such as Chez Christophe’s trio of petit fours for $8.95, which includes a fresh fruit verrine, chocolate tarte, and coconut-passionfruit éclair. Or try five appetizers for $50 in the lounge of The Pear Tree. burnabyheights.com
Vancouver Farmers Markets’annual Tomato Festival will take place this weekend at Trout Lake (Saturday, Aug. 26) and Kitsilano (Sunday, Aug. 27) farmers markets. The event features signature recipes from local chefs and restaurants, including Vij’s, Café Medina, Orto Artisan Pasta, Belgard Kitchen and more. There will also be tastings of more than 150 different kinds of tomatoes, canning demonstrations and prizes worth up to $200 from Wells Can Company, as well as an “Inglorious Tomato” Instagram contest. eatlocal.org/tomato-fest
On Friday, Sept. 8, Hopcott Farms will host a harvest long-table dinner at its farm in Pitt Meadows. The outdoor, covered event will start with a welcome reception featuring Hopcott’s own charcuterie, along with local cheeses, spreads and local craft beer from Foamers’ Folly. The four-course dinner, cooked by Restaurant 62’s Jeff Massey, will be paired with local wines. There will also be live music from guitarist/singer Ryan McAllister. Proceeds from the event will go to Alisa’s Wish Child and Youth Advocacy Centre. Tickets $125 per person via Eventbrite. hopcottmeats.ca
One of the biggest and best food-and-drink events of the year takes place Wednesday, Sept. 27. The 14th annual Passions event in support of the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation will be held this year at Performance Works on Granville Island and will feature more than 20 of the city’s top chefs, restaurants and mixologists, including representatives from Cibo, Uva, Hawksworth, Maenam, Cin Cin, Cioppino’s, botanist and more. Tickets $225 ($300 for VIP). drpeter.org
