Taste of Kelowna is always a great event and this year was no different. For those who haven’t been before, the idea is that various restaurants from around Kelowna all get together at the Kelowna Curling Club and set up booths where they sell sample size servings of various dishes to the public. Tasting tickets are $1 each with all dishes costing one or two tickets. A panel of judges evaluates each booth’s offering, with their favourite earning recognition as “Judge’s Choice” champion. The public also has the opportunity to vote for their favourite and, with the winner receiving the “People’s Choice Award.” This event is a great way to try a variety of different dishes without spending a lot of money with the added bonus of the money you spend being donated to charity.

This was my third year attending the event, but the first that I got to see it from a behind the scenes perspective. If you follow my blog regularly, you’ll know that I am chairing the Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (www.KelownaBBQ.com) down in Waterfront Park this summer, so we were at Taste of Kelowna to promote our event. The BCRFA (B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association) who organize the event, were kind enough to let us participate. We volunteered to run the booth serving pop and water and in return could put up our event signage and hand out some flyers and registration forms.

I arrived at about 10AM, an hour prior to the show starting, but the place was already abuzz with activity. Restaurants were scrambling to make their booths look perfect and get all of their cooking gear set up and ready to go. This event has to be stressful for the chefs involved. These are guys and gals are on their feet from 9 AM to 5 PM, without any opportunity for a break and they are expected to prepare samples of their finest work in a makeshift kitchen. I don’t envy their task, but most of them did an admirable job.

For my first sample of the day I went to one of my favourites, the Spoonstruck Café (Tutt Street in Pandosy Village) to try their Moroccan Chick Pea Stew. I love chick peas, and Moroccan flavours, but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this dish. The flavours were fine, but to me the chick peas were very undercooked. I would, however, still highly recommend checking out this hidden gem next time you find yourself looking for lunch in the Mission.

My next stop was at The King of Kelowna (Harvey and Ellis) booth for some Nepalese cuisine. I tried a small portion of three different curries. Two of them were very good, but the third was mediocre. The tastes certainly piqued my interest and I will definitely pay this restaurant a visit in the near future.

The next booth I tried was Summerhill. I was expecting good things, since Summerhill had won the Judge’s Choice Award the last two years. I was not disappointed. Their Shepherd’s Pie was a little bland, but the Vanilla Yam Perogy was probably the best dish I had all day. It was an absolutely perfect blend of flavours and a great twist on a classic perogie. I washed it down with a glass of their Pinot Noir, which was also very good. This was definitely not the best vintage of Summerhill Pinot Noir that I’ve tried, but I really enjoyed it. My favourite thing about Summerhill’s Pinot Noir’s is that they usually have a strong pepper flavour (unusual in a Pinot Noir), but it doesn’t overwhelm or diminish the fruit flavours of the wine. My wife tried their Blackberry Bellini (made with Pinot Noir icewine), which she described as light, bubbly, and refreshing. It was one of the highlights of her day.

My next sample was the Butter Chicken from Industry Lounge (Abott and Harvey – in the Prestige). To be blunt, it was horrible. I sincerely hope they don’t serve food like this in their restaurant, because if they do, they will never have a single repeat customer. It was totally tasteless and watery. After tasting it, and not knowing where I got it from one of the guys helping me in our booth commented, “This isn’t from a restaurant is it?” This was easily the worst sample I tried all day.

My next stop was Hanna’s (Water St., above Rose’s) for some beef shortribs. To be fair to Hanna’s I’m not really a fan of braised meat, so it was no surprise that I didn’t enjoy this dish. It was certainly a little bland, but the biggest drawback was definitely that it was braised.

After a couple of disappointments, the show got back on track at the Montana’s (Home Depot Plaza on Harvey) booth. I tried their “Taste of the Mediterranean Burger”. At first bite, I was shocked to find that it was cold. After confirming with friends that their burgers were all hot, I knew this was a prep mistake on the part of Montana’s. Normally I’d hold it against them, but even cold this burger with goat cheese and roasted red pepper was delicious. Having one of my favourites (Yam Fries) on the side certainly didn’t hurt their cause.

Next on my list was a Pulled Pork Sandwich from Memphis Blues (Bernard and Water). I must admit that my involvement with competitive BBQ has made me a bit of a pulled pork snob, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I found the Memphis Blues offering to be far too dried out for my liking, but I will say that it did have some fantastic BBQ sauce on it.

Nature’s Fare (Orchard Plaza) surprised me, as I didn’t expect to see a health food store at the show, but I guess they do have a café in their store that serves meals. I tried their Moroccan Tagine, and have to say my second attempt at enjoying Moroccan food that day was much more successful than my first. It was think and rich, but probably a little too sweet for my taste. I also tried their Gingerbread Pear Spelt Cake. I don’t know if this is something they usually serve, but I highly recommend heading over there to try and find some. It was phenomenal! The flavours of the gingerbread and pair matched perfectly.

What better way to continue the show than to have a friend drop by your booth with some Gehringer Bros. Pinot Auxerrois and Late Harvest Cabernet Franc for you to try? Pinot Auxerrois isn’t a very common grape, but it is delicious. The Gehringer Bros. offering had a great flavour, but was a little sweeter than my taste would dictate. If you’re like me and prefer dryer wines, try the Grey Monk Auxerrois, but if you’re like my wife and prefer sweeter, then Gehringer Bros. is probably your best bet. On the topic of sweet wine, the Late Harvest Cabernet Franc was fantastic. In my opinion Cabernet Franc is easily one of the most flavourful grapes, and it gave this late harvest and absolutely incredible taste.

Next up were some flavours from the Hotel Eldorado (Lakeshote and Cook Rd.). I again got braised beef short ribs, and was again disappointed because they were braised (will I ever learn!?). I will say for being braised, they were very good and I enjoyed them a lot more than I did the one’s from Hanna’s. I also tried a bit of dessert from the Eldorado, in the form of White and Milk Chocolate Panna Cotta (think Jell-o, but fancy). These were pretty good, but I would still take Lime Jell-o over Panna Cotta any day of the week.

Our booth was right next to the Vintage Room’s (Harvey and Gordon – in the Capri Hotel) booth and I can tell you first had that these guys worked their asses off all day, but they still had time to answer any questions from our booth and put up with our dumb jokes all day. They even managed to pass us a sample of the Medallion of Dry Rub Lamb they were serving, despite having one of the longest lineups in the place. I have to tell you that this dish was absolutely perfect, and I’m not even a huge lamb fan. It was so tender and full of flavour, that its hard to convey just how good it was in words. Serving it with polenta was also a great choice as the grittiness of the polenta contrasted against the tenderness of the lamb. A job very well done!

I was getting full, but decided to keep powering through, especially when I heard about the “Our Burger” from the Bonfire Restaurant (West Kelowna – in the Cove). I love burgers, but I REALLY love burgers with smoked bacon on them. This burger was fantastic, and even outdid the burger I had from Montana’s. The Bonfire’s secret is smoking their own bacon onsite, which allows them much greater control over the quality.

I went to the Grand Bay Café (Water St. – in the Delta Grand Hotel) hoping to renew my love for butter chicken after my experience with Industry Lounge a few hours earlier. This rendition was much better. It was rich and creamy, with tender pieces of chicken; just like butter chicken should be. My only complaint was that the roti (unleavened Indian flatbread) that was served with it was not roti at all, but actually some sort of pastry. I have to say it was good, but have no idea why they would label it as roti.

I finished the event off with a stop at the Wild Apple Grill Booth for a Pulled Pork Taco and a Smore for dessert. The taco was fantastic. The pulled pork was moist, and the dressings of chipotle slaw, pickled onion, and housemade hot sauce were the perfect compliments in taste and texture. It was definitely one of the highlights of the day. The smore (marshmallow and dark chocolate on a graham wafer) was also delicious and probably the perfect way to finish the event.

All in all, the event was awesome. I wish the lines weren’t so long for most of the day (tip for next year - things get really quiet around 3pm), but it’s only because the food is so good and the event attracts so many people. If you haven’t been to this event before you definitely need to get yourself down there next year. I should also pass congratulations on to Summerhill, which won the Judge’s Choice Award for the third year in a row, as well as Moxies and the Vintage Room, which tied to win the Peoples’ Choice Award.

Best Dish: TIE – Vanilla Yam Perogy (Summerhill) and Medallion of Dry Rub Lamb (Vintage Room)

Best Dessert – Late Harvest Cabernet Franc (Gehringer Bros.)

Best Beverage – Blackberry Bellini (Summerhill)

Honourable Mentions: Pulled Pork Taco (Wild Apple Grill), Our Burger (Bonfire Restaurant), and Taste of the Mediterranean Burger (Montana’s)

On a side note, I will be heading down to Pike’s Place Market in Seattle this weekend for their BBQ Competition. I’m really excited to be heading down and looking forward to sampling some delicious BBQ. Look for an article about it early next week.