What Are You Eating This Food Day?

Food Day Canada was created by culinary activist, educator, and writer Anita Stewart. It is a showcase of her life’s work and years of grass roots, on the road, research of farmer’s markets, country inns, First Nations communities and more since 1983.  Food Day Canada began in 2003 as The World’s Longest Barbeque, a massive, Canada-wide response to the sanction of Canadian beef exports by its largest trading partner and the dramatic hardship it imposed on the agricultural community. The WLBBQ was a huge success and has evolved into Food Day Canada®, an annual mid-summer celebration of Canada’s rich culinary heritage, delicious northern bounty and the best managed food system on the planet. This year’s Food Day will take place in restaurants and homes across Canada on Saturday, July 30th.

Tofino’s Wickaninnish Inn announces its second annual participation in Food Day Canada on Saturday, July 30, joining over 300 restaurants nationwide for this celebration of Canada’s rich culinary heritage.  A Food Day-themed evening tasting menu, created by Chef de Cuisine Nicholas Nutting, will be offered at The Pointe Restaurant, in addition to the seasonal, à la carte plates on the nightly menu.  The Inn is also offering in-house guests the opportunity to enjoy a special Saturday edition of its signature summer Dungeness Crab Cookout on Chesterman Beach.  These guests will enjoy a newly-concocted non-alcoholic Canada Food Day theme cocktail, created by Maître d’ André McGillivray for the evening.  This Crab Cookout on Canada’s westernmost coast will cap off an early morning breakfast in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

“We’re excited to join fellow Canadians in enjoying our country’s rich bounty in a unique, West Coast tradition”, says Charles McDiarmid, Managing Director of the Wickaninnish Inn.  Also participating in Food Day Canada will be one of Tofino’s favorite haunts, SoBo, as well as fellow Relais & Châteaux members Sonora Resort, off Vancouver Island’s east coast, and Manoir Hovey in North Hatley, Québec. To view the complete list of restaurants participating in BC, click here.

Want to celebrate Food Day at home? Check out the DIY Guide To Food Day.

Find Julie Pegg’s interview with Anita Stewart here.