Cornucopia: Whistler’s Food & Wine Festival: November 10-13, 2011

Whistler, B.C. – True to its name, Cornucopia is the Fall Festival for the indulgent and the connoisseur. Ideally located in the majestic and historic resort town of Whistler, BC, the festival celebrates extraordinary chefs from across Canada and the world over, and local, regional and international wines for every type of bon vivant. Offering a truly sensory experience, with winemaker dinners, interactive seminars, gala wine tastings and electric after parties, this high end 4 day and night showcase fulfills its mission to put Whistler on the map as the must-experience food and wine party, annually drawing in excess of 6,500 attendees and hundreds of key industry members and media.

Hot on the heels of the announcement of the winner of Top Chef Canada this past week; Cornucopia is honored to present champion Chef Dale MacKay as part of the much anticipated line-up. As the title chef for one of the extravagantChef’s Luncheons, on Saturday November 12^th from 12-3.30pm, Chef MacKay will feature his competition-winning cuisine and culinary flair in an intimate and exclusive 50 person luncheon held in a breath-taking Whistler mansion. In addition to Canada’s West-Coast native Top Chef Luncheon, Cornucopia will be showcasing the East-Coast’s culinary prowess in the form of 6, to-be-named, celebrated chefs from Quebec. Infusing Cornucopia’s programming with East-Coast flavor and typical Quebecois energy, the chef’s will be featured at a number of events, from the Bearfoot Bistro’s Masquerave, to another intimate Chef’s Luncheon. Showcasing the incredible variety and talent of homegrown chef’s, Cornucopia creates a foundation for domestic appreciation on a culinary level.

After a five-year hiatus, the legendary Masquerave at the Bearfoot Bistro returns to Cornucopia. As in the past, this must-attend extravaganza will feature outstanding local and international wines, world-class champagne, astounding light shows and sexy burlesque entertainment. The new food program will feature not only gastronomic creations by Bearfoot Bistro executive chef Melissa Craig, but also other top chefs from Vancouver and Quebec. Also new this year is the Bearfoot Bistro’s association with One Drop, the charitable organization and initiative of Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté. The One Drop Foundation, which aims to give everyone access to clean water, will be a beneficiary of Masquerave ticket sales, along with the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation and the francophone school of Whistler, École La Passerelle. Masquerave is the ultimate celebration of food, wine and life! It is an integral and highly successful component of Cornucopia that will make this year’s festival better than ever.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary milestone of the internationally-acclaimed Araxi Restaurant, there will be two momentous events. Araxi Executive Chef James Walt will unveil his most ambitious multi-course menu yet at the Big Guns Winemakers Dinner: Icons of the Wine World. The elegant evening will feature an unprecedented showing of 10 exemplary wines, each representing one of the world’s foremost wine regions. And Araxi’s legendary Bubbles + Oceans Afterparty will showcase 30 of the world’s top Champagne houses and sparkling wine producers. Preeminent bubbles paired with spectacular seafood at this Whistler hotspot makes this one of the ‘must-attend’ events of the festival.

Cornucopia proudly presents the Viking Stage and Wine Seminar series of 2011. The featured keynote speaker is award-winning writer Natalie MacLean, editor of Canada’s largest wine site at www.nataliemaclean.com. The Wine Seminars are the perfect opportunity to combine your passion for incredible wines with interactive and informative tastings. Ms. MacLean will host a wine tasting and launch of her new book Unquenchable: A Tipsy Search for the World’s Best Bargain Wines with travel anecdotes and colourful stories along with wines featured in the book from 4-5.30pm on Friday, November 12 at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler’s Frontenac Ballroom. There will be an exclusive opportunity to interact with one of the world’s most celebrated wine writers.

Renowned industry professionals will lead you on a delicious journey laced with nuances, aromas and mouth-watering depth. Throw in some history, hilarious tidbits and insiders’ knowledge, and you have the ultimate wine-lovers sip and savour experience. Tickets for the Wine Seminars and Viking Stage series will be on sale through the www.whistlercornucopia.com website.

The dual-night flagship tasting event CRUSH, infamous Winemakers Dinners, Chef’s Luncheons, Chef’s Trip the Farm, and world-class after-parties round out the programming for Whistler’s Food & Wine Festival, Cornucopia, and we look forward to welcoming you to the most extravagant showcase of BC’s finest food, wine, restaurants and produce.

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Cornucopia is a 4 day and night dazzling display of gourmet food and wines attracts over 10,000 people to the resort and caters to amateur enthusiasts to aficionados. Respected Industry professionals, judges and presenters headline each event, seminar and tasting, offering the best possible opportunity to garner as much information and insight as possible. Held on the cusp of the opening of each ski season in beautiful Whistler, British Columbia, Cornucopia was designed to showcase and support local restaurants, restaurateurs and the food and wine industry. Now encompassing wineries and restaurants from Vancouver, greater BC and beyond, Cornucopia has grown to an internationally recognised representation of the Culinary and Viticulture Tourism Industry in Canada. With wide-spread appeal shown through the immense variety of events available, the festival is truly a Food and Wine Festival with a Whistler attitude.

Whistler is Canada’s premier year-round leisure and meeting destination located in the Coast Mountains 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Consistently rated the top ski resort in North America for the past 12 years in a row, Whistler was the Host Mountain Resort of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The resort offers an extensive range of accommodations totaling 10,000 bedrooms among 24 hotels as well as townhomes, condos, B&Bs and chalets. Whistler also boasts more than 100 restaurants and bars, 200 retail shops, 25 spas and countless activity options from world-renowned skiing and snowboarding, mountain biking and golf, to hiking, rock climbing, and watersports. The Resort Municipality of Whistler is home to a diverse community of more than 9,000 permanent residents.