Cupid is setting his sights on several swoon-worthy events this year, sure to ignite your passions.
Many restaurants, back from their January break, have Cupid’s bow poised on Valentine’s Day – which falls on a Saturday this year – with rich and decadent set menus.
For example, check out the offerings at The Restaurant at Poplar Grove, Row Fourteen in Cawston, and Elma, or with its multi-course take-away menu, Brodo, for you and yours to enjoy in privacy.
Whether you’re single, engaged, married or polyamorous, everyone is welcome at the third annual Big Hearts, Small Bites event taking place at participating Naramata Bench wineries, cideries and breweries, on Feb. 14 from 11 a.m.to 5 p.m.
The food and wine-themed event, organized by Joel and Linda Chamaschuk and Melannie McCarnan of Chain Reaction Winery, promises a total of 19 participants this year – including Evolve Sparkling House – because love and bubbles… For a complete list go to chainreactionwine.com and click under ‘events’.
Some of the highlights include Chain Reaction’s 15-hour smoked brisket sandwiches for purchase, and Lake Breeze Winery’s savoury three-bite plate, paired with three wines from their portfolio.
And keeping it chocolatey, will be Abandoned Rail Brewing with guest chocolate purveyor and master of gastronomy Jan Biega of Milou Chocolate.
Biega will have a selection of single origin, direct trade, bean-to-bar chocolate bars, which I’m sure will be paired with something quaffable from the brewery’s taps. He’ll also be offering chocolate lovers a seductive date-night three-pack highlighting BC’s chocolate artisans.
It includes, from Port Alberni, Black Jaguar, that have created a wild red huckleberry white-chocolate bar, made with pure cocoa butter with no additives or emulsifiers, and wild huckleberries foraged by the maker and his wife; Kasama, from Granville Island, have their Kisinga 70% dark bar in the pack. With cacao beans sourced from the mountains of western Uganda it balances bright acidity, gentle roast and deep cocoa flavour in perfect harmony. And the third bar is from Wallace, in Victoria. Their exquisite rose petal and strawberry bar is enveloped in 76% dark chocolate (because flowers and chocolate…). These types of chocolate confections are no one-night stands.
This is next level chocolate, meant to be savoured, like a fine vintage wine. For maximum seduction, allow their nuances to wash over you and engage your senses, and most importantly let the chocolate slowly melt on your tongue.
All the bars are lovingly made by hand with heirloom varieties of cacao beans sourced directly and transparently from sustainable farmers. Once the cacao fruit is harvested, it’s fermented and sun-dried, roasted, ground and conched (mixed and aerated to develop flavour and texture).
The resulting chocolate is then tempered and poured into molds. Delivery for the three-pack is free in Penticton, and you can purchase the bars – not only from the Brewery – and find out more about the makers and the sourcing directly from Biega’s website, milouchocolate.co. Welcome to your new addiction.
The fifth annual Okanagan Hot Chocolate Festival is well under way (until Feb. 15th), and this year along with the Central Okanagan participants, eight venues in Penticton have joined the party. Dig in to creative Theobroma cacao decadence from basic to bougie with the Taste Passport (available at the Penticton Visitor Centre, and in Kelowna at Anarchy Coffee Roasters).
The event, organized by foodietown.ca is sponsored in part by the French chocolate company, Valrhona, as well as Visit Penticton, Big White Ski Resort and Once Upon a Bookstore.
Go to okanaganhotchocolatefest.ca for the full list and a map of participating venues.
There will be marshmallows.
Dining and Cooking