Wine & Food Festival Review

The Banff Wine & Food Festival succeeded in attracting more than 2000 people to the Grand Tasting Hall in the conference centre at the Banff Springs Hotel on May 2nd, and those in attendance were treated to a glorious sunny day, excellent cuisine and a good selection of wines, beers and spirits.
After picking up our sampling glass and tasting coupons, the aroma of Indian spices guided us directly to the stall where Fuze’s Executive Chef Gary Dayanandan was preparing exquisite Chili Prawns and, for dessert, a superb Sticky Toffee Pudding. The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel was represented by five of its restaurants, each of which produced an impressive and intricate dish, such as Organic Chinook Salmon with a Chipotle Glaze, Seared Scallop with Lemon Orzo Pasta Risotto, and Maple Braised Pork Belly.
The Bison Restaurant and Lounge offered a festival special of Pulled Bison on a Mini Brioche, and also gave a sampling of their excellent Swiss Cheese Fondue, one of 3 new fondues offered in the restaurant. Meanwhile burger lovers were well looked after by the Eddie Burger & Bar, whose mini bison burger gave us a good reason to sample the full size version at a later date.
There were a lot more wine and drink stalls than food stalls, and choosing between them was a little bit more difficult, which made us think that it would have been interesting if wine pairings had been offered by the restaurants along with the food samples. The wide selection meant that most grapes and many regions could be sampled and our particular favorite was the 2006 Cashmere by Cline Cellars, a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre.
All in all, it was the Banff restaurants that really shone at this event, and Banff’s reputation for first class dining was certainly reinforced. We are already looking forward to next year’s festival!

The following restaurants were present in the Grand Tasting Hall:
Bison Restaurant & Lounge
Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts
Eddie Burger & Bar
The Evergreen
Fuze Finer Dining
Giorgio’s Trattoria
Maple Leaf Grill & Lounge
Masala Authentic Indian Cuisine
St James Gate Olde Irish Pub
The Elk & Oarsman Restaurant & Pub
Sunshine Mountain Lodge
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Wild Flour