The 2015 EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

I’ve been going to EAT! Vancouver since its very early days, first attending the third annual food and cooking festival back in 2005. And while a lot has changed in ten years (there’s definitely more of a focus on organic, locally sourced, fair trade ingredients), a lot has remained the same.

EAT! Vancouver 2015 still had a celebrity cooking stage, it still had plenty of vendors offering free samples, and it still had an area where you could exchange your food tickets for something a little more substantial. And that’s all pretty great.

At the same time, the foodie festival has certainly expanded these last few years, going beyond the main showcase at BC Place Stadium to offer a variety of cooking classes and other events around the city in the days leading up to the three-day festival this past weekend. As you may recall, I missed last year’s EAT! Vancouver, sending Susanne in my stead, but I was back for 2015. Let’s have a look at a few highlights.

The 2015 EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

The 2015 EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

Pinnacle Hotel and its family of restaurants offered three canapes in exchange for four food tickets ($4). We got the fresh fish taco at the top of the post, duck rillette on a crostini, and a rich chocolate and cherry tasting spoon for “dessert.”

The 2015 EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

Going through some more of the food tickets that we purchased, we got a nice hot bowl of beef chili from Chili Tank, self-described as “the bst mobile chili tank in town.” Other vendors included Dunn’s Famous, Bao Down Gastown, Cioffi’s Meat Market & Deli, Jamaican Blue Cold Brew Coffee and New India Buffet.

The 2015 EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

The 2015 EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

One of the highlights from EAT! Vancouver 2013 was the cheese-tasting seminar, so I just had to do it again this year. It was once again sponsored by Dairy Farmers of Canada, giving us the opportunity to learn more about cheese. Everything from the Aria Foods’ creamy Tre Stelle Mascarpone to the award-winning raw milk medium cheddar from L’Ancetre of Becancour, Quebec was great.

The 2015 EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

The 2015 EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

Of course, indulging in the free samples from the vendors is always a treat. From the gluten-free, nacho cheese-flavored bean and rice chips of Beanfields Snacks to the 50% grower-owned organic coffee of Doi Chaang Coffee of Thailand, from Sue’s wonderfully savory pork jerky to Dave’s Killer Bread, there was a little something for everyone. There were even samples of Pepsi Next being given out, cutting 30% of the sugar out of your typical cola.

The 2015 EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

The 2015 EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

The 2015 EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

Events like this are always a joy and I’ll be happy to come back next year. Maybe I’ll partake in one of those optional culinary classes too. Check my Flickr photostream for more pictures from EAT! Vancouver 2015.