Of all the summer Sundays in August, this year‘s annual Feast of Fields saw rain, pelting down, with water pooling on to the tents. As a VIP, who is granted an hour earlier access to the festival, this did put a little damper on our mood. Especially as after 90 minutes of rain it did stop. At least, the ability to explore the booths in leisure and engage in conversations with the owners and vendors with less crowds, was worth it.
As per the tradition, guests are welcomed in with a proper wine glass and cloth napkin. And VIPs are given a commemorative souvenir cedar plank board that doubles as a wine glass holder and plate. This is helpful to put your small bite samples on, and is ideal for those who want to grab a handful of canapés and bring it to one of the common use tables to enjoy all at once.
Those who have been to the event before also know to bring camping chairs and picnic blankets, if they want to extend their stay and enjoy the expansive farm field that we were gathered on today. The event does rotate between cities and its farms, but I believe this is the second year in a row that it was held at UBC Farms. One of the perks of being hosted on a farm is that many of the dishes utilize the farm grown crops.
Sunflower Cafés selection of dips were a great example. That only did they utilize their own gardens, but a lot of the fresh veggies that were washed, chopped, and plated alongside, said dips were sourced from UBC’s gardens today. These garden were actually within eye shot of their tent. This included baby carrots, tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, and zucchinis.
Guest are invited to peruse the fields and partake from as many vendors, enjoying as many bites, repeating their favourites as they liked.
I feel the standouts were the Chop and Chew ribs that were barbecued and slathered with a sweet sauce. Purposely paired with a specialty beer brewed by North Vancouver’s Black Kettle, in consideration of their bbq meats.
Speaking of North Vancouver, The Woods, North Vancouver’s Italian distillery was also on location sampling their new ready to drink cocktail in a bottle. Riding on the success of their lemoncello and arancello, they now have a strawberry Negroni. All their fruit selections are popular sippers during summer’s warmer days.
The BC Ale Trail Team were sampling beers from breweries featured on their app. The stand out was one made with and tasted like spruce tips, which is currently in season.
There were also numerous non-alcoholic drinks available. This included an Italian soda spritz mix to order, “Not Too Sweet”, and “Say it Ain’t Soda” offering fresh, fruity, or herbal drink alternatives.
The crowd favourite seemed to be the charcoal grilled corn courtesy of Honey Salt, located within Parq Casino. This was simple offering, but dressed up with the ability to top and dress yours as you like. Their collection of seasonings surpassed just salt, pepper, and butter. There were seaweed flakes, Togashi, a caramel soy, roasted confit garlic, and other more exotic options. This we enjoyed on the cob and found great as a warm option to nibble on, in the rain.
And speaking of staying warm in the rain, the big bold redd from both Noble Ridge and Hester Creek winery gave us that. Our favourite was the Hester Creek Syrah with bold notes of white pepper, making it a meat ready wine.
Other notable bites included a mussel crostini from H tasting lounge. They had one of the most striking tables. Their displays included a perfectly presented bowl of mussels on ice. Not for eating, but just to admire.
I especially enjoyed the visual of the local made herbal compote butter candle. Speaking to the owner, she had custom designed the pillar candle mould she used. This was done in order to create a robust dip to have for any display of bread, crackers, or seafood.
In short, Feast of Fields is one of my favourite events to look forward to during the summer because it gives you the ability to discover so many vendors that you might not otherwise get to. Not to mention there’s something so romantic about enjoying fresh made cuisine on the lands that the ingredients are grown on.
farmfolkcityfolk.ca/feast-of-fields
