This weekend we were at Cornucopia, Whistler’s annual food and drink extravaganza. As its name suggests it is two weeks of non-stop eating and drinking with speciality dinners, wine and spirit seminars, cooking workshops, and large scale tastings. And on his last weekend of 2024 we were signed up for a handful to explore all that the event has to offer.
Our first event was a Cornucopia Signature, Night Market: Taste the World. It was a walk around showcase where ticket holders could engage in the various booths either for food and/or drink samples.
For the former, each visitor is given a punch card passport. It allots one sample per person, a lesson I learned the hard way when I accidentally dropped a bite.
Each participating restaurant or caterer had their own country theme and there was beer, wine, or spirits to match.
Sodexo Live! Catering represented Germany with a Bratwurst folded into pastry, served over sauerkraut, all drizzled over with mustard. A salty wiener and flaky pastry, paired with plenty of acid in the condiment and sauerkraut. This you had the option to pair with some German beers.
Sodexo Live! also represented three more international booths. From India they had a Chicken Tika Masala with steamed rice and naan bread. Given what is available and authentic in Surrey, and my experience with it, I found this a little “safe” and bland in order to cater to the less adventurous crowd.
They also took on Japan with sushi. Two varieties of maki rolls: a cucumber and avocado and a shrimp tempura. No ginger or wasabi, but there was self pour soy.
This we paired with Choya’s fruit spirits. Their new yuzu liqueur was a creamy and citrusy palate refresher. And their salted plum a dessert-y sweet finish. I am a fan of both as an easy party drinks.
For dessert they took us to Greece with Loukoumades and Pistachio Tarts. The former were like cakey donut holes with a sweet honey finish over their crispy crust. The latter whipped smooth pistachio cream in a cookie-like tart shell.
Other standouts include The Keg’s popular prime rib sliders with thinly shaved buttery pink slices of beef, seasoned in a red wine jus, folded thick and topped with their horseradish Dijon aioli and fried onions; all between slider buns.
This we found paired best with The Irony’s new horseradish naturally infused spirit. They also have a savoury spicy jalapeño and a line of sweet berry infused spirits including a very holiday focused bottle with orange, cranberry, and warming spices.
Naked Sprout Cafe offered a vegan Carrot Lox that looked and had the same smokey taste of salmon. Marinated carrots served with fresh avocado, cashew cream cheese. crispy capers, and red onions on a rice cracker. An interesting take, but it would have been nice over a starch, instead of the hard and dry cracker.
OD Hospitality & Catering also went plant based with their Eggplant and Cherry Tomato Salad with Charred Eggplant Puree and a Chilli Lime Vinaigrette, served over Sésamé Flatbread. Fragrant vegetables on a crispy light base, like I wanted above.
The Arc Iberico Imports booth were selling their prepackaged Iberico ham and Spain flavoured chips, whilst live carving samples of the former. They are always a crowd pleasing spectacle.
Molly’s Meals had a lovely Braised Birria Beef torta with Crispy Flour Tortilla, Mozzarella, Diced Onion, Cilantro, and Lime Juice. The ashy fried base was the highlight of this bite.
Milestones Whistler was pan frying their Butternut Squash Ravioli with Apples, Sage, Brown Butter, Leeks, and serving it with Cream on the spot. A delicious bite, it was just a shame that we only got half of it.
We also liked the Salt + Sear Catering’s Slow Cooked Pork Belly with Hoisin Glaze and Pickled Vegetables. A fatty bite balanced by the thin sheets of vegetables.
Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre had wild mushrooms over bannock bites, which we paired with Nk’Mip wines, as the first Indigenous-owned and-operated winery in North America.
We were in awe of Montis Distilling’s sparkling gins. The glittery Cloud 9 gin in a rose pink with notes of Rose petals, Pink peppercorn, Fresh cucumber, Fresh lemon, Coriander seeds, and Juniper berries. It made for a great gin and tonic, as an easy mix with soda water.
And for the occasion they had a purple Cornucopia Gin coloured in butterfly pea flower and speckled with large silver flakes. It had notes of Fresh blueberries, Honey, Vanilla, and Juniper berries.
Sadly, there was much more that we didn’t get to taste and try. This is definitely a great event if you like grazing and variety, with the ability to have only what you want and enough options to keep you browsing the room.
