Media Releases
Friday, September 28, 2012
Signature events set the gourmet tone at Cornucopia: Whistler’s celebration of wine and food
Tourism Whistler media release
For immediate release - September 28, 2012
Signature events set the
gourmet tone at Cornucopia: Whistler’s celebration of wine and food
Suggested tweet: Festival favourites return and set the gourmet
tone for @CornucopiaWine - #Whistler celebration of wine & food
Whistler, B.C. – With Whistler’s trademark horn of plenty set to
overflow this November 7-11, tickets
for Cornucopia’s signature events are disappearing as quickly as the wine
and food on offer throughout the expanded five day schedule.
The hallmark events -- which include House Party, Top 25 reception,
Crush Gala Grand Tasting and many more -- feature wineries, craft brewers
and a local award-winning boutique spirits distillery showcasing the regional
and international flavour and diversity available throughout the resort.
Thursday night’s House Party
is the official launch to a weekend of parties and there’s no better
way to kick it off than by showcasing the “best from our backyard”.
House Party’s Best of B.C. theme offers BBQ from Four
Seasons’ Resort Whistler’s Sidecut restaurant, home-grown vodka from Pemberton
Distillery and local micro-brewed beer accompanied by live music.
“This year, we are delighted to again present festival favourites and
sell out events, like House Party, Crush and those famous after parties,”
says Jess Smith, Communications Manager with event producer, Watermark
Communications. “We’re also featuring an expanded schedule of seminars and
winery
dinners. These events are the backbone of the festival and enable
partygoers to make the most of the weekend’s epicurean delights.”
Crush
Early Entry offers a limited number of patrons the occasion to gain
early admittance to the Crush tasting room. With 45 minutes to rub
elbows with the experts before the doors open to the crowd, it’s the
premium opportunity to have questions answered while leisurely sampling the
favourites. Crush Gala Grand Tasting is the flagship event of the weekend
providing the opportunity to try new, re-visit an old favourite or just
appreciate all the wine world offers.
Saturday morning starts with Chef’s Trip
to the Farm – this event follows the progression of food from farm to
fork. With limited tickets available, this event sells out early.
Sip and sample throughout Saturday with 18 seminars and events sure to
keep the palate busy. Stroll into Saturday evening with the Top 25
Celebratory Reception -- an opportunity to witness (and of course
sample) the Top 25 wines of the festival. Afterwards, it’s Crush Gala
Grand Tasting featuring the winning wineries among the exhibitors. Cap
off the evening with the always anticipated Bubbles +
Oceans, Araxi
restaurant + bar’s annual afterparty. Attendees are sure to be
spoiled; this event is well-known for the selection of premium bubbles
poured to complement the seafood, canapés and sweet treats prepared by
Araxi’s executive chef James Walt, pastry chef Aaron Heath and their
talented team.
Serious foodies can start Sunday, the last day of the festival, with Bubbles
& Brunch at the Fairmont
Chateau Whistler - three seating times are available but this brunch
fills quickly. Wind up the weekend with another full day of seminars before
heading home happily sated for another year.
Faces of Cornucopia
Chef de Cuisine
Edison Mays, Sidecut
Ask Edison Mays if he always wanted to be a chef and he’ll admit the
profession was not initially in the cards. Originally, schooling
began with studies to become a physician’s assistant, inspired by Eastern
medicine philosophies however Mays abandoned his plans for a career in
medicine to enroll in culinary school – intent upon finding the cure for
common food. A graduate of Art Institute of California in LA, he has
worked as a cook at the much-lauded Campanile Restaurant in Westwood,
California; Regent Beverly Wilshire’s BLVD, Mango at the Four Seasons
Resort Nevis, and a stint as food stylist for the talk show Ellen.
Currently, Mays is Chef de Cuisine for Four Season’s Resort Whistler and
thrives on the availability of local ingredients and his freedom to create
new dishes. Breaking away from the stereotype of a “hotel restaurant,”
Sidecut gives a sophisticated spin to the finest Canadian prime beef and
fresh local seafood, complete with home-made rubs and sauces to complement
each entrée. www.fourseasons.com/whistler
-30-
Whistler is Canada's premier year-round leisure and meeting
destination located in the Coast Mountains 120 kilometres (75 miles) north
of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Consistently rated the top ski
resort in North America, Whistler was the Host Mountain Resort of the 2010
Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The resort offers an extensive range
of accommodations totaling 10,000 bedrooms among 24 hotels as well as
townhomes, condos, B&Bs and chalets. Whistler also boasts more than 100
restaurants and bars, 200 retail shops, 25 spas and countless activity
options from world-renowned skiing and snowboarding, mountain biking and
golf, to hiking, rock climbing, and watersports. The Resort Municipality of
Whistler is home to a diverse community of more than 10,000 permanent
residents.
Tourism Whistler is the member-based marketing and sales organization
representing Whistler, operating the Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler
Golf Club, Whistler Visitor Centre, as well as 1.800.WHISTLER and
whistler.com - Whistler's official source for visitor bookings and
information. As the convention and visitors bureau for the Resort
Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler represents more than 7,000
members who own, manage and operate properties or businesses on resort
lands including hotels, restaurants, activity operators and retail shops.
Media can visit whistler.com/media
for Whistler facts, media releases, story starters, local personality
profiles and access to images and B-roll.
Broadcasters: Whistler now has the capability to take you live
with our enhanced fibre network. The significantly expanded network
of more than 200 kilometres of fibre optic cabling throughout the resort
allows instant transmission of HD signals to any location at any
time. Details on how to access, and book the fibre are available on
our media
site.
Media Contacts
Mary Zinck
Coordinator, Media Relations
T: 604.938.2702
E: mzinck@tourismwhistler.com
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