Old Man Reservoir – photo by Neil Zeller Photography
Join me in September of 2020 for this once in a lifetime #EatAlbertaFirst road trip
There are as many ways to explore Alberta as there are range and township roads criss-crossing the province. But, how many of us have the time to plan a trip to truly get to know this beautiful place?
We dream of meeting Alberta’s leading edge food artisans and tourism entrepreneurs but don’t know how to make the connections? We search for meals brimming with Alberta’s signature foods and end up settling for roadside fast food. We long to slow down and soak up the beauty of this land but are too busy navigating life to take it all in.
Finally, here’s a trip where you just have to show up and every detail has already been taken care of for you.
I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I am collaborating with Eric Pateman, chef extraordinaire and owner of Edible Canada, to sell spots on his award-winning Flight Across the Top of Canada scheduled for June of 2019. As many of you know, this is the first time, after seven straight years of taking groups, that I will take a break from my annual India sojourn. I want to explore my homeland and in particular the three parts of our country I’ve not been to – Newfoundland, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. So….
I have booked my spot on this incredible journey!
And for the first time ever, on one of my culinary adventures, my husband will join me. I’ve finally found the place he wants to see and it is our own true north strong and free (in case you are not Canadian, that’s a line from our national anthem).
The trip starts in Vancouver on June 14, 2019.
Here, we’ll board our chartered Air North 737 and fly directly to St. John’s, Newfoundland for a few days of puffins, icebergs and hearty Atlantic seafood and craft beer exploration. On June 17, we fly directly to Iqaluit in Nunavut to immerse in Inuit culture and feast on wild game from the tundra. On June 19 to the 21, we visit Churchill, Manitoba – the Polar Bear Capital of the World – before winding up in Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, to explore this small town and all it has to offer. On June 21, we land in Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon to fish and forage and feast with boreal chefs and local legends. On June 23, it is back to Vancouver after having toured the country from coast to coast and coast!
What’s included:
Private chartered 737 aircraft traveling round trip from Vancouver
9 nights accommodation
4 signature meals with top Canadian chefs
Breakfast each day
Alcohol in- flight and at signature meals
$1000 excursion booking credit
All ground transportation
What’s the price?
This once in a lifetime offering is $14,995 based on double occupancy. Airfare alone on regular airlines added up to over $11,000 when Eric Pateman scouted the trip in 2016. These are not easy places to get to.
Use – Alberta Food Tours – as your booking code to receive two passes on our Eat the Castle experience at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel as my thank you.
Please contact me at karen@albertafoodtours.ca with questions. I’ll love to talk to you about this incredible chance to see a part of country that so few have the opportunity to experience. I’ll leave you with a few more photos.
When you go to a great city, what do you remember? For me after the people I meet and the food I eat, it’s the architecture, museums, parks AND – more and more – the public art. This post is about my favourite public art in Calgary. I haven’t captured it all yet, but this is a good start and if you find yourself in Calgary with a few spare hours, check out the link in this article to a map produced by the city.
People spend 25 per cent or more of their travel budget on food. We need to eat three meals a day and thanks to the influence of TV chefs like the late, great Anthony Bourdain, we want them to be authentically local. That means the food should be made with recipes that are historically relevant for the place we are travelling and that those recipes should be made from ingredients that originate there as well.
While Eric Wolfe, the head of the World Food Travel Association says that Spain, France, Italy and Thailand are still the top food travel destinations (and the top destinations period!) he also says that with some brand building Alberta could become an increasingly popular food travel destination. Listen to this CBC Alberta at Noon podcast to hear how my co-author Matilde Sanchez-Turri and I are working to help build that brand for our province as we talk about our new book, Food Artisans of Alberta.
My collaborator is photographer Pauli-Ann Carriere. Together, we travelled the five most Southern states of India for about 4000 kilometres and 40 days in 2016 and 2017 to research, write and photograph South India’s cooks and their culture. Continue reading →
Gratitude going out to writer Elaine Glusac for her recent article – 36 hours in Calgary, Alberta – published by The New York Times on January 25.
It was quite a thrill when I read it and saw my name mentioned. I’ve socked that away under the category, “things you never imagined could happen.” But the main point of me sharing Glusac’s piece is I hope you’ll read it and either get out and explore your own city or if you live elsewhere, you’ll become inspired to travel and spend some time here.
Here’s a few of my favourite photos of this vibrant place to build the intrigue.
Calgary Peace Bridge by Santiago Calatrava – photo courtesy of Tourism Calgary
The Conversation by William McElcheran – photo courtesy of Tourism Calgary
Singer Paul Brandt calls Calgary home – photo by Karen Anderson
One of my favourite hangouts – Rouge Restaurant in Inglewood (where we keep our beehives)
Cardboard recycler – photo courtesy of Reality Tours and Travels
Christmas means different things to different people. For me, it’s a time to take stock on how I’m doing with sharing what I have with others. It’s easy to give to our own family and share the spirit of Christmas with our own community. They are part of our daily lives. I’m blessed that I also have the opportunity to think of and give to people half a world away.
Every year when I lead my cuisine and culture journey to India, I choose at least one empowerment project to visit and support. This year it was a group called Reality Gives operated by Reality Tours and Travel in Mumbai’s largest slum – Dharavi. Truth be told, I am absolutely sure that I get more out of this annual quest than I ever give.
My awareness and compassion expand. I am humbled and I am deeply happy to connect with human beings whom I believe live with more dignity and humour than some of us that are far more fortunate. Continue reading →
