Patisseries on the patio
Val d’Isere Restaurant is doing something a little different for the summer.
Every day, from 2 p.m. to closing, Roland Pfaff’s restaurant in Town Plaza is offering Afternoon Tea – but it’s much more than tea.
Roland, who was trained as a pastry chef, has a cooler/dessert cart on the patio offering fresh French patisseries, black forest cakes, ice creams and other goodies – all made daily in house. Combined with a coffee, it’s the civilized way to spend a summer afternoon or evening.
Cornucopia adds international flavour
Whistler’s Annual Celebration of Food and Wine, Cornucopia, will broaden its range of wine varieties this year by adding international wines to its list of wines from British Columbia and the Pacific West Coast.
Tourism Whistler has confirmed that more than 65 wineries will participate in Cornucopia, Nov. 5-9. Now in its seventh year, the festival has attracted participants from Chile, Australia, Germany, Italy and South America.
Festivals Experience Manager for Tourism Whistler Gwen Young said Cornucopia has never had such an enthusiastic response from wineries wishing to participate in the program.
"Our goal had been to continually expand the wine and food offerings at Cornucopia, so we are particularly pleased to have generated this much excitement so early, from many wineries that are new to Cornucopia," she said.
Despite the addition of varieties from outside of North America, the festival will maintain its focus on food and wine from British Columbia and the Pacific West Coast.
"Our regional offerings have formed the foundation of Cornucopia. It’s what has always set us apart from most other festivals," Young said.
"We’ll continue to grow the Cornucopia program, but we’ll always stay true to our regional roots."
Cornucopia will feature educational seminars, wine tastings, elaborate dinners, late night parties and the chance to meet wine experts and celebrity chefs face to face on.
A complete schedule of events, participating wineries, restaurants, celebrity chefs and the ever growing list of wine and food presenters is available on the Cornucopia Web site at www.mywhistler.com/cornucopia
B.C. fisherman vindicated
A B.C. court judge sided with a group of 40 commercial fishermen who were charged for holding an illegal protest fishery last summer in the Fraser River. The protest was to call attention to federal fishing policies that give precedence to the native fishery.
In lean years with partial or full fishery closures, sometimes the Department of Fisheries and Oceans would allow a native fishery, while non-natives were denied the same opportunity.
Similar battles have taken place in eastern fisheries over the years.
While nobody is denying the rights of First Nations to fish in their traditional territorial waters, the emergence of a native commercial fishery has blurred the distinctions somewhat. Now non-native fisherman are claiming that the DFO policies amount to reverse-discrimination, because fishing rights are essentially granted or rescinded purely on the basis of race.
In his ruling that gave the commercial fishermen an absolute discharge, Judge Brian Saunderson roundly criticized DFO policy, going as far as to suggest that ruling in favour of the DFO would bring the entire justice system into disrepute by enforcing discriminatory practices.
The implications of the ruling are far-reaching. Although Judge Saunderson’s ruling is considered a blow to the native commercial fishery, ultimately it could impact both native and non-native fishermen because any DFO closure could be applied equally to both parties in the future.
Miso soup battles breast cancer
It’s a great appetizer, but researchers believe that Miso soup may also reduce a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.
Scientists say the results of the study are preliminary at this point, and don’t recommend the soup as a preventative medicine.
Also, miso soup is still high in salt, which has been linked to high blood pressure, stomach cancer, and other ailments.
This is not the first study to suggest that soy and soy products reduce the likelihood of contracting various cancers. Scientists have determined that soy contains isoflavones, which specifically help prevent breast cancers.
The research followed almost 22,000 Japanese women aged 40 to 59 for 10 years, during which time only 179 of the women developed breast cancer. That’s one case of breast cancer for every 122 women over 10 years.
Comparatively, one in nine Canadian women are expected to develop breast cancer in their lifetime, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Miso soup is comprised of cooked soybean paste, salt, and extracts from brown rice or barley.
Grizzlies worth more alive
According to a recent study by the Centre for Integral Economics, a non-profit group that takes an economic approach to environmental issues, live grizzly bears are a bigger draw to the province than grizzly bear hunting.
Their report, Crossroads: Economics, Policy and the Future of Grizzly Bears in British Columbia, found that grizzly bear viewing contributes about $6.1 million to the B.C. economy. The controversial grizzly bear hunt, which was restored by the provincial government after a brief moratorium for a scientific study, only contributes about $3.3 million.
Furthermore, the B.C. Wilderness Tourism Association says revenue from wildlife viewing operations is growing at 11 per cent per year. The cost of closing the grizzly hunt could be off-set by wildlife tourism growth within five to 10 years.
The province reinstated the grizzly hunt and set quotas based on the science that was available, according to Land and Water B.C., and any decision to close the hunt in favour of tourism would have to be made at the market level.
