British Columbia Magazine

I admit it.  I’m a foodie.  So when I received an invitation to attend the live, red carpet premiere of a new culinary travel television show last Sunday night, it didn’t take me long to RSVP.

I actually met the producers of Flavours of the West Coast, Karen and Dai Davies of Cedarwood Productions, last year, when they won our Meet Nick Bantock contest.  (Small world, this province of ours!) In their new 13-part series, which airs Sunday nights at 6.30 p.m. on CHEK-TV, host Steve Walker-Duncan, executive chef and owner of Victoria’s Ambrosia Conference and Event Centre, travels across the province to profile local food and wine producers.

After enjoying a tasty selection of hot and cold hors d’ouevres, B.C. wines, and ciders from Saanichton’s Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse, guests settled in to watch the live airing of the first episode, which focussed on Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley area.  We travelled with Steve, who is also a chef-instructor at Camosun College, to Cobble Hill to learn about Venture Schulze Vineyards and their fine, aged balsamic vinegars from owner Marilyn Venturi.  Then we tromped through a meadow near the Cowichan River with First Nations chef Jared Williams to pick stinging nettle, of all things. Williams prepared a mouth-watering meal of stuffed local pork chop, served over mashed potatoes, with the cooked and pureed nettle.  The audience sighed when the meal was plated. (Many of us, in fact, couldn’t help but murmur, “YUM!”)

The episode wrapped with Steve showing “Rookie Chef” CBC/CHEK news anchor Tony Parsons how to prepare one of the simplest, tastiest, late summer dishes of all time — bruschetta — using fresh local ingredients.  Finally, the show’s wine expert, Tony Phillips, stepped in and offered suggested pairings with B.C. wines. Then the credits rolled, and the live audience erupted in applause.

Food has a way of building community, whether it’s around a kitchen table, or at a gathering like this one in a conference centre.  Last Sunday in Victoria, media, program sponsors, guests from the first episode, chefs, and the folks who created Flavours of the West Coast all came together in the name of great B.C. food.  Just thinking about it is making me hungry all over again!

Watch excerpts from the first episode here.  Tune into episode two this Sunday at 6.30 p.m. PST on CHEK-TV.

As the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games edge ever closer (Opening Ceremonies on February 12!), we have a special souvenir item designed to remind visitors of the best of British Columbia. Our new Souvenir Pack bundles together *four* exciting issues from 2009, British Columbia Magazine’s 50th-anniversary year.

Take it home for just $19.95! It’s like cramming your suitcase full of B.C.’s most spectacular landscapes, wilderness, wildlife, people, and history. Plus, you get a BONUS coupon inside, good for $5 off a one-year subscription to British Columbia Magazine.

The Souvenir Pack includes the current Winter 2009 “Do-it-yourself winter games” issue, in which our daring writers demonstrate snowy sports of the 2010 Winter Games. There is an insider’s guide for Whistler visitors, and some fantastic ideas for what to do in B.C. after the Games: from dogsledding to backcountry ski touring.

For this one-time Souvenir Pack, we’ve bundled up the last-remaining copies of British Columbia Magazine’s Summer 2009 “50 things to do before you die” special 50th-anniversary issue. This issue has a unique gatefold cover that opens up to show off every single cover of the magazine since the first issue was published in 1959! If you, or a friend or family member, missed this bestselling issue, this may be your last chance ever to get this keepsake magazine.

All four issues in the Souvenir Pack are chock-full of the spectacular photography, high-quality writing, and valuable travel secrets that have made British Columbia Magazine the most trusted travel companion in B.C. for more than 50 years.

The Souvenir Pack is available exclusively* on newsstands for a limited time, beginning February 1, 2010. Look for it on magazine racks throughout B.C., and at Chapters bookstores and selected pharmacy and grocery check-outs in larger cities in Alberta.

* Sorry, due to limited quantities, we are unable to ship the Souvenir Pack directly to customers.

Wondering what to give this year to the person who has everything? How about the entire province of British Columbia—neatly wrapped inside the covers of British Columbia Magazine.

Order online (www.bcmag.ca) or by phone (1-800-663-7611) for stress-free holiday shopping. Let our customer representatives  set up gift subscriptions for your friends and relatives, with your personalized message going out on every copy.

We also have a Holiday Gift Pack, for those who like to put a gift under the tree. The Holiday Gift Pack includes one copy of British Columbia Magazine and our 13-month scenic 2010 Wall Calendar for you to give NOW, and a certificate entitling your recipient to a full year of British Columbia Magazine—including a second scenic Wall Calendar for 2011!

You can purchase our Holiday Gift Packs in person this weekend at the West Coast Christmas Marketplace, at the Fraser Valley Trade & Exhibition Centre on 1190 Cornell Street in Abbotsford.  Tel: 604-850-1533 or 1-866-853-1533.

Hours are:

Friday, Nov. 27, 12 noon to 8 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 28, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Save $2 on adult admission prices for the West Coast Christmas Marketplace by ordering advance tickets online: www.christmasshow.eat-vancouver.com/info_ticket.html

British Columbia Magazine will be just one of dozens of exhibitors at the marketplace, which features holiday decor, gifts, food, celebrity stage presentations, live music, and a maze of decorated Christmas trees.

As the editor of a magazine with 120,000 subscribers worldwide, I get a lot of mail. Most of it is electronic these days, so parcels by post tend to be something of a treat. And the one that came this week from Yourincontrol Holdings of Kimberley, British Columbia, was the most delightful package I’ve received since a reader mailed me a piece of what he hoped I could confirm was fossilized lynx poop.

Yourincontrol is the Canadian distributor of the Shewee—a sample of which the makers included in the parcel. According to the accompanying press release, “The Shewee is an ergonomically designed, molded plastic device that allows women to urinate while standing up, and without removing clothes.” The narrow, 17-centimetre-long funnel device looks rather like a small tool used to plant delicate seeds in the garden.

I’m having so much fun showing this around to people, I haven’t been able to bring myself to take it home to try it. The reactions are exquisitely amusing. Amazement. Disbelief. Horror. Feminist triumph.

“I blush just looking at it,” said Assistant Editor Shanna Baker, when I asked if she would like to blog about the product.

The inventor, 29-year-old Samatha Fountain—I kid you not, her name is Fountain—says the idea for the Shewee came to her while she was backpacking in Europe.

“It struck me how much easier it was for a guy to go to the toilet in a place where there were no facilities or nowhere to squat behind, so I came up with a way of effectively urinating like a man.”

I can’t testify as to the effectiveness of the Shewee, and we generally avoid editorial endorsements of products, anyway. But should you decide to buy one ($14.00 plus tax online at www.shewee.ca), please, pretty please, drop a comment here to let us know how it works out for you.