Like Film, Love Food?
by Ralph Lucas – Publisher
(August 23, 2017 – Toronto, ON) Maybe for you it’s the other way around: Love Film, Like Food. Doesn’t matter, the 2017 Food Film Festival, Devour, is the place to be in October.
Yesterday festival organizers gathered at Toronto’s famed The Chef’s House, operated by George Brown College, to announce their ambitious 2017 programming. I was stunned to learn that 72 films were on the schedule. I mean, who knew? How could there possibly be 72 films about food? Of course, being the world’s largest film festival devoted to all things culinary, these were the people who should know.
This will be the seventh edition of Devour! a festival that showcases engaging cinema paired with extraordinary food and wine culture over five days in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Themed “A Celebration of Canadian Cinema and Cuisine” this year acclaimed filmmakers and chefs from across Canada and internationally will gather as the festival presents 99 events including 72 films in 34 screenings, 23 industry workshops, three celebrity chef dinners, 22 tasting tours, and 20 special events including dinners and parties.
Celebrated chefs Jacques Pépin, Michael Smith, Bob Blumer and Mark Greenaway are among the participants for this year’s festival. The festival’s 2017 Guest Curator Gordon Pinsent will help kick off the festivities during the Opening Gala taking place at the Fountain Commons at Acadia University on Thursday, October 26. The award-winning actor, screenwriter, director and playwright personally selected The Hundred-Foot Journey directed by Lasse Hallström as the opening film of the festival.
“In the span of just eight years, Devour! has grown to become a pre-eminent Canadian film festival and one of the most delicious events in this great country,” said Chef Michael Howell, Executive Director of Devour! “We cannot thank our many partners and supporters enough, as they have shared our vision of becoming one of Canada’s must-visit festivals. We are grateful for the ongoing support of The Province of Nova Scotia and their invaluable commitment to helping the festival grow.”
If you’re more foodie than film buff, the 2017 line-up of visiting celebrity chefs, industry leaders, and up and comers should have even the most refined culinary palates watering. Among them are Food Network stars Bob Blumer, Michael Smith and John Higgins; top tier Scottish chefs Mark Greenaway – whose cookbook was named the world’s best cookbook at the 2017 Gourmand Cookbook Awards – and Peter McKenna (The Gannet, one of Glasgow’s leading restaurants). The festival also features some of Canada’s best-known chefs including, Joshna Maharaj (The Drake Hotel; Toronto), Emma Cardarelli (Nora Gray; Montreal), Paul Rogalski (Rouge, Bistro Rouge; Calgary), and CBC’s Ali Hassan. From Thursday, October 26 – Saturday, October 28, these international culinary leaders will pair up with local Nova Scotia sensations to create three decadent meals inspired by select festival films.
The Celebrity Chef Dinner on Thursday, October 26 is themed Scotland vs New Scotland as three Scottish and three Nova Scotia chefs face off to create a French-influenced menu in tribute to Pépin.
The first round of tickets to the highly anticipated seventh edition of Devour! The Food Film Fest goes on sale Tuesday, August 29 at 10am Atlantic Time. Prices range from $10 to $999 (plus applicable taxes) for the exclusive Devour! The Festival Pass (limited quantities available). This all-access pass gives priority entry to the opening gala evening and all films, workshops, tasting tours, celebrity chef dinners, parties and special events. Devour! also offers a round-trip shuttle from Halifax to Wolfville for $20.
There is more information online.
Ralph Lucas is the Founder and Publisher of Northernstars.ca. He began writing about film in the mid-1970s in radio in Montreal.
