Taste of Summer

A friend and I decided to head out to St. Albert last Sunday for the '7th Annual Taste of Summer' at the St. Albert Botanic Gardens. We ordered our tickets online via the Edmonton Countryside website the day before the event, and arrived at the will call desk promptly at 4pm.

The event was set up like Taste of Edmonton, however it was pleasantly quiet, the local was beautiful, and there was live acoustic music set up in the garden.

There were about half a dozen different tents set up (including one offering Alley Kat and En Sante wines to enjoy with the food). Here's what we chose:

Rhubarb Soda (from Prairie Gardens)

Roasted Beet Salad (from Prairie Gardens)

Watermelon and Feta salad with Balsamic (Bambouche World Cuisine)

Mushroom, Roasted Red Pepper and Spinach spreads (Bambouche World Cuisine)

Alpaca Burger with Saskatoon compote (Dinner Factory/Belle Valley Farms)

Cran-apple sausage roll with jalapeno and rhubarb jelly (Irving's Farm Fresh/Cook's Corner)

Raspberry rhubarb crisp (Dinner Factory/Belle Valley Farms)

There was a mixture of vendors taking tickets, as well as those offering goods to sell. I was glad to find Jaqueline Jacek of Jacek Chocolate Couture there. I still had not sampled her confections, so after chatting for a bit and learning that she would be selling her collection at Kerstin's this coming fall, I purchased a box of six for Charles and I to enjoy at home.

Departing full of food a couple hours later, we both agreed we would certainly return to the event next year. Although the description on the website led us to believe the event would pair up local farmers and chefs in an Indulgence like fashion, we were happy to bump into both recognizable farmer's market vendors as well as local businesses in such a fantastic space.