There are more culinary tours on Vancouver Island than in any other BC region, thanks to the abundance of local ingredients from farms, orchards, markets, vineyards and the surrounding Pacific Ocean.
Culinary tours are clustered in the Cowichan Valley, the Gulf Islands, and Comox – these areas are renowned for a commitment to local, organic products and the "slow food" movement. Frommer's travel guide even called the Cowichan Valley "The New Provence" for its thriving agri-tourism.
Join Edible Canada, Island Gourmet Trails and Swallow Tail Tours on guided tours that incorporate gourmet food with kayaking or walking. Looking for a truly West Coast culinary experience? Search for seaweed in Sooke and mushrooms near Mill Bay, or enjoy a traditional Aboriginal feast in Alert Bay.
The area's farms, farmers markets, artisan shops, vineyards and cideries are easy to explore by car or bicycle. Get hands-on at local cooking schools.
Guided Culinary Tours
Travel with Taste Culinary Tours and Island Gourmet Trails tempt tastebuds with a variety of walking and driving culinary excursions. Visit a cheese shop, bakery or cidery in the Cowichan Valley; tour an oyster or berry farm in Comox and then make artisan pasta; or sample fresh scallops and wild salmon on a beach in the Gulf Islands.
Up for an adventure? Take Edible Canada's popular gourmet kayaking trip in the Gulf Islands. Paddle scenic shorelines and spot wildlife, and then refuel with a mouth-watering meal paired with BC wine on an isolated beach. Swallow Tail Tours offers gourmet cycling trips. Pedal along gently winding country roads to quaint pubs, charming eateries, boutique wineries – even local swimming holes.
Unique Culinary Tours
Join the Sooke "seaweed lady" on a seaweed tour to forage for (and munch on) sea lettuce, kelp, rockweed and other varieties at low tide, and to learn how to prepare seaweed. Edible Journeys (on Quadra Island) is an educational-based interpretive nature walk where guests search for and sample wild foods such as sea lettuce and oyster mushrooms.
Don’t like seaweed? Search for chanterelles and matsutakes – led by a Benedictine Monk – with Amusé Bistro's fall mushroom hunt (near Mill Bay, south of Duncan). Savour these edible fungi with a three-course, wild mushroom lunch.
In Alert Bay, discover the traditional food of BC’s Aboriginal peoples with a barbequed salmon feast on the beach organized by the Culture Shock Gallery.
Self-Guided Culinary Tours
Set out by car or bike and explore the Cowichan Valley, Comox and Gulf Islands, where buffalo mozzarella, artisan bread, spot prawns, wine, and craft beer are just a few items to be sampled.
Farmers markets across the region burgeon with local ingredients and crafts by artists and artisans. Notable markets include the Salt Spring Island Saturday Market, which hosts more than 100 vendors, and the Coombs Old Country Market (famous for goats that graze on the market’s grass roof).
Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are known as the “Wine Islands," and a number of wineries and cideries feature restaurants that serve up delicious fare to complement the vintages. Take a wine tour, or stop for a patio lunch boasting vineyard views. Most winery restaurants are open during spring or summer, but a few operate year-round.
Vancouver Island Cooking Schools
Vancouver Island’s cooking schools help visitors learn how to use seasonal produce and how to enhance their kitchen prowess.
Chef and food author Bill Jones leads demonstration and hands-on culinary classes on Deerholme Farm in Duncan, part of the fertile Cowichan Valley. Learn to cook dishes using sustainable, local ingredients – many of which are grown on the farm – and find out how to grow or source local foods, like wild mushrooms.
Located in Courtenay, Tria Culinary Studio works with Nature's Way Farm and Blue Moon Estate Winery to provide hands-on culinary courses. Cooking classes take place in the farm kitchen, use homegrown organic ingredients, and cover topics ranging from shellfish and curry to flatbreads and custards. The popular “Let’s Just Cook” class involves creating a meal using fresh ingredients the chef picked up at the Comox Valley Farmer’s Market.
At Cooper’s House Guesthouse in Sooke, Chef Angelo Prosperi-Porta, a former member of Culinary Team Canada, shares his passion for food with guests. Choose between demonstration dinners or working alongside Angelo to prepare a five-course meal, and then stay overnight in a room overlooking a secluded harbour.
Festivals & Events
At the Tofino Food & Wine Festival (June), taste creations and pairings from BC winemakers and chefs – all in a wild, ocean setting.
Shellfish lovers: don't miss the BC Shellfish Festival (June, Comox) – the largest shellfish festival on the west coast. This weekend-long event features cooking demonstrations, entertainment, and, of course, fresh shellfish.
Oysters abound in Tofino – especially at the Clayoquot Oyster Festival (November), which pays homage to this local delicacy. Shuck and slurp a briny oyster, take in the live music, or tour an oyster farm.
Practical Points
- The peak season for culinary tours on Vancouver Island is between March and October, although some tours are offered year-round.
- Some tours require booking in advance.
- Check with local Visitor Centres for maps, information on transportation and trip ideas.
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