Holiday Mixer in Edmonton

Special guests joined Eau Claire Distillery founder and president David Farran in Edmonton as we all braced for winter and raised a glass to the spirit of the season. 

The Alberta Hotel Kitchen + Bar was the generous venue.  Guests tasted Parlour Gin and seasonal Gin Rummy in unique cocktails by resident mixologist Brandon Baker. Sample sweets and savories by Chef Spencer Thompson.

They were among the first to try limited edition Christmas Gin, flavored with Frankincense and Myrrh. Santas Anonymous benefitted from donations made during the festivities.

Kiss the Cod

East Coast Meets Prairies Kitchen Party

charbar and Mallard Cottage team up
 

A not-to-be-missed Newfoundland kitchen party is taking Calgary by storm as charbar welcomes Chef Todd Perrin of award-winning Mallard Cottage to Calgary on Sunday, November 22. A festive night of East Coast hospitality and dishes comes to the East Village as chefs Jessica Pelland, Connie DeSousa and John Jackson cook alongside Chef Perrin to create some of his favourite dishes, including Mallard Cottage’s fisherman stew.

Whether you’re a Newfoundlander at heart, a culinaire extraordinaire, or looking for a fun Sunday night in the city, join charbar for this unforgettable evening. The night will be filled with live music, dancing, singing, oyster shucking, and possibly screech-in, the traditional kissing of a codfish.

"This city appreciates a good kitchen party," says Jessica Pelland, charbar Executive Chef. "Plus, we believe in the importance of chefs collaborating because we learn from these experiences. Introducing Calgary to Chef Perrin’s re-imagined creative dishes and Newfoundland flavours is a privilege.”

Tickets for the kitchen party are $169 per person and includes all food, beverages and live entertainment for the evening.

Menu
Oyster shucking station
Mallard’s Fisherman’s stew
Cod, salt beef, salt pork, potato and onion
Jiggs dinner on a bun
Corned wild game, cabbage and carrot slaw, and pease pudding spread
Wild blueberry grunt
Juniper clotted cream
Craft beer, wine and screech cocktails with NFLD Iceberg

Newfoundland Kitchen Party
Sunday, November 22, 2015
6:00pm - late night
charbar Restaurant - Simmons Building
618 Confluence Way SE

To reserve tickets, please visit charbar’s website, email events@charbar.ca or call 403-860-0290.

Tax and a 19% gratuity are extra.

Vancouver Project Set to Influence World Architecture

Vancouver House, developed by Vancouver-based firm, Westbank, and designed by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) has won Future Project of the Year at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2015,  the world's largest international architectural event.

More than 2,000 architects and designers from around the world gathered in Singapore, November 4 - 6, for the Festival which celebrates the world’s most innovative developments. This is a double award for Vancouver House; first taking Future Project – Residential Category, followed by being named the over-all winner in the Future Category by  WAF’s “Super Jury.” Vancouver House was selected from a pool of 12 Future Project category winners, drawn from 331 shortlisted Future entries from around the world, all of whom exhibited at WAF 2015.
 
“Bjarke Ingels’ architecture represents an evolutionary moment in Vancouver’s design history,” said Ian Gillespie, President of Westbank. “This is an incredibly prestigious win for Vancouver House and for Vancouver; it recognizes our vision for city-building. Every city needs to have a few special moments that take your breath away, and Vancouver has lacked that until now.”
 
Bjarke Ingels said, "Vancouver House is incredibly ambitious both socially in turning the Granville Bridge overpass into an urban canopy and architecturally in providing the well tested Vancouver urbanism of slender residential towers on podiums with a fresh interpretation with the expanding tower emerging from its urban village. To receive this endorsement from the World Architecture Festival is incredibly encouraging now that we are in the midst of realising this new Vancouver community."

World Architecture Festival judges selected the project, stating it "Mitigates the destructive impact of the highway fly-over on infrastructure and urban form, and generates an exemplar new urban typology. It is a delightful project that will impact positively on many future municipality- and developer-led agendas for cities across the world."
 
In Vancouver, Leslie Van Duzer, Professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, said. “Vancouver House represents the confluence of an enlightened planner, a visionary developer and an architect who makes a practice of turning society’s detritus (in this case, a site with sprawling off-ramps) into gold. Such rare alchemy is most worthy of this significant global prize. Vancouver, long known for its exemplary urban planning, may yet earn a sustained place on the world stage for its architecture."
 
Developed by Vancouver-based development firm, Westbank and designed by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), Vancouver House is now actively under construction at 1460 Howe Street, in the city’s downtown core. Vancouver House’s innovative design makes it appear to twist from a 560 square metre (6,000 square foot) narrow base into a 1,300 square metre (14,000 square foot) rectangular tower, rising 59-storeys above Beach Avenue at the foot of Howe Street.  Its pioneering design is in response to its proximity to the north end of Granville Street Bridge and adjacent buildings.  Vancouver House is set to become one of the tallest buildings on the city’s skyline at 156 metres (512 feet) with 375 individual residential homes, and includes the creation of an urban village at the tower’s base, complete with offices, retail, rental apartments, restaurants and outdoor spaces; all of which  will create and define the new Beach District neighbourhood.
 
Westbank and BIG have three projects under development in Canada. In addition to Vancouver House, there is TELUS Sky in Calgary, Alberta in partnership with TELUS and Allied Properties REIT slated for completion in 2018 and a recently announced project on King Street West in Toronto, Ontario, also in partnership with Allied Properties REIT.

Media Inquiries

Jill Killeen, Westbank
E-mail: jill@killeencommunications.com
Office: (778) 340-8800
Cellular: (778) 837-8907

Friends & Family Holiday Preview

Christmas Entertaining Tips from Celebrity Chef Emily Richards and the Italian Centre Shop

The community was invited to Step Into Italy for a sneak peek of the Italian Centre Shop's seasonal offerings and a chance to pre-purchase our legendary gift baskets and order party platters.  Hundreds samples favourite products, traditional European holiday fare, wines and spirits as they gathered gift ideas for food lovers and learned how to make entertaining easy.

Food Network Canada celebrity chef Emily Richards signed copies and prepares a dish from her NEW cookbook, Per La Famiglia.

#STEPINTOITALY

Be a Farmer for a Day

Come stook grain bundles with Eau Claire Distillery’s majestic Percheron horses harvesting barley at Bar U Ranch National Historic Site

The ultimate Alberta voluntourism adventure in the Rocky Mountain Foothills awaits the bold and brawny willing to stook horse-harvested barley as it has been done since the 1800s. Onlookers and families welcome too.
 
Bar U Ranch National Historic Site, Alberta, August 24, 2015: Bar U Ranch National Historic Site is co-hosting a hands-on, interactive and educational commemoration of Canadian ranching with Eau Claire Distillery of Turner Valley on the Cowboy Trail.

Barley planted this spring -- by horse on antique farm equipment at Canada’s proud and historic working ranch -- is ready for harvest. Help is needed to stook the grains that will be used to craft Eau Claire spirits at Alberta’s first craft distillery.

“Harvest time is a perpetual, living marker of Alberta farming pride,” says Eau Claire Distillery founder David Farran. “To recognize the occasion together with friends and craft spirits fans will be spectacular. We welcome anyone interested in heritage, agriculture, horses, agrarian life or cocktails to don their denim, long sleeves and gloves to join the fun at Bar U Ranch.  You will learn, earn a workout and enjoy a unique experience to impress friends, kids and naysayers.”

Opened to the public exactly twenty summers ago, the Bar U Ranch sits along trout-rich Pekisko Creek with 35 historic structures and a visitor orientation centre with café. It’s a stone’s throw from Longview, Alberta (population 300 and home to one of the world’s 15 best steakhouses according to Conde Nast Traveller Magazine) just 60 km southwest of Calgary along the legendary Cowboy Trail.  It welcomes almost 20,000 visitors each year from Canada and around the world. 

Set to become one of its most popular visitor times, the Eau Claire Distillery Horse Harvest (dates vary annually depending on weather and yields) is a voluntourism experience unique in the world. 

Participants are invited to spend the day with farmers in the field helping gather sheaves of barley grains cut by horse-drawn vintage farm gear in preparation for threshing. The process is called stooking and it protects and dries unthreshed grain from inclement weather elements – often ominous in Alberta where these past few days have seen snow in summer.

The horse- and hand-harvested grain will be used by Eau Claire Distillery in neighbouring Turner Valley to create delicious, award winning craft spirits, popular among Alberta’s top bartenders and authentic craft libations lovers.

For information about this unique educational volunteer experience, contact 403 933 5404. No RSVP necessary.  Participants will be entered in a draw for the first whisky to be bottled at Eau Claire Distillery in 2017.

Important Note: As with all farming, this day is subject to weather conditions. If in doubt, call Eau Claire Distillery to confirm it is still on. Long sleeves, trousers and gloves recommended.

About Eau Claire Distillery
Devoted to hand-crafted, artisanal and fine sipping spirits, Eau Claire Distillery is Alberta's original craft distillery located in Turner Valley, not far from Calgary. Born out of the founder’s quest to honour Alberta’s riches of the land and set the bar for Canada’s most premium spirits, every small batch from Eau Claire Distillery will be personally tended for perfection, from seed to sip. Eau Claire Distillery uses locally-farmed ingredients and clear water from the nearby Rocky Mountains. Summer 2014 marked its first-batch release. Tours are now available. Find out more at eauclairedistillery.ca.

Family Fun and Food

As Southern Alberta's newest culinary destination becomes a fast favourite among Calgary’s families and food lovers, Gino Marghella, Manager of the Italian Centre Shop, invites everyone to the official opening festivities.

“We’ve been heartily welcomed by the Calgary community in such a short time, and it's always been our family tradition to give back,” says Gino. “Our shops are about great food and gathering places where neighbours become friends and our customers become family.”

Since opening the doors on July 2, the specialty grocery store is adored by lovers of pasta, pizza, pastries and paninos. A cultural gem in Edmonton since 1959, the Italian Centre Shop's Calgary location in Willow Park is packed daily with shoppers looking for Europe’s best-known, most-loved foods and everyday pantry staples, all under one roof.

Grand Opening activities include:
A FREE Mixed Mushroom Pack from Signature Mushrooms for first 300 people at 11 a.m.
Grape-stomping photo booth with Lucy & Ethel look-a-likes
Food demonstrations and sampling
Live Italian music and singers
Live watercolor artist
Activities for kids - face painting, glitter tattoos and bocce
New shoppers are encouraged to explore the shop with its more than 30,000 European provisions and “Cathedral of Cheese,” a two-story high, refrigerated display of 72 wheels.  Special day-of promotions by suppliers and farmers creates a bustling Italian-style, market atmosphere. Learn how to make authentic Baci an Italian chocolate kiss.
 
Demonstrations and sampling by purveyors and producers:
Messinger Meats of Mirror, AB
Signature Mushrooms of Ardrossan, AB
Small-batch butters and spreads from Swiss Butter House of St. Albert, AB
Dry sausages from Marini Foods
Fresh soft cheeses from Santa Lucia
Raclette from Switzerland Cheese Marketing
Starting September 12, shoppers receive an Italian Centre Shop passport encouraging all to try recommended products, for a chance to win dinner for 12 by a celebrity chef. The passport sets shoppers off on a treasure hunt for traditional everyday staples. Discover new pastas, sauces, cheeses and rarities like Greek fish roe Taramasalata, Hungarian smoked paprika and Portuguese quince jam to Polish tripe soup.

WHEN:
Saturday, September 12, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

WHERE: 
WILLOW PARK ITALIAN CENTRE SHOP
9919 Fairmount Drive SE
Calgary, AB T2J 0S3
(403) 238-4869
 
ABOUT THE ITALIAN CENTRE SHOP
Founded by Frank Spinelli in 1959, and now run by daughter Teresa, the Italian Centre Shop is a family of businesses. The group has three specialty grocery stores across Edmonton, Massimo’s Cucina Italiana, which makes slow-made, take-home meals and a wholesale distribution business importing from Italy, Europe and supplying more than 800 restaurants across Alberta.

Sabor Seafood Festival

OCEANWISE celebration at SABOR

Sabor's seventh year celebration saw an exciting partnership with OceanWise raise awareness of the use and promotion of sustainable seafood. A multi-course family-style seafood feast was served along with entertainment and of course, great company. 

Oldest and Largest Italian Culinary Destination Opens

The Spinelli family’s Italian Centre Shop team opens a new 13,000-square-foot Calgary marketplace for Calgary food-lovers and families.

With the freshest local produce, hard-to-come-by products as well as everyday Italian and European essentials, the store also offers slow-cooked take-home meals, a fully-stocked deli and fresh baked Italian goods.  

With more than 30,000 items featuring Europe and Italy’s best-known, most-loved foods all under one roof, Calgarians have a good reason to call the Italian Centre Shop Calgary’s newest and best destination for food shopping. 

“We’re bringing Italy to Calgary, from our home to yours,” says Italian Centre Shop owner and President Teresa Spinelli. “Italian hospitality and good service is deeply rooted in our values and beliefs because of my father, Frank Spinelli.”
 
The Italian Centre Shop was founded in Edmonton in 1959 by Italian immigrant Spinelli. He became legendary for his generosity, with his motto “The more you give, the more you get back”. Bringing the community together over food and celebration was his philosophy and today, his legacy is carried on by daughter Teresa.
 
Welcoming Calgarians to step into Italy, Teresa is excited for customers to see the unique marketplace that is more than just a quick trip to the grocery store.

What can first-time shoppers expect?
 
Western Canada’s largest deli features more than 600 types of meat, cheese and antipasti, including Sardinian Truffle Pecorino
 
The Cathedral of Cheese housing 80 wheels of cheese including Parmesan and Piave Vecchio. A unique structure in Alberta, the impressive showcase is 13’ high and 40’ wide and temperature-controlled.
 
The café, Spinelli’s Bar Italia, offers authentic Italian bold Kimbo coffee, moreish biscotti and Neopolitan pizzas.
 
Artisanal bakers craft legendary tiramisu, cannoli and fresh, handmade pastries. Warm pagnotta, ciabatta and red fife loaves fresh out of the ample ovens, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

To celebrate the store opening, Calgary store manager Gino Marghella will give away $1,000 in gift cards to customers each day
from July 2-July 5.

To win, customers are encouraged to locate Gino in the store, take a selfie with him - then post onto Twitter and Instagram using the hashtags #MeetGino and #StepIntoItaly and tagging the @ItalianCtrYYC account.

“We've learned very quickly people in Calgary love food and have traveled far and wide for it,” explains Gino. “They are cultured, love to entertain and are very social. At the shop, we will bring back culinary memories and experiences from travel or the homeland and make incredible ingredients available to our customers each and every day.”
  
With so many products rarely found in the city’s southeast, and an atmosphere rarely found outside of Italy, the Italian Centre Shop team looks forward to welcoming Calgarians and creating new memories to add to its rich heritage.

The Italian Centre Shop is located at
9919 Fairmount Drive SE
Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
7 days a week