Aperitivo and Weekend Pizza Nights at Va: Enjoy aperitivo, Italy’s answer to happy hour (a beverage and a snack—slice of pizza, some olives), from 4-6pm, right before they close. And on Friday and Saturday Va stays open for full-size pizza, to eat in or to take away.
AWN Kitchen and Workshop Cooking Classes: The classes are hands-on, not demonstration, and you sit down and have dinner together after. Of special note are the six week-long cooking skills program and the sourdough classes—we figure Kaelin Whittaker has taught hundreds of people how to make sourdough.
Canada’s Great Kitchen Party: Watch some of Edmonton best chefs go head-to-head at a splashy, high-energy charity event held in 10 cities across the country. The winner goes on to compete at the national Canadian Culinary Championships.
Dining Weeks: The volunteer-led Chinatown Dining Week has reintroduced Chinatown as a dining destination, with some great food at even better prices. Downtown Dining Week offers prix fixe menus at scores of eateries in the core. Feed the Soul Dining Week introduced us to the flavours of the Caribbean via several of the city’s black-owned restaurants. This year’s events kicked off with Callaloo + Chow, a celebration of Trini-Chinese cooking.
Hot Chefs Cool Beats: Enjoy a dozen or so chef stations from local independents at the annual fundraiser for the High School Culinary Challenge. This year it’s at the Royal Glenora Club on April 2.
Ina Mo: Chef JP Dublado’s dining pop ups at the Epic Market are an intimate exploration of modern Filipino food and flavours.
The Kitchen at EPL Cooking Classes: Chef Zofia Trebaczkiewicz runs The Kitchen on the second floor of the Edmonton Public Library. Classes are inexpensive, include a variety of cooking styles and there are guest chefs. The in-person classes are not demos, you will actually be cooking.
Toc Toc: The semi-regular Sunday night wine party at Bar Bricco is a trip. The idea is to taste and sample this and that in a convivial atmosphere. No resos, first come first served.
Vagabond Pop Ups: Chef duo Christine Sandford and Roger Letourneau are cooking some of the most interesting food around at various locations, including the back garden at Take Care on Whyte Avenue in the summer. They may be itinerant chefs, but word has it they are opening a permanent spot soon.