About the Festival
Tofino Food and Wine Festival celebrates the marriage of food and wine, with the main event, Grazing in the Gardens, showcasing local culinary talents and British Columbia wines, in the beautiful Tofino Botanical Gardens. Over the years, Grazing in the Gardens has supported several non profit organizations and initiatives, including Tofino Botanical Gardens Foundation, Community Children’s Centre and Tofino’s Community Garden, Wickaninnish School PAC Garden Revitalization, Lighthouse Trail and Multi Use Path (MUP).
In 2003, the festival began as a small, local event, and has since grown into a destination weekend for out of town guests and is still a favourite event for locals alike. The reason for this is both the unique setting for the festival, as well as the excellent quality of food and wine provided by local chefs and winemakers. It is truly a memorable weekend, and a wonderful way to experience the west coast.
About Tofino Botanical Gardens tbgf.org
Tofino Botanical Gardens are twelve acres of gardens, forest, and shoreline that explore the relationship between culture and nature. Tofino Botanical Gardens Foundation, a non-profit registered Canadian charity operates educational programs and provides information about temperate rainforest conservation. A network of paths and boardwalks will take you from the Café and Gift shop around the flower, herb and kitchen gardens, the duck pond, and Children’s Garden into the forest, where clearings have been transformed into a series of pocket gardens, art installations and garden buildings. Some of the pocket gardens display plants that once thrived in other coastal temperate rainforests around the world. Garden buildings include the “historic” Bernardo O’Higgins homestead, the storytelling hut made by acclaimed local artist, Jan Janzen and two bird blinds overlooking the Tofino Mudflats Wildlife Management Area. The art installations are all made to survive or weather in the rain, and provide a cultural counterpoint to the surrounding natural beauty. The mission of Tofino Botanical Gardens is to inspire conservation of the world’s Temperate Coastal Rainforests.
Clayoquot Oyster Festival oystergala,com
Friends of the Festival
The original west coast food and wine festival! The Clayoquot Oyster Festival is a celebration of the abundance and beauty of the sea, taking place in Tofino, British Columbia each and every November since 1997. It is typically held on the third weekend of November.
Tofino Ucluelet Culinary Guild (TUCG) tucg.ca
Friends of the Festival
As members of a dynamic culinary community, our mission is to work closely with each other and our region’s farmers, fishermen and foragers to provide unique food experiences that rely on sustainable farm/boat-to-table practices and the freshest local ingredients prepared with integrity and passion.The local culinary talents on the west coast boast exceptional quality, relying on farm/boat to table practices. To strengthen this practice, chefs and local foodies have formed the TUCG.
TUCG’s role with the festival is integral in liaising with local chefs and the best BC farm product possible. The guild is organized by Bobby Lax, who is driven with passion to find and connect with farmers, chefs and purveyors.
A collaboration between acclaimed local and regional guest chefs, restaurants, fishermen, foragers, farmers, accommodation, activity and tour providers, Feast! Tofino celebrates the abundance of available seafood and the sustainable “boat-to-table” practices commonly employed by the area’s restaurants and the Tofino-Ucluelet Culinary Guild.
