Tag Archives: Interview

10.21.22
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Vancouver, BC’s Dave Letford Has Big Plans for Devour! Food Film Fest and The Future of Food

Dave Letford is a chef based in Vancouver. British Columbia, who quite the name for himself in this city. Not only has he worked at some great places to earn his cred, namely Hawsworth where he started as a sous chef, but also is now working as a culinary instructor at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. He’s proud to share his knowledge to the new generation of cooks.

Next week, he’ll be taking a lineup of his best talents to Devour! The Food Film Fest, which runs Oct 24-30 in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. They’ll be part of a culinary school event where they’ll be serving up some tasty foraged meals. He’ll be the facilitator.

Although not verified, his team is considering a faux pulled pork sandwich served on a black-eyed pea bun. They’ll also be contemplating another dish with oysters from a nearby bay, and as for what mushroom magic they’ll fashion hasn’t been approved. They thought about bringing the Pacific Northwest to the East Coast, but know better. Since the theme concerns the future of food, namely staying green, they plan on using what’s local to the region.

His role at this event goes beyond teaching the next group of culinary artists to innovate not only from their hometown but also anywhere else they get jobs at. Some stay, but others head off to other prestigious institutions to further their training. All the world is a garden. Instead of what Shakespeare wrote about an individual’s life from birth to death, we also consider the value of those successes, measure for measure.

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10.20.20
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The Man Behind Bread in the Bones, An Interview with Darrell Varga

Location: Al Whittle Theatre
450 Main St
Wolfville, Nova Scotia

Date: Friday, Oct 23, 2020
Time: 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm

Buy In-person screening or Online Tickets here

* w/ Q&A after the film with director Darrell Varga and Festival Host Bob Blumer.

Darrell Varga is a professor by day and baker at other times. His passion for the former began when he took a class in film history, and it opened his mind to the possibilities of the moving image. Many years later, his interest became his occupation, including penning many books and having a tenure at NSCAD University (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) where he teaches cinema history and documentary film production.

When he’s not in the office, he worked on Hunters and Gatherers, about the world of collectors (and not just geek stuff) in 1994. This work predates the television show Collector’s Call and many other similar documentaries. He followed up with another piece in 1996, Working Days, funded in part by TVOntario, is about the closure of a Toronto factory (the first to close) after the signing of Free Trade with the US in the 80s and the sense of loss the workers had and the community. Not as well known is a video essay, Fire, Ice and Sky (2013) which explored the ideas of time and landscape.

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10.14.20
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Devour! Celebrating 10, er 9.5 Years & Going Online for Cineaste Foodies!

October 21-25, 2020

www.devourfest.com

Devour! 9.5 is Wolfville, Nova Scotia‘s ultimate film and food festival. This year, they’re going online because not everyone will head out to get their taste of two worlds. I’m glad this event is happening, and though I could travel out there to it, I’m still saving my monies for when certain comic book conventions starts up again in 2022.

When compared to at home in Victoria, British Columbia, the decision to not run Feast and Art of Cocktail (which would have took place this month) by the organization which runs these events is a wise one. We are a bigger town, with a greater chance to spread a certain virus and when compared to Wolfville, perhaps it’s best to run with the wolves.

I’m glad to discover that across the country, I can still get my mohito from the agricultural heartland of Eastern Canada. Plus, and it’s a thriving wine region! Ice Wine anyone? For anyone missing a feast for the senses, I’m happy to report that I’ll be covering this event remotely and hope I can get some of the non-perishable treats couriered cross country. This festival promises to be a good one.

I corresponded with the organizers to learn more about this event.

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02.04.16
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[VFF ’16] Going Behind the Counter with The Sandwich Nazi, An Interview with Lewis Bennett

viff2015sandwichnazi

The Sandwich Nazi
Saturday, Feb 6th 6pm
The Vic Theatre
808 Douglas St,
Victoria, BC

Although a car is needed to get to Surrey, BC to visit La Charcuterie Delicatessen, a deli and Scandinavian grocery store in an industrial neighbourhood known as Port Kells, thankfully to get taste of what goes on there can be seen around the world. The Sandwich Nazi is an aptly titled documentary that looks at the scandalous life Salam Kahil, the owner and operator of this establishment. At Two Hungry Blokes, we’re eying the size of those sandwiches that’s made than the owner’s ballsy attitude. Until we can get there, Ed had the opportunity to communicate with Lewis Bennett, who decided to turn the life of this deli operator into a hilarious film!

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01.21.16
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LANtasy Wants the Fun in Fandom to Return in Victoria, BC!

Lantasy_Logo_white_h100pxMarch 12-13, 2016
Pearkes Arena, Victoria BC

Tickets: $30 weekend pass
or $15 per day.

LANtasy‘s motto is “Play Games, Have Fun” at their upcoming event taking place March 12th and 13th. For the fandom living in Victoria, BC, hopefully everyone can put the incidents of 2015 behind them. The final quarter of that year was less than positive: GottaCon (GC) announced they were closing their doors and Island Fantasy Convention did not happen. The reaction by the community was not kind with how the latter event was handled. However, with a new year Tsukino-Con remains strong and the technical crew behind GC decided to continue the legacy the broad-spectrum gaming event represented.

Jeff Pedlow is one of the department heads. He says this show will exist to bring people together and his group really loves the gaming community that exists here. Despite the name, they are not playing favourites over what kind of activities are being offered at this show. Yes, there will be a heavy Local Area Network (LAN) gaming presence, but there is more to the show than just that — board gaming, miniature gaming and RPGs are offered. People will be encouraged to come in costume (cosplay). Essentially, this event will be just like GottaCon in their early days. In what’s for certain, Pedlow says that his group does not take any money from the event and their goal is to throw community-centric gaming events for everyone living on the island. As their Facebook page shows, there are qualifying events taking place in and out of the Capitol Region that will lead up to the finals at LANtasy.

“If we grow in size, that’s always great, but our primary concern is throwing fun events for the community to come out and enjoy,” said Pedlow.

Even though this event is two months away, perhaps fandom should start planning. In addition to their FAQ about this event, Otakunoculture talked to Jeff about other lingering queries:

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10.10.10
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Afterthoughts on the Ribfest

The skies over the Victoria Airport was high with a lot of friendly, competitive, fun at the Peninsula Ribfest. The third annual event came and went, and just like any other party, it was not without its hitches. I saw some of them when I went there, and had a few things to say.

But after having had a chance to talk to Rick Peters, one of the event organizers and owner of RC Grillhouse and Lounge, I learned that a lot of those hiccups aren’t really their fault.

“The same thing happened last year,” explains Rick. “We originally had 35 teams in, but lost a lot of them because unbeknownst to us, there was a chef’s conference up island this year. We lost a lot of the major hotels. They dropped out 3-4 days prior.”

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