Vancouver's Dine Out festival touches down on West Coast plates tonight with a tagline and a premise: "Every story starts with a reservation".
DineOut Vancouver is Canada's largest annual dining celebration, according to the festival's website, and has been running since 2002. 200 restaurants will take part in DineOut 2014, with three-course meals and more running $18 or $28 or $38 per person.
The festival runs for 17 days, from Jan. 17 to Feb. 2, 2014.
"(This) festival showcases our city's passion for food and contributes significantly to Vancouver's reputation as a world-class culinary destination," said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, in a DineOut press release. "It brings families, friends and visitors together over the shared enjoyment of food, and its host restaurants, hotels and events will be an excellent showcase of Vancouver's vibrant character.
"I look forward to once again experiencing a taste of the festival firsthand."
Featured chefs include Yew's Bruno Feldeisen, Pier 7's Mike Mikoda, and Vancouver native Corey Fields, an executive chef at Vancouver FanClub.
*A full list of participating restaurants is available here.
DineOut will also hold several events around Vancouver, including Granville Island's free 'Chef Soup Experiment', the East Van Craft Brew and Culinary Tour, and 'Food-tography: A Culinary Photography Tour'.
The Chef Soup Experiment runs one night – tonight, January 17 – to kick-off over half-a-month of foodie fun.
"The Chef Soup Experiment is a perfect way to kick off the festival," said Tourism Vancouver's Board Chair, Robert Lindsay, in another release introducing the event. "Dozens of chefs each chose an ingredient specifically for the soup, and combining them in a communal dish beautifully illustrates Vancouver's exceptionally creative and multicultural culinary scene.
"It's a celebration of all of Vancouver's hardworking and talented chefs who have made our city one of the world's most exciting places to eat."