A Taste of Devour: showcasing food, drink and wine in film

A Taste of Devour chefs: John Higgins, Glenn White, Charlotte Langley, Michael Blackie, Michael Howell, Jason Bangerter and Peter Dewar.

TIFF season may have wrapped for the year but food-loving cinephiles have another event on the calendar to look forward to. Devour is a film festival hosted in Wolfville, Nova Scotia showcasing food, drink and wine. I’ve been a member of Devour’s advisory board for two years and it’s always been a highlight of my calendar.

I had sneak peek at Devour’s 2018 lineup at A Taste of Devour, a dinner hosted at George Brown’s Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts. Five short films were assigned to guest chefs from Toronto, Ottawa and Nova Scotia and each crafted one course inspired by the film.

I was charmed by a short film called How Mr. and Mrs. Gock Saved the Kumara, which told the story of Chinese husband-and-wife refugees to New Zealand. They took up farming and managed to rescue a crop of sweet potato — the kumara — from disease. The three-minute screening was followed by a starter course of potatoes ways: frites, a gel, curry and pickles from Chef Michael Howell, the executive director and founder of Devour.

Chef Jason Bangerter from the excellent Langdon Hall in Cambridge admits he was challenged by his assigned film -- a beautiful, cinematic juxtaposition of hand-pulled noodles and the erhu -- a traditional Chinese two-stringed instrument. So instead, he took creative liberty by cooking up ravioli-style pastas stuffed with game bird. Marigold leaves picked from the Langdon Hall property made for an unexpected but refreshing peppery garnish.

I can’t link you to all the films I saw, so you’ll have to make it out to Devour yourself. It runs from October 23 to 28, 2018. Click here to see the full schedule and purchase tickets.