Devour! The Food & Film Festival Fest

DEVOUR! The Food & Film Fest came to the Algonquin Resort in St. Andrews by-the-Sea and it was nothing short of incredible! The Algonquin showcased the magic of this spectacular celebration of food & film with a jam packed fun feast-ival weekend in a beautiful fairytale setting.

Meet the Spirits - Hotel Crawl

The majestic, legendary Algonquin has enjoyed a long & illustrious history with many famous guests enjoying its regal hospitality. Over the years, some guests have also shared a story or two on experiencing a little something extra here too. If you dare, explore this grand lady from her hidden passageways in her basement bowels to the mysterious spine-tingling happenings on the 4th floor, and walk into the ‘haunted hotel guest room’ as we did for our opening event entitled ‘Meet the Spirits’ Hotel Crawl. Even Stephen King himself, thought this the perfect setting to hole up for two weeks while writing his iconic novel ‘The Shining’.

Highly Spirited Evening

Strange occurrences and ghost stories were unveiled throughout our haunted hotel hike with Daniel Schmitz, Algonquin Team tour guide and our group’s storyteller extraordinaire. Daniel delighted us with hair-raising tales in several key locations throughout this elegant tudor-style castle and at each spot, we also met one of the weekend’s participating chefs, and enjoyed a tantalizing delectable bite paired with a cocktail, a glass of wine, or a craft beer. It was a highly spirited evening that everyone agreed was the perfect ice-breaker for this weekend’s events to come.

Here’s Johnny!

The event culminated with a full length feature film viewing of ‘The Shining’ projected on a big screen with theatre-like seating. However, to be on the safe side, I only stayed for the first 20 minutes or I thought it might be tricky to fall asleep in my 4th floor guest room later. Suffice it to say, all it took was just a teaser of Jack Nicholson in this iconic role to bring back a flood of memories from watching it several times before, and despite my roommate’s snoring (sorry Laurie), I swear I heard a trike rolling along in the hallway, giving me reason to squirm under the covers. However, it was an excitement that I had not experienced since my high school days and I knew I was in for a fun-filled weekend, if only I could get some shut eye. I did - eventually, and I highly recommend everyone take in this spook-tastic hotel tour. By the way, I have also promised myself, that one of these days - sometime very, very soon, I’m going to re-watch the Shining in its entirety (with my hubby right beside me though). I do think I owe it to Stephen King for writing such a great novel that is rumoured to have had some inspiration right here at the Algonquin.

Aww… Shucks!

The Oyster Workshop with Sober Island Oyster Farm owners Trevor and Michelle Munroe from Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia was awesome. These two are as down-to-earth as you can get, and I really enjoyed getting to know them over the weekend. An informative session, with a demo and tasting - paired with whisky. Later on, I enjoyed their company at our table for the Gala Dinner! You never know, the Maritimes Maven just might have to explore Sober Island Oyster Farm sometime soon … It could have been that ‘pearl in an oyster’ for us to meet.

Chowder Smackdown

Chef Melissa Kelly - Primo Restaurant, Rockland, Maine, Chef Todd Perrin - Mallard Cottage, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Chef Camille Pluymackers - Manuka, Moncton, New Brunswick, Chef Michael Howell - Devour! The Food Film Fest, Wolfville, Nova Scotia & Chef Jeff MacLean - Algonquin Resort, St Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick went head-to-head in a Chowder Smackdown competition Saturday afternoon with proceeds going to St. Andrews and Area Open Door (Food Bank) Program. It was next to impossible to pick one favourite chowder out of these five tasty variations and although the winner was announced at the Gala Dinner later on, I honestly think the real winners were everyone who participated as tasters at lunch time.

Whisky Workshop with the Whisky Lassie

Johanne McInnis, the Whisky Lassie entertained the troops later in the afternoon. She walked a large group of us through an appreciation and recognition of the flavours and aromas associated with smoke and peat and kept us spellbound and participating fully (and reined in at times despite our whiskey intake). Well, she did warn us that after the 3rd whisky, things always get very interactive in her workshops. Her deconstruction highlighting the differences from zero peat to heavily peated whisky was engaging, especially with her quick wit and comedic replies to questions and comments. If you ever get the chance to go to one of her workshops - GO! She’s a hoot but also extremely knowledgeable and I promise you will learn a thing or two! Although, somehow… after it was all over, my roommate and I got separated and I got a text from Laurie who couldn’t quite locate our Room 428, (maybe it was because it was Room 482)… but then again… Could’ve been the whisky…

Food & Film Gala Dinner

The champagne flowed and oysters were slurped when we all gathered like old friends for the main event Saturday night. Five short films inspired a five-course, regionally-sourced dinner including wine pairings prepared by Chefs Todd Perrin, Melissa Kelly, Michael Howell, Camille Pluymackers and the Algonquin’s own Jeff MacLean. Each film drew us in and touched on different emotions; we sighed, smiled, giggled with surprise, laughed out loud at times, and welled up at the sentimentality. Each Chef spoke to their dish, which were all thoughtfully inspired, prepared, presented and paired perfectly with a great wine. Kudos to all the chefs for the amazing showcase of talent they exhibited. It really was a night to remember. And yes, Laurie and I even found our way back to 482, although we had the both of us on task this time (and good thing).

The Salty Spell of St. Andrews by-the-Sea

A guided walking tour was enjoyed earlier on Saturday with local historian Lorne Webster. He highlighted the most famous and infamous residents of this popular resort town. He shared sorted tales of smuggling, hangings, devastating fires and great storms.

St. Croix Olive Oil

A lovely mid-point stop was enjoyed at Treadwell Inn to learn more about St. Croix Olive Oil followed by a private tasting. Lorne was a wealth of information and shared a few compelling facts that had us awestruck. Did you know there are more millionaires per kilometre here in St. Andrews than any other town and that in the 1950’s & 1960’s the local liquor store was reputed to sell more imported champagne than any other liquor store east of Montreal? There’s no question the upper crust enjoyed summering here and the Algonquin was frequented some very famous guests including royalty.

The Algonquin - A Fairytale Setting

To stay at the Algonquin Resort is like walking into a fairytale. This castle on the hill charms you like no other. There is an ambiance that sweeps you off your feet and it holds you spellbound. You sense the history and grandeur, the echoes of the past and the splendour of the present.

A Sunday Farewell Film and Decadent Brunch

Sunday morning had us gather for a farewell brunch, and a final film as we bid our new foodie friends safe travels. Lia Rinaldo and Michael Howell have my congratulations though for putting on a tremendous DEVOUR! event. Denise Bradbury’s organization, and the Algonquin Team served up hospitality on a silver platter. I met so many lovely new people. We all exchanged hugs, and promised to stay in touch as we all saw more DEVOUR events in our futures. I hope my experience has you considering one in yours, and if the Algonquin hosts one again, you can be ensured it will be beyond enchanting.

This post was sponsored by Devour! The Food and Film Fest and the Algonquin Resort; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Follow Maritimes Maven on FaceBook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn & Threads. Subscribe to be the first to receive my latest articles. Share articles you love with your social media community so they, too, will discover, There’s No Place Like Home!