Memorable meals crafted by top chefs – Alberta’s dining scene features innovative and inspiring menus that focus on regional cooking themes and locally-sourced, sustainable ingredients. 

Alberta is a foodie's delight

There are some great ways for foodies to explore in Alberta. Calgary, Edmonton, Medicine Hat and Canmore all offer visitors an opportunity to discover the local food scene with everything from progressive dinners, walking tours meeting local chefs and exploring farmers’ markets or taking a cookery class.

Although the growing season in this part of Canada may be short, it is certainly sweet, with many Alberta restaurateurs choosing to buy local, seasonal ingredients to live up to the 100-mile diet lifestyle.  It’s a myriad of small, local ranchers (as well as big ranching operations such as Rocky Mountain Game Meats and Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch) who are responsible for getting game onto Alberta plates. Lean, heart-healthy game meats like bison, elk and venison are key ingredients in traditional First Nations cooking as well as the new Rocky Mountain cuisine you find in Canmore, Banff and Jasper restaurants; think herb-crusted Alberta lamb with mint pesto, roasted butternut squash, Alberta beef so tender you can cut it with a fork ... locally-sourced comfort foods which are the perfect end to a perfect day.

Pair your meal with a locally-produced beverage

And no meal would be complete without something to drink alongside it.  Eau Claire Distillery near Calgary triggered a boom in the Alberta’s craft distillery scene – now numbering more than 20 small-batch distilleries, which all focus on using ancient techniques and local ingredients to produce premium-distilled spirts in small batches.

If gin isn’t your thing, you’ll be glad to know that Alberta's brewing scene is thriving, with 80 independent craft breweries. Visitors can sample brews with great names like Alberta Crude Oatmeal Stout at funky little brew pubs across the province, such as Alley Kat Brewing Company in Edmonton or the Wild Rose Brewery in Calgary. Or enjoy a brewery tour, where expert guides accompany visitors to a handful of local producers, introducing them to their favourite flavours and explaining the subtleties of Canadian brewing techniques.

As if that wasn’t enough to tingle your taste buds, Alberta is Canada’s top honey producing province and is famed for making fine white honey that is prized the world over.   Three cottage wineries use the bee’s harvest to create innovative new meads infused with ingredients like organic dandelion petals, blackcurrants and buckwheat.  Tours and tastings of this age-old beverage are available at Spirit Hills, Chinook Arch and Fallentimber Meadery, all in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

So if you want to take your taste buds on an adventure ... a trip to Alberta offers some great ways to explore the culinary delights of this part of Canada. Take a look at our Canada holidays here: fcholidays.com/canada