There’s nothing more appealing than having to spend your evening covering an event that focuses on food. Especially when it’s professionally run and very welcoming. As part of the Ancaster Heritage Days, the Taste Of Ancaster is in it’s 6th year and we were afforded the opportunity to be part of it. After contacting Mary Ann Leach, the chair of the Ancaster Heritage Days she organized with Scott Rastin from the Knights Of Columbus to get us a couple passes to attend this years event.

This years event was held at Marquis Gardens 1365 Sandhill Drive, Ancaster.  A venu we last visited a few years back when they had only just opened and we we’re just as impressed as we were back then with their level of service and the warm and inviting feeling you get from this venue. On entering we were greeted by Scott and he went through all that we could expect and should try while at the event. It was nice seeing that one of the main organizers took the time to greet everyone that came through the doors this night. Love the personal touch.

Basically the Taste Of Ancaster is a celebration of the culinary culture of the area, where restaurants from Ancaster gives attendees the opportunity to go through what seems like a sample menu. Additionally you also have a wide selection of wines from the Niagara region to sample, like : Colio Estate, Palatine Hills Estate, Peller Estates, Stoney Ridge Estate. Not to be outdone, there were a few breweries present as well, including Labatt’s, Steam Whistle and Wellington Brewries.

On this night I had to avoid all drinks with alcohol as I’m on medication that prevents me from consuming any. And since Caron nor I are not wine drinkers there’s not much I can say about the quality or selection of wines that were there to taste. However the region was well represented and the few people I spoke with were very pleased by the selection and the fact that this gave them an opportunity to taste wines and not having to purchase a full bottle. The one brewery that seemed to stand out (from the lines) was “Steam Whistle”, but it seems more people were interested with the wine tasting aspect of the show.

The food… the real reason why you’d see me at this event (other than to network). Generally all the food were good, but there were a few restaurants that stood out. The best overall dish this night was the savoury chicken wings presented by Faloney’s Of Ancaster. Both Caron and I agree that the plump, juicy and richly covered wings were to die for. Whatever the sauce is they used to drench the wings in was absolutely heavenly and the wings themselves were perfectly cooked. Not dry, and it had that sticky sort of texture that you’d expect from ribs you’d get at a good BBQ smokehouse from down south (St Louis, Carolinas, Texas..etc). As far as exotic dishes go, hats off to both My Thai and the India Village restaurants for tasty rice dishes. Though I not a huge fan of basmati rice, the outstanding way they combined fresh slices mangoes, pineapple and other fruits and spices to prepare this rice dish worked well and I have no problem recommending the India Village restaurants to friends.

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Overall the display put on my the Marquis Gardens stood out for us. From the allure of the chocolate covered fruit from the chocolate fountain, to the cajun shrimp that’s flambéed in front of you… these guys really know how to steal a show. You can see one of the head chefs in action in the picture at the top of this post.

I’d say there were about 200+ people at any given time at the event, but it never felt crowded, nor were there long lines to sample any of the goodies. The live music from the Ron Palangio Band added a nice touch to the event as it gave you the feeling that you were just hanging out with friends on a Friday night. Even though you didn’t know anyone. Even if you’re not into food or wines, the opportunity to network is well worth the price of admission as far as I’m concerned.

The price of admission was $40 a person and though some may think it’s a bit pricey, it’s well worth it. There was a huge selection of food to try, the wines and beers were just as plentiful and as I touched on above, this was an excellent event to network. Additionally I must mention that proceeds from the Taste of Ancaster goes to local charities as well.

We highly recommend that you be part of this event next year (usually held in June) and come out meet people from your community and support a good cause.

Location: Marquis Gardens 1365 Sandhill Drive, Ancaster, ON

Price of admission: $40 (fully inclusive, so no buying tickets to sample as other events)

Who: This is part of the Ancaster Heritage Days celebrations and is put on my the Ancaster Knights of Columbus.

Special thanks to Mary Ann Leach and Scott Rastin for generously accommodating us.

*If you’d like to have us cover your event or do a review of your business and give it a boost of exposure from the 1000′s of visitors that visit us daily, please contact us.

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