Food tours to show local is global

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This article was published 3/7/2014 (1174 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Foodies can get a taste of the West End by tagging along on a tour.

The West End BIZ (Business Improvement Zone) is hosting its first-ever food tours this August. Joseph Kornelsen, the West End BIZ’s planning and project assistant and the food tour guide, will take participants around the world during the evenings of Aug. 6, 13, 20, and 28, which is every Wednesday except the last week, when it’s a Thursday.

"The tours are going to bring people to different parts of the West End neighbourhood," Kornelsen said. "We’re going to experience the Daniel McIntyre neighbourhood, the Central Park neighbourhood, the Sargent Park neighbourhood, as well as the Minto neighbourhood and the St. Matthews neighbourhood."

Each week, Kornelsen and the tourists will meet up at a different location to start their tour. Kornelsen said each tour will feature three to four restaurants — but participants aren’t expected to stuff themselves with food. Food tourists will walk from restaurant to restaurant and eat a little bit at each location.

"It’s going to include an appetizer, two small entrees, and a dessert," Kornelsen explained.

Kornelsen said the restaurants selected for the tour were based on two criteria — the walkability of the neighbourhood and the cultural diversity of the cuisine.

"We have over 100 restaurants in the neighbourhood, and they represent regions from almost all of the continents around the world," Kornelsen said. "(The West End neighbourhood) is so unique in Winnipeg — you can walk from a restaurant serving Ethiopian food to a restaurant serving Vietnamese food."

Although those planning on attending a food tour should be aware that there will be walking involved, it won’t be a marathon. Kornelsen said the tours are going to be divided into different parts of the West End.

"We’re going to do a tour in the northwest corner of the West End, the south end of the West End, the centre of the West End, and the east part of the West End," Kornelsen said.

Gloria Cardwell-Hoeppner, executive director of the West End BIZ, said the idea for the food tours came from a fellow BIZ that was already doing just that.

"We do a lot of partnership with the Exchange District BIZ. We do a lot of information sharing and we’re always brainstorming different things. They were doing some food tours, and we thought this would be a good opportunity to showcase some of our wonderful restaurants here as well," Cardwell-Hoeppner said.

However, eateries in the Exchange District were closer together than in the West End.

"We’re farther apart," Cardwell-Hoeppner said. "It’s a little more of a challenge so we thought we’d run it as a pilot at first."

Those interested in signing up for a food tour can do so by visiting westendbiz.ca, calling 204-954-7900 to pay by credit card, or dropping by the office at 581 Portage Ave.

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