Yukon Culinary Festival kicks off with an elk roast

Organizers say there's been a "huge uptake" for a culinary festival taking place this weekend in Dawson City and Whitehorse.

The third annual Yukon Culinary Festival kicked off in Whitehorse Thursday night with an elk roast in front of the SS Klondike. The event runs all weekend with internationally renowned and local chefs at various restaurants and other venues.

"We just put a half-side of elk on the barbecue here, on the roast," said Chris Irving, a chef originally from Yukon but now living in Sydney, Australia, where he owns a restaurant. He prepared a snow pea and shredded carrot salad and a cranberry jelly, as well as collard greens with dandelion mustard.

For Irving, the local flavours are one reason to keep coming home.

"That's why I like coming back: being able to work with these local indigenous ingredients. Showing people there is an amazing abundance of amazing wild ingredients at [Yukon's] front door."

Blake Rogers is the executive director of the Tourism Industry Association of Yukon. "We thought it would be a good way to showcase the restaurants, the farms and the culinary scene we do have in the Yukon," he says.

Chef Eric Pateman runs Edible Canada, a company that promotes culinary tourism. "It took a while to convince me there was an actual food scene up here, but I am blown away by the talent," he said.

'What is food from the Yukon?'

How far will people travel for food?

"To the ends of the earth," said Pateman. "Most of our clients will literally book their restaurant reservations before they book their hotels."

According to Pateman, Yukon's culinary tourism industry is still growing. "It's still finding it's feet in terms of — what is food from the Yukon?" says.

For now, he says wild game and foraged items are the mainstays, but that's not all.

"The produce is amazing up here. You've got such an amazing window with the extended daylight hours. Some of the best tomatoes I've had anywhere in the world are out of the Yukon."

For Pateman, good food doesn't have to be fancy to be delicious. "It's about simple ingredients done well. And I think that's what the Yukon does really well."

The festival continues in Dawson City on Friday, with cocktails and local appetizers at the Palace Grand Theatre.