Kingston’s winter culinary festival returns in February with new signature events featuring local chefs and special guests collaborating on innovative menus.
Lakes & Land
Kingstonlicious kicks off with a locally sourced menu event at AquaTerra, where Chef Brent McAllister welcomes Chef Justin Champagne-Lagarde from Perch in Ottawa. Both AquaTerra and Perch are Feast On® certified by the Culinary Tourism Alliance, meaning that they source a significant percentage of their food and beverage products from within Ontario. At this dinner, the chefs will collaborate on a menu that showcases local ingredients, from the opening bite of fresh sourdough bread with cultured butter and fermented garlic scape salt to the last course, a spruce tip panna cotta served with haskap berry granola and maple syrup.
The rest of the meal includes:
an amuse duo: a mustard macaron and scallop mousse with ground cherry fluid gel, borage leaves, and violas
Unagi-style marinated black cod (charcoal grilled), chawanmushi (a savoury Japanese egg custard) with a charred cucumber broth, cucumber brunoise, carrot, and Thai basil
tortellini with smoked Hubbard squash, cashew “beurre blanc,” yuzu, and dinosaur kale chip
granita with haskap berry & birch syrup
shio koji-marinated, sous-vide duck breast served with roasted parsnip, sea lettuce sauce, pickled beet strings, and wild leek purée
The entrées will be served with wine pairings from MW Cellars in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the dessert, with a special mocktail. Music will be provided by DJ Shemce.
Book your table for Lakes & Land.
Terre & Tradition
On February 19, Chef Dave Tosh of Dianne’s hosts Chef Linda Loranger from Dida’s Gastropub in Earlton. They will create a gluten-free menu, blending Dianne’s Acadian roots with Dida’s Francophone and Northern Ontario heritage. Both Dianne’s and Dida’s Gastropub are Feast On® certified.
Their meal starts with a Northern bison bite, a delicate meatball made from Ontario bison, glazed with a haskap berry reduction, crowned with creamy goat cheese, and served on a crisp crostino. Also to start will be a lobster roll slider with house-made remoulade, celery, and pickled red onions.
The meal continues with a pan-seared trout fillet finished with a sumac-infused beurre blanc and served with crisp matchstick fries and seasonal vegetables glazed in maple syrup.
The final course will be gluten-free churros with cinnamon sugar and served with maple caramel, and local gelato.
The meal will be served with wine pairings from The Grange of Prince Edward Winery.
Call Dianne’s at 613-507-3474 to reserve your table. A credit card number will be held at the time of booking.
Make & Feast
On February 25 and March 25 (both at 6 pm), Kingston’s Juniper Cafe West and Otter Creek Kitchen collaborate on Make and Feast, a hands-on learning and dining experience, Raissa Sarkisian from Juniper Cafe and Will Arnaud from Otter Creek share their secrets on transforming everyday simple ingredients into flavourful dressings and sauces. Each event will include an interactive cooking workshop, a full on-site meal (with protein, salad, and beverage), a personalized salad dressing, and additional recipes to take home.
Book your spot for Make & Feast on February 25.
Roots & Harvest
On March 4, Chef Jamie Hodges of The Everly Restaurant & Lounge welcomes chefs Joel Grey and Hannah Harradine Gray from Down Home Farmhouse in Grey Highlands. Together, they will createate a four-course meal featuring ingredients from Salt of the Earth Farm in Kingston and from Down Home’s favourite local suppliers. Guests will enjoy thoughtfully paired wines from The Grange of Prince Edward Winery while Charles Baker of Salt of the Earth shares stories and insights about Kingston’s vibrant local food system. This intimate evening invites diners to savor simple, flavour-driven dishes and connect with the people, land, and farms that make Ontario’s harvest so extraordinary
Your evening includes:
First course
Second course
Third course
Fourth course
Book your table online.
Flame & Feast
On March 18, Kingston’s Le Jardin is host to Fat Rabbit, a St. Catharines restaurant and butcher shop. Their chefs will create a collaborative meal, each playing off their restaurant’s strengths. Chef Andrew Smyth will showcase Le Jardin’s beautifully aged steaks, while Chef Zach Smith will highlight pork in his entrée. Each will offer their signature spin on side dishes.
Their menu:
Le Jardin – Coal-roasted beet with cured char, ricotta, and ginger katsuobushi
Fat Rabbit – Squash brûlée with lonza, hazelnuts, and brown butter
Fat Rabbit – Sausage-stuffed suckling pig with sunchoke and fennel-apple jus
Le Jardin – 60-day dry-aged rib eye with smoked marrow vinaigrette and leek gratin
Fat Rabbit x Le Jardin – Sticky toffee pudding
Book your table online.
Gather & Graze
On March 24, Kingston’s HEIST Restaurant + Wine Club and Thornbury’s Bruce Wine Bar join forces for Gather & Graze, a relaxed, family-style Italian feast celebrating Ontario’s seasonal ingredients. Host chef Josh Ham and guest chef Shaun Edmonstone collaborate on a special dinner that highlights local pork, apples, mushrooms, and winter vegetables. Enjoy shared antipasti, slow-cooked ragùs over creamy polenta, and abundant dessert bites.
First course
Antipasti, featuring artisanal cheeses, cured meats, and pickled vegetables
Wild mushroom arancini with tomato sugo
Featured root vegetables
Seasonal green salad
Main course
Dessert
Book your table online.
