Roots, Rants & Roars Returns to Elliston September 19-21, 2014

Discover the culinary and cultural heritage of the Bonavista Peninsula at this one-of-a-kind event

BONAVISTA, NL, Aug. 28, 2014 /CNW/ - From Sept. 19 through 21, Tourism Elliston hosts a weekend-long celebration of the culinary and cultural heritage that's unique to the region of Bonavista Peninsula and the province of Newfoundland Labrador.

Connecting chefs and musicians from the region and beyond, placing them along the coastline of Elliston, among the largest collection of root cellars in the world. The root cellars and fishing industry of the region have influenced every aspect of the culture. Roots, Rants & Roars celebrates the history and encourages innovation in the culinary arts to explore regional ingredients while, learning, laughing and of course, singing the weekend away.

Festival highlights include:

• Musical performances including The Navigators and Sherman Downey to name a few;
• Cod Wars where competing chefs Chris Chafe of The Doctor's House Inn, Todd Perrin of Mallard Cottage, Roger Dweling of the College of the North Atlantic & Feast, Roary MacPherson of Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland & Oppidan, Roger Andrews of College of the North Atlantic & Relish, Murray McDonald of Fogo Island Inn andKyle Puddestier of Tavola, will battle for the honour of the Cod Crown!
• 5km Food Hike where you'll burn the calories as you go along the coastline with food and drink stations featuring national guest chefs Anthony Walsh, Corporate Executive Chef/Partner of Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants, Marc Lepine, Executive Chef/Owner of Atelier, Dale Mackay, Executive Chef/Owner of Ayden Kitchen & Bar in Saskatoon, Jessica Pelland Executive Chef of Char Bar restaurant & Rooftop Grill in Calgary, Matty Matheson, Executive Chef at Parts & Labour in Toronto
• Arts & Farmers exhibition featuring artisans and crafters from the peninsula along with growers and producers;
• Random Passage trail tours and picnics;
• Fish and Feast – a day of the life of an east coast fisherman where you will enjoy fishing for cod, learn about "Making Fish", a cod lunch and tour of the Random Passage Site

For complete listings, please visit http://rootsrantsandroars.ca/

ABOUT ROOTS, RANTS & ROARS
Established in 1999 by Tourism Elliston in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation of Newfoundland Labrador, and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. The festival was developed to showcase the history, culture, arts and culinary traditions of the Bonavista region. The "Roots" are unique as Elliston is the Root Cellar Capital of the world – with over 133 cellars dotted along the shoreline, some that are still used to this day to store the fall crops over the winter season. The "Rants" are the impassioned stories about the history of this seaside community and the "Roars" are the boisterous sharing of folk and Celtic music that Newfoundland is known for internationally. To see a taste of the weekend's celebration view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sprXwlh-Zmc

SOURCE: Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance

Andrew Hiscock, p: 709-595-3021, c: 709-725-1687, [email protected]; Follow us on Twitter @rootsrantsroars