Fall Countylicious to include lunch and farm-to-table experiences

-Johnny C.Y. Lam photo

Prince Edward County’s popular Fall Countylicious will unfold with new experiences this year.

The event is to include lunch options, more menu price points, and farm-to-table experiences that celebrate farm-to-table fare.

Todd Davis, Acting Director of Community Development & Strategic Initiatives

“Over the past couple months, our team has had the opportunity to meet restauranteurs and accommodators, diners, the Food Collective, which represents food security initiatives in The County, and farmers and food producers,” says Todd Davis, Acting Director of Community Development & Strategic Initiatives. “Based on this consultation and the feedback we received, we are implementing several changes to modernize and improve the Countylicious program for the future.”

In addition, this year Countylicious will be sponsored by STAYPEC, a new accommodations association representing nine hotels, motels and B&Bs in the County. Davis notes their support will help improve the Countylicious website, build better packages, and increase marketing in the Greater Toronto Area.

“Countylicious not only showcases the fantastic restaurants in the County, it also highlights local beverage producers, farms, preserved goods, and all the great things we have to offer,” said Jason Sharpe, Chair of STAYPEC. “Working together on initiatives like this one will help build a sustainable local business model. We all benefit from increased visitation in the shoulder seasons and need to focus on this type of growth in future planning.”

The Fall 2019 Countylicious promotion is scheduled for Nov. 1-24.

Participating restaurants now have the option of offering a Countylicious lunch, for either $15 per person or $20 per person;
Prix-fixe dinner pricing will expand, going from $35 per person to $45 per person or $55 per person.

Three partners will develop Culinary Experiences on a pilot basis. Possible experiences could include a farm dinner, a winemaker’s dinner, or a dinner at a non-traditional location like the Macaulay Heritage Park museum, for example. More information on Culinary Experiences will be provided as Countylicious nears.

$100 collected from each participating restaurant will be set aside to support the Food Collective, which represents the Picton and Wellington food banks, Food to Share, Community Development Council of Quinte, Prince Edward Hastings Public Health and the Prince Edward Learning Centre. (Previously, $500 in total was set aside for a food security program).

Mid-week dates will be selected and promoted for restaurants/participants with an AGCO Bring Your Own Wine Endorsement to voluntarily offer a “County corkage,” allowing diners to bring in a County beverage of their choosing and donate the corkage fee to the Food Collective.

In an effort to better profile and incorporate made-in-The County products, prix-fixe menus must feature a minimum of five local producers.

A new advisory committee consisting of seven members will be struck to help guide Countylicious. Interested volunteers from the culinary, accommodations, food security, food production, and beverage sectors are needed.

Davis says the role of the committee is to provide advice, guidance and support, balancing the needs of food/beverage providers, accommodators, food producers and food security initiatives in order to ensure success and growth. If interested, contact Karen Palmer, Destination Development and Marketing Coordinator, County of Prince Edward, at 613.476.2148 ext. 2505 or kpalmer@pecounty.on.ca.