Vancouver: Insider Gourmet Tours at Metropolitan Hotel

Vancouver, British Columbia's stately Metropolitan Hotel offers an exciting culinary adventure, Streets of Gourmet, where guests of the hotel can take in a weekend focusing on behind-the-scenes tours and demonstrations with top chefs, gourmands and winemakers, as well as access to some of the city's epicurean hotspots.

Streets of Gourmet, February 23 - 25, is all about discovering, and sampling, one gastronomic gem after another. A Welcome Reception featuring a tasting of unique vintages sets the scene for a tasty trip, which includes a tour of Granville Island's offerings with a resident expert. A privately-hired Aquabus water taxi will whisk guests on a exclusive excursion around the inner harbour prior to your culinary quest on shore.

One can indulge in a sip or two, and perhaps procure a few secrets, from brewmaster Vern Lambourne at the helm of Granville Island Brewery (a behind-the-scenes trek and tasting of ales and appetizers will satisfy the tastebuds).

Another day will welcome local food writer Stephanie Yuen, as she leads the charge through Chinatown's meat shops, grocery stores, bakeries and herbal stores (a sampling of some of the scribe's favourite dim sum will wrap up the adventure), while a private cooking class with the hotel's executive chef Ray Henry followed by a six-course tasting menu with wine pairings at the chef's table will prove the perfect denouement to your day.

And if you have room, there's an opportunity to taste ever more menus during the hotel's monthly offering of its Insider Gourmet Tours. Much like BC's bounty, the diversity of excursions promises to be boundless. Visit www.metropolitan.com.

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