A Fitting Finale For VFF’s Feast: Food & Film

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

With one hungry bloke who loves the taste of steak, the only prime pieces I’d eat has to be from a wood fired or charcoal grill. As the movie Steak (R)evolution showed in its finale, I’m glad my thoughts are echoed exactly in what was presented as the most delicious mouth-watering segment — to imagine a woodsy flavour permeating over a slowly braised full rack of beef that would only come off like pulled pork had my jaw in the bucket and my drool factor going on overdrive. Thankfully, the sampling experience before this film sated part of my desire to take flight directly to Corsica, France in hopes another BBQ will take place.

I’m glad the Victoria Film Festival people saved the best for last. While I missed a a fair number of films, hopefully Finding Gaston, will be offered on its own in the coming months at The Vic Theatre so I can see this movie. The feast to film pairings are great, but not even my starving artist’s budget can allow for me to attend every night of this festival and stay sober with the alcohol offered.

At least for the Sunday afternoon, I could relax. Village Butcher‘s Michael Windle and Rebecca Teskey arrived to give a hungry crowd a taste of two different types of beef. They came from different farms and one was grass-fed in all stages of the bovine’s life to show how beef can taste different. Both were simply cooked with a light rock salt rub. One had a peppery coat to bring out the flavours. Both were gently cooked rare to give the core a nice flourish. The lessons learned will certainly give me a foundation in what to explore when I go out in my next steak and lobster expedition, but I only do that once a year (if I’m lucky) just to treat myself. Victoria, BC is not home to many steakhouses. There’s a few, but I honestly think none of them stand out. The day Kobe Beef arrives in Victoria, then I might think otherwise, but yes, I’m a steak snob and am proud to admit it.

At least for where I’m going to buy my next slice, the Village Butcher certainly proves that they are amongst the best for where to find the beef.

This article was originally published on the Two Hungry Blokes blog.