ATHABASCA — If there were hungry bellies to feed in Athabasca on Saturday, they certainly weren’t at the Multiplex. The rec facility’s fieldhouse played host to the second revival of Taste of Athabasca in as many years Nov. 2, and the number of guests answered any questions the organizers had about it’s popularity.
“We’re really pleased it, it was great to see everyone come out,” said Heather Seefried, secretary of the Friends of the Athabasca Public Library and Archives Society. “It was a very enthusiastic response from the community, and I think everybody was excited to try all the different foods, it was awesome.”
A head count tallied 467 tasters by the end of the two-hour event, who came to try unique cultural and heritage dishes from 26 vendors who call the Athabasca area home.
From homemade hummus and buttery fried perogies to an apple quinoa drink and a German dessert involving nuts, caramel, and chocolate called Nussecken, the long line of tables had a wide assortment with bites, flavours, and textures for everyone.
“The feedback I got was just about how excellent the food was and how they loved the variety,” said Seefried.
“They loved the meat guy; they loved the smoked meats and the variety there. My personal favourite is always going to see what the Filipino food is, because I love pancit myself.”
Despite living in the area for 15 years, Saturday marked Steve Oba’s first Taste of Athabasca experience; one he likely won’t forget any time soon. “I think it’s amazing; I feel I should have been part of this for the last few ones, but I’m glad I showed up,” he said.
Oba’s co-taster Melissa Goertz said she attended the event’s return last year as part of the One Book, One Community library program events, and was surprised at the growth the second time around.
“It was way busier this year, but the food seemed really good this year,” said Goertz. “There was different things, which was nice, and lots of representation.”
Oba’s favourite bite was the steamed pork and steamed rice, and Goertz said named the Filipino adobo pork and pancit as well as the rice horchata as the best dishes of the day.
First-time tasters Brent and Tanya Little also had glowing reviews for the event.
“Fantastic,” said Brent. “Everything was good; we didn’t get to try everything because some ran out.”
When asked about their favourite bite or dish of the day, Tanya and Brent were stumped.
“Oh boy,” said Brent. “Not yet,” said Tanya with a laugh. “They’re all different. They all have their own quality,” added Brent.
Round three?
Seefried credits the success of this year’s Taste to the hard work of the vendors who participated, but also the volunteers behind the scenes. A dedicated crew of 14 people between the Lions and the Friends planned the event for months, assisted day of by many more.
Edwin Parr Composite’s Interact Club had a large presence at the event, taking shifts to hand out their German dessert, and the boy’s rugby team was also hard at work, helping many of the vendors serve the hundreds of hungry guests.
“People just want to see the event; they want to see it grow, they want to see more, which is great, we would always love more people to be a part of it,” said Seefried.
Tasters like Oba, Goertz, both Little’s and many more did not hesitate to tentatively RSVP to next year’s Taste, and while no solid plans for a third event in 2025 have been made, Athabascans made their appetite known on Saturday.
“The thought behind this was to see if this had any legs, any viability as an event that people wanted to have every year, and the response of the community seems to be really good,” said Seefried.
“I think that there’s a need for it in the community, I think there’s an appreciation for it, so I would love to see it come back again next year.”
More than only tasters, cooks will be needed to make next year’s potential iteration as successful as this year’s, but Oba said he’ll be sticking with his fork, knife, and napkin and keeping his special recipe under wraps.
“We have one, but we’re not telling anybody,” he joked.
