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Jalapeno popper grilled cheese, mini doughnut poutine on PNE menu

Imagine chicken strips cooked in red velvet cake batter or a cactus leaf burger with provolone cheese and sautéed mushrooms. Luckily, if you have the stomach, these unusual culinary concoctions will soon become reality.

Imagine chicken strips cooked in red velvet cake batter or a cactus leaf burger with provolone cheese and sautéed mushrooms.
Luckily, if you have the stomach, these unusual culinary concoctions will soon become reality. The Fair at the Pacific National Exhibition has released its 2015 food lineup so visitors can look forward to various culinary twists on classic carnival foods.

PNE
Jalapeno popper grilled cheese


“We try and change out and bring in new things every year,” says the PNE’s Laura Ballance. “This has been a focus in the last several years… generally people are doing a lot of culinary experimenting and so we’ve seen the rise of unusual food continue.”
The fair will follow this growing trend with 30 per cent more new food options than 2014.
The Fat Elvis — bananas, chocolate ice cream, jam and peanut sauce stuffed inside a brioche bun and grilled — will make its first appearance at the PNE among other unorthodox combinations like a bacon s’mores waffle sandwich and skewered red velvet mini doughnuts covered with a cream cheese glaze.
For the more health-conscious fair-goer, gluten-free and local food options will also be available.
“A big part of the process is making sure we have the right mix to service all of our guests and the food offerings that they would be interested in trying,” says Ballance. “And I think that this year we’ve got a great range and we’re going to have a lot of positive response to this year’s food roster.”

PNE
Smores waffle


Doughnuts will dominate more than a few stands this year, with those circles of goodness making their way into several new dishes, including a mini doughnut and jalapeño poutine and maple-glazed doughnut burger.
In typical rivalry fashion, Vancouver can look to its neighbours to compare. The Calgary Stampede prides itself on its unique menu items – visitors can bust the bank or their waistlines by dining on a $100 hot dog — a specially made bratwurst sausage infused with cognac and covered with Kobe beef and a lobster tail — or an (actual) scorpion pizza.
“We always look for best practices, whether it’s at a regional fair here in British Columbia or other major events,” says Ballance. “I know that events like the Calgary Stampede, we will watch what they do and they watch what we do. We certainly have a good relationship with other events and many of our operators will play both [fairs].”

PNE
Chicken and waffles


Though Vancouver definitely won’t top Calgary for the most outrageous creations, the hundreds of thousands of foodies who visit the PNE each year won’t be short on choices.
“The thing to remember is that these aren’t things you’d eat every day of the year,” says Ballance. “But for one day of the year they’re certainly a lot of fun and food has really become more than just a snack, it really is part of the fair experience.”
On another note, fair patrons and Vancouverites alike will be sad to hear PNE veteran Jack Hunter, known as King of the Midway, passed away April 29. He was 84. Hunter worked at the PNE for 73 years and ran two concessions offering fair specialties such as candy floss and his famous foot-long hot dogs. Always sporting his big white cowboy hat, Hunter was also known for the 14-feet-long, 150-pound hot dog he built himself using Styrofoam that rode atop his stand.
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