Shuck and awe: A destination for adventure seekers, Whistler is also a culinary hot spot. For a celebration of oysters and cocktails, 500 fans gathered at Andre Saint Jacques' Bearfoot Bistro restaurant for the World Oyster Shucking Invitational. Yours truly emceed the sophomore edition that featured a dozen of the world's finest shuckers vying for the Best Shucker title and $5,000 prize. Experts from as far as Japan, Ireland and El Salvador arrived for the contest won by Joe Fortes' Bob Skinner. Proceeds benefitted B.C. Children's Hospital Foundation.

Outstanding dinner: Pemberton's majestic Mount Currie once again provided the picture-perfect backdrop for Jim Denevan's Outstanding in the Field dinner held at Jordan Sturdy's North Arm Farm, a 60-acre organic farm in Pemberton. Uniting diners with the origin of their food, 120 guests sat down at a long, linen-draped table for a four-course farm feast prepared by Bearfoot Bistro's executive chef Melissa Craig. Araxi's James Walt will duplicate in Whistler's Rainbow Park July 21 and Aug. 18.

A new spirit: Small and hip, Edward Dangerfield and Eric Griffith's 44-seat Alta Bistro, one of Whistler's newest restaurants, offers a popular $29 set menu that features local and naturally sourced foods and handcrafted cocktails. Vodka and gin based cocktails come courtesy of Tyler Schramm's Pemberton Distillery.

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Hear Fred Mondays 8:20 a.m. on CBC Radio's The Early Edition; email yvrflee@hotmail.com; Twitter: @FredAboutTown or fredabouttown.blogspot.com.