Canada’s smallest province was calling to me this autumn. Prince Edward Island used to shut down come Labour Day, but things are changing. I decided to go in October to indulge in PEI deliciousness at the annual Fall Flavours Festival.
Since 2007, the festival has been three weeks long, starting in late September. Rather than taking place in one location, it stretches out to inns, restaurants, and event spaces across the island.
After flying into Charlottetown and picking up my rental car, I headed to the eastern side of the island. I could feel the stress of the city dissolving as I rolled by farm fields and forests filled with changing leaves. For most of the trip, I was the only one on the road.
Inn at Bay Fortune was my first stop. The five-star country inn is renowned for its flamboyant proprietor Chef Michael Smith, as well as his restaurant FireWorks. A TV host, author, and nutritional advocate, Smith helmed the inn’s kitchen in the 1990s and came back as the property’s owner in 2015.
After checking into the 15-room inn, I took a look around. Boxed herb gardens sat on the front lawn, complete with labels. Behind the inn, I discovered the Pots and Pans trail, adorned with worn-out accouterments from the kitchen. There were also greenhouses, more trails, and rows of leafy vegetables.
I had booked a seat at that evening’s FireWorks Feast, advertised on the Fall Flavours Festival website. That included meeting with some other guests for a tour with the inn’s farmer, Kevin Petrie, and his Australian Shepherd Haley.
“In one hour you will see, hear, and smell the farm before dinner. You’ll understand the process that makes a meal possible,” Petrie told us.
Standing in the middle of one of his culinary gardens behind the inn, Petrie told us 475 types of vegetables and varietals are planted on around 10 acres. Plus, he has 47 raised herb beds, a test garden with experimental plantings, and an area where mushrooms are grown in sawdust.
At this point, Chef Smith stepped up to the mic. After honoring the Mi’kmaq people who have lived on the island for at least 12,000 years, he waved at us to follow him.
“Welcome to Oyster Island,” he exclaimed.
Outdoor fire-fueled stations offered us ember-roasted oysters, smoked salmon, turnips and bone marrow, and more. Smith got behind one counter and started shucking raw oysters. Plump and delicious they were straight out of Bay Fortune.
“They don’t get any fresher,” confirmed Smith.
Then it was time for dinner inside at FireWorks. Smith loves flames and the room’s centerpiece was a blazing 25-foot hearth where cast iron pans sizzled with meats and roasted vegetables.
We were seated family style, at communal tables where it was easy to start a conversation with strangers. I sat across from one couple that had driven all the way from Ontario to get married on the island that week.
“You are fireworks-worthy,” I teased them.
For me, a wellness respite was due after such an evening of extravagance. The next day I headed to Mysa Nordic Spa, a 20-minute drive from the inn to St. Peter’s Bay. The Scandinavian-style thermal spa had outdoor hot pools and cold plunges as well as sauna and steam rooms and relaxation areas.
After doing a few rounds and feeling like a limp noodle, I wrapped myself in a robe and headed to the dining area. Stick-to-the-ribs lentil soup and a buttery grilled cheese sandwich on freshly baked bread provided just the right dash of comfort to round out my spa experience.
You can’t visit the island without a lobster supper, and that night was the PEI Lobster Party. It was one of the festival’s ticketed events and took place in the New London Carriage House, just past Prince Edward Island National Park on the northern side of the island. After a welcome cocktail and spread of snacks that included mini lobster rolls, I wedged myself into a space at one of the long tables that were packed with people.
Who should be sitting across from me but the couple I had met the night before. Prince Edward Island really is a small place.
A master of ceremonies kept the jokes flowing and a band called Muddy Buddy got the crowd up dancing. Chef Adam Lew, from Ada Culinary Studio in Charlottetown, came out from the kitchen and explained what we’d be eating.
“We are extracting all the lobster meat from the shells so you won’t have to,” he explained.
The meal was a pescatarian’s dream. Mussels poached in lobster broth, homemade focaccia, an autumn salad of greens, sweet potatoes, apples, and pumpkin seeds, and butter-poached lobster with a potato cake. And dessert? Rich beetroot cake with raspberry ganache and hazelnut praline.
My eating adventure was not over yet. Blackbush Beach Resort was hosting its first-ever Fall Flavours event the next day. The Beachside Brunch was held in a waterside restaurant called FiN Folk Food on the resort’s property near Tracadie Bay.
I started with a blueberry fizz, then progressed to lobster eggs benedict, and a fishcake taco. The soundtrack to this generous spread was tales told by Gary Evans and Alan Buchanan. Local storytellers, they had us laughing as they shared some of the hijinks they experienced growing up.
My final Fall Flavours Festival event was the Street Feast in Charlottetown. Walking over from my hotel, past St. Dunstan’s Basilica, I found Kent Street. The block party was alive with food and beverage vendors, kids’ games, live music, dance performances, and drag shows.
I loved visiting in autumn. The summer crowds had dissipated, but there was still lots to do. Most importantly, plenty to tingle my tastebuds.
Where to Stay
Inn at Bay Fortune: 5-star country inn with a celebrity chef-owner on the eastern side of the island.
Barachois Inn: A gorgeous, family-run inn in a converted 1880s home in North Rustico near Prince Edward Island National Park.
The Great George: A calm refuge of Old World charm comprising 20 buildings in downtown Charlottetown.
