Honey, get ready to celebrate the biggest dip around – and no, we’re not talking about Freak Nasty’s 1996 club classic, “Da’ Dip.”
In Winnipeg, we all know the real deal dip is honey dill–a holy trio of mayo, dill and, well, honey, that's worthy of celebration. From Friday, June 3, to Sunday, June 5 (or until supplies last), the inaugural Winnipeg Honey Dill Expo will be held in the heart of downtown Winnipeg at the RBC Convention Centre.
This iconic, homegrown condiment that constantly puts chicken fingers and sweet potato fries on a pedestal is already found west buzzing across the prairies, along with east as far as the shores of Thunder Bay.
It's about time we took it global.
Announcing the 1st annual Honey Dill Expo
Like the Golden Boy, the Esplanade Riel, and Confusion Corner, this unique Winnipeg icon (albeit in sauce form), deserves a celebration of its own to catapult it to global fame.
“We saw what the 2002 Sweet Chili Expo in Bangkok did for that sauce, watching it go global much like aioli did after La exposition inaugurale de alioli in Valencia in 1999,” said Lindy Rutherford, the Honey Dill Expo’s co-founder and organizer.
“We’re excited to introduce honey dill to a wider local audience, while we have also invited a host of international media and food personalities to take part in the three-day event, in hopes of taking honey dill into a realm usually reserved for sauces like harissa, buttermilk ranch, tzatziki and chimichurri,” continued Rutherford.
The expo will focus both on the history and cultural significance of honey dill sauce in Manitoba (shout-out to Mitzi’s, who are said to have invented it to pair with their tender chicken fingers, as well as all the other Winnipeg kitchens that have adapted it ever since), while offering interactive cooking classes, tastings and a look to honey dill’s future.
“Much like Oaxaca is associated with mole, we want honey dill to be top of mind here in Manitoba–that's how much sauce we're putting into this game.”
Winnipeg-themed test kitchen and so many tasting opportunities
During the expo, gourmands will relish trying their hand at making their own perfect batch of honey dill sauce in the Winnie-the-Pooh-themed, "Hunny, this is how you make honey dill" Test Kitchen.
The test kitchen will feature daily honey dill demonstrations from celebrity chefs ready to push the dip's limits, from spherification and honey dill ice cream using liquid nitrogen, to avant-garde deconstructed plating of your favourite chicken fingers.
For those who just can't get enough of the sweet and tangy flavour, there will be a special honey dill tap room where visitors can dip their favourite foods–with sponsored chicken finger, tofu finger, eggplant finger and crudité stations–all while washing down these delicacies with specialty honey dill beers and ciders that are being brewed right now for the expo.
The Winnipeg Honey Dill Expo will also feature the Western Honey Bee Market Place to purchase farm fresh ingredients, artisanal apiary honeys, and a signature line of merchandise emblazoned with the expo’s “Big Dill Energy” and “Winnipeg Honey Dill Expo 2023 got me buzzing” slogans and logos.
For tickets and to learn more, go to the official website at www.winnipeghoneydillexpo.com
