Drool alert: A look at eight of the classic and innovative new food offerings at this year’s PNE Fair
PNE nostalgia comes in many forms, from the rush of riding the Coaster to the clink of that damnable ring as it just misses landing on the bottle for the stuffed toy prize.
But nothing makes memories like the smells, tastes and deep-fried textures of the many concessions at the Fair, and their ever-evolving — or never-changing — menus. Mini doughnuts and classic burgers meet new and sometimes wacky new entries every summer.
Here’s a look at eight of this year’s offerings:
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The PNE’s longest running concessionaire has been offering the classic Jimmy’s Burger with fried onions for 95 years. The stand is now run by Jimmy’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren and continues to serve the burgers piled high with aromatic onions.
In a provincewide poll at the turn of the millennium, British Columbians voted the smell of those fried onions among the 10 most iconic memories of the 20th century.
Instagram: @JimmysLunch
A local Japanese Hawaiian fusion food truck, Kyu Grill specializes in signature hero sandwiches made of grilled Hawaiian-style meat and veggies. This year’s specialty is oko nori spicy Hawaiian shrimp fries.
Kyu Grill started as a single food cart in Winnipeg in 2015 and this is the franchise’s first time at the PNE.
Instagram: @KyuGrill.yvr
Iconic mini doughnuts return to the Fair in 2024, including this concession run by the family that originally brought them to Western Canada. They offer classics like cinnamon sugar, buttered French toast and corn fritter, and a new Filipino-inspired menu item: Ube coconut mini doughnuts. Pronounced “ooh-bay,” it’s a purple yam originating in the Philippines with a sweet, nutty, vanilla-like flavour used in many Filipino desserts.
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The Little Donut Bakery was started by Keith and Jessa Bedford in 2019, while Jessa’s grandparents, Eldred and Rosella Johnson, brought mini doughnuts to western Canadian fairs in 1968 under the name Tom Thumb Donuts. The first machine was built largely with leftover WWII airplane parts.
Instagram: @TheLittleDonutBakery
Tochi is a culinary company known for its innovative fusion of Hong Kong and Japanese flavours. The signature dish at the PNE is a French toast flight anchored by Hong Kong-style French toast infused with Japanese mochi.
Picard Yiu and partners in the operation are all recent graduates of the University of B.C.
Instagram: @tochi.yvr
This food truck is owned by Ying Yan Situ, who earned a culinary arts degree from Liaison College in Brampton, Ont., before moving to Calgary and featuring fish and chips for years at the Stampede.
She says it’s her dream to introduce Asian fusion food to Western Canadians with offerings such as giant squid on a stick. It’s squid soaked in a seasoning bath for hours, breaded with a flour mixture and fried into a crunchy, juicy snack.
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Instagram: @HappyFishTruck
Jessie and Jason Au are celebrating their 25th anniversary at the PNE this year. The family-run business launched at the Fair in 1999 and is now one of the biggest mobile food concessionaires in North America.
Tin Lizzy was the first to introduce red velvet mini doughnuts, now a staple at fairs across the continent, and this year is offering a honey-glazed doughnut topped with crushed spicy Takis chips.
Instagram: @TinLizzyConcessions
The PNE original has a new fusion twist on the menu this summer: a chicken chow mein pizza. It’s a stir-fry sauce base made with garlic, ginger, soy and oyster sauce topped with cheese, chow mein noodles, veggies and Szechuan chicken.
This concession run by Tod Marchant is in its 39th year at the PNE Fair. It’s a three-generation family business known for creative soft serve flavours. New to the menu in 2024 is a sour candy flavour developed in the run-up to the PNE by Tod’s daughter Cheyenne Marchant.
Cheyenne has been at the Fair in each of her 32 years, and Dad named his popular coffee booths after her. There are two Cheyenne Coffee locations at the PNE offering free milk refills to guests’ baby bottles every year in her honour.
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