Just as Mother’s Day is synonymous with gifts of flowers, and perhaps a box of chocolates, Father’s Day is often spent with families gathering to grill large pieces of succulent meat on the barbeque. 

So organizers of Brewery and the Beast, a festival of all-things meat, expect to see lots of dads enjoying dishes from some of the Lower Mainland’s most noted chefs during its inaugural Vancouver event Sunday.

The concept is simple: Preparing the highest-quality meats sourced from B.C. and Alberta, from only the most ethical and sustainable sources.  And pairing it with local beers, wines and ciders, of course.

“There’s such an amazing food movement on the West Coast, and the Pacific Northwest… local, organic, craft beer. We wanted to showcase the local foods and the local chefs,” said event creator Scott Gurney.

The event started last year in Victoria as a meat-centric backyard barbeque at the Phillips brewery that served up more than 1,000 pounds of local meat. It was such a success it sold out in just five days.

Gurney says it’s not just the well-known chefs skewering, grilling and carving that drew big crowds. He says people are interested in interacting with the chefs and finding out more about the meat they’re eating, and the movement towards organic, antibiotic-free, free-range meats.

“People were blown away by the overall difference in flavor and quality. You can ask questions, you can interact with the chefs. We’re excited to do this in Vancouver,” Gurney said.

More than 30 vendors will take part in this weekend’s event at Vancouver’s Concord Pacific.  Vikram Vij is cooking up chicken kebabs with fenugreen sauce, while chefs from Hawksworth are preparing small plates of pork jowl and pig ear. The folks from Glowbal group will have two whole roast lambs and, for the more adventurous, the chef at Coal Harbour’s Butcher and Bullock, Alvin Pillay, is serving up beef heart nachos.

Meat + Bread, Memphis Blues, Nuba, Pidgin, The Dirty Apron Cooking School and Widebeest are also making contributions to the culinary feast.

Robert Belcham, executive chef of Campagnolo, will be on site roasting two whole suckling hogs.

“Anytime you can get a bunch of restaurants together to serve a bunch a bunch of meat and beer at the same time it’s pretty great – it’s my dream,” Belcham told CTV News.

The show’s philosophy mimics the mandate at his restaurant: using the best tasting meat, which 99 per cent of the time means cruelty and antibiotic-free.

Belcham buys eight pigs a month from Sloping Hills Farm in Qualicum Beach, which doesn’t use antibiotics, hormones or steroids.

And unlike factory farms, where pigs are kept crated and crowded, Sloping Hill lets its herds roam outside freely, foraging and even wallowing in mud.

Belcham said the differences are apparent in the quality of the organic pork, and B.C. meat eaters are becoming more interested how sustainable – and ethical – their meal is. Whether it’s documentaries like Food Inc., or news reports of E. coli outbreaks, consumers are paying attention.

“It’s a trend that’s slowly gaining traction because of the horror stories of late – the pink slime, the factory farming – it’s all been behind closed doors,” he said, adding that it’s those horror stories that are pushing consumers to seek out alternatives.

“We’re lucky in B.C., it’s all in our backyard,” he said.

Brewery and the Beast runs from 1-4 p.m. Sunday at Concord Pacific Place. Tickets are $79, which includes unlimited food and drinks.