This week in the Toronto Star, Josh Rubin makes all the beer geeks green with envy as he reports on Mondial de la Bière, the Montreal beer festival that puts our annual frat boy gathering to shame.

Jennifer Bain is on the warpath about US blueberries and the food resellers at Farmer’s Markets who buy produce at the food terminal and then sell it from market stalls at retail prices. I’m with her on the blueberry issue (I’d rather wait for local), but I’m on the fence about the resellers. Yes, their stuff should be labelled as such, but if the additional variety resellers bring to the average market gets people out and discovering local produce, that’s not all bad. Better they should buy an imported bell pepper at a farmer’s market and also go home with artisanal cheese, seasonal fruit and organic baked goods than to a supermarket and come home with cheese slices, spongy white bread and a melon that travelled two thousand miles.

Also in the Star, Michelle Henry writes about growing edible flowers, Linda Barnard reviews Havana Sunrise Café, and Doug Cook determines that you might as well have real whipped cream instead of the additives in Cool Whip. There’s also a review of reFresh: Comtemporary Vegan Recipes From the Award-Winning Fresh Restaurants, and a wire service post about something called a “Grapple”; a Fuji apple soaked in grape juice - because apparently kids like grape flavours and it will get them to eat more fruit. I fail to see the point - either just feed them grapes, or threaten them until the eat the darn apples.

And speaking of grapes, Gordon Stimmell’s got his picks for the week. None of which are used to soak apples in.

At the Globe and Mail, Alexandra Gill has good news for vegetarians, it seems French chefs have finally (re)discovered vegetables. Her interview with chef Patricia Wells is enlightening and exciting:

Like Ms. Childs [sic] before her, Ms. Wells wants to change forever the way we think about food and cooking. The bright flavours on this plate are a perfect illustration of the main message in her new book: Rather than creating a meal around fish, poultry or meat, think vegetables first.

Even more significantly, they represent a seismic shift in the French culinary mindset. In Paris, the land that fads forgot, the best chefs are now treating vegetables with the same respect once reserved for foie gras.

“I call it the vegetable redemption,” Ms. Wells explains. The green revolution - one Ms. Wells considers nearly as grand as the arrival of nouvelle cuisine in the Sixties and Seventies - was first tilled by Chef Alain Passard when, in December, 2001, he boldly announced that he was going to stop serving red meat in his Michelin three-star restaurant, L’Arpège, in order to devote the major portion of his menu to vegetables.

Well, it’s about time! Take that, Bourdain!

Also in the Globe, Rob Feenie cooks with morels and Beppi Crosariol talks about wine (instead of sake) with sushi.

At the Sun, Rita DeMontis writes about the Bloody Caesar contest, and Elizabeth Baird offers up food news, including info on events, ready-to-go summer meals and Ricardo magazine.