There’s an old cliché that goes “there are plenty of fish in the sea”. This is meant to convey options and opportunities, but nowadays, it’s not a particularly apt analogy. Because fish stocks are dwindling due to poor husbandry and overfishing, and there aren’t a lot of fish in the sea anymore.

SeaChoice is a program by Sustainable Seafood Canada designed to mobilize consumers and industry to buy sustainable seafood, which is caught or farmed with consideration for the ocean’s ecological balance and the long-term viability of the fish. SeaChoice offers guidance to restaurants and consumers on what to buy and what to avoid.

Continue reading Not So Many Fish in the Sea »

What does local food look like in April? When the larders are getting bare and the first bright shoots of asparagus and lettuce are still just a twinkle in the farmer’s eye? Would it even be possible to put on an event and feed 300+ people on local food at this time of the year?

Turns out it’s not just possible, but really quite fabulous. The result was a delicious evening of not just local food but local beer, as the first annual Brewer’s Plate event paired some of Toronto’s top chefs with local craft breweries to come up with a dish that paired with and incorporated the selected beers.

Continue reading The Brewer’s Plate - Delicious Local Food - Plus Beer! »

Museums play an important role in the fabric of any city, but they’re generally not the first place we associate with food, especially great food. Of course, most of Toronto’s major museums have restaurants on site, and most of those are fine dining establishments run by some of the city’s most notable chefs. But to most folks, eating at the museum likely means the cafeteria.

Like most cafeterias, the Food Studio at the Royal Ontario Museum offers the standard fare; fries, pizza, burritos, burgers. But there’s something a little different here – the fries are hand cut, still touting skins and are darn near perfect; crisp, greaseless and golden. Burritos are big, healthy, filling and really quite reasonably-priced. Under the guidance of Chef Caesar Guinto, the Food Studio turns out a selection of traditional cafeteria dishes with a twist. Like it’s sister fine-dining establishment c5 upstairs, the ROM’s cafeteria is dedicated to “organic, seasonal ingredients from local Ontario food producers”.

Continue reading Burgers, Fries and Fine Dining »

At first, I was sure I must be dreaming. Pretty ladies stepped out of nowhere to hand me free samples of cheesecake, gelato, or cashews. There was beer, wine, and grilled kangaroo. Everywhere I turned there were displays of gorgeously decorated cakes. Chefs stood over hotplates cooking up dishes of pasta or rosti potatoes, free for the taking. I couldn’t be sure, but there might have been angels singing. I never wanted to leave this blissful place.

Then the ethereal music came to a screeching halt as I came upon a display of salad dressings from a cigarette company. I shook myself out of my sugar-induced coma and noticed displays of chicken wings, available in bags of 500, or frozen burger patties, and all varieties of personal pizzas, sausages and nacho cheese mix.

Continue reading Where Curly Fries Come From »

Can organics feed the world?

This question was posed to the closing panel at this year’s Canadian Organic Growers Conference. Organic farmers, food producers, nutritionists and writers convened in Toronto this past Saturday to examine the issues and explore how organics is changing the world.

The day-long event included a keynote speech by Helge Hellberg of Marin Organic from Marin County California, who is hard at work to make Marin the first completely organic county in the United States. Hellberg, a Certified Holistic Nutrition Counselor recounted a visit to Marin County by Prince Charles, who is one of the world’s leading supporters of the organic movement to visit the Marin County farmers market. Hellberg’s inspiring speech set the tone for the day, as participants broke off into different seminars that ranged in topics directed towards farmers, food producers and consumers.

Continue reading Can Organics Feed the World? »

The 5th Annual Canadian Brewing Awards Gala was held this past Wednesday, November 21st at the Dub Linn Gate Irish Pub in Vaughan. Gold, silver and bronze medals (or more accurately, tap handles) were awarded in 21 different beer style categories, with the winners chosen from over 200 beers submitted by breweries from coast to coast.

Locally, the big winner was Mill Street Brewery, who won a total of five medals: one gold, one silver, and three bronze. This was the best medal total of the night, which netted them the Brewery of the Year award. Running a close second was Etobicoke’s Great Lakes Brewing, with four awards, and other Ontario winners included Black Oak, Cameron’s, Magnotta, Muskoka, F&M, Brick, Steelback, Walkerville and Niagara.

Continue reading Canadian Brewing Awards 2007 »

Regular visitors to the annual One of a Kind Christmas Show know that, despite the pretty clothes, striking artwork, toys, knickknacks and other wonderful things, the very best part of the show is in the back left corner in the Flavours section, where a plethora of food artisans from across Canada have their delicious wares on display.

This year, I was lucky enough to beat the crowds via a media pass, and had the opportunity to see the products up close, and really talk to the exhibitors before the hordes descended, pretzel sticks in hand, to sample everything in sight.

These are folks who are truly dedicated to their products, intent on maintaining quality control through small batches. Few sell their goods in mainstream retail stores, and I even met one women who only sells her oils and vinegars at the One of a Kind Show - she works all year creating product just for this event.

Continue reading Food Finds at One of a Kind »

To even attempt a complete list of the number of attractions at this year’s Gourmet Food and Wine Expo would be a futile exercise – there’s just too much on offer over the next three days to list it all. Even the press kit is huge.

This annual event attracts over 35,000 visitors and offers up over 1,200 wines beers and spirits for sampling. With Chile as the featured country this year, the focus is on the many delightful Chilean wines, with food and wine tasting, salsa dancers and even an empanada booth nearby.

The other main feature in the exhibitors area is the Travel South USA section, with exhibitors from southern US states such as Tennessee, Louisiana and Georgia on hand to offer cooking demos, food and wine tastings and culinary travel information. Most booths were offering samples of local food items – stop by the Tennessee exhibit for free GooGoo Cluster candies – I think we left a few for other people.

Continue reading Fun Uncorked at the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo »

One of the biggest complaints about local food is that it’s hard to find. Sure, farmer’s markets are popping up in many neighbourhoods, but the issues involved in getting local food to local tables, particularly restaurant tables, are many and diverse.

As part of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, a panel discussion and networking event that connected farmers and chefs took place on Monday, November 5th. Panel members included moderator Lori Stahlbrand from Local Food Plus; Tobey Nemeth, Chef de Cuisine at Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar; Elizabeth Harris, organizer of the Brickworks Farmers Market; Mark Trealout of Kawartha Ecological Growers; Dan Taylor, Economic Development Officer of Prince Edward County; Paul Finklestein from the Screaming Avocado and Food Network Canada Show, Fink; Barry Monaghan from Fresh Start; and Sasha Chapman of the Globe and Mail.

Each participant took a few moments to discuss the question, “What is the most important thing farmers can do to address local food opportunities?”

Continue reading Going Local »

It probably makes me a bad Torontonian, but after living here for 2 decades, this is the first year I’ve been to the Royal Winter Fair. I’m not sure why I’ve never bothered before, other than as a young adult it just didn’t have enough punk cachet, and as a vegetarian, it made me sad. But this year I had an excuse, so off we went on Saturday evening to check it out.

In many ways, it was not what I expected.

Continue reading The Royal We Goes to the Fair »

It’s not often that a restaurant throws a swank reception to mark the launch of a new wine list. But when a restaurant is located in a hotel that purchases more wine than any other hotel in Canada, and more Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) Canadian wines than any other hotel in North America, it’s only logical that they would want to do something special to celebrate a changeover in the cellar.

Hence, the elaborate unveiling this past Thursday evening at EPIC Restaurant in the Royal York for this year’s version of “The Great Canadian List”, a group of Canadian VQA vintages selected from 250 candidates by a tasting panel of professional sommeliers, restaurant managers, culinary experts, and wine writers. Led by EPIC sommelier Courtney Henderson, the panel spent 3 days earlier this month selecting 60 wines that they felt best represent the depth and breadth of Canada’s wine industry, and 16 of the selected wines were showcased at Thursday’s tasting event.

Continue reading An Epic Wine Tasting »

Normally, the north building of St. Lawrence Market is the focus of local food only on Saturday mornings as farmers and food producers fill tables with all things edible and Torontonians descend upon the place in search of tasty treats. This past Tuesday evening, the market building was a bastion of local food again as a number of chefs and wineries offered samples of their wares as part of An Evening of Local Cuisine, one of the many events put on by The Green Carpet Series.

Attendees had the opportunity to wander the space sampling food from local restaurants that had been paired with wines from Ontario wineries. Participating chefs and restaurants included Chef Ben Heaton from Globe Bistro, Chef Marc Breton from the Gladstone Hotel, Chef Nathan Isberg from Coca, and Chef Anthony Rose from the Drake Hotel. Participating wineries were Henry of Pelham, Frogpond Farm, Flatrock Cellars and Vineland Estates Winery.

Continue reading Taking a Walk on the Green Carpet »

It takes a lot to pull me out from under my duvet before noon on a Sunday – especially a gloomy grey Sunday in mid-October. And it’s generally dang nigh impossible to get me to come out from beneath said duvet on a gloomy grey Sunday in mid-October and actually have me throw some real clothes on, get in the car and head along the 401 toward the DVP. But when there’s the promise of two things I thoroughly enjoy coming together under one roof – free chocolate and pay-what-you-can spa treatments - I decided it was worth throwing an extra $10 in my gas tank. I then pointed my vehicle in an easterly direction, and toward the heady possibilities awaiting at the Crowne Plaza where the kick-off for Chocolate Fest ‘07 was taking place at the hotel’s wellness centre.

Continue reading Chocolate Sunday »

I’m not sure how I feel about Jamie Kennedy these days. He will forever be the arbiter of local food, lending his presence and his bed head hair to Greenbelt gatherings in the name of sustainability. No one can deny him this title. However, at the Gardiner Museum’s recent lecture, From the Ground Up: Nurturing the Art of Sustainable Living, nothing sounded new. Was I growing tired of his refrain?

The Gardiner Museum has never struck me as local food’s chief advocate. Ceramics, clay, delicate and pretty things just don’t mesh with the gritty, earthbound perspective of farmers, though the erudite moderator Lori Stahlbrand, founder and president of Local Food Plus, was quick to quash my initial hesitation with the simple remark that clay is part of the soil in which food grows. Oh. Ok.

Continue reading Green is the New Little Black Dress OR It Takes A Village to Make a Meal »

Shoes and lip gloss, ferrets and yoga - the 23rd Vegetarian Food Fair was more diverse than ever. The title “food fair” may even become a misnomer in future years, and they may have to change it to “Veg and Eco Vendor and Charity Booth Fair.” For now, the overarching term encompasses 3 days of things to buy, petitions to sign, cooking demos, lectures, and plenty of food.

The Food Fair kicked off at 4PM last Friday to worrying weather. It began raining four minutes before the cooking demo for the evening started, so Gill Deacon and Howard Dubrovsky had a fairly large audience for “Haute Cuisine Goes Green.” The two bantered back and forth like the TV hosts that they are, disdaining the 100-mile diet and the “medium-low” setting on stoves. Howard one-upped Gill in the “haute” department with his instruction on preserved lemons. “I have never heard of this,” she admitted.

Continue reading The 23rd Annual Vegetarian Food Fair, 2007 »