Posted by Sheryl Kirby in events, events upcoming, farm to table, fruit and vegetables on September 29, 2008 at 7:39 am

We all know the phrase about comparing apples and oranges. We tell someone they’re a peach if we think they’re especially kind, and plum good is better than just plain good any day.

But what of the lowly pear? The average Canadian eats a mere 2 pounds of pears a year; they tend to be overlooked at harvest time when the other more extroverted fruit take centre stage. Yet pears are not only great eaten out of hand, they can be a versatile ingredient in both sweet and savoury dishes, and make delicious wine and cider.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in SOLE food, charities, events, events upcoming, farm to table on September 8, 2008 at 7:45 am

There is just no better way to celebrate the harvest season than a picnic. In mid-September, when the days are still kissed with sun, yet there’s a certain crispness in the air, there’s time to stop and celebrate the glorious season and the delights it has created, and to thank the people who grow our food for their tireless efforts.

Guests at this year’s Picnic at the Brickworks hosted by Evergreen and Slow Food Toronto will have the opportunity to do just that this Sunday as farmers and food producers from across Ontario team up with some of Toronto’s top chefs to create a mouth-watering and memorable event featuring some of the best food our city – and province – has to offer.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in events, events upcoming, farm to table on August 27, 2008 at 7:46 am

The last week of August is always bittersweet. The smell of fall is in the air, the kids are getting ready to go back to school and Ontario produce is at its peak, with the abundance of the season available in farmers markets across the province.

For anyone who finds themselves at the Gladstone Hotel on a Wednesday night, the abundance of the season is also to be had in the ballroom café where Chef Marc Breton and his staff continue to serve up a seasonal 4-course prix fixe dinner featuring the best locally grown products that Ontario has to offer.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in announcements, farm to table on August 20, 2008 at 9:42 am

The Holland Marsh area of Ontario's Greenbelt region is the province's "salad bowl" with over150 farmers on nearly 10,000 acres of some of the richest soil in the country.

Yesterday, the Holland Marsh Growers Association announced that it has received a $400,000 grant from the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation to assist with not only growing, but storage, processing and packaging as well, which will help to shorten the distribution chain and strengthen the local economy.

These new programs will also work to diversify crops beyond the carrots, onion and celery that were the mainstay of farms in the area, to include vegetables ranging from different types of lettuce to spinach, bok choy and kohlrabi.

The Association will also work with farmers to become certified by Local Food Plus, allowing them to create a distinct Holland Marsh-Local Food Plus brand.

To celebrate the grant, Toronto chef Jamie Kennedy prepared a salad made entirely from Holland Marsh-grown produce consisting of artichoke hearts and romaine lettuce, garnished with coloured carrots, celery root and beefsteak tomatoes, topped with a shallot vinaigrette. The salads were hand-delivered to Premier Dalton McGuinty and MPP Julia Munro, who represents the Holland Marsh area.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in farm to table, politics on August 19, 2008 at 7:56 pm

The Ministry of Transportation is currently considering the addition of alternative routes and bypasses along the Highway 7 and 8 corridor which runs from Stratford to Hamburg in southwest Ontario. These changes may require the displacement of several residential buildings and would impact agricultural properties. One of these properties is Church Hill Farm, a family-owned farm since 1843 that produces humanely raised, pasture fed, free-range meats and where the owners Max and Vicki Lass work diligently to assure their farm remains sustainable.

The Lasses risk losing part or all of their farm if these changes are passed and the highway 7 and 8 corridor is widened.

A petition has been set up where concerned citizens can add their signatures and share their comments. Please sign it if you care about keeping Ontario's farmland intact.

Also - While online petitions are a useful tool, direct contact with the minister in charge usually carries much more weight when it comes to influencing a decision. Please consider contacting Jim Bradley, the Minister of Transportation directly, and voicing your opinion to him via email, snail mail or telephone. The provincial Member of Parliament for Perth-Wellington is John Wilkinson - drop him a line, as well as your own MPP, while you're at it.

Photo from the Church Hill Farm website.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in contests, events, events upcoming, farm to table on July 31, 2008 at 7:43 am

One of the hi-lights of last summer's harvest season for anyone with a love of good food was undoubtedly the Picnic at the Brickworks. A partnership between Slow Food Toronto and Evergreen, the picnic paired producers and growers with 50 local chefs and offered an afternoon of culinary delights to all who attended.

The picnic was so popular, selling out well before the actual date, that Slow Food Toronto and Evergreen are back this year to do it again, this time with even more of a focus on the food producers taking part.

Currently, tickets are still available from the Evergreen website, at a cost of $90 per person.

TasteTO has one pair of tickets available to give away. We will draw a winner from the correct answers tomorrow at 9am. NOTE - The contest is now closed - thanks and good luck to all who entered. The winner will be notified by email.

Please note that the Picnic at the Brickworks is a 19+ event.

Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming, farm to table on July 20, 2008 at 7:04 pm

Starting this Thursday, July 24th and running through to the autumn, specialty food shop Viva Tastings (409 College Street) will be hosting a weekly farmers' market on their patio in conjunction with Harvestin' The County, the local agricultural initiative of Prince Edward County. Taking place every Thursday afternoon from 4pm to 7pm, the event will be Toronto's only market dedicated exclusively to produce and products from Prince Edward County, including goods from suppliers such as Fosterholm Farms, Hagerman Family Farms, and Vicki's Veggies.

To celebrate the new market, Viva will be hosting a special "pre-dinner tasting" event this Thursday from 5pm to 7pm, featuring bite-sized nibbles made using ingredients from the vendors at the market. Tickets are $12, with wine from Prince Edward County available for an additional cost. Tickets for the tasting can be reserved by calling 416-506-0054.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in SOLE food, events, events upcoming, farm to table on July 8, 2008 at 7:58 am

Pulling up the driveway into Chick-A-Biddy Acres, I almost want to break into a rendition of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”, for Sherry Patterson has created something that seems almost too good to be true. I am tagging along (“embedded” in journalism-lingo) with some of the kitchen and catering staff from the Gladstone Hotel as they join Patterson and her three employees for a day of weeding and a tour of the 75 acre community supported agriculture (CSA) farm.

From the second we arrive, I am enchanted, opening the car door to find half a dozen of Patterson’s colourful laying hens rushing toward me with curiosity. We’re not here to play with chickens, however, and Patterson quickly directs us to a nearby field where we’re put to work weeding rows of peas.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in SOLE food, farm to table, prepared foods, shops on July 4, 2008 at 4:04 pm

Multiple Organics
1545 Dundas Street West
647-435-5340

What are two well-educated young women to do when they find themselves with doctorates, but no where to use them? Why, open an organic food store of course!

Such was the case for Nupur Gogia and Carrianne Leung recently when they discovered that the only way to make use of their formal education was to leave Toronto, something neither of them wanted to do. Gogia was already part of an established family business, running the successful Raani Foods, and Leung wanted to stay close to her family in Toronto’s west end. With no retail background other than Gogia’s experience selling her famous samosas at St. Lawrence Market, the pair leased a storefront in the Dundas West and Dufferin area and opened Multiple Organics just over a month ago.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in SOLE food, farm to table, restaurant news on June 24, 2008 at 8:10 am

The jingle says “good things grow in Ontario!”, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy to find. Just ask owner Ian Sorbie or Chef Owen Steinberg of Il Fornello who have spent the last year adding Ontario-grown items to the menu for the 8-location chain.

Started last June, with a small separate menu of local, seasonal items that changed regularly, Il Fornello recently celebrated a full year of its All Ontario Menu, and in the past year, has diverted approximately $300,000 away from imported goods and back into the local economy, purchasing some 65 tons of local products ranging from root vegetables to oils, vinegars, meat and even grain from local farmers and suppliers.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in events, events upcoming, farm to table, fruit and vegetables on June 9, 2008 at 8:15 am

Hedonism is a word that I apply to the enjoyment of food somewhat frequently. Taste is, after all, one of the senses, and we receive great pleasure from eating well. There’s a line of thinking that says it’s hedonistic to buy imported strawberries throughout the winter, but that’s not true hedonism to me. Because the acceptance of hard flavourless imported berries pales in terms of sensual pleasure when compared to the blast of sun-warmed sweetness of a local June strawberry. The experience cannot be matched.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in events, events upcoming, farm to table, market basket on May 6, 2008 at 8:14 am

The warm weather we had in April means the season for local produce has already started. I came home from St. Lawrence Market this past Saturday with not only local asparagus and ramps, but peas, tomatoes, and fiddleheads.

Throughout the month of May and into June, the various farmers markets throughout the city will be starting up. And while we keep a very comprehensive guide of local markets on our Markets page, I know I can’t be the only one anxious to get out there and start checking out what’s available.

Here’s a list of Toronto markets based on their start dates, so market junkies can visit each one as they open for the season.

Note that we still don’t have start dates for a few places, but will continue to update our Markets page as start dates are announced.

Also, please watch for our Market Basket column, starting next Monday, where we feature a different local farmers market each week.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in SOLE food, events, farm to table on April 1, 2008 at 7:53 am

After the long hard winter we're just now starting to see the back of, there were times when I almost believed that it wouldn't end - that it would be perpetual winter forever. Fortunately Mother Nature takes care of things, and just like it has for every other year since the beginning of time, spring has arrived. Which turns the heads of farmers and gardeners to one thought - planting.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in SOLE food, event reviews, events, farm to table, politics on February 19, 2008 at 7:29 am

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.

Posted by Rod Weatherbie in SOLE food, farm to table, ingredients, meat and poultry, products on January 18, 2008 at 5:04 pm

Local, traceable, and meaty are in, while equatorial fruit and small plates are passé.

A quick not-statistically-accurate-at-all poll of a few city chefs shows that the buying local trend hasn’t run out of steam, although being able to intimately map a food’s source is quickly gaining ground.