The Toronto Food Business Incubator
133 Rivalda Road
416-401-8888

So, you’ve got a great idea for a food product. You’ve done your research, studied the market, and put together a business plan. You’re sure you’ve got a hit on your hands. But what’s your next step? Where do you find the space to actually make your product? You might want to check out the program at the Toronto Food Business Incubator (TFBI) - a new not for profit facility that offers low-volume local food entrepreneurs the assistance and guidance to take their ideas from the business plan stage straight through to getting the products into the marketplace – either onto restaurant tables or retailers’ shelves.

Now before you pick up the phone and request an application, please note this is not the place for those who want to fast-track their grandmother’s prize-winning strawberry jam recipe onto Loblaws’ shelves in six months.

Continue reading Chickens Need Not Apply »

Nikolaou Restaurant Equipment
629 Queen Street West
416-504-6411

It’s easy to walk past Nikolaou at Queen and Bathurst and not give it a second glance. The sign is faded, the door is filthy, and the windows imply that the store is filled with dusty, run-of-the-mill pepper grinders. However, that’s just Nikolaou’s humble facade. Inside this restaurant supply store are thousands of kitchen gems waiting to be dusted-off.

This store is clearly geared toward caterers and restaurateurs. Impressing the everyday consumers with well-organized stock and pretty displays is not their market. This may make any home cook feel intimidated or overwhelmed, but those feelings fade quickly when greeted by the friendly staff behind the front desk. They are happy to help customers track-down down specific items, but they’re also well aware that a slow and peaceful wander of discover through the aisles is necessary for many, and will leave their visitors with plenty of time and space.

Continue reading Dusting Off Nikolaou »

SasMart
6 Denison Square
416-596-6415

Until two years ago I didn’t know nutmeg graters existed. Nor did I realize that Europeans have specific gadgets for every conceivable meal. The French alone have raclette and crepe machines that they pull out with the same familiarity North Americans do with toasters. The Italians attach pasta makers and meat grinders to their counter tops with ease.

Two years ago I vacationed with friends in the French Alps; it was a culinary adventure that changed the way I saw food preparation. We sat around a table, tucked away in an alpine cottage, moving eagerly from one meal to the next. During one dinner of melted cheese and potatoes (raclette) my friend Thibaut pulled out a tiny nutmeg grater complete with a slot to store the petit nut and boldly added the spice.

Continue reading SasMart Has It All »

Tap Phong, located in the heart of Chinatown at 360 Spadina Avenue, is a restaurant supply store like no other. If you’ve ever eaten in an Asian restaurant and wished you could find the crockery, utensils, pots or pans used there, chances are you can find them here. A word of caution for neatfreaks: Tap Phong is big and disorganized. Many items have no prices. Some things are incredible bargains; others overpriced. Some of the merchandise seems like it’s been there since the 1970s, shopworn and outdated to the point of being back in style again. You really never know what you’ll find, but it’s always interesting to look. Take your out-of-town visitors for a shopping experience they just can’t get back home.

The best bargains I have found are the discounted ceramics in on the back wall. All sorts of odds and ends in the form of coffee cups, plates, ceramic soup spoons and bowls – always a bargain at twenty-five cents to two dollars. Especially impressive are the rice bowls at two for a dollar.

Continue reading Tap Phong Trading Company - Minor Chaos, Unique Bargains »