Eat to the Beat 2014

Sixty of Canada's Top Female Chefs got together at Roy Thompson Hall this week to share some fantastic food for a good cause.   They provided the food for the 19th Annual  EAT TO THE BEAT Fundraising Event that supports WILLOW a support centre for anyone touched with Breast & Hereditary Cancers.

I am sure there is someone in your world that has been touched with Cancer so this is a fun way of supporting something that isn't so fun.

If you have ever been to Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto you know that it is a great big open hall with an area that surrounds the interior of the building that has hosted many private parties and lot's of events during the Toronto International Film Festival.  I spend many days there during the Film Festival and have seen many parties set up there but nothing as grand as this one.  There were tables setup the whole way around the hall with all of the 60 Chefs delicious treats for everyone to select and try.

There were additional tables of sweets in the centre of the larger portion of the hall and there were also tables set up for a Silent Auction and a table for a Surprise $20 bag that you could purchase.  I purchased one and got a Bourgeois Makeup Kit, Starbucks Ice Tea package and a candle holder.  There were all sorts of different things in the bag.  I was shooting for the Ipad mini or movie tickets but I will take the makeup gladly.

To add a lot of fun and attention to some of the Cancer Survivors while celebrating them they all dressed up in original food inspired corsets that they created and proudly wandered around the venue.

They also had raffle tickets for sale for some other great prizes.

It was a jam packed event that was a lot of fun and a lot of attention to detail was paid to everything at this event.  It flowed seamlessly which is something I appreciate in an event.  Because it flowed around the hall people had room to stroll through the building sampling little bites along the way.

When you arrived at the venue you were given a wine glass so that you could get wine, beer, tea, water Limonana or soft drinks.  This simple action was really nice because it kept things green and you could get refills at individual wine vendors, or even soft drinks and water so everyone was covered.  I can't tell you how many events that I have gone to where the only options were beer and wine, both of which I don't drink and sometimes the only other option is soft drinks, which I prefer not to drink.  I like to drink water at an event like this so that I can taste the food and keep myself hydrated.  Makes for a better recovery the next day too.  But what I really loved is that Starbucks had a huge table of all kinds of coffees with free reusable cups you could take with you.

                        


Now to the food.   Some of the notable Chefs that participated in this event were Rose Reisman, Nettie Cornish, Emily Richards, Vanessa Yeung from Aphrodite Cooks, and some of the notable restaurants and vendors included the Inn on the Twenty, The Drake, Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts, Beretta Farms, and Wanda's Pie in the Sky.   There were 60 so too many to mention.

     

Some of the food that I really liked included Nettie Cornish's Quinoa chili, Beretta Farms Asian Beef on a rice cracker,  Limonana juice, Paintbox caterings Jerk Arancini, Tilde's smoked duck taco, and Emily Richards Roasted red pepper crostini and I would have liked to try a whole lot more of the desserts but I just didn't have room after all the savoury bites.

This was the first time that I attended this event and I really enjoyed it and ran into a lot of people I knew there who were volunteering or who were vendors so it was nice to see everyone united for a great cause.

I think they will raise a lot of money from this event so I think these kind of events are a great thing for everyone from the Chefs who get exposure to people that may not have ever tried their food and the money raised helps people who need assistance during difficult times.    It's a good thing as Martha Stewart would say.

I hope that one day they have events like this just for fun and not to have to raise money for Cancer initiatives but in the meantime go to these events and have some great food, fun and do something good at the same time.