Sunday, October 16, 2022

Toronto Food Film Fest 2022

 


The Toronto Food Film Fest is back in person and also available virtually.  From October 14-17, 2022

Screenings are held at the Royal Theatre at 608 College Street in Toronto.  You can also view films virtually.  Each screening is paired with a snack and there are also panels and demos that can be attended with the VIP pass.

The festival experience has something extra than viewing online but getting there in Toronto isn't the easiest sometimes.  I was finally able to take Line 1 subway to College Street and stopped into Winners because I thought I had a lot of time.  I picked up some clothes and thought I would jump onto the College Streetcar to get to the festival but then I found out that College Street was closed to Transit for construction.  The sign said to go to Gerard.  I walked down and no bus,  then I walked down to Dundas and waited and no bus so I gave up and hopped in a cab.  The cab driver basically told me to stay home on the sunday because of the Toronto Marathon it would be even harder to get around.  So a subway ride and a $20 cab ride and I finally got to the Bake it til you make it event at Kiss my pans at 567 College Street.  It was so worth the trek to get there though.  The demo was by April Julian who is on the Netflix show "Is it Cake".  I haven't watched a full show so I wasn't familiar with her but I was super happy to learn some cake decorating tricks and check out Kiss my Pans at the same time.  I tried Kiss my Pans Koppi iced coffee at Smorgasburg in the summer and liked it so much I had 2 and the owner remembered me from that festival.  The shop is a cheese shop and they make a mean coffee.  It's vintage and modern at the same time and has so much character like it's owner with a sewing machine in the middle of the space even.  I wish it was in my neighbourhood.  I would go all the time if it was.

April Julian from Is it Cake? on Netflix

Now about the demo by April.  She was lovely and very engaging and was showing everyone how to make a Cappuccino cake.  There were a bunch of kids and she let them touch and taste some of the items she was using to see the difference.  They were so funny and very interested in getting to the tasting.  It was a chocolate cake with coffee buttercream.  We got to sample it when she was done and it was delicious.  I would be happy to have that as a birthday cake and wish I had the time and patience to make it.  It's a process for sure but so impressive.   I also picked up a Koppi and a cheese scone at Kiss My Pans and then walked over to the Royal theatre for the films afterward.

Back at the theatre Ruffino Coffee was set up beside the stage for free Coffees,  I grabbed a fantastic Cappuccino and after rustling around in my seat I managed to spill it all over myself after only having a couple of sips.  Lucky I stopped at Winners before and changed my clothes to the new ones I bought.  I didn't want to take a chance on another one but it was really good coffee.  It was definetely one of those days where things don't go as planned.   

The food pairing was a ham and cheese sandwich from Milou -1375 Dundas St. W.




The first film I saw was the Chocolate War about kids that are being trafficked into slavery to harvest Cocoa beans in Africa for companies Cargill and Nestle and the lawyer who is trying to fight them to stop the child labour exploitation.  It's very sad that these corporations make millions and the people who do the labour don't get paid and risk their families and their lives. 

In between screenings I went to Rudy to get a Rudy burger and fries.  There's a lot of restaurants on College street but it's sad at how many are gone since the pandemic and how many Cannabis shops are now dotted along college.

Back to the next screening of Umami and Family Recipe the short.   Umami starred french actor Gerard Depardieu who is a Michelin star overweight driven chef who neglects his health and family.  He suffers a life threatening incident and goes on an adventure that has haunted him for years.   He is quite the character and it explores food and family and the connections to passion and life.

In writing this there's still more screenings and events available.   Get tickets online at https://www.torontofoodfilmfest.com/   Follow along on Instagram too.  https://www.instagram.com/torontofoodfilmfest/

#TFFF22