Chowder Chowdown - Serves up Sustainability

Event:  Chowder Chowdown

Date:   November 14, 2017

Location:  The Fermenting Cellar - Distillery District - Toronto

November is Ocean Wise Seafood month and last night I had the privilege of attending the Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown for the second year in a row at the amazing Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery District.  Although it's a hike to get there once you are at the Distillery you feel like you have gone somewhere else in the world.  There is nothing else like it in Toronto.  And the Fermenting Cellar is a great place for a Chowder Chowdown contest brought to you by some great Chefs in Toronto.  Centennial College was also one of the participants.  This event is a fundraising event for Ocean Wise's Sustainable Seafood Program.  It's a fun event where there are 5 Top Chefs and food industry people as Judges including Brad Long and Martin Kouprie this year.  It is hosted by Vancouver Chef Ned Bell who is a champion for Seafood Sustainability and who has a new cookbook called LURE that has just been released. It's a fun event where the Judges judge but also the attendees get to place their votes.

And the Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown Champion is......

For the second year in a row, a judging panel of food-savvy media, chefs and industry leaders selected Chefs Chris Torgis and Joel Gray as the 2017 Ocean Wise Seafood Chowder Chowdown Champions. The Thornbury-based restaurant presented chowder lovers with their patriotic Canada 150 Coast to Coast Chowder . It featured a mélange of sustainable seafood, including Ontario farmed whiteleg shrimp, Gulf of St. Lawrence crab, Lake Huron smoked whitefish and wild Pacific ikura, complemented by local corn velouté, wild leek pesto and pickled roots and left the judges wanting more. The attendees voted Scout’s Cannery as the People’s Choice Award winner, selected for their Scout’s Scullery Soup, made with clams, mussels and haddock.

Chef Ned Bell

Chef Dave Mottershall

Judges included:

     Brad Long, Owner and Executive Chef, Café Belong

        Martin Kouprie, Executive Chef

      Kristin Donovan, Co-Owner, Hooked Inc.

      Joseph Chiaravalloti, Sustainability Specialist, Seacore Seafood Inc.

        Rita DeMontis, National Food Editor, Sun Media

 

 Even though the Chowders are served in little bowls, there were 14 of them so I think  I only tried about half of them.  My favourite was the not very Chowder like Thai Tomato by SOCO Kitchen.  I just loved the balanced flavour and a kick of heat at the end but it was very far away from a traditional chowder so I can see why they chose a more traditional chowder by Bruce Wine Bar with their National Seafood Chowder.

2017 Ocean Wise Restaurant Finalists

The Beverly on Locke
Chef Rory O'LearyCatfish and Caviar Chowder

Bistro '67Chef Raul SojoOyster and Bacon Chowder

Bruce Wine Bar
Chef Chris Torgis and Chef Joel GrayNational Seafood Chowder

Centennial College: The Local Café and Restaurant
Chef Nick MooreSmoked Seafood Chowder

Cluny Bistro & Boulangerie
Chef Murray McDonaldCod Chowder

Distillery Events and Archeo
Chef de Cuisine Joshua Dyer
Wampanohog Chowder

Le Sélect Bistro
Chef Laura MaxwellSnow Crab and Smoked Clam Chowder

Loka
Chef Dave MottershallPEI Potato Mussel Chowder

PORT RestaurantChef Samantha JoyceClam Chowder with Bacon and Grilled Clams

Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill
Chef Danny Chae
Asian Inspired Clam Chowder

The Restaurant at Peninsula Ridge Winery
Executive Chef Matt Hemmingsen
Chowder with Lobster Grilled Cheese

Rodney's Oyster House
Chef Rodrigo de Romana
Bahamian Seafood Chowder

Scout Canning
Chef Charlotte Langley
Scout’s Scullery Soup

SOCO Kitchen + Bar, Delta Toronto
Chef Keith PearsThe “TTC” Thai Tomato Chowder

These Chowder Chowdown events are held in Toronto and Vancouver and for more information you can check out their website: Vancouver Aquarium 

The Ocean Wise seafood program began as a grassroots movement in Vancouver in 2005 and is now Canada’s most recognizable sustainable seafood program. What started as an initiative involving 16 chefs has expanded to include more than 700 partners with locations from Victoria to St. John’s.