Lechon Fest at Wychwood Barns

Announcing WONDER CHEF CANADAthe Culinary Showdown segment in the
LECHON FEST

WONDER CHEF CANADA (WCC) Culinary Showdown is a competition project of the
in LECHON FEST (LF) with a mission to brand Philippine cuisine by recognizing
Filipino-Canadian amateur cooks and food enthusiasts, and bring greater awareness
and appreciation of Filipino cuisine among the global community at large. Partial
proceeds to build a library in an orphanage ​partner ​in the Philippines ages 1-21.
It will be held on Sept 2-3 at Wychwood Barns, from 3pm to 6pm.

The competition will showcase the cooking prowess and expertise of up to 7 amateur
Filipino-American cooks and foodies. There is only one category of entrées which could
include: Kare-kare, Escabeche, Caldereta, Menudo, Afritada, Pochero, Pinakbet, Sisig,
&Laing. The winner will receive a trip for 2 to Iceland. (why? Because it’s a cool place to
be)
“We hope that through WCC, we could encourage all residents in our community to
actively support Filipino restaurants in the GTA and also boost participation from
community organizations, business entities and other groups in this advocacy
campaign.” says Julian Baricuatro, founder of WCC and LF.

The actual event Lechon Fest Canada (LFC) is a pioneer caravan festival which aims
to preserve and promote the diverse Asian cuisine & culinary heritage and strengthen
the ties that bind Filipino-Canadians.

The centerpiece of the fiesta, the “star of the show”, so to speak, will be the lechon in
several forms – from whole roast pig to lechon manok and the humble yet succulent
lechon kawali. There will also be folk dances, arts and music.

The opening ceremonies start at noon and the festival is on till 9pm
There is a book drive with partial proceeds to build a library in an orphanage
​partner ​in the Philippines ages 1-21.

For more info: http://lechonfestival.com/ #lechonfest or #lechonfestival or
#lechonislove

Trashed & Wasted - Food Rescue Event

NEW CHARITY EVENT FOR SECOND HARVEST

TRASHED & WASTED: TORONTO

A charity event rethinking food waste, repurposing trash, and reclaiming refuse.

Date:            March 1, 2017 

Time:            6 to 10pm, 

Location:       Artscape Wychwood Barns 

Event:           Food rescue charity event benefiting Second Harvest

The public are invited to join local chefs and food suppliers, designers and innovators at Wychwood Barns in Toronto for a one-day celebration of the sustenance, beauty, and benefits of what was once simply trashed and wasted. 

Enjoy delicious dishes, cocktails, and treats made from the most unexpected ingredients, and explore installations

that will make you rethink your next disposal or purchase.

Trashed & Wasted: Toronto will pair innovative chefs with ethically-minded suppliers to create

dishes from rescued food. Local brewers, distillers, and drinks experts will be challenged to concoct

libations from repurposed ingredients. Local artists and designers will create booths from disposed

and found objects. Local musical groups will share exciting ways to repurpose instruments.

“We have come to live in a disposable society,” says event coordinator, Brock Shepherd. “And rarely

is the reckless disposability more shocking than when it comes to food. Every day, tons of edible

food is wasted in this city. We allow it to rot in our fridges, grocery stores prematurely dispose of

‘expired’ products, and restaurants watch bins fill up with perfectly good but uneaten ingredients.

And, while so much is thrown out, thousands of people go hungry.”

Trashed & Wasted takes its inspiration from the recent Olympic games, during which a Michelin-star

chef Massimo Bottura took leftovers from the athletes’ village and turned them into meals that fed the homeless.   You can read about the documentary about the dinners in a previous review post on the film.

In 2017, Toronto-based food and beverage innovator Brock Shepherd is bringing these concepts to an event here in our own city.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Distilled spirits made from fruit pulp donated by local juicer

• Craft beer made from bakery bread scraps

• Gourmet dishes made from rescued food

• Proceeds will support Second Harvest’s Food Rescue Programme

Participants will include:

Sanagan’s Meat Locker, Porchetta & Co, Hooked, Arepa Cafe, Blackbird

Bakery, Montgomery’s Restaurant, Montforte Dairy, Soul Roasters, Elee Design, Sumo Project,

Tickets - 

universe.com/trashedandwasted

Social -

facebook.com/trashedandwasted

twitter.com/trashed_wasted

instagram.com/trashed_wasted

Big Night at the Green Barn for The Stop

I was a very lucky girl on Wednesday June 3rd, 2015 because I was able to attend the most beautiful event BIG NIGHT AT THE GREEN BARN which was held at Artscape's Wychwood Barns on Christie Street.  The event was a fundraiser for The Stop.  In case you don't know about The Stop they have programs that promote growing, cooking, sharing and advocating for healthy food.  They have a greenhouse on the site and a weekly Farmer's Market on Saturdays. There is a community kitchen and a classroom for youth education.  Chef Jamie Oliver even toured the space and thinks that there should be more facilities like it.

Since Jamie Oliver loves it so much I kind of think it's my duty as a Food Revolution Day Ambassador for him to promote their fundraising initiatives so that their programs can continue to grow and thrive.  

As a food blogger this was a no brainer for me. A great community program, a beautiful venue on an perfect spring evening and sharing some outstanding food made by some of the top Chefs in the city.  What's not to love about that?  I had one fellow blogger at my table but I didn't know anyone else but I still had a really great time.  From start to finish the attention to detail on this event was fabulous.

You arrive to a tent with some amazing appetizers.  I went back for a second cone of the hot popcorn  shrimp it was so good from Vertical.  There was also Prosciutto from Paganelli's and all kinds of appetizers from Terroni.  You were greeted by servers with trays of wine and there was Steamwhistle Beer also available.

As you entered the room there were fresh Oysters and sauces provided by Oyster Boy.  I am not a huge oyster person but they were really amazingly fresh and the sauces were perfect pairings.

There was also ice tea and delicious coffee provided by Island Coffee.

During the dinner there was an auction where the auctioneer kind of heckled the crowd to raise as much money as he could for the Stop.  Some of the items included a custom made suit and a dinner for 10 by Chef Mark McEwan who was also one of the Chef's on hand providing one of the components of the dinner.

There was a raffle with keys that the winning key would unlock a box that contained a prize to win a trip on Porter airlines.  I would have like that one.

The Dinner

The Antipasto was Mozzarella Arancini rice balls made by Chef Lorenzo Loseto from George Restaurant.  Oozy cheese.. what else is there to say.

The Primo was Rabbit Creste de Gallo a slow-cooked rabbit, peas, arugula and fresh pasta prepared by Ted Corrado from The Drake.  I only had rabbit once and I didn't like it but I didn't even taste the rabbit in this dish it just tasted like a terrific pasta and peas dish.

The Secondo was a Braised Short rib, mascarpone polenta, smoked tomato passata, roasted Thumbelina carrots and sauce.  This was provided by Chef Mark McEwan and Andrew Ellerby from The McEwan Group.  Everyone loved the tender short ribs.

Dolce the dessert was a Sicilian cannoli with ricotta cheese, chocolate and amarena cherries from George Tahari from Noce.  They were fantastic and light.

There was alos a Limoncello soaked sponge cake, filled with custard cream  that was made by Sorrento Ristorante but we are all so full by that point that I literally only had a spoonful.

I had a really great Cappuccino from Reunion Island Coffee to finish off the meal and I was totally stuffed.

It was a really great night and I hope that it was also a great night to raise lot's of money for The Stop's programs.  I know that the key sales were sold out so that's a great sign.  Everyone pitched in their time to make this event a huge success.  There were even a couple of volunteers from Tiff there so it's nice to see my film and food people in the mix.

Great job everyone.  I hope I am able to go again next year.

For more information about the Stop's programs or to donate visit their website www.thestop.org