Suresh Doss 6 week series of Food Talks at the Hot Docs Cinema

CURIOUS MINDS - HEIRLOOM: The Food Traditions of Toronto's Cultural Mosaic

Suresh Doss - Food Writer (Editor of Foodism & Escapism and CBC host)

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema

Saturdays, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM 
Jan 26, Feb 9, Feb 23, Mar 9, Mar 23, Apr 6

Six-week course: $63 (Members: $54, $42, Free) |
Single class: $21 (Members: $17, $14, Free)

I have known about Suresh Doss for a while now as he is well respected in the Food Industry and has really filled a niche market for himself by finding all the little gem food places to eat that are off the beating path and generally do not get write ups,  viral instagram feeds or media attention at all.  He likes them because they make "Traditional" food from their home countries or their family influences.  The food isn't always instagrammable but it's always full of flavour and passion.

Suresh's passion for food is been demonstrated in a series of 6 -2 hour talks being held on Saturday mornings at the Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto.

I got up this chilly winter morning when I would normally be home probably watching Food Network while cleaning up, cooking or blogging and I went down to the Bloor Cinema thanks to some last minute tickets from Eatable Films.  Thank you Eatable.

Today was the first in the series and it was all Suresh who talked about restaurants that he has travelled to around the world and in the GTA or the "Burbs" as he calls it.  This is his specialty.  He goes to the places only locals that live around the area usually know about.

Suresh has been a food writer for years and writes for many food publications as well as editing his own magazines.  He also has a CBC show that showcases the people who run these little mom and pop type of restaurants in the "Burbs".  

The one thing that he talked about that he really wanted to hit home was the fact that a lot of these places may just disappear because the parents aren't passing down the traditions to their kids because they usually want their kids to have a better life with more stability and less physical and mental stress.   "Running a restaurant in Toronto is hard" Suresh notes.  

Yes it is because of City councils many bylaws and the high cost of rent and increased labour costs.  They aren't always accessible these days either with the many condos in the city and the endless commuting time there isn't as much time to get around the city to go for dinner.  The cost of dining out because of the rents and labour costs are high in the downtown core as well.   The suburbs sometimes provides a more reasonable experience with parking available most of the time and the rents being lower affords the food costs to be lower as well.

Here is the thing that I have noticed over the years also pointed out by Suresh is the fact that we are losing a lot of restaurants that have had their original recipes being passed down for generations and they have honed in on specializing in what they do making the food that much better.

I have have also noticed that with the takeover of huge Condos comes predictable chain foods that are sometimes mediocre,  sometimes good but hardly ever great.   I have noticed in my area where I work and live and there is the highest density in Toronto there is also a slow takeover of restaurants that come from Asia who provide cheap and relatively fast food.  How many Sushi places do you need within a 1 block radius?  They can't all be good?  How many Subways, Freshii's, McDonalds, Tim Horton's do you really need everywhere?  The same food in every food court and every major intersection.  I really miss the days when I would drive around to all kinds of places,   I miss driving a lot too because I could find those little places along the way that you miss when you spend 2 hours a day from underground subway station to station with the same old things around when you surface.

I go out less than I used to and find that a lot of the time I am disappointed in the food.  I picked up some food from a new food hall on Bloor today and didn't even finish it.  Low quality and not that great.  The families that own and run their little places for generations aren't looking to make a quick buck and get out, they are looking to build a community and leave a legacy.

That's what's really needed in the city is for Toronto City Hall to provide easier ways for these people to get started and keep their restaurants running for more than a year or so to build up their communities.  

Suresh was asked about the Food truck scene and I have discussed this in many blog posts that a lot of small indie people find the rules and costs to be too high so the ones still standing are the burgers and fries kind of trucks because it is a lot harder to build an audience when the food isn't as familiar.

There is a bit of hope coming in the form of a whole shipping container community that will sit at Front and Bathurst for a year.  Unfortunately that's not really long enough for a lot of people to get an opportunity to start small and build their business but if it's successful maybe that will feed more of the same.

What can you do?   Find the little gem places.  Suresh has a map on facebook of places you can check out.  Wander around your neighbourhood and try something that isn't a take out chain and tell your friends if it's good.

This is Suresh's next session, don't miss it.

February 9: A Taste of Persia with B.B. CafeWe begin our survey of the city's best family cooks and family-run restaurants with the mother-daughter team behind B.B. Cafe in North York, renowned across the GTA for its elegant and mouthwatering Persian pastries. Saffron ice cream and rose-water scented desserts? Yes, please!

Follow Suresh on Twitter @suresh  Instagram @suresh

Foodism - @foodismto

Website:  http://sureshdoss.com/

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJot1iEs_MwdERsM0gfh43g

Chef Flynn skips boyhood for Chefhood

CHEF FLYNN

The Hot Docs film festival is celebrating it's 25 years as a top documentary film festival.  That's is a lot longer than Flynn McGarry, the subject of the same named documentary has been alive.  Chef Flynn took over his mom's California kitchen after she lost interest in cooking while going through a depression after her divorce.  Her son grew tired of her limited cooking ability and took matters into his own hands by teaching himself how to be a professional cook.  He read cookbooks, watched cooking shows and studied whatever he can on the Internet and with the single focus of food and cooking taking over his life with the help of his extremely supportive mother. 

He started cooking at 10 but don't call him a chef prodigy or culinary Doogie Howser because he has dedicated all of his time to learn his craft and takes it very seriously and before long and with the help of his mother they filled their home with diners and started with friends and it grew to friends of friends and so on until it became a popular pop up destination called EUREKA.  Flynn concentrated on the food while his mother took care of the business side and the front of the house side.  Barely into his teens he was replicating and recreating French Laundry recipes. With his perfectionist mind he took it all very seriously as if it was the only thing that mattered in his life.

Maybe it was how he was able to deal with his parents divorce with the single focus and obsession but with his whole life devoted to only food from the age of 10 he skipped years ahead of what most accomplish in the food world even when they are twice his age.  The New York Times did a profile on him and it was both a blessing, a curse and a big life lesson.  He learned how to shake off people's biased and short sited opinions of his success and just keep focused on his goal of opening a restaurant in New York.  The film is part home movie with his former filmmaker mother filming his progress since he was a kid and then with the addition of a professional film crew documenting his rise in the the restaurant industry through a series of pop up events.  Even if you don't really care about fancy restaurant food you will enjoy the dynamic of the mother and son in this film and which this is what the film is ultimately about, the journey of both of them to achieve Chef Flynn's dream of becoming a New York restaurateur.

The film is funny, beautiful, awkward and very entertaining to watch and you will fall in love with this mother and son duo.

TIP:  eat a fantastic dinner before going to see it or make reservations at a great restaurant afterward because you will be drooling over the beautiful food throughout the movie.

You can follow Chef Flynn's creations on Instagram @diningwithFlynn and follow the film at @chefflynnfilm

for more info on Hot Docs visit their website:  www.hotdocs.ca

HOT DOCS SCREENINGS:

Sun, Apr 29 10:45 AM TBLB* there is a brunch component but it is Sold Out
Sat, May 5 1:15 PM BADER

Win Dinner and Movie Tickets for The Missing Ingredient!

Blue Ice Docs and Virgil Films & Entertainment Presents

The Missing Ingredient: What is the Recipe for Success?

A Michael Sparaga film

Opening in Toronto

July 15 – Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

A sold-out hit at DOC NYC, Michael Sparaga’s The Missing Ingredient: What is the Recipe for Success? is a charming and insightful exploration into what makes an everyday restaurant into an institution. The Toronto-based filmmaker will serve up his film for Canadian audiences beginning July 15, when the film will start its theatrical run at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema.

The film will be released on home video in the fall in Canada by Blue Ice Docs and in the US by Virgil Films & Entertainment, which recently acquired the film for the US market.

The filmmaker’s quest to define this intangible formula focuses on two Manhattan restaurants: Gino’s, an Upper East Side fixture with over half a century of history behind it, and a list of remarkable regulars that included Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren and John Lennon, to name a few.  Known for its iconic zebra wallpaper so striking it caught the eye of Woody Allen and Wes Anderson who featured it in their films Mighty Aphrodite and The Royal Tenebaums, respectively, Gino’s unique décor also inspired a restaurateur looking to turn his place into an institution.

Enter Charles Devigne, the owner of Pescatore, a Midtown staple trying to survive a changing neighbourhood now saturated with stiff competition. An artist-turned-enterpreneur, Devigne is bent on deciphering the recipe that will take his restaurant to full-blown institution status. How can he replicate Gino’s success? What will it take to make sure Pescatore stands the test of time?

“This movie is a love letter to all those old school, multi-generational restaurants that exist in every city, all over the world,” said Sparaga. 

The film is Director Sparaga’s first feature documentary. The Missing Ingredient: What is the Recipe for Success? is produced by Michael Sparaga, co-produced by Joel Roff, and executive produced by Robin Smith, Neil Tabatznik and Steven Silver.

YOU CAN WIN TICKETS!

Torontonians will also get their say on what makes up the winning recipe by entering a contest Blue Ice Docs and BlogTO have teamed up to create. By choosing their favourite dinning establishment from a list carefully selected by BlogTO’s food writers, voters will get a chance to win tickets and a dinner for them and their friends at the winning restaurant.

Win a dinner for 6 and tickets to see a Missing Ingredient screening.  

Contest Deadline: July 12th

HERE IS THE LINK TO ENTER BY CHOOSING YOUR FAVOURITE LOCAL TORONTO RESTAURANT:

link http://www.blogto.com/contests/missing-ingredient-toronto/

ABOUT VIRGIL FILMS
Virgil Films & Entertainment was founded in 2003 by Joe Amodei to acquire, market and distribute DVD, TV and Digital product in the theatrical feature film, documentaries, special interest and sports categories. The company has built partnerships with OWN, Sundance Channel Home Entertainment, National Geographic Cinema Ventures, Pure Flix Entertainment, MLB Productions, Morgan Spurlock’s Warrior Poets and other high-profile entertainment brands since their inception. Releases from Virgil Films & Entertainment include the Oscar-nominated documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me; the award-winning documentary Miss Representation; the critically acclaimed, timeless, best-selling Forks Over Knives; and the Oscar-nominated documentary Restrepoand its sequel Korengal. They have also released the compelling I Am Chris Farley, A Brony Tale, Legends of the Knight and others. Follow them on twitter: @virgilfilms | www.VirgilFilmsEnt.com.