Canada's Table a Celebration of Canadian Cookbooks

Check out this upcoming event with some very notable guest speakers.  These people know their stuff so I highly recommend checking this out if you are able to.

October is National Cookbook Month - Discover Canadian Cookbooks 

#LoveCookbooks #MoreThanRecipes #CanadasTable #TasteCanada

Canada's Table: A Celebration of Our Cookbooks at Fort York National Historic Site

~ Saturday, October 13^th, 2018 ~

BUY TICKETS NOW

Fort York National Historic Site celebrates the history, influence and importance of cookbooks and great Canadian authors both past and present with a full day of panel discussions, demonstrations, and workshops.

 

·      Keynote speaker: Bonnie Stern, "Things in My Garage: A Life in Food"

·      Guest speaker: Mairlyn Smith, "My Life as an Author: Then, Now and Now What?"

·      Special demonstration: Banner Cookbook author Anna Olson shares from her new book, Set for the Holidays

 

"This event sounds exciting and interesting, and I am drawn to the depth it dives into around the passion behind cookbooks," - Anna Olson

 

"Cookbooks are an amazing pairing of usefulness - worth what they cost for the inspiration and guidance they provide cooks and bakers, meanwhile telling the stories of individuals, families, communities, in fact, the world, not through battles and politics, but what’s simmering in the kitchen, and enjoyed at the table," – Elizabeth Baird

 

Our complimentary Long Table Lunch in the award-winning Fort York Visitor Centre, will showcase a menu created from the cookbooks of our workshop authors.

 

Participants get to choose a workshop with one of the following Canadian greats: David Wolfman, Claire Tansey, Tara O'Brady, Matt Basile, Afrim Pristine, Pat Crocker, Emily Richards, or Elizabeth Baird with Bridget Wranich.

 

Price: $125 +HST. Price includes welcome refreshments, lunch, and a one hour workshop. Each workshop participant will receive a signed copy of the workshop leader's cookbook.   Books will also be available for purchase.

Full schedule and tickets available online: http://ow.ly/I8IG30lwObQ

Taste Canada Award winners for 2016

I submitted my Blog for Consideration to the Taste Canada Awards and although I didn't make it to the short list I was invited to attend the Gala Awards presentation.  This is my 3rd year attending the Awards but it's the 19th year of  the Taste Canada Gala Awards.

The competition honours Canada’s culinary writers. This year they received 150 submissions and included 96 books and 54 food blogs.  

Winners were chosen in both official languages and across six categories, including general cookbooks, culinary narratives, and in the new category of health and special diet cookbooks.

I was there to take photos on the red carpet of all the nominated attendees.  Here are just a few of them.

Twenty-two winners received awards.  Mary Ito from CBC's Fresh Air was the host for the evening and BBQ Master Ted Reader was the pinch hitter to introduce the awards filling in for Donna Dooher the National Chair.

This is a complete list of this year’s winners:

Culinary Narratives

GOLD

Mechefske, Lindy. Sir John’s Table: The Culinary Life and Times of Canada’s First Prime Minister. Goose Lane Editions, Fredericton

SILVER

Alford, Jeffrey. Chicken in the Mango Tree: Food and Life in a Thai-Khmer Village. Douglas & McIntyre, Madeira Park

General Cookbooks

GOLD

Canadian Living Test Kitchen. Canadian Living: The Ultimate Cookbook. Les Éditions de l’Homme, Montréal

SILVER

O’Brady, Tara. Seven Spoons: My Favorite Recipes for Any and Every Day. Appetite by Random House, Vancouver

Regional/Cultural Cookbooks

GOLD

Musgrave, Susan. Taste of Haida Gwaii: Food Gathering and Feasting at the Edge of the World. Whitecap Books, Vancouver

SILVER

Nimji, Noorbanu and Karen Anderson. A Spicy Touch: Family Favourites from Noorbanu Nimji’s Kitchen. A Spicy Touch Publishing (Canada) Inc., Calgary

Single-Subject Cookbooks

GOLD

Mundy, Jane. The Ocean Wise Cookbook 2: More Seafood Recipes That Are Good for the Planet. Whitecap Books, Vancouver

SILVER

Walsh, Victoria and Scott McCallum. Field Guide to Canadian Cocktails. Appetite by Random House, Vancouver

Health and Special Diet Cookbooks

GOLD

Telpner, Meghan. The UnDiet Cookbook: 130 Gluten-Free Recipes for a Healthy and Awesome Life. Appetite by Random House, Vancouver

SILVER

Eustace, Mary Jo. Scared Wheatless: Delicious Gluten-Free Recipes That Won’t Make You Lose Your Mind. Whitecap Books, Vancouver

Food Blog

GOLD

In Pursuit of More, Shira McDermott  www.inpursuitofmore.com       

The always hilarious Home Economist Mairlyn Smith rocked the red carpet but even though all of the boggers were rooting for her she didn't win in her category.  Canadian Living took that award.   

The French language winners are:

Les Narrations Culinaires

GOLD

Chartier, François. L’essential de Chartier. Les Éditions de Presse, Montréal

SILVER

Dô, Sylvie. L’Épicerie: Le plaisir de faire les bons choix. Les Éditions Caractère, Montréal

Livres de Cuisine Générale

GOLD

Robitaille, Josée. C’est l’hiver! Les éditions de la Carotte blanche, Montréal

SILVER

Coup de Pouce, St-Germain, Claudine. Cuisiner pour une semaine, un mois, un an. Les Éditions de l’Homme, Montréal

Livres de Cuisine Régionale et Culturelle

GOLD

Loureiro, Helena. La cuisine d’Helena: 80 recettes portugaises pour ensoleiller votre table. Les Éditions de l’Homme, Montréal

SILVER

Di Domenico, Maria. Fine cuisine italienne des Abruzzes. Les Éditions Glénat Québec, Montréal

Livres de Cuisine Sujet Unique

GOLD

Vézina, Daniel. La cuisine réfléchie: Bien manger sans gaspiller. Les Éditions La Presse, Montréal

SILVER

Ricardo. Mon premier livre de recettes. Les Éditions La Presse, Montréal

Santé et Diète Particulière

GOLD

Côté, Stéphanie et Philippe Grand. Nutrition Sportive: 21 jours de menus. Modus Vivendi, Montréal

SILVER

Michaud, Eliane. Naturellement sucré: 100 desserts à base de sucres naturels. Guy Saint-Jean Éditeur, Laval

Blogue Culinaire

GOLD

The Green Life, Sophie Bourdon  www.thegreenlife.ca

After the Awards were presented the party moved upstairs for some amazing food by Fidel Gastro, Dufflet, Ted Reader, SoCo, Bonnie Gordon Cakes, Succulent Chocolates and more.

It was a super fun night and 3 years later I knew so many more people than I did the first year I attended and really enjoyed hanging out with my fellow bloggers now that there is a new Blog Category.  My goal is to keep improving my Blog and enter again next year.  There are so many fantastic bloggers that my chances are slim but I will keep trying anyway because you never know.

I hope to be there again next year for more fun.

Fore more info about Taste Canada visit their website:  www.tastecanada.org

Get Inspired to Taste Canada

INSPIRED TO TASTE CANADA

EVENT:  Taste Canada Event HBXTasteCanada at Hudson’s Bay Queen Street

                176 Yonge St., 7th floor (Housewares dept)

DATE:     May 12, 19 and 26th, 2016

WHO:     Taste Canada's Renowned Cookbook Authors and Chefs,
                Matt Basile (Lisa Marie, Fidel Gastros),         
                Mairlyn Smith Cookbook author & television personality, 
                Derek Damman (Maison Publique) and writer Chris Johns.

HASHTAG:  #HBxTasteCanada

I attended 2 out of 3 of Taste Canada's events and I am sorry that I missed Mairlyn Smith's session because I heard she was hilarious as I knew she would be.

The events were hosted by Taste Canada's English Language Chair Jennifer MacKenzie who I had the pleasure of meeting on last year's Farm Food Tour.

The event was to showcase some of the recipes in a few of the cookbooks submitted to the Taste Canada Awards which will be held on November 14, 2016.  It is open to the public if you want to purchase tickets.  It is held at the Bay as well.

The shortlist will be announced on September 13th and I hope to see some of these cookbooks on the short list.
Last year they introduced Food Blogger Awards and for the second year I have submitted my Blog for the Award.  I know it's a long shot but you never know if you don't buy a ticket as they say.  Last year the bloggers were also invited to be red carpet correspondents which was really fun and a great way to finally meet some of the other bloggers and cookbook authors.

I attend the first session just for fun since it was my birthday and wanted to have something to do after work.
Matt Basile made his popular Sriracha Maple Syrup Cauliflower and I think there was other stuff but I didn't get a chance to try it.  The first session was a bit more chaotic because I was trying to figure out all the stations for Beer, Wine, Coffee, Godiva chocolate covered strawberries, Flow water and Kale Chips.
By the time I went to the one with Derek Damman I knew where everything was and already tasted a few of the things so I had more time and a better view of Derek's demo of some amazing fresh Wild Garlic (Ramp) pasta with Wild garlic sauce.  Derek wasn't used to the induction stoves and had a bit of a challenge trying to get them to the temperature he wanted and he said he never used the pasta attachment on the Kitchen Aid Machine but that never stops a true Chef even though he was a little flustered by it he still produced the most amazing pasta.  Imagine the freshest pasta with a full flavour of fresh garlic.  Simple but amazing.  He also made potato croquettes that were passed around and they were fantastic too.  I could have eaten a half dozen of those.

There were deals on products from All Clad and lot's of different beverages to try.  After the quick cooking demo the Chefs sat down to sign their cookbooks and meet everyone.

I have all 3 of these cookbooks and I can tell you that they really represent all that is Canada.  Matt's book is wild and decadent with recipes from all over from his food truck travels. Matt likes to go BIG.  Mairlyn Smith is a people person so her cookbook is just that.  A collection of recipes from fellow Home Economists from across Canada and some are healthy and there are Canadian classics like Butter tarts.  Derek and Chris' cookbook is a superb collection of local ingredients from the West coast to the East Coast of Canada and it could be a lovely coffee table book with the photos from their seasick photographer.  For more info on these Cookbook Authors here is their info:

Matt Basile

Thursday, May 12, 2016 

Featuring Matt Basile, author of “Street Food Diaries” 

Twitter: Matt Basile @fidelgastros 

Presented by Penguin Canada @PenguinCanada

FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fidel-Gastros/180390048709936

IG: fidelgastros 

Website: fidelgastros.com

Thursday, May 19, 2016 

Featuring Mairlyn Smith, author of “Homegrown” 

Twitter: Mairlyn Smith @MairlynSmith ; also @OntarioHEA

Presented by Whitecap @whitecapbooks

FB:  Mairlyn Smith Author 

IG: MairlynSmith

Website: mairlynsmith.com

Derek Damman

Thursday, May 26, 2016 

Featuring Derek Dammann & Chris Johns, authors of 
“True North”

T: Derek Dammann @maisonpublique 

Chris Johns @chrisandvinegar

Presented by HarperCollins @HarperCollinsCA

FB: https://www.facebook.com/maisonpubliquemtl/?fref=ts

IG: maisonpublique 

Website: maisonpublique.com

http://chrisjohns.tumblr.com/

To find out more info about the Taste Canada Awards:
http://tastecanada.org/awards/

Please follow Taste Canada and these other sponsors on Twitter: 

@TasteCanada

@hudsonsbay

@AllCladCanada

@GODIVA 

@HealthyCrunch

@CraftBeerGlass 

@sawdustcitybeer

@jamieoliver 

Taste Canada at the Bay with Basile, Smith and Damman

Taste Canada is bringing a series of 3 Chef demos to the Hudson's Bay this May.

I will be spending the 1st of this series of cooking demos on my Birthday on May 12th with Chef Owner of the Restaurant Lisa Marie and the Food Truck Fidel Gastros own Matt Basile.  Matt is a fun guy so I know it will be a fun way to spend my birthday.

On May 19th the 2nd in the series is with Home Economist and hilarious television personality Mairlyn Smith. She has a new cookbook out called Homegrown, that she put together with a group of other Home economists.  Mairlyn is a lot of fun and although I am not able to attend this session I know it will be great fun too.

On May 26th Chef Derek Dammann, and Chris Johns owners of Montreal's Maison Publique which is also partially owned by Jamie Oliver.  I have seen Chef Dammann once in Stratford and I am really looking forward to seeing what he has in store for his demo.  His restaurant is very highly regarded and he doesn't often come to Toronto so this will be a great opportunity since I haven't had a chance to go to Montreal yet. Their cookbook is "True North" and I am looking forward to checking it out.

You can register to attend these demos for free but SPACE IS LIMITED so you need to try and get in right away.   Here are the details.

RSVP here:  http://www.thebay.com/registry/events/tastecanada

Hashtag #HBxTasteCanada

Follow:
Matt Basile IG and T @fidelgastros
Mairlyn Smith T @MairlynSmith  IG @MairlynSmith
Derek Dammann T@MaisonPublique
Chris Johns @chrisandvinegar  IG @maisonpublique

Websites:
www.fidelgastros.com
www.mairlynsmith.com
www.maisonpublique.com

Thanks and follow:
@hudsonsbay
@TasteCanada
@AllCladCanada
@GODIVA
@HealthyCrunch
@CraftBeerGlass
@sawdustcitybeer
@jamieoliver

Good Food and Drink Show in Toronto

The Good Food and Drink Show in Toronto

The Good Food and Drink Show just happened in Toronto this April and I was lucky to be able to attend it on the final day of the Festival.  I am sure it was probably the quietest day of the Festival but it was still a lot of fun with Vikram Vij and Mairlyn Smith in attendance.

Vikram Vij is the Rockstar of the West Coast Vancouver Indian Restaurant World and Internationally too.  He is also now going to be a Dragon on the Dragon's Den.  He is a Chef and and Entrepreneur with a line of frozen Indian Foods.  I hope to get my hands on some one of these days.

Vikram was there to do a demo and sign his latest cookbook.  I got my hands on a copy of it and hopefully will make some new Indian Food Recipes soon.

Mairlyn Smith from Cityline and Breakfast Television and everywhere there is food, was on hand to keep things moving and I think she moved more than anything else.  She was like the stand up comic side to the busy cooking chefs on stage.  Always fun watching her.  Vikram made a chicken curry but unfortunately we didn't get to taste it.

I also stuck around to see Terry from Top Chef Canada make some interesting Trout and Smoked Potatoes.  He couldn't say who won Top Chef but he did mention how intense the whole filming of it was.  We did get to try a spoonful of a dulce de lece pudding that was really good.

Fellow Dragon's Den Powerhouse Arlene Dickenson was also roaming around checking out booths and supporting her own large favourite picks that she supports from the show.

There was a food truck Alley where I ended my food tasting with a new Mexican Taco food truck where I tried a trio of tacos and then moved on to the Pancho's Bakery truck for a freshly made Churro for my last bite.   I started my day off with Indian Food having a really great Samosa and ended with Mexican Food.  That's the way I like it.

It wasn't a huge show in comparison to some others but it was fairly well rounded with some great vendors.   The ME.N.U booth was surrounded when I walked by later in the day so I am sure they sold a lot of rice balls.  These guys are becoming very popular on the local pop up food scene in Toronto and I think they are working on getting a food truck going.  I think they will have that rolling around Toronto in the not too distant future.

I sampled some tasty cheeses, some Chai Tea, and some yummy Salted Caramel ice cream from Kawartha Dairy.    It doesn't sound like all this food would sit well in my stomach but I guess my stomach was ready for a food adventure.

I hope to see it grow and have more vendors showing off some new things next year.