Cookbooks and Cakes - 30 years at the Cookbook Store

I dropped into the Cookbook Store today for their 30th Year Anniversary.  That's a HUGE Milestone for a Bookstore in Toronto or anywhere these days.   The thing is that they only sell cookbooks.  The Cookbook Store is a fixture on the Yonge Street strip across from the Reference Library and just around the Yorkville area of Toronto.

 Alison Fryer the owner is somewhat of a Cookbook Author champion and the best PR person for celebrity chefs we have in this city.  I see Alison everywhere these days,  George Brown College for Chef's cookbook launches,  Word on the Street where there are cookbook author chats, and on shows like Cityline and Breakfast television showing off drool worth cookbooks.

Today was especially fun because some of the best bakers in Toronto sent over a bunch of cakes to celebrate the store's 30 year milestone.   Former employees and fans of the store dropped in to wish them another 30 years plus of success.

There were so many cakes that were too beautiful to cut,  like these ones from George Brown and All the Best Fine Foods, and One.

Also in attendance were Chef J.P. Chalet from Ici Bistro and Le Matin bakery.   And I spotted Marion Kane who was having sugar overload and Chef Higgins from George Brown College who has taught so many of the Chefs in this city.

James Cunningham the host of the Food Network show EAT ST. popped in to sign his Eat St. Cookbook and he took lot's of photos with everyone including me. He was super nice to everyone.  Eat St. is one of the shows that I watch on Food Network that makes me want to eat my TV.
It was a fun afternoon of Cake and Cookbooks and chatting with people that love to cook and love to eat.   I wish they would do an Open House like that every year.
I picked up a copy of the Eat St. Cookbook so the next time I watch the show and want to eat something I see at least I will have the recipes.
It was a fun afternoon at the Shop and I only tasted a couple of things in case you were wondering.   I picked up one of my friend Adell's little cookies to go and I tried the Croquembouche.. this one on the left.  It was delicious.  Reminded me of  something my mom's friend would make for special occasions as a kid.  My mom's friend's were all French so this was normal for them.

Food Share Share's their New Cookbook

I have known about the Food Share Organization for a while now but haven't had an opportunity to attend an event or participate until today.  They are a great local community organization in Toronto providing healthy foods to students and people that need healthy food.  They have many different initiatives and events that they run throughout the year and they do great things to promote heathy food.

The event that I attended was their launch of their First ever Cookbook which was written by Adrienne De Francesco and noted food writer Marion Kane.  It's called SHARE.   









The cookbook's title is appropriate with the recipes being shared by Food Share staff, volunteers and people connected to the organization.

They had samples of some of the food from the cookbook at the event and i got to try a few of the treats.

One of the most popular things was the Potato Latke's which they shared the secret to was in adding whipped egg whites.  I will try this recipe the next time I am craving some potato latkes.   They were delicious and really light and flavourful with the perfect balance of potato and onion and not greasy at all.  I remember my aunts latkes were like lumps of lead and oil slime.  A far cry from these latkes.

Some of the other things I sampled were Bannock which was the first time I have ever tried it.  I have heard about it for a while but haven't had the opportunity to try it.   It was a nice light almost cake like bread.










There was also a Moroccan carrot salad which was super healthy but not overly spiced.

There was also chilli stuffed flauta  a moroccan pasta and rice dish and stuffed zucchini.

It was a lovely event with a nice mix of people and just enough to fill their warehouse space which is used to pack community food boxes which were stacked around the warehouse.

The cookbook seems very culturally diverse from the quick look through that I did when I picked up a copy and I think there are going to be a few recipes that I may attempt for the first time like the Bannock recipe and the Flauta's would make a perfect party appetizer so you never know what recipes might pop up on my blog in the future.

If you get a chance to pick up a copy of Share I would recommend it for the beautiful full glossy pages and outstanding photography in the book and the great snapshot of recipes from a diverse community in Toronto.  And the bonus is that the money from the book will support Food Share initiatives so it's a win win when it comes to buying a cookbook.

I hope to be able to attend other Food Share events in the future.   I always like to support local food initiatives that make a difference to people that need a little help.

Fore more info check out Food Share's Website http://www.foodshare.net/share