Cooks the Books Competition

Taste Canada presented Cooks the Books Student Chef Battle
at Mildred's Temple Kitchen on October 18, 2018.

www.tastecanada.org

#cooksthebooks

Part of the Taste Canada Awards is the Student Chef Battle that happens before the awards where students from 9 teams from various cooking schools battle against each other and our judged by some Food Industry pros. 

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS:

Assiniboine Community College – Brandon, Manitoba
Centennial College – Toronto, Ontario
Conestoga College – Kitchener, Ontario
Fanshawe College – London, Ontario
Liaison College of Culinary Arts – Kitchener, Ontario
Liaison College of Culinary Arts – Toronto, Ontario
Thistletown Collegiate High School – Toronto, Ontario

The Judges were: Cookbook authors Christine Tizzard and Dennis Prescott and recipe developers Annabelle Waugh and Jennifer Emilson

Although I wasn't a judge an didn't get a chance to taste any of the dishes they were impressive creations that can stand up to most of the best restaurants in Toronto.

The Winners were:

The Silver Medal was awarded to  Celina do Souto and Sydney Lutz from Conestoga College (Kitchener, Ontario) for their Braised Beef Cheeks with Roasted Squash & Maple Milk Foam recipe.  

The Gold Medal was awarded to Jessi Coulter & Kaitlin McCarthy from Assiniboine Community College (Brandon, Manitoba) for their Cast Iron Seared Hudson River Arctic Char with Smoked Maple Birch Glaze, on Heritage Grain recipe. 

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

Taste Canada Book Awards 2014

2014 Taste Canada Winners

On October 20, 2014, Taste Canada–The Food Writing Awards announced the winning entries in its four categories for both English and French language books.

The winners were announced at the Award Ceremony and Gala Reception on October 20th, 2014 at Oliver & Bonacini’s Arcadian Court in Toronto, hosted by Ricardo Larrivée, cook, author, television star and lifestyle entrepreneur.

2014 AWARD RECIPIENTS

Culinary Narratives/Narrations Culinaires

The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement
 Saul, Nick and Andrea Curtis
 Random House Canada

Les saveurs gastronomiques de la bière
Lévesque Gendron, David et Martin Thibault
 Éditions Druide 

General Cookbooks/ Livres de Cuisine Générale

The Flavour Principle: Enticing Your Senses with Food and Drink
Waverman, Lucy and Beppi Crosariol
 HarperCollins Publishers

Dans la cuisine de Danny St-Pierre
 St Pierre, Danny 
Les Éditions La Presse

Regional/Cultural Cookbooks

Toronto Star Cookbook: More Than 150 Diverse and Delicious Recipes Celebrating Ontario
 Bain, Jennifer


Appetite by Random House

Single-Subject Cookbooks/Livres de Cuisine Sujet Unique

Gastro Grilling: Fired-up Recipes to Grill Great Everyday Meals
Reader, Ted 
Penguin Canada Book 

Les Règles d’or des épices 
De Vienne, Philippe et Ethné
 Éditions du Trécarré

2014 Hall of Fame Inductees

Taste Canada’s Hall of Fame Award for 2014 was conferred upon Michel Lambert, author of the multi-volume tome: L’Histoire de la cuisine familiale du Québec.

The Hall of Fame Posthumous Award went to Mona Brun (1920-2013), the British Columbia-born cookbook author and television personality.

Taste Canada acknowledged the great contribution to the culinary community of Toronto’s Cookbook Store, which closed its doors this past winter after 31 years in business. 

New National Chair

Taste Canada also announced the appointment of a new National Chair, Donna Dooher, a chef, cookbook author, restaurateur and industry champion who will be assuming her new duties immediately stepping in for Karen Gelbart, who is departing the role of National Chair after serving for the last three years.  

Taste Canada also announced the creation of a new award, The Food Blog Award, to be presented and administered in partnership with Food Bloggers of Canada for 2015.

There was a lovely reception with some great food provided by:

Chef Joshua Dyer (EPIC, Fairmont Royal York Hotel)
Chef Matt Dean Pettit (Rock Lobster)
Chef Brad Lomanto (Cambridge Mill Restaurant, Landmark Group)
Chef Michael Robertson & Chef Jamie Meireles (Oliver & Bonacini)
Chef Ted Reader (Ted’s World Famous BBQ)
Chef Vanessa Yeung (Aphrodite Cooks)
Chef Tawfik Shehata (The Toronto International Centre)
Chef Andrew Richmond (La Carnita)
Chef Dufflet Rosenberg (Dufflet Pastries)
Cheeses by The Cheese Boutique, breads by Fred’s Bread, wines by Niagara College Teaching Winery and beers by Samuel Adams.