A Taste of Toronto at Fort York

Festival:  Taste of Toronto
Date:       June 15-18, 2017
Date visited:  June 15th
Location: Garrison Common Fort York
What:      Culinary Festival
Website:  https://toronto.tastefestivals.com/
IG:           @tasteofToronto
Twitter:    https://twitter.com/tasteoftoronto

Although this is a bit late and the festival has already ended a while ago I wanted to write a post about my experience this year at Taste of Toronto.

This year I only went once on the Friday night.  It was a very HOT muggy sunny evening when we arrived for the Festival.  The weather really affects these outdoor festivals.  It probably wasn't the best time for me to go to the show because it was after work on a friday after a very busy week but since my friend and I both work downtown it was easy to meet up after work and head over to Fort York.  I have to say that Fort York is not my favourite venue for an event because it's very hard to get to.  This time since I went from work I took the Yonge subway to Harbourfront to take the streetcar which dumped me at Lakeshore and I had to walk up to the entrance which moved to closer to Bathurst.  I probably should have waited for another streetcar going north on Bathurst but I walked and remember it was hot outside so by the time I got to the event I was pretty tired and hot.   TIP if it's in the same location next year take the streetcar from Bathurst station if you can.  It's easier.

Well this should give you a glimpse at my energy level and why I didn't fully participate in all of the Festivals attractions this year.  For the past couple of years I have tried to get into the Metro masterclasses and they have been filled up but this time we got the last 2 spots for Rob Gentile (Buca)''s Pasta making demo.  Hosted by Abbey Sharp while Gentile demonstrated a very simple pasta made from Semolina and water.  The dough was pre made but we rolled it out and cut it and cooked it and the sauce and were able to eat our spoils of the demo.  It tasted great but without the egg it was a bit tough. It really filled us up though so we weren't hungry enough to try all the food booths and by that time the lines grew pretty long.

 

We walked around checking out the menus and tried some of the samples like this Brie Grilled Cheese S'mores which was stuffed with Nutella and as soon as I took a bit it oozed out and landed on my white shirt.  Big Thanks goes out to Richmond Station's staff for trying to help me get the stain out with soda water.  it helped a bit but this white shirt seems to like food as much as I do.

We also went to one of my favourite returning Sponsors the huge Nespresso booth smack in the middle of the festival.  This year they had this fun little boat set up for pics.  I didn't even realize that we matched each other and the whole display.  We really enjoyed our Iced coffees so thanks Nespresso for always being there with delicious beverages and snacks.

The trend of the Festival this year was HOT BBQ's and pits.  I really felt sorry for these super hard working chefs who were in charge of manning the meat pits all weekend long.

We didn't sit in on any of the roundtable discussions or the cooking stage demos, although I caught a bit of Chef Carl from Richmond Station while I was at the Uniqlo booth.  It seemed strange for Uniqlo to have a booth there but they were giving out free under shirts that are supposed to keep you warm or cool, new super tech.  They also had something I really enjoyed,  they were making Hibiscus cocktails.  It was so refreshing.

Normally I spend a lot more time and get to chat with some of the Chefs I have met over the years but I didn't have the chance to see them this year.  I did wave to Chef Mark McEwan and I had a great chat with my friend Nancy who is an Ambassador for Blue Goose Pure Foods who had a booth set up there.  What I like about this festival is the fact that all of the best chefs in Toronto go there and I usually sit in on the demos and get to see what's up in the Toronto food world.  Every year new trends emerge and it seemed that this year it was all about meat and doing different things with it.  Chef McEwan's booth had crispy pigs ears, compared to year 1 where they had insane lines for their fried chicken that sold out.  There were some booths with really long lines and some didn't have any lineups so I think that's pretty telling about our discerning Toronto palates.

I would love to see this festival have a free admission so that there is more money to spend for the food booths or have a one price fee.  This year they got rid of their crown cards and you had to pay with credit or debit cards.  I had cash which wasn't accepted.  I understand the no cash policy but maybe there's a better way to accommodate all kinds of payments and maybe if it moved to a more accessible venue and I think people would hang out longer and try more food and attend more demos.
 

Taste of Toronto - the place to find all of Toronto's best chefs.

The Taste of Toronto returns to Fort York for the 3rd year and I have been to all of them since they started.  This year they moved it a bit closer to Fort York Blvd and changed the layout and provided a lot more seating areas which are always welcome.  The only thing they took away was the VIP area with private washrooms.  I miss that one.  I also missed the Best in Taste Awards presentation on Thursday night where judges Chef Chuck Hughes, founder of Charlie's Burgers, Franco Staltieri and Toronto Life editor Rebecca Fleming who chose the Best Dressed award which was awarded to  Mammakas for their Lamb spit next to their booth.

The winner of the Taste Award went to Ted Corrado of the Drake Properties for his massive 150 crown Chinatown platter.  During his cooking demo he said it was inspired by the after work trips with the staff to chinatown because that was the only thing open.

Second Place went to Miku for their blow torched Aburri Sushi.  I tried this and really loved it.  I have heard good things about this new restaurant and they seem to be true.  I will have to visit the brick and morter resto soon.

I was really happy to hear from Rob Bragganolo on Thursday night that he won the 3rd runner up Taste Award for his amazing Porchetta pizza which flew out of his booth the rest of the weekend.  I shared it with my 2 friends and we loved it.  Well done Rob.

Of course the Godfather of Toronto Chefs Mark McEwen was present with his McEwen Group restaurant Fabbrica for more great food.  I tried the interesting looking Calamari PoBoy on an Ace Bakery Charcoal Bun.  This thing was suprisingly great.  The calamari were crispy and perfectly seasoned and had a nice fresh slaw with a fantastic sauce.  Very filling and delicious.

Some of the dishes were very filling and even though I went 2 days in a row I didn't try as much as I wanted to.  I really wanted to try El Cabalitto's chicken empanada but it was a 20 minute wait for them to cook and I wanted to watch a cooking demo so I skipped that but I did have their fantastic Churro Nest dessert the night before.   The first thing I tried on thursday night was Barque's Burnt ends on a crispy rice base.  In the first year of the Taste Barque's ribs sold out.  I made sure I tried it first this time to make sure I wouldn't have to wait in a long line.  I had a chat with the Chef who remembered me too.  This thing had the perfect balance of sweet, spice, crunch, fat and topped with pickled onions made it a perfect bite of food.  My friends thought it was one of the best things we tried too. 

I also tried my friend's sticky ribs from the Drake,  oil poached tuna Little Sister and a bite of Alo's amazing butter biscuit.  My friends also had Fat Pasha's hummus plates.  I filled up on Little Sister's Babi Guling pork salad.  

This year most of the food was either $6, $8 or $10 but there were also special dishes that were kind of free for all prices ranging from $15 for Carver's amazing pizza to the $150 Chinatown platter and a bunch of other things at various prices in between.

This festival can get pretty costly with a $29 admission price and then having to load up a crown card with you have to start with at least $1 before you load up.  But what you get is all the best chefs in Toronto trying to one up each other and impress their peers and the public to attract people to come to their restaurants.

On the second day my friend brought her friend who was visiting from Singapore and really it was the best way for him to try all kinds of great food from Toronto in one place.  He really enjoyed the food.

 And as always it was great to see one of my favourite Chef's Chuck Hughes back for a cooking demo or as I always call them, his stand up routine and he also did a Metro Master Class demo.  Always great to see him because he is hilarious and always makes fantastic food too.

I was able to bring my friends to the show this year because I won 4 tickets from Nespresso, so thank you to them for fantastic free samples of coffee and the passes so we could all have fun together.  Even though a lot of my food blogger friends were all running around chasing food photos it was nice to hang out with my non food blogger buddies too.

A busy table was the Toronto Life Chef's Table, as you can see I couldn't even grab a seat at David Neinstein - Barque and Michael Hunter from Antler filling their tables.

The thursday and friday nights had beautiful skies and perfectly comfortable weather, although it got a little chilly after the sun went down on thursday night but Metro handed out some nice red fleece blankets which my friend Denise wore as her super woman cape around the festival.

 The lineups were minimal on most booths but long on a few the first couple of nights but I know they were all busy and some ran out of food on the saturday night when all the downtown condo dwellers are looking for food and something to do in the area.

 I saw a lot more families out this year on the friday night and I am not sure if there was an effort to expand that market but it seemed to be more than in past years.

While I don't love the venue and the difficulty in getting there.  The first night we got stuck in traffic trying to get there and the second night the streetcar dumped us off the stop before and we had to walk up the stairs and all around.  And the porta potties again are my least favourite thing at these food events but it's nice to be outside and have space but I am sure sunday afternoon with over 32 degree weather was a scorcher for the chefs and the people standing in the lineups.   I knew better and went early.

I saw a lot of familiar chefs, bloggers and industry people out and about and it's always fun to run into people you see at other food events so I had a great time and really enjoyed the food too.  Just wish my stomach and wallet could have tried more.

Hope to be back again next year.


INFO:
www.tasteoftoronto.com
@tasteoftoronto
#tasteofToronto

The Taste of Toronto returns to Fort York from June 23-26

The must-attend culinary event of the summer returns again this summer from 

June 23-26 at Garrison Common at Fort York 

Visitors can participate in hands-on cooking lessons at Metro Master Class, watch live cooking demonstrations in the Taste Theatre, sample and learn about various wines in the Tasting Room, enjoy intimate conversations at the Toronto Life Chef’s Table, sip the newest Grand Cru at the Nespresso Boutique Bar and shop at the Taste Marketplace filled with over 80 artisan and premium producers and brands. American Express Cardmembers can take advantage of the American Express Lounge, offering complimentary water, snacks and a private bar.

Celebrity chef Chuck Hughes kicks off opening night, leading a live demonstration of
gastronomic delights at the Taste Theatre, in partnership with Metro and All-Clad. More top
chefs to take centre stage throughout the week include Mark McEwan (McEwan Group), Victor
Barry (Piano Piano), Kazuya Matsuoka (Miku Toronto) and more, each revealing their own
industry tricks.

This is the third year in Toronto and it really pulls together the who's who of the top restaurants in Toronto.  You gotta wonder who's in their kitchens that weekend because you will see so many chefs at the Taste that you won't be able to get a reservation anywhere else.

Some of the notable restaurants participating in the Taste include:
Barque Smokehouse, Carver, The Drake, El Cabalito, Little Sister, McEwan Group, Miku, Nota Bene, Piano Piano, Mamakas, Richmond Station, Los Colibris, Rasa, Alo, Antler, KanPai, Kinton Ramen, Kintori Yakitori, Kinka Izikaya, County General and Fat Pasha.

A few of the participating restaurants are new and a few have participated in the past but it's a great way to sample the food of a bunch of restaurants without trying to get around all over the city.  These days with the subway delays and traffic having it all in one place is a real time saver.  While you won't get full entrees, I promise you that you will have very full bellies.  I had to go back over a couple of days because I just couldn't try all the ones I wanted to try in one day.


For updates on the full list of exhibitors, visit tasteoftoronto.com/exhibitors.

Tickets for Taste of Toronto are now on sale through Ticketmaster, starting at $19 for general
admission. For more information visit tasteoftoronto.com.

Website: www.tasteoftoronto.com, www.tastefestivals.com
Facebook: TasteofToronto
Twitter: @TasteofToronto
Instagram: @TasteofToronto
Hashtag: #TasteofToronto
Photos: Taste of Toronto 2015


About Taste Festivals

Taste Festivals, an IMG event, is considered the world’s greatest restaurant festival. The festival
concept began 13 years ago in London, England, and has rapidly grown into an international
event with festivals in 20 cities around the world including Dubai, Amsterdam, Milan, Paris,
Hong Kong, Dublin, Sydney, and Moscow, to name a few. Everywhere it goes, Taste represents
a gourmand’s dream come true: delicious food created by the city’s greatest restaurants, world
famous chefs, superb drink and outstanding entertainment, set in stunning surroundings.

Iron Chef Morimoto at Taste of Toronto

Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto makes a rare appearance in Toronto to show everyone why he is a Master Chef. He is interviewed by host Michelle Jobin.

                     
Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto makes a rare appearance in Toronto to show everyone why he is the Master of Food.  He breaks down a whole 130 lb Tuna in about 20 minutes all while explaining how to do it and why we eat Sushi all wrong and cracking jokes at the same time.

He has come to Toronto to start promoting his upcoming restaurant opening in Toronto and used his demo to publicize it many times in a hilarious fashion.   Everyone there all know now that it will open in April 2016.  I am not sure what the name of the restaurant will be exactly but there was a Taste of it at The Taste of Toronto where he was doing this demo and had a booth showcasing a couple of his dishes.  The booth was called Morimoto Toronto so I don't know if that's what the restaurant will be called when it opens.

Morimoto's demo was one of the highlights of the Taste of Toronto's weekend events.  It's not everyday that you see an Iron Chef in Toronto showing you how to prep a whole Tuna.  If you are a queasy type of person that wasn't the demo for you but I guess all of the people in attendance were pretty serious food people and everyone was enthralled in the process.

After he broke it all down into different parts he cut a few slices for sushi and showed the proper way to add wasabi and how to dip the sushi on the fish side into the soy sauce and never mixing the wasabi or ginger into the soy sauce.  As Morimoto stated the Sushi chef adds different amounts of wasabi depending on the fattiness of the fish and if done properly there is no need to add extra wasabi.  The only time you would add wasabi is if you are getting sashimi.

At the Taste of Toronto I tried both of Morimoto's dishes.  One was a Uni Udon Carbonara, this was the first time I have ever had Uni and it was pretty interesting.  This dish was kind of like a slightly fishy tasting Carbonara because of the Uni.

The other dish I tried was the Toro Tuna roll which was tiny but it tasted amazing.  It was a pretty expensive bite but when you consider that the whole Tuna that Morimoto broke down is worth $3200 you can understand the expense of fresh Tuna dishes.

I got a chance to get up close and personal with him when he was at the Morimoto booth signing some postcards and was very gracious and took photos with a few people.  For me he pushed his face right up to my cell phone camera for a fun photo.  It was hard to get a good focus on him as he was moving so fast but it was a fun moment.

I hope I get a chance to go to his new restaurant when it opens but in the meantime at least I had a chance to sample a couple of his dishes at the Taste of Toronto and see how funny he is in real life.

He comes across as quiet and serious on the Iron Chef show but while in Toronto he seemed to let loose and have lot's of fun with the people at the Taste.  He was only in town for the one day so I hope he comes back to play again soon.

Taste of Toronto returns to Fort York

Taste of Toronto Festival returns to Fort York

for the world-renowned festival July 2 – 5

Joining over 30 of the country’s top culinary talent are renowned chefs Masaharu Morimoto, Alvin Leung, Lynn Crawford and Stuart Cameron at this year's Taste of Toronto Festival.

Iron Chef and Michelin-starred mastermind Morimoto is set to debut signature dishes from his latest eponymous restaurant and highly anticipated first-ever venture in Canada, scheduled to open late 2015 in Toronto’s King West neighbourhood. Festival goers can delight in Chef Morimoto’s fusion of Japanese and Western ingredients, exemplified in his showcase dishes:

Also previewing a new restaurant at this year’s event, Rob Bragagnolo of Marben will introduce Carver at Sunday’s lunch session. Scheduled to open downtown Toronto in fall 2015, the restaurant will focus on locally-sourced Ontario and naturally-raised, slow-roasted meats. The final chefs and restaurants completing this year’s lineup include Stuart Cameron from Byblos, Patria and Weslodge, as well as the Kinka Family of Guu Toronto, Kintori Yakitori and Kinton Ramen who are returning to the festival for the second year in a row. Other newcomers to the festival include “The Demon Chef” Alvin Leung, to appear alongside his MasterChef Canada protégé Eric Chong at the R&D booth.

Celebrity chefs will also lend their star power to the festivities, with Lynn Crawford performing an on-site demonstration and cooking class as an Egg Farmers of Canada Chef Ambassador, Massimo Capra presenting with Italian favourite Galbani cheese, and sustainable seafood advocate Rick Moonen appearing alongside one of North America’s most trusted producers of seafood, True North Salmon.

Some of the best restaurants in Toronto participate in the Taste of Toronto.  They sell 3 dishes that can be purchased with crown credits that you can add to a card that can be reloaded.  The average item will cost about 5 or 6 crown credits.
 

For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit tasteoftoronto.com.

Taste of Toronto 2015 restaurant and star lineup

• Adrian Niman, Rasa
• Alvin Leung and Eric Chong, R&D (Thursday and Friday only)
• Amanda Ray, Biff’s Bistro
• Anthony Walsh and Michael Bonacini, Oliver & Bonacini
• Bill Osborne, America
• Carl Heinrich, Richmond Station
• Cory Vitiello and Robbie Hojilla, The Harbord Room and THR & Co.
• Damon Campbell, Bosk
• David Neinstein, Barque
• Elia Herrera, Los Colibris and El Caballito
• Franco Stalteri, Charlie’s Burgers
• Jonathan Waxman and Matt Robertson, Montecito
• Ippei Iwata, Aki Urata and Koji Tashiro, Guu Toronto, Kintori Yakitori and Kinton Ramen (Saturday only)
• Masaharu Morimoto, Morimoto Toronto
• Michael van den Winkel, Little Sister
• Miheer Shete, Bannock
• Rob Bragagnolo, Marben (Sunday only)
• Stuart Cameron, Byblos, Patria and Weslodge
• Ted Corrado and Matt DeMille, The Drake Hotel, The Drake Devonshire and Drake One Fifty
• Victor Barry, Splendido
• Lynn Crawford, Egg Farmers of Canada Chef Ambassador
• Mark McEwan, McEwan Group
• Massimo Capra, Galbani Cheese
• Rick Moonen, True North Salmon

Chef Masaharu Morimoto
 It’s a pleasure to cook alongside some of Toronto’s most celebrated chefs,” said Masaharu Morimoto. “To be welcomed into the city’s vibrant and innovative food community is such an honour.” 

Website: tasteoftoronto.com, tastefestivals.com
Facebook: TasteofToronto
Twitter: @TasteofToronto
Instagram: @TasteofToronto
Hashtag: #TasteofToronto

About Taste Festivals:  
Taste Festivals, an IMG event, is considered the world’s greatest restaurant festival. The festival concept began 10 years ago in London, England, and has rapidly grown into an international event with festivals in 20 cities around the world including Dubai, Amsterdam, Milan, Moscow, Melbourne, Dublin, Mumbai, Sydney, and Johannesburg, to name a few. Everywhere it goes, Taste represents a gourmand’s dream come true: delicious food created by the city’s greatest restaurants, world famous chefs, superb drink and outstanding entertainment, set in stunning outdoor surroundings.

The Taste of Toronto - Pt. 2. last day

I had a bit of a frustrating experience going to the Opening Day of the Taste of Toronto Festival so I decided to go again on the last day to try and get the things that I missed and see if I would have a better experience.

The first day that I went I took the TTC.  I drove to Wilson Station then subway to St. George, transfer to Bathurst and streetcar to Fort York Blvd and walk around an uphill street to the entrance of the festival.  The weather was warm and then cooled down a bit.  There were very long lines and vendors ran out of some of their menu items.

My experience was a lot different on the last day.  I drove down to the festival by myself from home and met my friend who rode her bike there.  My friend's challenge was trying to find a place to lock up her bike.   My challenge was finding somewhere to park.  I drove through the Garrison Gate and was told the parking lot was full and to drive around and go to another parking lot.  I drove around and found nothing so I went back to the first lot and he said I could look and see if there was a spot if I wanted to.  I drove in and within a minute found a spot.  I wasted about 15 minutes driving around when I could have probably just parked right away and went in.   I still had to walk up the long uphill winding street to the entrance but it took me half the time to drive there than it did taking the TTC.

I went through the entrance and there wasn't a lineup for the media box office and I got my pass right away.  There were only a few people in line to get their Crowns topped up so my friend purchased $20 in crowns and we went in.  The good thing about the pass was that it didn't have to be scanned so there weren't any technical slow downs to walk through.   The first day I used a paid printed out ticket that had to be scanned to get in.

The day,  the last sunday was a very sunny and hot day.  There was a threat of rain but it didn't happen which I am sure the vendors were very happy about.  Everyone was hot and sweaty including Chef Mark McEwan who did a demo in the Electrolux Tent which was very warm because it didn't allow for much of a breeze to get through.  His demo was very well attended.  I stood through the demo as all of the seats were taken.  In my previous post I mentioned that I thought that there should be more seats for the cooking demos as that was the main attraction of the festival.

I didn't sign up for any of the Master Classes because I didn't feel that I needed to do a hands on demo for scrambled eggs and I would have taken the knife skills one but I wasn't sure if it was a beginner or advanced.  I think I have all the basics down and have taken a basic knife skills class already.

My friend had to leave early so we tried to make out seeing as many booths as we could and I tried to check out all the stuff I missed on the first day.

I was disappointed that I couldn't get fried chicken from One but this time there were only about 4 people in line when I walked up and was happy to see Chef Mark McEwan there again dishing the plates out.  I told him I came back just for the chicken.   The chicken was delicious and I really liked the coleslaw and the sauce but I have to say that I can make better biscuits.  They were a bit tough.  But I did feel like it was a nice portion, although my friend got a tiny piece of chicken.   I bet Mark would have made sure I got a decent piece after he knew that I was disappointed that I didn't get one on the thursday night.

The other thing that I didn't get on the first day was the Barque Smokehouse Barque O rama ribs or something like that.  They were very tasty and had a great light rub of bbq sauce on them.  We also sat in on owner David Neinstein's smoked chicken demo in the Electrolux theatre.  I asked him how to make decent smoky ribs at home without a bbq.   I am going to try his suggestion and do another post in the future on that.

The one thing on the last day is that everyone wants to sell all their food and not have to cart it all back or throw it out.   San Pellegrino had cases of canned juice and water and just left them out for people to pick up as they wished.  I saw a few guys carrying full cases of water around.  I thin they were left with a lot because there was an abundance of difference beverages at the festival.

There was a real ginger ginger ale that had difference natural flavours added,  my favourite was the Pure Leaf lemon ice tea and also the Nespresso bar.  I had both a hot cappuccino and an iced latte from Nespresso.  They also had a juice called BLOO which was a blueberry juice.  Very tasty.  There were a number of tea booths as well and there were a couple of beer stations and there were wine tastings set up.  I was happy to see a variety of drink options available which a lot of other festivals don't have.  On a hot day like sunday I was bouncing around trying a lot of the drinks.

Another dish I finally got to was the Ice Cream Sundae from Chef Carl Heinrich's restaurant Richmond Station.  I thought their booth was very cute.  It was craft papered walls and red and white checked table cloths on the booth with paper cut out of the Richmond Station name.   I took a photo of Chef Carl and the booth and the staff member asked if I wanted to take a photo with Carl.  I said no because by that time I had been sweating for about 3 hours so wasn't about to be in a photo.   I didn't get the ice cream on the first night for a few reasons.   First i didn't have time to stand in line, second I didn't think it would be that interesting and I was full by the time I could have eaten it.   On sunday I was so hot that it ended up being the last thing I ate and it filled me up and cooled me off at the same time.  It wasn't super special but it was nicely presented and tasted good.

I would have liked to try the Paella which was an amazing thing to watch them make in the giant paella pans that they had timers on display.

The other interesting thing that I tried was the liquid nitrogen mango ice cream that was demo'd in the American Express tent.  It's a really cool thing to watch the liquid nitrogen fog.

After the sampling I was pretty much done with the Ribs, chicken and the ice cream so I wasn't able to try anything else.

I ran into a friend there and my friend and the one I ran into left at 3pm and I still had crowns so I stayed for a bit longer and that's when I had the sundae.  I was ready to leave at about 4pm and ran into yet another friend who had just arrived.  I gave that friend my last 3 crowns but I don't know what they were able to get with it as I left right after that.

I had a bag full of San Pellegrino and a Bloo juice in the bag they handed out and walked back on the long road to the parking lot.  I have to say I felt a whole lot better on sunday then I did after thursday night.   I was so exhausted after the standing and the ttc haul on thursday that I was too tired to do anything on friday.  I feel fine after the last days visit, although the heat and the ice cream and coffee's didn't sit in my system for too long afterward.   I wish I could have gotten a few dishes to go to take home for dinner.   Maybe I should have picked up some Blue Goose or Baretta farms food to take home but I knew I probably wouldn't have wanted to cook but ended up making some sort of concoction bowl at about 8pm when I finally got hungry again.

So overall I still feel that there are good parts of the show,  the good being the caliber of chefs it attracted and the demos and the sampling was fantastic.  The tents were nice but it wasn't very weather friendly if it's really hot/cold or rainy.

Getting there and parking was my biggest issue.  Out of my 3 friends,  1 drove and had to park near the beer festival, 1 rode her bike and couldn't find anywhere to lock it up and the last one walked over from their condo nearby which is the best way to get there but that's not much of a reach for a festival like that.  On sunday I drove for a half an hour and paid for parking.

I think that they could have set up a free public parking spot just before the entrance since there was a pretty high entrance fee and cost for each dish.   It makes for a very expensive festival.

For me I paid $55 for 2 tickets and received 12 crowns with that and then topped up my card another $30 on the first day and then another $10 on the last day.  I didn't have to pay to get in again because I got a media pass after I had paid for the first night.   I paid $7 for parking on the last day and $6 for TTC on the first night.  I didn't buy anything else at the festival but I also didn't really eat a tonne of food but it does add up pretty quickly.  They were also selling cookbooks from Roger Mooking and Mark McEwan.  I already have the McEwan book and probably wouldn't have purchased it there having to carry it around and juggle food, drinks and books.  

Metro also had a virtual store where you could scan from 3 items and pick it up from a truck on the way out.  I don't think anyone did that.  I didn't see anything worth doing that for.

So if this becomes an annual festival I will be curious to see how it changes for next year..   The location, the logistics, the system or the vendors.  I will be prepared for whatever happens if they do it again next year.