Dixonlicious 2018- Review

March 1, 2018

Daniels Spectrum

Dixonlicious had a fantastic fundraising event on March 1st at Daniels Specturm.  Dixonlicious is a fundraising event for Dixon Hall. Dixon Hall is a great Toronto non-profit organization that offers more than 60 programs for community members at different life stages. Dixonlicious fundraises for the agency’s food programs – including Meals on Wheels, meals for formerly homeless men and women living in transitional housing, and for March break and summer camps attended by youth in the Music School and Children & Youth programs.

This year's event was a great success with the event raising more than $80,000 through ticket sales and the silent auction and donations.  That will provide over 20,000 meals for people in need.

 The event had a fantastic lineup of musical artists that included a few of the music program students who were as talented as some great professionals so I think big things will come from them in the future.  The photo above is 2 girls from the band Monday Heart Attack,  a name you will probably remember and should because they blew everyone away.

The event had lots of great food from popular Toronto social enterprise café, the Show Love Café.

Some of the highlights for me were Paintbox's Gelato's and the Schnitzel and Choucrout from Biff's Bistro and I also really loved the Hokkaido Scallops from Hooked.  Some of the other dishes below included Smoothies from Freshed Right, Pasta from the Food Dudes, Coffee smoked chicken salad from Hawthorne Food and Drink, Cotechino sausage tacos from Skin + Bones, Guacamole from Barrio Cerveceria,  Hokkaido Scallops from Hooked,  Chocolate and strawberry gelato from Paintbox Bistro, Cabbage salad with satay dressing from Show Love Cafe,  Gnocchi poutine with braised short ribs from Daniel et Daniel, Schnitzel and sauerkraut from Biff's Bistro.

In the centre of the room were all the silent auction items with a whole variety of different things to bid on.  I bid on the 3 cookbooks but lost out but that's ok since they raised more money.

Dixonlicious is a fun event and you don't event and just by being there you help other people that are in need of assistance from seniors who aren't able to prepare their meals, to youth that are given music programs to give them budding careers for their future.

I would suggest if you have the time and some money to help out please check out their website for how you can help out and maybe you can go to next year's fun event too.

http://www.dixonhall.org

Dine Out for Restaurants for Change - Oct 18

Top Canadian chefs cook up a storm for Restaurants for Change Oct. 2017 National fundraising event supports community food programs in low-income neighbourhoods across Canada

On October 18, 2017, 92 restaurants in 19 Canadian cities will join together to donate proceeds from dinner service to Community Food Centres Canada, supporting community food programs that build health, hope, and belonging in low-income communities across the country. Funds raised will directly support local Community Food Centres that bring people together to grow, cook, share, and advocate for good food for all.    Participating in the event is easy: Diners visit www.restaurantsforchange.ca to find a participating restaurant near them and make a dinner reservation for October 18. More than a dozen chefs from participating restaurants across Canada flew to Toronto on September 17 and 18 to learn more about the issues of food insecurity, poor health and social isolation that affect low-income Canadians, and how Community Food Centres Canada is using food as a tool to build healthier and more inclusive communities. They then launched the Restaurants for Change campaign with a packed event at Baro restaurant, where they cooked their favourite dishes from their menus—dishes that Canadians can order when they go out for dinner on October 18. Pictured above from left to right: Ben Kramer (Ben Kramer Pop-up at Kitchen Sync, Winnipeg), Glen Manzer (Creative Restaurant Group, Calgary), Lora Kirk (Ruby Watchco, Toronto), Erin Vrba (Creative Restaurant Group, Calgary), Duncan Ly (Foreign Concept, Calgary), Nick Saul (President and CEO, Community Food Centres Canada), Kevin Gilmour (Fat Pasha, Toronto), Tyler Shedden (Planta, Toronto), Bettina Schormann (Earth to Table Bread Bar, Hamilton and Guelph), John Vettraino (Backhouse, Niagara-on-the-Lake), Blair Lebsack (RGE RD, Edmonton), Jeff Crump (Earth to Table Bread Bar, Hamilton and Guelph), Anthony Rose (Rose and Sons, Toronto), Renée Lavallée (The Canteen on Portland, Dartmouth), Tim Steele (Drake Hotel Properties, Toronto), David Gunawan (Farmer’s Apprentice, Vancouver). Photo credit: Gabriel Li. Restaurants for Change 2017 is made possible by generous participating restaurants and sponsors: 2017 restaurants Calgary Alforno Bakery & Cafe, Bonterra Trattoria, CHARCUT Roast House, Cibo, Cucina Bistro, Deane House, Foreign Concept, Mill Street Calgary Brewpub, NOtaBLE ~ The Restaurant, Posto Pizzeria & Bar, River Café, Royale Brasserie, Scopa Neighbourhood Italian, Teatro Ristorante, The Nash, Vendome Cafe Edmonton RGE RD Halifax/Dartmouth Agricola Street Brasserie, Battery Park BeerBar & Eatery, enVie A Vegan Kitchen, The Brooklyn Warehouse, The Canteen on Portland Hamilton Earth to Table: Bread Bar, Papa Leo’s Restaurant Guelph Artisanale French Country Cooking, Earth to Table: Bread Bar Kitchener The Berlin Alexandria The Quirky CarrotMontreal Garde Manger, Hopkins, Le Bremner, Monkland Taverne, Park, Porco, Restaurant L’Orignal Niagara-on-the-Lake Backhouse Ottawa Atelier, Clover food | drink, North & Navy, Union Local 613 Perth Fieldhouse Pickering PORT St. John’s Mallard Cottage Stratford The Hub at 27 Marketplace Bayfield Black Dog Village Pub & Bistro Toronto Actinolite, Alo, Bar Begonia, Bar Isabel, Baro, Barque Smokehouse, Bar Raval, Beast, Beaumont Kitchen, Big Crow, Cafe Belong, Carmen, Dailo Restaurant, Drake Commissary, Drake Hotel, Drake One Fifty, Edulis, El Rey, Fat Pasha, Flock 97 Harbord Street, Harry’s Charbroiled, Isaan Der, Kanpai Snack Bar, Madame Boeuf, Mamakas Taverna, Maple Leaf Tavern, Peter Pan Bistro, Piano Piano, Planta, PrettyUgly Bar, Rasa, Richmond Station, Rose and Sons, Rose and Sons Swan, Ruby Watchco, Tennessee Tavern, Union Vancouver Burdock & Co, Farmer's Apprentice, Jamjar Commercial Drive Wellington Drake Devonshire Winnipeg  Ben Kramer Pop-up, Chew, deer + almond, Forth, King + Bannatyne, Promenade Cafe and Wine 2017 sponsors Lead sponsor: Garland Canada. National media sponsors: Global TV, Food Network, Cooking Channel. Media sponsors: Toronto Life, Avenue Calgary. Community partners: Culinary Tourism Alliance,Terroir.  In-kind partners: J Sutton Communications, Open Table, The Siren Group Inc.

The STOP Night Market a perfect night.

There are a handful of really fun events that I really look forward to.  The Stop's Night Market is one of them.  It's my 3rd year in a row attending this really fun and tasty event.  This year they surpassed the fundraising goal and raised over $300,000.  That will go along way for many programs but they still need your help to do more.

It was previously held in the laneway of the old Honest's Ed's store.  I never got a chance to go to those ones because they would sell out instantly.  

For the past couple of years it has moved to a parking lot in the Junction.  There are a whole host of restaurants that reside within a short distance of the new location making it easy to attract some fantastic restaurants to this event.   This is where all the fun and creative Chefs with big hearts go to one up each other creating fantastically designed booths and amazing little bites of food and beverages.  Chefs on hand included Dustin Gallager (Top Chef All-Stars) (416 Snack Bar) and Trevor Lui (Kanpai Snack Bar), Ricky Casipe (Hawthorne Food & Drink), and restaurants included Carmen, Momofuku, Branca, The Drake Commissary, Pizzeria Libretto, Lasa, Nana and a lot more.  Over 30 restaurants and a dozen beverage providers each of the 2 nights.  Only a few vendors there for both nights.  Last year I was able to go to both nights and it was great because the food was very different both nights.

The food was really fantastic this year.  A couple of my favourites were Pizzeria Libretto's Cauliflower Arancini, The Tempered Room's short ribs, Carmen's Ropa Vieja, Ascari Enoteca's Broccolini Fritti, The Broadview Hotel's, Bay Scallop Ceviche., Abokichi's Tsokune and The Oakwood's Hardware's German potato cake.

What makes this event so fun as well as a great charity event is the fact that because it's held outside in a parking lot it's very casual and has mostly a younger audience looking to have some fun with their friends.  It runs over 2 separate evenings and the tickets are $100 for all you can eat and drink.

It starts by welcoming you through the gates with the Samba Squad drumming you into the event to get you in the mood to have fun.

If you arrive early you are given a wooden palate plate shaped like a fish.  It's fun and helpful to place your food and drinks on.  It's a lot of fun checking out all the different custom designed stands that are in competition for best design.  It adds a super cool factor and fun vibe to the event.

This year was the best so far for me because all of my foodie pals were there and even a surprise fill in by Denise who filled in for Food Fables who couldn't make it.  It's very rare to have us all at an event at the same time.  You have so much fun hanging out with friends and chatting with Chefs that you forget that it's actually a great charitable cause.  The Stop is a fantastic Charity that provides great programs including:

• A drop in program
• Urban Agriculture
• Youth Engagement
• Food bank
• Community kitchen
• Family beginnings

For more information visit their website:  http://thestop.org/

See how you can help by donating, volunteering or attending one of their events.

*Disclaimer- The ticket was complimentary but the opinions and photos are all my own.