#Dixonlicious 2017 for Dixon Hall

DIXONLICIOUS 2017

A Culinary Celebration in support of Vital Food Programs

When: Wednesday, March 29, 2017 from 6 PM – 9 PM
Where: Daniels Spectrum at 585 Dundas Street East
What: An evening of delicious food and beverage pairings, musical entertainment, and a live and silent auction
How: Purchase Early Bird Tickets up until March 8th at special prices -- $90 per ticket, $60 for youth (under 30). Tickets include food, drinks, entertainment, and a charitable tax receipt. Purchase online via www.dixonhall.org or by phone at 416.863.0499 x 2066.
Why: Proceeds support vital programs that provide food for people in need

Join Dixonlicious 2017 and experience a delicious food event featuring chefs and restaurants from around our neighbourhood.

Guests will sample mouth-watering cuisine from an array of diverse and creative food stations set up around Daniels Spectrum.

Food offerings are paired alongside a selection of fine wines and refreshing craft beers carefully chosen to compliment each scrumptious bite.

All proceeds support our food programs including Meals on Wheels, Summer Camp, Homeless Shelter Programs, Out of the Cold, AIDS Programs and more.

Buy your tickets today and help provide nutritious meals to those in need!

Dixon Hall is excited to announce the return of Dixonlicious, a culinary event featuring some of Toronto's best local restaurants, chefs, and caterers. Now in its third year, the event raises funds for Dixon Hall's vital food programs and supports vulnerable populations in the city's downtown east. Dixonlicious 2017 takes place on Wednesday, March 29th from 6 pm – 9 pm at Daniels Spectrum.

Dixon Hall's food programs provide over 200,000 nutritious meals each year, serving a diverse mix of vulnerable populations. All proceeds from Dixonlicious benefit these vital food programs including Meals on Wheels, homeless shelter programs, Out of the Cold, March Break and summer camps, seniors programs, and HIV/AIDs programs.

The number of people accessing Dixon Hall's meal programs continues to increase, and demand remains high, especially from homeless and vulnerably housed individuals. Dixon Hall's two emergency shelters, Heyworth House and Schoolhouse, remain at 99% capacity and have maintained this rate consistently for three years. The Out of the Cold program, focused on providing shelter during winter months, has seen an 11% increase in occupancy since 2016. The Out of the Cold program serves over 15,500 meals from November through January. As community members continue to face tough decisions daily, juggling financial responsibilities of paying rent vs. purchasing healthy groceries to feed their families, the need for food programs remains constant.

"Dixonlicious is community helping community. It's local culinary experts reaching out to their neighbour offering their talents in exchange for hope where there is food insecurity. Food has always been the way cultures unite as a community." said Dixon Hall CEO Neil Hetherington. "There are far too many people in our community who don't know where their next meal is coming from and now thanks to Dixonlicious we can answer that unknown."

Dixonlicious 2017 will feature delicious bites by Food Dudes, Hooked, Longos, and social enterprise restaurants Show Love Café and Hawthorne Food & Drink. Guests will also experience live entertainment, and get to bid on a selection of silent and live auction prizes including gift baskets, restaurant gift cards, theatre tickets, and home accessories.

Last year, proceeds from Dixonlicious helped bring more than 20,000 healthy meals to people in need – homeless men and women, frail and isolated seniors, Regent Park youth, and many more. This year's goal is to raise $75,000 and increase the amount of meals served to 25,000.

About Dixon Hall

Dixon Hall is a multi-service agency located in the heart of east downtown Toronto.

For more than 85 years, Dixon Hall has offered a variety of supportive programs and services to seniors, at-risk youth, homeless men and women, the unemployed, and other vulnerable populations in Regent Park, Moss Park, Cabbagetown, St. James Town and surrounding neighbourhoods.

SOURCE Dixon Hall  

Eat to the Beat - 60 women chefs kick butt in the kitchen for Breast Cancer

 EAT TO THE BEAT

60 Female Chefs in Toronto come together to kick ass in the kitchen for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.  It's usually the male chefs that get all the attention in the culinary world so it was great to celebrate all the great female chefs we have right here in Toronto.  Some very highly skilled and very creative women who can match their male counterparts anytime.  It was interesting that an American Celebrity Journalist Chef was just down the street commanding a huge amount of money just to hear him talk, while the same amount of money for a ticket to Eat to the Beat would give you an endless supply of food and drink and help raise funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and help people living with Cancer and for research to save people's lives.  HMMM.. just sayin.

Eat to the Beat celebrates it's 21st year.  It would be nice to not have to raise money for Cancer one day and just have this event for something else.

A few of the familiar faces cooking up a storm at Eat to the Beat were Emily Richards, Home Economist and cookbook author and tv personality, Donna Dooher, owner of Mildred's Temple Kitchen and Vanessa Yeung of Aphrodite Cooks.

Some of the food included fancy grilled cheese, gougeres, duck, soup, ceviche, pear, cupcakes, chicken and waffles, noodles and so many things that I can't even list them all.  Imagine 60 different items to sample.  It's impossible to try them all.  I got through 3/4 of the savoury bites and then maybe had 2 desserts and I was done.  I scooped up some cookies to take home because I really wanted to try more sweets but just couldn't fit any more food in my gob.

Other fun things at the event were the requisite fun photo prop step and repeat and of course I took photos with 2 of my friends.  It's now a thing. I remember the events I go to that way.

There was also a silent auction with some amazing Kitchen Aid products, they were the main sponsor. There were special goodie bags for purchase and raffle tickets.

There was a female musical entertainer and also lively DJ music.

Then there were the ladies in special corsettes who represented the women going through Cancer treatments.  Some very fun costumes as you can see from the photo above and also on Cake Lady Vendor Vanessa Le Page.  She had a different outfit the last time I was there a couple of years ago.

Vanessa Le Page - The Cake Lady

 You know it's a great event when you bump into foodies every time you grab a bite and you also know a bunch of the volunteers too.  We all know what the best and most fun events are.

I really love this one for so many reasons.  The food is plentiful and amazing,  it's all women chefs who need to get recognized and above all it's all done for a great cause and will help a lot of people.   And it's just a whole lot of fun.  It is my pleasure to write about events like this because it's a win win event for everyone.

I thought it was funny that in the same building that I spend time in during TIFF there was this cool chocolate treat at the Succulent chocolate booth.  Nice touch.

For more info about Eat to the Beat check their website and make sure you get a ticket next year.

http://www.eattothebeat.ca/about-cbcf/

For More info on the Canadian Breast Cancer foundation and how you can donate:

http://www.cbcf.org/ontario/Pages/default.aspx