ICFF brings Italian films, design and Michelin Chefs from Italy to Canada

The Italian Contemporary Film Festival returns to Canada for it's 7th year.

ICFF isn't just a film festival it brings the culture of Italy to Canada along with it's Contemporary Films, Italian clothing and car design and of course the food.  This year they will fly in 2 Michelin Chefs from Italy for their Parties.  I look forward to this festival because it's a class act.  From the hilarious comedies to the glamorous parties, you feel like you have travelled to Italy and experience being immersed in the Italian Culture. This is a well run festival for being relatively young and is one of the most fun festivals in Toronto.

TORONTO, May 16, 2018 – The Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF), presented by IC Savings, announced its lineup at The Ritz-Carlton, in Toronto, of 107 diverse and acclaimed films; features include shorts and documentaries with a total of 180 screenings - its largest and most ambitious program to date.

The 7th edition of the ICFF will run from June 14-22, 2018 and take place in Toronto, Vaughan, Hamilton, Niagara, Ottawa, Montreal, Québec City and Vancouver.

Artistic Director, Cristiano de Florentiis, declared that this edition will feature a record breaking number of Italian Canadian co-productions, a reflection of the strong bond that exists between the two countries and their shared artistic vision. The seven selected cinematic co-productions will celebrate this, starting with the world premiere of Road To The Lemon Grove, a delightful comedy based on a family history in Sicily and directed by Dale Hildebrand.

Andrea Iervolino, producer, founder and president of AMBI, will introduce Music of Silence, a film that traces the childhood and early days of Andrea Bocelli's musical career. This co-production will be the closing film of the ICFF’s 2018 program on June 22nd.

ICFF will showcase the best films produced in Italy this year such as: Manetti Bros’ Ammore e Malavita / Love and Bullet, the latest movie by Gabriele Muccino A casa tutti bene / Neverland and The Place directed by Paolo Genovese.

Claudio Bisio, renowned actor and comedian, will present the film classic Mediterraneo, winner of an Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film in 1992. Bisio will also be presenting the North American premiere of his Gli sdraiati / Couch Potatoes, the new bittersweet comedy by Francesca Archibugi.

Acclaimed actor and director Antonio Albanese will showcase his box office success, the hit comedy Come un gatto in tangenziale / Like a Cat on a Highway that will open the Festival on June 14 at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. Albanese will also be presenting his new comedy Contromano / Against the Flow, which he not only starred in, but also directed.

Two food related films to check out are Il Vegetale and The Last Prosecco.

Italian rapper, singer and actor Fabio Rovazzi who is bringing to Canada his first feature film Il Vegetale / The Vegetable, directed by Gennaro Nunziante.

Genre: Comedy | Language: English

Il Vegetale

Fabio Rovazzi is a 24’year’old graduate in Communication Sciences who lives in Milan “with a view of the future”. Fabio is looking for a job, dealing with a cumbersome father and a spoiled little sister, both of whom consider him to be a useless “vegetable”. He is searching for a career that respects his ethical criteria, but he knows that his weak spot is trust, both in himself and in others. An unexpected event will suddenly change everything. Between comical situations and paradoxical finds, our protagonist will have to reinvent his life.

The Last Prosecco

Genre: Comedy-Mystery | Language: Italian | Subtitles: English/French   2017  101 min

The story unravels on the rolling hills where Prosecco grapes are grown; a winemaker Count, fighting to protect his territory, a stubborn half Italian half Persian police inspector; the manager of a cement plant, killed by three gunshots; and a crazy man who scrapes the rust from the tombs in the cemetery. A story about the inheritance of beauty and the value of quality. In 2010, north-east Italy began to feel a recession which nobody had expected. Only one productive sector resisted: Prosecco. This film forces us to remember that anyone who destroys the land destroys the future for everyone.

Michelin Star Chef from Italy comes to Toronto for Cent Italia

CENTItalia

Event:  CENTItalia Dinner

Location:  Nella Cucina on Bathurst

Chef:  Cristina Bowerman

Hosted by:  Italian Chamber of Commerce & Centennial College

Date:  November 16, 2017

#CENTItalia

My friend Natalie invited me to join her for what she called "some Italian event in the Annex".  All she told was that it was a dinner and since I had a long and busy day and knew I wasn't going to want to cook when I went home and love Italian food I said I would join her.  We met at a coffee shop in the Annex and the she told me it was at Nella Cucina and I wondered if it was a hands on thing because that space was usually used for interactive cooking demos but she said no it was sit down dinner.  And indeed it was a sit down dinner but it was with an Italian Michelin Star Chef who just that day announced that she received her 2nd Michelin Star.  Her name is Cristina Bowerman and she is the only female Michelin star chef in Italy.  Glass Hosteria is located in Rome, Italy where food is probably the number one reason for tourist to visit there besides the art and architecture. You know that most people dream of eating Italian food in Italy including me but we were lucky to have her cooking for us at Nella Cucina in Toronto for one of CentItlaia's various events brought to Toronto by the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Centennial College.  This was the only event I was able to attend out of a few during the week but probably the one that I would have wanted to attend the most anyway.  So you never know how events are going to be but I am glad I was able to attend this one because the food was amazing and so many different flavour combinations made it really interesting.  Check out the dishes we had:

 Jerusalem Artichokes and potato cream, creamed bacala and bread chips

The best part of this was the Artichoke cream.

Risotto with butter, anchovies, candied ginger, lemon and caper powder and demi glace.

This risotto was made with Italian Canaroli rice which is slightly larger than Arborio and the perfect rice for Risotto but a lot harder to find in Toronto.  The taste of this risotto was the best I have ever had and a surprising mix of flavours.  We all inhaled this little bowl of rice. 

Scallops, dashi pistachio, mushroom and kumquat and bonito flakes.

This dish has the most perfectly cooked scallops which were cross hatched to absorb the butter and the combination of the other ingredients on the plate were a mix of Italian with Asian touches.  

Ricotta cheese soup, candied fruit and zeppole.

We couldn't get enough of this dessert.  They made a lot of the Zeppole's which are light as air Italian donuts and because there were so many we ended up eating 3 each because they are so light you just want to keep eating them.

 Petits four chocolates

And we wrapped up our delicious Michelin Star meal with some fine chocolates but honestly we just wanted to eat more zeppoles.  

I hope that one day I can visit Italy and have Cristina's food in her element.

Scaddabush in Scarborough

Location:  Scaddabush Scarborough
Address:   580 Progress Ave, Scarborough
Website:   http://www.scaddabush.com/
When:      Aug 3, 2016

I got a very last minute invitation to attend a media dinner at the new Scaddabush Italian Restaurant in Scarborough, ON.  I said yes because I was curious about the food because they have been popping up all over the place in Toronto.  The hard part was that I was working in downtown Toronto and had to trek it out to Scarborough from downtown on an extremely hot day.

The restaurant is located just outside of the Scarborough Town Centre so you can drive there which I would have preferred to do if I was able to.  You can also take the LRT to McCowan station and walk over from the station, and the Go bus will get you there too.

A small group of food bloggers were invited along with a group from the Scarborough Bluffs Food Bank to sample a huge amount of food from the Scaddabush menu.   They wanted to show us some of their favourites.  The people from the Scarborough Bluffs food bank were there because the proceeds from the sales of Scaddabushs' Charity Bread are donated to the food bank.  It's pretty great that a simple thing like selling bread in a restaurant can help people that can't afford to even go to the restaurant and buy that same bread.  It makes a lot of sense and they have donated a lot of money to local food banks through the sales of their charity breads.

The restaurant is big and has great lighting for people but wasn't as good for showcasing the food but they do have a patio.   When you walk in you are greeted by a giant head beside the host station.  I am not sure what that is for but it got my attention.

There are lovely chandeliers to light the room and the seats are all mixed I suppose to symbolize an extended Italian family dinner.

One of the popular features of the restaurant is the Mozzarella bar where they make fresh mozzarella and serve it in a few different ways.   People can sit at the bar and watch the staff make the mozzarella.

They also make their pasta and breads fresh from scratch each day.

We sampled a huge amount of food.   We started with 3 different kinds of charity bread and 3 different preparations of the mozzarella.

We tried a pizza topped with a raw egg and a pollo chicken pizza.  The pasta dishes we sampled were the Pollo chicken which was everyone's favourite pasta and we also tried their squash ravioli and lobster pasta.

To top it all off we were presented with 3 amazing desserts.  I think this was my favourite part of the dinner.  The 3 dishes were a very flavourful Tiramisu, zeppole donuts with a nutella dipping sauce and a classic cheesecake topped with berries.

My photos don't really show the food properly but hopefully you can sort of tell what it looks like.

I wouldn't say this is a traditional Italian restaurant but more of a North American style Italian restaurant.  The food is really rich and decadent so make sure you have a big appetite when you go there.  We all waddled out of the restaurant.  Not pictured that we tried were their 2 types of meatballs and the 2 different salads that we sampled.

I think it's a nice place to go with a big family or for a birthday because the ambiance and the staff are fantastic and you don't have to go somewhere else for dessert.  It's also a great place to go after a day of back to school shopping at the mall.  Yeah you know that time of year is coming up.

Hope you check it out and enjoy.   My tip... order the Pollo pasta and the Tiramisu.  I think those were my favourites.

ICFF Film Festival - Italian glamour to the max

Giacamo Gianniotti - ICFF HOST

This post is long past due because I knew it would take a long time to put together.  I was finally able to attend the ICFF Film Festival.  Italian Contemporary Film Festival.  Last year I attended another festival and was only able to attend Industry day and the party after that but this year I was able to attend both the Opening Night and Closing Night and I was able to see a few screener films from the festival.  The host of the festival was the very handsome Grey's Anatomy Star Giacamo Gianniotti. I haven't watched the show in a while so I didn't know who he was but he was very popular.  I will post about the films on my Film Food Stuff Blog.

Checco Zalone and Director Gennaro Nunziate of Quo Vado?

I am posting about this on this blog because the Opening and Closing Night parties were spectacular and I can honestly say the best film festival food I have ever seen.  I have attended various film festivals in Toronto for the past 15 years including Tiff and a few others, but I can honestly say that Italians really know how to throw a party.  The opening night film was Quo Vado starring Checco Zalone.  Zalone has made a few films and is very popular and he was in attendance for the film and after party. The film is about a guy that has a permanent government job, who does everything he can not to lose it.  It was a hilarious film and a great start to the film festival. The after party was held down the street at Roy Thompson Hall.  The interior had the main food with pastas, my favourite gnocchi, salumi, cheese, and everything you could think of that is native to Italy.  The food made everyone very happy.  Outside on the patio was the longest dessert table you could imagine.  It was like an expensive Italian wedding.  Everything from Cannoli to Tiramisu and even Italian flag colored Macarons.  There was a blue and white colored candy table with candy floss and suckers and candies that you could even take home.  I took some candy floss and a sucker home.  The colors were the festivals colors and I thought that was a really nice detailed touch.  Yes the event planner in me was very impressed.  There were also dancers that did a water dance in the pond. I should have run over to take photos but trust me, it was spectacular.

CLOSING NIGHT

Not to be outdone the Closing Night was just as fantastic with the film The Correspondence, a film starring Jeremy Irons.  A romantic mystery if you will about Irons who arranges plans before his death for his lover to never feel alone.  Although Irons wasn't in attendance the legendary Claudia Cardinale was there to receive an award.  Her film All Roads Lead to Rome was screened at the festival the day before. I think it would have been a great closing night film.  It's a romantic comedy starring Cardinale, Sarah Jessica Parker and Raoul Bova who is Italy's George Clooney.  The film was super cute and funny, very hollywood though.

Claudia Cardinale

The closing night party was held at the Uber fancy Ritz Carlton Hotel on Wellington Street.
With Celebrity Chef Massimo Capra at the entrance with film crew in tow, serving up some Italian cheese and other products.  The sound guy from a film I worked on was there for a cheese commercial set up that you could be a part of.  I did it for fun because i don't think people knew what it was. I also saw TV Host/Chef David Rocco there enjoying himself and said a quick hello before I left.

Chef Massimo Capra

And the food was just as impressive as the Opening night with the best Ravioli, meat, a huge table of antipasto and of course more beautiful desserts. I was so full from the great pasta that I only tried one of the desserts, the chocolate bombolone.  It was creamy and delicious.

My Italian and not so Italian friends got dolled up for the party and really enjoyed themselves.

What a spectacular festival. It wasn't just about the films it was about the food and the fashion and the culture of Italy and they really did showcase it all together in one place.  There were models in Italian fashion at the closing night party and there were Italian cars and everyone was really dolled up in their best Italian Inspired wear.  I am glad I finally had the time to go to see a couple of the films and attend the parties.  I hope to have the time to be there again next year.

If you want more info on the festival and how you can attend next year check their site:  http://icff.ca/

Jamie Oliver's Italian Restaurant opening in Toronto

Jamie Oliver is opening his first Jamie's Italian Restaurant opens in Toronto on Sunday December 6th, 2015 but I got a special preview tasting invite from my fellow Food Revolution Ambassador,  friend Denise,  owner of Petits Chefs Academy in Vaughan to join her and her staff for lunch at Jamie's Italian at Yorkdale Mall today.  The restaurant is training it's staff this week and they have invited a few people to sample the food and give them feedback and get their staff used to the menu and the operations of the restaurant.
The staff are extremely exhausted as they have been working night and day training and getting things ready for the official opening on the 6th.  Appropriate date for the 6ix don't you think?

The sign out in front of the restaurant isn't up yet but there is a huge photo and sign at the side beside the entrance to the mall.  The interior is completely ready and is gorgeous and spacious.  With the bright teal blue bar seats contrasting the rustic wood interior, the 2 story feels both warm and airy with the light spilling in from the large storefront windows.  We were seated at the back near their pasta making station which doesn't have natural light so my photos are a bit yellow from the lighting so it doesn't do the food much justice so you will have to take my word for it that it looks much better in real life.

The staff are both exhausted and excited for the opening.  They are all very friendly and accommodating.  Denise and I briefly spoke to Jamie's partner Chef Rob Gentile of Buca and Bar Buca and the person responsible for making sure that the restaurant runs at Jamie's standards.  We also met Chef Francisco and the General Manager who were all interested in feedback to make sure they get everything right before the general public walk in the door.

There were 5 of us there to sample some of the menu and we decided to all pick different things so that we could all share and try a lot of different items on the menu.  We pretty much ate about 75 percent of the menu I think.

Some of the things we tried included:

• Rabbit Cassarece
• Fried Polenta,
• Shrimp linguine
• Pear and Prociutto salad
• Mushroom Fritti
• Arancini
• Chicken puttanesca
• Steak and frites
• Jamie's Italian sausage Tagliatelle

and we demolished the whole dessert menu of:

• Tiramisu
• Sorbetto Gelato
• Panna Cotta with Blueberry and raspberry sauce
• Affogato
• Lemon Meringue cheesecake pie
• Extreme Brownie with ice cream and popcorn

My favourite dishes were the Chicken puttanesca with a great smokey flavour.  I didn't try the Arancini but they looked good.  Jamie's Italian Sausage Tagliatelle had great flavour too.

My favourite dessert was the Extreme Brownie which tasted kind of like a flourless chocolate cake.  Not too sweet but full dark rich chocolate flavour.  I also really liked the Lemon Meringue pie.

Denise pretty much inhaled the Affogato so I think she liked that too.

There were a couple of menu items I would have liked to try but they had sold out already but I hope to return to try some other things in the new year.

They are still working out the kinks of a new restaurant and are extremely focused on getting quality control right at this time and they want to have everything perfected by the weekend.  They have 150 staff who have been working really hard during the training period and I hope they all get a bit of rest before the opening because it's going to be an extremely busy place.  It's pretty much the best restaurant choice at the mall and as Chef Gentile put it he has been eating at the food court during the building process and he is really happy that the restaurant is finally up and running.  

Jamie's Italian Canada is located beside the Crate and Barrel at Yorkdale Mall (Dufferin Street) in Toronto, Canada.  It's the first Canadian restaurant chain for Jamie Oliver.  

I don't think Jamie will be around for the opening as he was just in town recently but the staff are all pretty excited at the fact that he might show up at any time when he comes to town.

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*Disclaimer:  Our meal was complimentary but all of the opinions and photos are my own.  

My Gelato filled hot summer childhood memories

The first thing I thought of when trying to think about what foods came to mind as summer foods that revisit childhood memories was Gelato.



 So it was nice to see that something from our childhood still remains the same.  On hot days or on the odd occasion during the summer one of my friends dad would pile a bunch of us kids into the car and drive us to Nino D'Aversa Bakery for some Gelato.  We didn't wait for an ice cream truck because we lived on a main street that Ice Cream trucks couldn't stop on.   So when we wanted ice cream we either got it from the convenience or grocery store or we got the good stuff once in a while at the Bakery.  That was the fastest way to make a bunch of kids happy and quiet.  As long as we were stuffing our faces full of Gelato we were content.  I think that's still true to this day for me.  I think my all time favourite food is Italian Food because not only does it remind me of hanging out at my friends houses when I was a kid but it's made with simple, fresh ingredients that bring out the purest flavours of the foods.
Ice Cream or Gelato is still one of my favourite foods to this day.  
For this post I stopped into  
Nino D'Aversa Bakery to get a Gelato and contemplate why I love it so much and appreciate that the place I went to as a kid is still the same as it was as I was a kid.  They did a little expansion a few years ago but it's basically still the same.
When I was a kid i think I used to get the lemon and chocolate flavours, but now I have switched from chocolate to coffee flavoured.  This Gelato is pure flavour.  The lemon tastes like a freshed squeezed lemon with a bit of sugar and the coffee flavour just tastes like you put a cappuccino in the freezer.
It's interesting that so many years later my friend's daughter now works at another Nino D'Aversa location.  Her grandfather is the one who drove us to get the Gelato's all summer long.  I hope that one day she carries on the tradition of taking a bunch of kids there for Gelato.   I don't have any kids to take there but if I did I most certainly would.

Tomato Sauce Flexibility

One of my favourite things is Tomato Sauce. It's one of those things that is the simplest thing but for some reason so many people get it wrong. It's the key to a great tasting pizza or a delicious pasta dish.

I made a huge pot of tomato sauce recently using some heirloom tomatoes and some additional canned crush tomatoes. The reason for using both is to get a great depth of flavour and adding freshness to the taste of the sauce. I like to add garlic, diced sweet onions and fresh basil if I have some. Salt and pepper to taste of course. Then everything else you add is bonus seasonings. I like to add fresh parsley and if you like it spicy you can add some chili flakes. Some people like their tomato sauce sweet and a good way to make it sweeter is to add a whole carrot to the pot when cooking and then fish it out when it's done.

But what's really great about Tomato Sauce is all the things you can do with it.

So far with this batch of tomato sauce I have made Eggplant parmesan using up some left over fried eggplant.

Then I cooked a batch of meatballs in the tomato sauce and last night I decided to use up some frozen spinach that I have had in the freezer for a while and a box of cannelloni noodles that I had on hand and cheeses that I had in the fridge.. Simplicity at it's best. Just takes a little prep time and about a half an hour or so in the oven and you have CANNELLONI. it's a lot easier than it sounds and looks and tastes great.

I could use the rest of the sauce for pizza, lasagna, spaghetti or even to add to chilli. It's a great staple food and really easy to whip up the greatest tasting meals if you just get that tomato sauce right.

Skip the jars of pre made sauce and make up a batch of fresh tomato sauce. You will be saying yumm with every bite you eat and will wonder why you bought that ready made stuff.

Cannelloni - pasta perfection

I think my all time favourite food is Italian. Italian food is simplicity made perfect. You can take 3 ingredients and make the most satisfying meal. What are the 3 ingredients?

1. Tomato sauce or some sort of savoury sauce
2. Pasta or dough
3. Cheese

That's all you need to make a great meal already but with a few other ingredients you can make something that can satisfy your soul.

Italians rarely cook with actual recipes they usually cook by feel and with love. I grew up on a street with many Italian families and learned that although they were similar they were not the same. The sauces and the choice of pastas seemed to differ and the end results were slightly different even using the same sort of basic ingredients.

Italian food is my go to food when I want something that tastes good and is quick and easy.

This time I decided to make Cannelloni because I never make that and had some ingredients in the fridge that would be great in a Cannelloni.

This is what I did:

Recipe of the Day:

1 Box of Cannelloni noodles
1/2 small log of goat cheese
1 container of Ricotta cheese
1 can of San Marzano tomatoes
1/2 small onion
1 package of spinach leaves
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp. of basil pesto
1/3 of a cup of grated mozzarella
3 tbsp of grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Rinse and slightly chop the spinach leaves and set aside
Mince the garlic cloves and dice the onion and set aside.

In a bowl mix the ricotta cheese, goat cheese and a tablespoon of parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

In a large frying pan add olive oil to a hot pan and then saute the spinach. Once it is bright green and cooked down take it out of the pan and set aside.

Add a little more oil to the pan and saute the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent. Add in the can of tomatoes and you can add fresh tomatoes as well. Mash the tomatoes into a sauce like consistency. Add a teaspoon of basil pesto or dried basil flakes or you can add fresh basil at the end. Cook the tomato sauce for about 20 minutes or until the sauce is the way you prefer it. You can add water if you want a thinner sauce. You need to make it thinner than usual because it will cook the pasta in the oven.

Once the sauce is cooked you can assemble the Cannelloni.

In a baking dish add some of the sauce to the bottom of the pan just like the way you would make a lasagna.

Add the chopped spinach to the cheese mixture and you can put the mixture into a Ziploc bag and cut a small hole at the corner of the bag to be able to pipe it out into the cannelloni noodles. Take one of the uncooked cannelloni noodles and pipe the mixture into the inside of the noodle. you can use a small spoon to push it in if you need to. Place the filled cannelloni noodles in the baking pan side by side. Do not layer them on top of each other. Keep filling the cannelloni noodles until you run out of filling.

Add the remaining tomato sauce on top of the noodles and then sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese on top.

Cover with tin foil and place in the preheated oven.

Cook for about 45 minutes or whatever the package of cannelloni noodles require.

And it should look like my photo if you did it all the same way.

It may not look like a perfect picture but the taste of it will feel like love on a plate.

Italian food is food of love... and I do love it...
Enjoy.