Not just cheese - Great Canadian Cheese Festival 2017

I really love cheese and I really love going to Prince Edward County once a year to try all kinds of Cheese from mostly Ontario and Quebec along with all kinds of other Artisan products.  Picton is a small town that is becoming a Foodie paradise.  With so many wineries and cheese makers in the region it's a perfect place to visit.  This is my 3rd year going to the Great Canadian Cheese Festival and it's now quickly becoming a yearly tradition with some other stops made along the way.

It's held at the Crystal Palace Camp Ground which houses 2 buildings and exterior booths and food trucks and other stands.  Tickets are $50 per day or $75 for a weekend pass and that includes free parking and all the cheese samples you can stuff in your face.  There are a lot of wineries there as well sampling their wines. There are even a couple of goats and Water Buffalo to see and pet.

But of course the Star is the Cheese.  Almost a whole building full of cheese.   I picked up 2 cheeses this year.  This semi soft Artisan Cheese and Bothwell's Horseradish Cheese.  I just need to pick up some Roast Beef to create a fantastic sandwich.

There are hard cheeses, flavoured cheese, soft cheese and these spiced cheese curds.  A cheese for everyone.

I sampled lots of other things besides Cheese.  I tried preserves, special beverages, shortbread, Oils, sausages, nuts and a lot more.

I fell in love with these bottles of Gut Shots.  It's fermented Cabbage and vegetable juice.  I didn't pick up one at the Festival because I picked up the Vegan Kimchi but couldn't stop thinking about it so I picked up a bottle at Whole foods a few days later.  I got the Kimchi flavour Gut shot.  You only need to drink a tablespoonful a day to fix your gut bacteria.  It even tastes good and you could even use it in a dressing or marinade.

It was great to have some of Jamie Kennedy's JK fries while chilling on a park bench chatting with new friends.  A bit of Toronto in the country.

We went on the most perfect spring day.  The weather was hot but not unbearable.  It was great to bounce in and out of the buildings and sit outside and take a break while my friend petted this little Water Buffalo.

I kind of did a bit of grocery shopping while I was there with a mixed bag of stuff including the Kimchi and the Artisan Cheese I picked up some Red Pepper Jelly,  Lemon Olive oil and some Jewels Under the Kilt Chipotle Maple Pecans.  I would say a nice variety for sure.

We got very lucky because it rained the next day but we were blessed with a perfect day and even the traffic there was good.  The festival ends about 4pm so I now have a new tradition of going to Slickers Ice Cream and getting some of their fantastic Ice Cream.  I got the Roasted Marshmallow flavour.  Yes it was more dairy but it's so easy to eat on a warm day.  The next stop was Giant Tiger,  there isn't one in Toronto so it's always fun to see what they have on sale.  I picked up some water and some coconut chocolate sticks. The other stop was a chilling stop at the Drake Devonshire Inn right on the lake.  It was a bit chilly next to the water by that time but we sat on the patio and ordered some fantastic veggie appetizers while they provided some nice yellow fleece blankets to keep us cosy.  I really love that place.   We ended with a little ping pong and then we headed back to Toronto.  Such a fun day.  I hope we can have a repeat of it again next year.   Thanks Great Canadian Cheese Festival for organizing a great event.

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.

The Sun shined on the Stop's Night Market

Last night the Sun gods came out to bless The Stop's  Annual NIGHT MARKET fundraising event for The Stop's drop in programs.  

The Stop's Night Market is held over 2 nights and each night has different food and drink vendors and different entertainment as well.  

This year they moved to a new larger location on Sterling Road in the Lansdowne and College area in an industrial area just next the Nestle chocolate plant.  Yes it smelled delicious walking from College street to the gravel parking lot where the event was being held.

Last year the event was held in the alley of Honest Ed's where the 2 buildings are connected.  I didn't go last year because tickets were sold out as soon as they went on sale.  Last year it cost $50 for an all you can eat pass.  This year they raised the fee to $100 so that they could raise more money and allow more people the ability to attend but they were still able to sell out.

Last year even though there was a torrential rain soaking all the vendors and attendees from what I saw in photos everyone still stood in lines to get there tasty bites of food.

This year they chose their dates well and Day 1 had the most beautiful weather for an outdoor event. 

Since it was a parking lot it wasn't fancy and not the place to be wearing club wear and stilettos to.  I don't think it would be as much fun in the rain so I am very glad that mother nature was co-operating.

The Stop's programs and events are run mostly by Volunteers so I was happy that when I arrived the first person that I was greeted by was my friend Sylvia who was volunteering.  She likes to volunteer at a lot of festivals but she has been away a lot for the past year so I haven't seen her in a long time.  It was great to do a quick catch up and then we were off.  Sylvia gave me the lay of the land and told me some of the things she tried that she liked.  The first thing I tried which was right beside the Stop's booth was Fonda Lola which is one of the restaurants that was on my list of places to check out because they follow me on Instagram and I just haven't had the chance to check out their restaurant yet.  

They served up Flauta de pollo aka taquito which was delicious.  I inhaled it while the sauce ran down my hand.  

What I really loved about this event was all of the different creative carts that the vendors put together.  The Gabardine had a cart that had a spinning wheel.  There was a cart made up of tin cans.  Sullivan and Bleeker's looked like post it notes on cardboard.  Pizzeria Libretto had potato sack material.  Oyster Boy had a world theme.  It made it really fun to see all of the interesting looking displays of creativity.

In one corner they set up a photo booth and had large cardboard cut outs of things like the knife and fork that I am holding in this picture and beer mugs and funny signs.  Photo booths are always a fun thing at events.  The volunteers were ready to take a fun picture of you as you mug for the camera.  I didn't do silly but just a bit of fun as you can see.

I didn't make it through all of the food and drink.  I think I tried about a third of what was there but I did try Branca's Sweet corn empanadas.  They were crunchy and sweet.  I tried Valdez' Tuna and watermelon ceviche and I don't think i am a fan of mixing fruit and fish and like a traditional ceviche a lot more.  I tried Maizal's Esquites which was a corn salad type of thing.  I tried Delica Kitchen's corn dog but couldn't figure out what they used for the dog part because it wasn't a typical hot dog.  Sylvia liked that one but I don't know if I liked it as much as she did. What I really liked was the simplicity of Pizzeria Libretto's fried cheese and tomato sauce.  The sauce was fresh and the cheese was slightly oozy.

I tried Dailo's Smoked trout betal leaf but it was ok.  I didn't love the leaf but it was a nice concept.

I wanted to try Torito's Torta de pollo but it was a bun that they poured sauce over top of and then gave you gloves to eat it.  I didn't want it dripping all over me so I passed on that one but I think people liked it.  

I enjoyed Hawthorne's Chicken skin taco.  It had a great crunch and had a kimchi kick on top.

Oyster Boy had a huge lineup so I skipped that because I just had their oysters at the Big Night event so I tried to sample things I haven't tried before.

I also sampled the AGO's chicken tamales which were pretty good with extra condiments.

The only thing I got to drink was Just Craft Soda's cherry soda.  I tried their lemongrass soda before at the Sial Canada show and their products are fantastic.  Natural flavours and not as sugary sweet as normal soda is.  It was my wine fake out.

One of the dishes I didn't have the room to try was Smoke Signals massive Bama BBQ sandwich.  I probably would have gone for it if I was choosing for value and not trying to sample as much as I could.

I finished off my food sampling with one of Sullivan and Bleekers Smore's cookies. It would have been fantastic if it was warm and melty.  Can you see a trend here.   Oh and one of the other dishes that I really enjoyed was hot off the grill and really fresh was Gabardine's Beef Arepas.  I really like Gabardine because they always produce solid comfort food.

There was also a couple of fun bands that entertained the crowd and I have to say that I was impressed with all of the Volunteers and believe me it's hard to get great volunteers for events but not just my friend Sylvia but all of the volunteers were helpful and on top of clearing the garbage and getting people in the event quickly by scanning the passes and giving out wristbands.  The wristbands was a great thing to keep the lines moving and save people from juggling money, or tickets and their drinks and food and in my case my camera.  My friend Sylvia was even my hand model for a few of the photos as you can see.  I know that a couple of the volunteers came from TIFF and I know that's why they were fantastic.  

The organizers did a fantastic job I must say.  It was beautifully set up with the drinks and food intermixed instead of a bar on one side and food on the other.  Because it was all you could eat you could bounce around to different vendors and go back to ones you enjoyed.  I didn't have room to go back to any of them and not enough room to try them all and I even started off hungry.  You need a big appetite to sample it all.

I think the only thing for me that I would change would be the gravel ground because my feet got really tired quickly which was unfortunate and it was a little out of the way and not as easy to get to as a location like Honest Ed's so I am sure a few people may have missed it because of that but I did see a whole lot of people that rode their bikes or took cabs to the event which is probably a great thing to save on drinking and driving.   Myself I hopped on the streetcar over to the subway.  

And then there was this styrofoam cup display outside of the venue that I couldn't figure out until someone at the Stop said what it was.  "YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE".   Kind of a nice thing to thank people who participated to show that their actions in attending the event and the money raised will make a difference to the programs the Stop will be able to deliver which is what this event was all about.

The Stop really have a good thing going.  They have fabulous events but what they really do at the heart of it is help a whole lot of people year round.

To find out how you can contribute your time or to donate money please visit their website:

thestop.org

A Vine Romance's Wine & Chocolate Pairing Event

Do you love wine and chocolate?

I am not an expert when it comes to Wines, so I decided to find someone who is to write a Guest Post for me and they are going to be hosting an upcoming Event just before Valentine's Day.  A perfect night out with a special person in your life or even a bunch of single friends looking to learn a few things.   Introducing my friend Priya and her partner Alex who will be your hosts for this special event.

We’re Alex (Certified Sommelier at Lee Restaurant) and Priya (Actor and Host), from A Vine Romance, and we’ve got the perfect event to get your taste buds bursting with joy!

We’re teaming up with The Chocolateria on Roncesvalles for a
Wine & Chocolate Pairing event on Sunday, Feb 8^th from 5-7pm.

People love to pair wine with chocolate so we wanted to give you some ideas on what to look for when you select wines to match with chocolate goodness.

We’ll be sampling the following 5 wines:

The “Commandaria” has been touted as the oldest wine in the world! (For more, read this CNN article http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/13/business/commandaria-the-oldest-wine-world/). It is originally believed to have been given its name by crusading knights in the 13th century, but to have first been made up to 5,000 years ago. Expect it to be sweet and extra concentrated, due to the fact that the grapes are left to dry (or bake!) in the sun for 10 days after picking.  You could say it would taste like a fruitier, nuttier version of a tawny port!

We’ll open a Samos Greek Muscat because white muscats are great with chocolates, especially the lighter styles—white chocolate, milk chocolate or any chocolate with candied ginger or orange. It’s not as cloyingly sweet as an ice wine, nor is it a wine you see often, which is exactly why we picked it!  

The Brachetto d’Acqui will show you just how nicely some bubbly will go with chocolate. This is a wine EVERYONE should try, especially those who are just starting their wine journey. It’s light, not-too-sweet-but-sweet enough, and it’s such a pretty deep rose colour, we’re thirsty just thinking about it! This will pair nicely with mousse-filled chocolates because the creaminess of the filling will be matched by the fizz of the bubbles.

Amarone makes an appearance at our event as being one of the rare drier styles of wine that pair well with chocolate. This wine is best for those who might not want sweet wine on top of their sweet treat. It has a rich fruit flavor that complements a dessert without overwhelming it.

A good port is a no-brainer to match with chocolate! We recommend this for the richest and darkest cocoa delights.  This is historically the most famous wine & chocolate pairing.  You can be the judge as to how well this old standby fairs against the hipper wines we’ve handpicked.

But hey—let’s not forget the chocolates! BlogTO picked The Chocolateria as one of the best chocolate shops in Toronto and their chocolatier, Sydney, will be on hand to discuss all his heavenly creations…and maybe share a trade secret or two!

You’ll taste a variety of their bonbons and dark chocolate barks and squares along with their famous chocolate-dipped potato chips along with several of their truffles, and you’ll even have the opportunity to dip a few truffles yourself.

There are no door sales! Space is limited to 30 guests so reserve your spot today at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/wine-chocolate-with-a-vine-romance-tickets-15521576453

For more information about Alex and Priya of A Vine Romance check out their website: 

A Vine Romance and follow them on Facebook here: A Vine Romance

Gourmet Food & Wine Expo

As I am writing this it is the last day of the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto.  I was lucky to be able to win a pass to go to the VIP Preview on the first night of the show on thursday night.  I planned on writing this post sooner but as usual other stuff gets in the way sometimes.

I went to the show after a very busy day about town and met up with my Food Partner in crime Mary who has a blog called Mary's Happy Belly.   So together we are Starving Happy Belly Foodie...  I have a feeling you may see this more often in the future.




We only had a couple of hours to whip through the show.  We got there just before 7pm and Mary needed to leave around 9 to catch her train and I was pretty exhausted by then anyway after my long day.   I was driving and don't drink beer or wine so I can whip through a show like that pretty quickly most of the time.  Although I didn't have to pay to get in I had to pay $20 for parking because I had my car because of my many stops during the day.  I recommend taking the TTC if you want to skip that cost and drink more.  I then purchased $20 worth of food and drink tickets.  Each item is between 1 - 6 tickets on average or about $1-$6.  I had a few left in the end because I wasn't sampling the beer or wine.  The only drink I had was the margaritas, lime and strawberry.

I did try some of the food though.  I was at another cocktail event before this show so I only had room for a few things that I wanted to try.

Mary and I shared an order of Butter Chicken Nachos.  Great idea and a great way to scoop up the sauce instead of rice.

I tried goat cheese stuffed marinated sweet peppers that were only 1 ticket and delicious.

I also tried a big hunk of delicious cheese but can't remember what it was called.  I think it was a Gouda maybe.  We missed the cheese tasting session.  Those are always great to try lots of cheese samples.


We tried jams and sauces and I tried a chocolate strawberry preserve and chatted with a woman named Louise who was interested in what we do when Mary mentioned that we were bloggers.  The preserves were delicious and Mary really liked the packaging.    There are a lot of jams and hot sauce vendors that go to many different shows but Louise was new to the shows and was so enthusiastic.

There were a couple of familiar vendors at the show that both Mary and I knew.  The crazy guys from MeNU were there having fun.  Mary had enough room to have one of their amazing Taco creations.  I never seem to have enough room at these shows but I love their food.   Also there was Fancy Franks Hot Dogs.  Probably a good idea to have one of their dogs before you start tearing through your drink tickets since it's one of the most substantial things at the show and will soak up all the alcohol so you can enjoy the show longer.

The only other thing I had was an oyster that was on a tray of samples going out to people watching an oyster demo.  We just happened to be standing at a table when they just came out and we grabbed the first samples.  I can't say it was great because it was just a plain oyster.  I really should have broke out the tabasco sauce I picked up at one of the booths and added a dash.  I was also drinking a strawberry Margarita at the time so it wasn't the best pairing.   Some lemon juice would have been nice too.  I am not a huge oyster fan so I need things to kick it up.

I forgot, I  did have one other drink.. a non alcoholic caesar that was at the Extreme Bean booth.  Now that had a nice warming kick but not too much.


And the only other food I remember trying was a Tuna Pintxos.  It was very good and a nice change from some of the usual things you find at these shows.

There were some other cool items that were non food or alcohol that I really liked.  One booth called Higher Ground had these really cool wine cork stools.  You could even print you logo on them.  What my eye was drawn to that I couldn't resist were little led lighted balls that were on a battery operated string.  I am a sucker for lighted things so I picked up a set of silver Moroccan style ones for $15.  I couldn't resist.  I know.. people don't go to these shows to buy stuff... but I am not an alcoholic I am a shopaholic.  There were also these creative metal wine bottle holders in festive designs like a snowman and Reindeer.  I didn't get one at the show but I happened to see one at the Ashley Warehouse sale and picked one up there.. can't decide if I will keep it for myself or give it as a Christmas gift.. will see on that one..

And besides the food and drinks and shopping there was some photo fun...  Mary and I got our Rockstar on and put on crazy hats and got into the Rockstar photo booth and got goofy.  

So all in all we had a lot of fun and saw some people we knew and ate and drank, shopped and snapped loads of photos.

What I like about the show is that you can try a lot of different wines and food all in one place.  What I didn't like was the cost of the show.  If you drive you have to pay for parking, entrance fee and food and drink tickets.  It adds up really fast.   But I don't think other people feel the same way because the show has been packed all weekend.

Unfortunately because I went on thursday I missed a couple of my favourite Chefs who were there on the weekend.  Chef Lynn Crawford who was there to promote the Culinary Challenge and Chef David Rocco who was there to promote his new line of wines.  I would have loved to see them both.

It's probably too late by the time you read this post to go... I wanted to write it earlier so you would have time to check it out... but maybe you can remember to visit it next year and bring lot's of cash, a designated driver and your appetite.

Well I wish I could tell you about what wines are great and what beers are the best I can't do that because I only cook with them I don't drink them.. so maybe I will get a guest blogger to write that for you one of these days.  You can check out Mary's blog but she didn't drink enough to give you a good review of them either..  But if you can recommend some to me then I will post them.  Check out David Rocco's La Dolce Vita wines at the LCBO now .. That I can recommend.