Starving Foodie

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Good Food and Drink Show in Toronto

The Good Food and Drink Show in Toronto

The Good Food and Drink Show just happened in Toronto this April and I was lucky to be able to attend it on the final day of the Festival. I am sure it was probably the quietest day of the Festival but it was still a lot of fun with Vikram Vij and Mairlyn Smith in attendance.

Vikram Vij is the Rockstar of the West Coast Vancouver Indian Restaurant World and Internationally too. He is also now going to be a Dragon on the Dragon's Den. He is a Chef and and Entrepreneur with a line of frozen Indian Foods. I hope to get my hands on some one of these days.

Vikram was there to do a demo and sign his latest cookbook. I got my hands on a copy of it and hopefully will make some new Indian Food Recipes soon.

Mairlyn Smith from Cityline and Breakfast Television and everywhere there is food, was on hand to keep things moving and I think she moved more than anything else. She was like the stand up comic side to the busy cooking chefs on stage. Always fun watching her. Vikram made a chicken curry but unfortunately we didn't get to taste it.

I also stuck around to see Terry from Top Chef Canada make some interesting Trout and Smoked Potatoes. He couldn't say who won Top Chef but he did mention how intense the whole filming of it was. We did get to try a spoonful of a dulce de lece pudding that was really good.

Fellow Dragon's Den Powerhouse Arlene Dickenson was also roaming around checking out booths and supporting her own large favourite picks that she supports from the show.

There was a food truck Alley where I ended my food tasting with a new Mexican Taco food truck where I tried a trio of tacos and then moved on to the Pancho's Bakery truck for a freshly made Churro for my last bite. I started my day off with Indian Food having a really great Samosa and ended with Mexican Food. That's the way I like it.

It wasn't a huge show in comparison to some others but it was fairly well rounded with some great vendors. The ME.N.U booth was surrounded when I walked by later in the day so I am sure they sold a lot of rice balls. These guys are becoming very popular on the local pop up food scene in Toronto and I think they are working on getting a food truck going. I think they will have that rolling around Toronto in the not too distant future.

I sampled some tasty cheeses, some Chai Tea, and some yummy Salted Caramel ice cream from Kawartha Dairy. It doesn't sound like all this food would sit well in my stomach but I guess my stomach was ready for a food adventure.

I hope to see it grow and have more vendors showing off some new things next year.

Gastropost Celebrates 100 Missions

GASTROPOST Celebrate's 100 Food Missions with it's Gastroposters

Last night I was invited to go to a new Italian Restaurant on Jarvis Street in Toronto called Osteri dei Ganzi - @GanziToronto to celebrate Post Media's Gastropost Section in the National Post and online who were celebration the 100th Mission. Since the beginning of the creation of the Gastropost online community and weekly column in the National Post, I have been taking photos of everything I cook eat or drool over. Then I upload pics that correspond to the Gastropost weekly Mission. Last week it was Melt. Then I wait and see if it is selected to appear in the Saturday's Gatropost section of the National Post. Apparently I have been published over 40 something times. So I have sent them my fair share of food photos. Last night's party was to celebrate the 100th mission. In attendance were the Gastropost Team who have to sift through hundreds of photos every week to select their fav's for the paper and the rest are posted online. There was a room full of Food obsessed people like me. Some of us who have been there from the beginning have received a Gastrosketch of themselves and some were printed on cards with our choice of a mission and they were spread all over the restaurant. I never found mine but maybe they didn't print one. But it was fun to meet fellow Gastroposters who you have admired their photos over the past couple of years. There are Gastroposters who I tweet and Instagram but haven't even met yet and even missed meeting them last night, but there were a few that knew exactly who each other were so that was fun. I was even told on instagram that someone had a coworker that loved my food and wanted her to meet me. It's very odd. I mostly take photos while I am at home alone and then post them so I never get that much feedback but apparently a lot of people love all the photos and then there are a lot of people that just don't get it. Oh well...there was a restaurant full of people that get it.

You can see in one of these shots the waiter was bombarded not by hands grabbing the food right away but cameras jamming as close to it as they could to get the perfect shot. The food was very good. I filled up on mostly desserts because I missed the Arancini balls at the beginning...too bad..

The Restaurant's staff ver very friendly and patient with all the crazy foodies in the room.

Also in attendance was Chef Corbin Tomacezski who was there to get people interested in the Culinary Challenge for Cook for the Cure for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. I signed up last year and the woman who organizes the Challenge remembered me. I need to make lot's of new friends with money before I can sign up again this year.

Everyone had a great time and there were even raffle prizes. No I didn't win one, but there were only a few. Thanks to our hosts Duncan, Rebecca, Chris and Adam for the great party.

I even got a ride home from fellow Gastroposter Jenny Roger. (pictured below light hair with Maria (dark hair) another Gastroposter)

Let's hope I will still be posting at the 200 mission mark and we celebrate at another great party.

Keep following www.gastropost.com to see everyone's photos.