Julie Van Rosendaal is food writer, author, stylist and journalist. The food and nutrition columnist for CBC Radio One’s the Calgary Eyeopener, Julie contributes to the online cooking series, Good Bite,  co-hosts It’s Just Food on Viva Network and keeps readers updated on Dinner with Julie. She’s also the mastermind behind Blog Aid, a collaborative cookbook to raise funds for Haiti.
What’s your weakness? Dessert or mains?
Ice cream. I can’t not finish the container. Also anything topped with melty cheese.
Who or what got you interested in food?
My appetite got me interested. …

UPDATE:  According to Julie’s Twitter account, the book has raised more than $10,000 in its first few hours of existence.
Less than three weeks ago, Cuisine Canada member Julie Van Rosendaal sent an email out to the food writing community to see if there was interest in compiling a cookbook to raise funds for Haiti. There was. And today Blog Aid: Recipes for Haiti is available for purchase. The turn around time on this project is breath-taking. So is the passion behind it.
You can watch the project unfold on Julie’s blog, …

While enjoying the San Francisco Farmers’ Market in the Ferry Building this past fall, I happened upon a rare and exquisite shop, Culinaire. Specializing in culinary antiques that were designed for specific kitchen or table uses, the unique shop is filled with rare finds like the tools below.

Do you know what these delicate, silver-plated utensils were used for?
First Clue: They were not dessert servers. Although they may have been used at the dining room table, they were never associated with cakes, pies or other fine delicacies.
Second Clue: While they may …

Micheline Mongrain-Dontigny is a teacher, cookbook author, food historian and lecturer. She is also the author of the bilingual web site Les Éditions La Bonne Recette, a French-language blog Cuisiner avec Micheline Mongrain Dontigny and the coordinator of the Canadian Culinary Cookbook Awards.
What’s your weakness? Dessert or mains?
Really fresh fish and seafood, couscous, and traditional dishes of Italy, France, England, Canada and Quebec.
As for desserts I like sugar pie and fruit desserts such as kuchen. But the best memory for dessert is the Britany Kouing Aman — absolutely delicious. I’ve never …

There’s less than a month left to submit nominations to the 2010 Canadian Culinary Book Awards. Deadline for submissions is February 16, 2010.
Hosted by Cuisine Canada and the University of Guelph, these annual awards recognize excellence and creativity in food and beverage writing and publishing. Not only do these awards promote our Canadian culinary food culture, they celebrate Canadian authors and publishers.
Are you eligible?

Books must be written by a Canadian author who is either a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
Books must be published by a Canadian publisher or …

Promoting your message, business, product or cookbook on radio or television? While it’s exciting to know you’ll reach a large audience, the pressure to talk live can be daunting. Over the last dozen years or so I have made hundreds of visits to media outlets both in my home base of Edmonton and in other Alberta locations. Here are a few tips I would like to pass along to help make your media event a success and generates return visits.
Besides planning your presentation:
Be on time:

If you are scheduled to appear …

Today, many restaurants showcase local, Canadian products.  While sourcing these  products is becoming more of a main stream industry with typical wholesale marketing, building direct marketing chains between food producers and restaurants or other retail markets is a real boon for both the agricultural industry and retailers.  Producers retain value on their product, while restauranteurs or retailers have the direct link, and the real story behind the product. All this helps meet increasing consumer demand for fresh, unique and local products.
 
In the spirit of building successful relationships between farmers and retailers, I’ve spoken with …