It is easy to fall into stereotypes.  It’s easy to think that Canada is so cold that we can’t grow exotic fruits and vegetables found in other countries. But as we highlighted recently, diversification into new crops, such as quinoa, is the new trend. All it takes is a few adventurous farmers to push the limits on what we can grow in Canada. Season extension, appropriate cultivar selection, and creative use of thermal resources has even allowed producers to grow tropical crops such as olives and lemons with great success.
The …

The presses are heating up with news of The World’s Longest Barbecue™, aka Food Day Canada. Papers across the country have picked up Judy Creighton’s Canadian Press article — Toronto Star. Amherst Daily News, St John’s Daily , Cape Breton Post, to start.
Meanwhile, Owen Roberts thinks the World’s Longest Barbecue is worth celebrating and tell us why at the Guelph Mercury.
Even Canadian Business loves the idea of a national food day and shares their thoughts in this article.
Do you think our food is worth celebrating? If so, show your support …

We’re about to hold the biggest food event in Canadian History and we can’t do it alone. You, your friends, family, co-workers and neighbours are hereby officially invited to join Anita Stewart and thousands of proud Canadians as we raise our forks and celebrate our regional bounty.
The Date:
Saturday August 1, 2009
6:00 p.m. – any time zone
The Location:
Anywhere in the world.
The Cause:
The World’s Longest Barbecue ™
This is our chance to show our unconditional support to all the extraordinary men and women across the nation who put healthy, delicious food on our …

Live in the Guelph area and love pork? The University of Guelph, Ontario Pork, the Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC) and others, are hosting a barbecue in support of the pork industry. Pork sandwiches, salads, ice cream and beverages will be for sale. Proceeds will benefit OFAC’s public education efforts and AGCare (Agricultural Groups Concerned About Resources and the Environment). President Alastair Summerlee and Anita Stewart will be among the “celebrity chefs.”
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
University of Guelph
Ontario AgriCentre Patio, 100 Stone Road West
The event also includes …

The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, March 23 to 29, 2009, is a must for any wine (and food) lover. It’s been going for 31 years and is among the top three wine festivals in North America. Part of what makes it special is that a winery principal must be in the Festival Tasting Room at all times pouring their wines. So you’ll see Rafael Boscaini pouring Masi wines, winemaker John Simes from Mission Hill Family Estates, port maker Cristiano van Zeller, Cathy Seghesio from Seghesio, Kristy Skrabic from Caymus, …

Apparently we have good reason to be suffering a severe case of the winter blues, with the RECESSION and all.  On top of low Vitamin D blahs and too much shovelling, for those of us in the restaurant business, the dire economic forecasts mean an even more uncertain future with our perishables and slim margins, our product that is often perceived as a luxury, so easily axed in conservative times, no bail out packages.. How are we supposed to get up in the morning?   It’s all so depressing, right?
But really, …

It’s a book. It’s a conference. It’s our very own Liz Driver.
In April, 2008, Elizabeth Driver published the 1008-page ground breaking bibliography, Culinary Landmarks: A Bibliography of Canadian Cookbooks 1825 – 1949. This May, she’s the keynote speaker at a conference celebrating the book’s publication.
The conference, sponsored by The Culinary Historians of Ontario, runs May 1 to 3, 2009 at the University of Toronto. Who’ll want to attend? Culinary historians, museum staff, cookbook collectors, cookbook authors, food writers and editors, and other professionals involved with food and cooking . Basically, …