Food Day Canada
Saturday, July 31, 2010
6:00 PM Your time
Cities, restaurants and backyards across Canada

Until last year, Food Day Canada was known as The World’s Longest Barbecue. It is always held on the Saturday of the first weekend in August, which this year happens to fall in July. When I began the event in 2003, the goal was to collectively celebrate the food of Canada, specifically beef because of BSE and the devastation it caused to that industry. After that first event, I expanded the scope to include all ingredients harvested here. And every year since, I have challenged Canadians to barbecue /cook /use Canadian ingredient and share their menus on the dedicated website.

This year, we’ve built a new website and established a new web presence, while ensuring the stories from the past are all still available online for everyone to see.  These menus are a voyeuristic look into the real food life of Canada. Curiously, since launching the site this year, we’ve had hits from 46 countries around the globe, including Russia, all of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Food Day Canada is our chance to create a day that showcases our extraordinary ingredients at a time when our farming/fishing communities are top of mind.  The only participation requirement is to cook great local/regional/national foods on Saturday July 31st and post the menus to the website (click here for the easy-to-fill-out submission form).

While the platform on which Food Day rests is virtual, there are also larger live events. Here in my own village of Elora, our local raceway will host a number of Ontario commodity organizations who are coming together to barbecue their products (pork/beef/chicken/vegetables/fruit) for the public — with lotsa good beer and a few cases of wine.  In addition, those same commodity organizations are committed to providing product for Ontario’s Food Banks for every Ontario menu posted on the website.  It’s win/win/win.

Also for the first time, this year, restaurants from across Canada are taking part. This handpicked group of 136 restaurants were carefully selected because they truly walk the talk. They include: Chives Canadian Bistro (Halifax, NS), Atlantica (St John’s, NL),  Bacalao (Clarenville & St. John’s, NL), Rossmount Inn (St Andrews by-the-Sea, NB),  Lot 30 (Charlottetown, PE), Inn at Bay Fortune (Fortune, PE),  Treadwell (Port Dalhousie, ON), Epic (Toronto, ON), Rouge (Calgary, AB) CharCut (Calgary, AB), Langdon Hall (Cambridge, ON),  C Restaurant (Vancouver, BC), Klondike Kate’s (Dawson City, YT) and a whole whack of restaurants in the Ottawa and Toronto areas.

Other national ‘days’ are about the eaters.  Food Day is about the farmers and fishers who feed us so very, very well. And about Canada’s chefs, who through their talent and innovation, bring the best Canadian ingredients to the table.

To celebrate, we are including some pretty neat awards as well. Mine will be given to a member of the general public whose menu shows the most Adaptability. Three other awards will go to  Chefs/Restaurants.  The judges for these awards are James Chatto, Michael Smith, Anthony Walsh, Sinclair Philip and Judy Creighton.

The goal is to build a full on food celebration in every corner of Canada that cannot be ignored.

Having a party never felt so good!

Anita Stewart

“Last year’s inaugural workshop was a roaring success, so I’ve expanded the workshop to 20 participants and I’m bringing in food writing experts from the US and Canada,” explains independent food journalist Jennifer Cockrall-King, workshop coordinator. “It’s part food-writing workshop, part food and wine tour in the incredibly vibrant Okanagan Valley when local products are at their peak and just before the wine harvest.”

2010 instructors include:

• Dianne Jacob is a California-based writing coach, editor, and author of Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Articles, Memoir, and More. Re-issued in July 2010, the book won the Cordon D’Or International award for Best Literary Food Reference Book. www.diannej.com

• Born in Vancouver, Claudia Cusano is Italian by blood, and thus grew up with a love of food, family, and friendship. Claudia is the editor for NUVO magazine, a lifestyle magazine for the Canadian sophisticate. www.nuvomagazine.com

• Liane Faulder is The Edmonton Journal’s food columnist and appears in the Bistro section on Wednesdays, and on Saturdays in Lifestyle. She is also food columnist for CBC radio’s afternoon program in Edmonton, Radio Active. An award-winning reporter, Liane’s features have been published in Reader’s Digest, Today’s Parent, Venture and Chatelaine magazines.

• South Okanagan’s own Rhys Pender, is a wine educator, freelance wine writer, wine judge and consultant to the industry. In 2010 Rhys became the 4th Master of Wine (MW) in Canada. Rhys is a regular contributor on wine to publications Wine Access, Scout Magazine, CityFood and Montecristo. http://www.wineplus.ca/

• Cuisine Canada member Jennifer Cockrall-King is a food writer (www.foodgirl.ca) with over 13 years of contributing to publications in Canada and the US. In 2008, Western Living named her as one of the “Top 40 Foodies Under 40.” She teaches food writing courses with MacEwan’s Writing Works in Edmonton and at UBC Okanagan. And she is the producer of the Okanagan Food & Wine Writers Workshop because it’s just too good here not to share it with like-minded people.

Registration is limited to 20 writers in order to give each writer personalized instruction. The cost of the workshop is $650 — a few early bird spots are still available at $575 (email to inquire), and includes all professional development seminars, field trips, wine touring, meals and activities, excluding travel to and from the workshop and accommodations. Special workshop room rates are available at the host hotel, the Penticton Lakeside Resort.

Detailed workshop information is available on the Okanagan Food and Wine Writers Workshop Website, or by contacting workshop coordinator Jennifer Cockrall-King at 780-242-3663 or jennifer@foodgirl.ca.

Leaf Mustard

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 Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the University of Guelph had a field day on August 18, 2009, showing the potential for growing a broader diversity of field crops. The variety of crops spanned the continents. From sea buckthorn, to globe artichokes, bitter melon, and goji, over 35 new field crops were introduced to Ontario growers.

Alan McKeown, Associate Professor at the University of Guelph, and one of hosts at the event commented, “Crop diversification is important to build economic strength, opportunities for growers and consumers, local production such as 100 mile diets, diversified food base for culinary uses including ethnic uses, and food security.”

“In order for all of the above to happen, there must be markets. Culinary professionals can help develop markets for growers and themselves by buying local in season, working with growers to ensure supply. They can ask growers to supply products they wish to use, if not available in Ontario or Canada. It’s a two way street between growers and the user of the produce.”

The Challenge
The challenge for producers is to fit into the value chain. Markets have to be in place for alternative crops. Producers have to be able to match quality parameters, and price points currently set by imported product. Before producers start growing novel crops it is vital to do extensive market research, besides the obvious research into crop management.  Post-harvest management, and appropriateness to culinary applications are as important as agronomic management when it comes to the success of a crop.

People in the culinary fields help producers by creating market interest and demand for locally grown products.  As much as there is the need for farmers to research potential markets, people in the culinary sector need to seek out new products, and highlight their unique qualities to the consuming public.  Lots of challenges, but many great opportunities.

Are there fruits or vegetables that you wished could be sourced locally? Have you grown a novel crop, and had success getting it to market?

__________________________________

Written by Amy Proulx

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 by posting and hosting. Just log onto Flavours of Canada and share your menu, then have great food with friends on August 1st.

Photo © Greencolander. Published under a Creative Commons License.

World's Longest Barbecue is August 1st this year

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 tables.

The Plan:
Invite some friends over, fire up the grill and taste the true Flavours of Canada. Simply shop from your own region and throw a party that celebrates the farmers, fishers, brew masters and vintners of Canada. Sure, you can kiss the cook, but the real star of the show is our fabulous local food.

The Dress Code:
Totally casual. Shoes optional. Pride required.

The Catch:
There is none. No rules. No set menu. Just enjoy a meal based on real, local Canadian ingredients. Count yourself in! Simply log onto www.foodday.ca and post your menu. While you’re there, feel free to check out what other Canadians are cooking. You might be surprised what we grow here.

So pick a menu, invite your friends and let the Celebration begin!

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 a book signing session with Colorado State University professor Temple Grandin. A world renowned livestock handling specialist, consultant and best-selling author, Grandin is also known for her work in autism advocacy. She will sign books from noon to 12:30 p.m. (People are encouraged to bring their own books as quantities will be limited).

Editors Note: If you’re a Cuisine Canada member and involved in an event for a Canadian food cause, let us know. We’ll post a notice for you.

They’ll be pouring 1700 wines from 133 wineries in 15 countries at 61 events over the course of seven days. It may sound boggling but it is fascinating, delicious fun packed with food and learning if that’s your bent. There are some high level tastings like verticals of Beringer Private Reserve, Note Bene and Osoyoos Larose, and seminars that demonstrate how proper glassware elevates the taste of wine. Or perhaps you’d like to taste blindfolded at Blind-Blind.

There are a dozen wine-soaked gourmet winemaker dinners, as many decadent lunches and brunches, plus grazing events that run the gamut from a Great Big Kitchen Party featuring BC wines, Ga-Ga for Gewurz, and Fetzer’s Appetiser Challenge. If you’re into night life, then the California Wine Rush and Blasted Church Winery’s Midnight Gospel Service complete with wine and BBQ is right up your alley.

Tickets sell quickly but one way in at this late date is to buy a Gold Pass which offers access to all the Festival tastings including the two industry-only buyers’ afternoons, the Gold Pass Lounge, and a VIP reception.

Where to stay? How about where many of the visiting winery principles stay? In addition to the Festival’s partner hotels, three hot newcomers include:

• Moda
• The St. Regis
• The Loden

If you don’t make it this time around, check the Festival website in December 2009 for next year’s dates and events. It will be in April after the 2010 Olympics and will move into the new waterfront Convention and Exhibition Centre.

And I can’t wait.

Quebec in Winter

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, no, I don’t buy it.  Not yet.  Despite being inundated with bleak media reports on the state of the economy, hearing some industry clamour, and feeling a touch of a slowdown myself, I would still rather remain optimistic for now.  Because the truth is that when I look long and hard around the food world here in Québec, I still see grounds for optimism. I can’t help but take a certain amount of the whining with a grain of salt.

First of all, the restaurant business is ALWAYS slow in winter, and as soon as food industry people recover from the holidays, they typically start to complain about it.  It occupies a large portion of our version of water cooler talk which revolves around chatting with the fish guy and purveyors over the course of the day, at the market, and with fellow cooks over beers at night.  And except for on Valentine’s day, this usually continues until spring. Then, there’s the weather to wail about too all winter long.  But we all know that griping about the cold, snow removal and the icy roads, is a national pastime.  The economy has only given us another excuse to feel sorry for ourselves and worry.

There’s no doubt that restaurateurs are being cautious, perhaps cutting back some, holding off on any hiring in fear of what’s around the corner.  We may have seen somewhat of a downswing, corporate expense accounts and tourism are down, and surely some poor souls are truly hurting.  The sad reality is that a number of restaurants bite the dust every winter.

On the flipside, many Montreal restaurants on the top end are doing surprisingly steady business (Toqué, Graziella, Pied de Cochon..), the favourite bistro around the block is still packing them in (Monkland Tavern, Salle à Manger, L’Express..); and the budget spots seem to be having a field day. Most restaurants are surviving okay, and new ones are relentlessly opening (Mas Cuisine, Le Greasy Spoon, Provisions, Monsieur B., Macaroni Bar and La Montée, as well as some swanky arrivals in the Old Port).  Such signs allow me to hold onto the feeling that perhaps as it stands, this hovering cloud could be more of a case of the winter blues than a full on crisis.

It’s also that beyond the regular seasonal whining, every food industry person I spoke to felt quite secure or had some project or another underway.   Other straws of hope lie in the fact that people need to eat, fewer people these days know how to cook, and that there will always be birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions to celebrate.  Last, but not least, is that restaurant people are naturally a cocky, proud and crafty bunch.  In any case, I’m hearing more business-as-usual type comments or pure optimism than the negativity characteristic of recession times. And there’s definitely buzz.

No wonder, with the oodles of options on the town or in the country to tickle the palate and lift the spirits.  The Montreal High Lights Festival* has injected some life into the city’s scene as foodies bubble with anticipation over the Paris chefs and various events.  The Quebec Carnival attracts a crowd, offering an excuse to visit some exciting restaurants (Toast, Utopie, Panache…), and a certain set of Quebecois religiously flock to Ste-Anne de la Pérade to partake in the fishing frenzy of’poisson des cheneaux’(tomcod), to the Laurentians to dine and ski, or to do duck in St-Roch de L’Achigan!

You see, our way celebrating winter (and keeping busy) when the wild greens are sleeping, is the annual duck festival we stage, a seven-course menu featuring duck, several breeds, in all their possible guises from amuse bouche to dessert, accompanied by wild plants and mushrooms of course –  Jardins Sauvages.

Most restaurants have something like it to stimulate business; if they aren’t hosting visiting chefs, they might seize the opportunity for travel, classes and conferences, PR or just plain regrouping, taking advantage for some essential down time to relax a little (as in work 40 hr weeks instead of 60) and spend make-up time at the table with their family.

Hunkering down at home for some comfort food is KEY for all of us in the dead of winter.  Including acquaintances that I’ve never known as cooks, everyone seems to be cooking up a storm these days, from pot au feu and confit to lentil soup and ‘white chili’, birthday cakes from scratch, chocolates, you name it. Out of necessity or not, they’re seeking solace in home and hearth with good food.

All said,  food-centric Quebeckers are dealing quite well.

*Montreal en Lumière (The Montreal High Lights Festival):

• The guests : Alain Passard is sold out, but there are more than two dozen other French chefs on the menu.
• The events : Music, dance, food tours and fireworks are just some of the wonders.
• Cheap treats: You don’t have to spend a fortune. Items ranging from $2.50 hot chocolate to a full tasting menu for $55 keep things affordable.

Nancy Hinton is the chef at La Table des Jardins Sauvages, a woodland table specializing in wild plants and mushrooms, outside of Montreal.  You can read about her food adventures on her blog Soup Nancy.

Photo © loloieg. Published under a Creative Commons License.

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, anyone interested in exploring some of the unanswered questions about the history of Canadian cookbooks will find this event fascinating and rewarding.

See the attached flyer and registration form below for more details.

Culinary Landmarks Flyer

Culinary Landmarks Registration Form