Food for Thought with Alex Bielak - Key Restaurant Challenges - A Taste of Burlington (and beyond) Part 2

 Chef Michael Stauffer
and crew - Rib Eye Jacks

Key Restaurant Challenges - A Taste of Burlington (and beyond) Part 2

My last column covered the launch of the currently ongoing Taste of Burlington 2014 and revealed the results of my straw poll of 23 chefs, owners and other professionals present. I had asked who is producing the most innovative cuisine in our area, but had other questions too.

The second related to the biggest challenges facing the various establishments. Once again the answers were illuminating and thoughtful. They ranged from the almost cuss-word emphatic (“Weather!” was the succinct response of Mike Lorinczi, DOWNTOWN BISTRO’s owner) to longer responses falling into several categories.

They essentially break down to time, staff, competition, innovation and seasonality. Where to obtain a Chef’s hat also featured, but read on for that tidbit.

Primed by ongoing interactions with Chefs in Hamilton, I was frankly surprised by what I did not hear. There was not a single complaint about the City of Burlington! Clearly the folks at city hall understand the “destination” potential of a vibrant culinary scene.

Congruent with answers to the first question, several restaurateurs said they were super busy and their

Food for Thought with Alex Bielak- The Culinary Stars’ Stars - A Taste of Burlington (and beyond)

The Culinary Stars’ Stars - A Taste of Burlington (and beyond) 

Earlier this week I was invited to cover the launch of Taste of Burlington 2014. It was a busy event featuring 25 local restaurants: each served up a food sample aimed at enticing diners to try the promotional prix fixe menus that kick in from Feb 16th through to March 6th.

Given the number of food bloggers (or culinary writers as they were identified) in attendance, I knew there would be plenty of coverage of the dishes served, so I took a different tack. I posed four simple questions to the owners, chefs and front of house staff representing the various eateries to gauge what was happening in this part of our region. More on those later.

The dishes at the event were also judged by the 300 or so guests, and a panel of celebrity judges. You can see a full description of the results here: In summary, the judges voted the praline-rolled sweet potato donuts filled with Ontario maple cream – served up by the QUEEN’S HEAD PUB – as their top choice.

WEST PLAINS BISTRO shared the “People’s Choice” award for a complex and delicious roasted cauliflower soup. Co-winner, STONE HOUSE RESTAURANT, served up beer-braised short ribs with subtly-truffled turnip puree. Given what I’ve learned recently about fakery in the truffle business, I was happy to hear from Chef Mitchell Lamb that he is very careful to source pure truffle oil from his supplier of fresh truffles.

I’m grateful to my friend Heather Lang (check out her food and garden blog) for the use of some of her