Food for Thought with Alex Bielak- Walking and a’ Wandering – Culinary Tours and other Diversions

Steve Lovelace, Niagara Culinary Tours
 and Pillitteri wines

Walking and a’ Wandering – Culinary Tours and other Diversions

In my last column I teased this piece would feature “an Australian, a big knife, cool wife and tale of breaking into the Kremlin.” It does, as well as describing a new venture offering culinary tours in the St. Catharines and Niagara region.

I’ve cooked with Steve Lovelace, the affable Aussie in question, for several years now. Kibitzing aside, when big knives are involved you learn to work carefully in close quarters! Steve’s love of wine and food is infectious and was instilled at an early age: his Mum was a great cook and grandparents were bakers. “A bit of wine and a bit of water at the table as soon as you were a teenager, and as the years progressed, more wine and less water!” he says his raucous laugh filling my kitchen as we chat.

He and his backpack bounced about a bit as Aussies often do, working in the hospitality business including being part of the opening staff for Si Wai Lai’s Shaw Café in 1996. He got out of the restaurant business - again that hearty laugh - because the bank told him he had to get a real job if he wanted to buy a house! Settled in Niagara
with the love of his life and culinary soul mate, Kimberley, Steve became a Territory Sales Manager for Reif Winery covering from Oakville to Fort Erie.

Lovelace now works with Pillitteri winery. Family-owned and operated it is the largest producer, manufacturer, and exporter of ice-wine in the world, with the broadest range of styles (3-4 whites and 3-4 reds in any given year) he says. “We were part of a group that expanded into Hong Kong and China, Europe many years ago. Our ice-wine is actually served in the Kremlin.”

“It’s a rough job but someone’s got to do it” he says of getting to spend his days in the company of like-minded people: He loves dealing with restaurant owners, many of them chefs who have gone on to become friends. Those contacts, coupled with a 20th wedding anniversary trip to the American South led to his newest venture, Niagara Culinary Tours (NCT), walking food tours that include “a little history, culture and food.”

As he explains, he and Kimberley went to Georgia and South Carolina last August, and signed on for an excursion with Charleston Culinary Tours. From their “amazing” guide, they learned a lot about the local area, a bit about the history and sampled food in “some fantastic restaurants, a bit off the beaten path.” On their return to Niagara Falls they sought to replicate the experience and found that nobody was offering anything like it. QED: they decided to capitalise on their passion and contacts and launched NCT.

Tours in Niagara on the Lake run Friday thru Sunday, and in St. Catharine’s on Saturdays. The main focus is stand-alone restaurants, and owner-chefs who use local products. Though venues change (Steve is being approached now by new locations wanting to participate) the current tours ($55 a head) cover a lot of ground. Literally.

Typically the group will assemble and be briefed by the guide. At each venue the chef will come out and describe their tapas-style offerings, which may or may not be offered on the menu. After ~20-25 minutes the tour progresses with background being given on the history of the area, the community and commentary on notable buildings.

The St. Kits tour, led by Steve himself, is a 1.5 Km. loop including a stop at the market and at least 4 restaurants: currently Carlos’ Cantina, Wellington Court, Pow Wow and a spot with a great selection of beer, Merchant Ale House. The 3 Km Niagara on the Lake loop currently features Grill on King, Zees (at the Shaw Club Hotel, across from the Festival Theatre), a jog via the back streets to Stone Rd Grill and ends appropriately at Willow Cakes.

The NOTL tours are getting pretty busy says Kimberley who also blogs at Culinary Niagara. Participants are fairly evenly divided between “locals, Torontarians, Buffalonians” adds Steve, noting he hopes for more “internationals” with time.

Steve and Kim are already thinking of expanding their offerings, including possibly to Niagara Falls. They’ve also added two foraging-focussed events that sound a blast. The first is June 8th (tickets available till June 5th) with a second October 5th. Both will be led by foraging guru, Peter Blush of Puck’s Plenty (as seen on the Oprah Network), and will include a 2.5 hour hike, a tour and tasting at Southbrook Vineyards, and a meal prepared at Southbrook by the folks from The Yellow Pear and featuring the foraged items. So if you fancy a great outing sign up via the NCT website.

Want a taste of interesting local gourmet food closer to home? Then check out the offerings at The Wandering Locavore based in Burlington. I picked up a jar of Heirloom Tomato Bourbon “Jam” at the Mustard Seed Co-op recently and it is delicious. I’m keen to meet owner Leslie Edwards and try some of her other preserves, including Blood Mary Asparagus and Wasabi Pickled Beans!

Happy walking and wandering…

For more pictures, click here.

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