Food for Thought with Alex Bielak - Bit and Byte – the back to school edition

Food for Thought has gone back to school, for the next six months! And I must say being a student again is quite taxing, so the column is going to a somewhat new format for the upcoming months. Every second one will be a short snippet, or perhaps just a photo. Intervening columns will aim for the feature length that has proven so popular with readers. We’ll see how it goes…

Food for Thought with Alex Bielak-Chili Times in Flamborough

Chili Times in Flamborough

It was hot, hot, and hotter at the Legion in Waterdown as folks sampled chili from a dozen restaurants during the 2nd Annual Flamborough Chili Festival. The beneficiaries of the September 21st fund raiser were the women and their families served by the Flamborough Women’s Resource Centre. Councillor Judi Partridge honoured me by asking me to again help in adjudicating the contest. I was much impressed by the uniformly high standards of the chilies served this year. It was clear returning competitors had upped their game and were in it to win it.

There were awards aplenty to be had, and I’m glad to report the Celebrity Judges recognised Roseto Culinary and Catering Services as winners in their category. I first introduced readers to the owners of the Waterdown-based business, Anna Hansen and her mother Elizabeth, in this column in July 2012: their second attempt at Chipotle Blonde Chicken Chili (it included charred peaches and cream corn and a mini-cornbread garnish) had been lightly porked-up over last year’s offering, improving flavour and winning them top honours.

The People disagreed, awarding Flamborough Downs their award for a chili based on over 25 pounds of deboned and de-fatted Prime Rib. They also took the “Most Creative Garnish Award” for a somewhat overwhelming add-on to the Chili, as well as the “Hot n Spicy Award”. Their armful of