Food for Thought with Alex Bielak - Sips and Bites – early fall 2015 edition, with bonus giveaway

Sips and Bites – early fall 2015 edition, with bonus giveaway 

There are a couple events, beginning TOMORROW, that merit mention. I’m also pleased to: share some breaking news about an exciting new premier bash that is being developed to launch next May; report on the recent Flamborough Chili Fest; and point you to a couple of tasty, quick reads.

The ever-popular Chef Michael Smith is at Springridge Farm tomorrow, Sunday 27th September, between 10:30 and 12:30. He will be speaking about his new Cookbook, ‘Make Ahead Meals’. You’ll see from a previous Food for Thought, he’s a genuine and funny presenter well worth hearing from. When I first met him at Springridge he stayed until every single copy of his last book (Family Meals - which recently won a Gold Medal at the Taste Canada Food Writing Awards) had been signed. He’s not perfunctory in the least, engaging with the crowds of folk who clearly adore him. It will be crowded, so get there early and take in some of the other offerings at this family and foodie-oriented destination.

The very enjoyable Harvest Halton takes place on Sunday, October 4, from noon - 4:00 p.m. at Country Heritage Park in Milton. Local farmers pair with area chefs to create dishes, and all food and drink tastings are included. A WagJag discount offer of up to 54% off of regular priced tickets makes the event even more affordable, with prices going down the more you buy. Kids 12 and under are just $5.00 at the door. Readers can win two tickets (valued at $60) simply by leaving a comment below, or tweeting to me @AlexBielak and using the hashtag #harvesthalton. I will draw from among entrants toward the end of the week.

I’ve heard the Royal Botanical Gardens is looking at introducing a major annual signature event that will be run “in tandem with the opening of their newly renovated and beloved Rock Garden.” It will feature local celebrity chefs, entertainment, and an “incredible finale” that is being kept under wraps for now. I’ll be happy to share more as I am able.

The 3rd Annual Flamborough Chili Fest was held earlier this week. I was sorry not to be able to accept the invitation to be a judge again this year, and hear I missed some great offerings. All the funds raised benefitted the Flamborough Women's Resource Centre: it provides support services for all women in the community including information and community referrals, individual counselling, legal advocacy and support, women's groups, transitional housing support for victims of abuse, and teen peer support groups. A worthy cause indeed.

Flamborough Downs carried off the majority of the accolades, repeating in three categories. They were again the Overall People's Choice winners, and took Best Garnish/Presentation and Hot and Spicy classes again as well, adding Best Booth to their haul this year. The lovely ladies at Roseto Culinary and Catering Services were also repeat winners carrying off the Celebrity Judge Favourite title. The Chili Fest will be back in 2016, and I hope to return as a judge too.

Finally, fancy a really good, fast, tasty read? Taste Canada in partnership with the Food Bloggers of Canada (of which I’m a proud member) recently celebrated the first-ever winners for best French and English-language posts on food blogs. The winner in the Category for Best English Post was "Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Hazelnut, Orange, and Saffron." The French gold laureate was "Pizza 3 minutes: saucisses italiennes, épinards, tomates cerise, coeurs d'artichauts et mozzarella.” Congratulations Allison Day from ‘Yummy Beet’ and Christelle Tanielian from ‘Christelle is Flabbergasting’.

To close, I’d mention this is the 90th Food for Thought. Stay with me to the centenary folks! 

To see more pictures, click here.

To see all past columns please see (and “like”) the Food for Thought Archives

Alex (Alex can be reached at fft@thehamiltonian.info or on twitter @AlexBielak)

Food for Thought with Alex Bielak - How I “cooked” with @CHEF_LYNN

How I “cooked” with @CHEF_LYNN

Life is good. Today is, of course, the 22nd anniversary of the official recognition of the baguette (thanks Mother Google), and I’m just back from the first ever Scottish Salmon Festival in Inverness. As noted in my last column, I took the opportunity of being in Scotland to partake of three splendid and educational tours: at the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh, and Glenfiddich and Abelour distilleries in the Highlands. I’ll be writing about them later and will provide links once the piece is published.

Re-entry to the Southern Ontario food scene was swift. I received an invitation to participate in the 5th Stein and Dine in Waterloo. The main draw was Pitchin’ In star and Chopped Canada Judge Chef Lynn Crawford. (Readers may recall Food for Thought covered Crawford’s appearance at Denninger’s Diamond Anniversary about a year ago, but was unable to secure an interview at that time.)

The Waterloo gig was clearly going to be my chance!

In many ways the Kitchener-Waterloo food and drink scene is poised to take off the way Hamilton-Burlington has prospered during the past three years. KW has long been known for the bounteous St Jacob’s Farmers’ Market, and hosting what National Geographic crowned the best Oktoberfest outside of Munich, Germany. But there’s a lot else going on these days, with fine culinary talent being attracted to the area, new breweries abounding (as befits the area’s Germanic origins) and active social media devoted to the topic. I’ve often directed readers south toward St. Kits, Niagara and east to Halton : I can heartily recommend going a bit further northward as well. 

Dave MacNeil, Executive Director of Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest told me the festival now counts four silos: Cultural and family activities, Sports, Business to Business, and Culinary. They’ve brought food “front and center” and while “there has always been the traditional foods like schnitzel, and sausage on a bun available at the fest halls, there will be more food events than ever this year.” There will be a Taste of Oktoberfest culinary series featuring Bavarian-inspired menus and beer pairings, Oktoberlicious (think Taste of Burlington’s prix-fixe menu program), and Oktoberfeast, a food truck gathering with trucks from all over Ontario. For full details see the Oktoberfest website.

So there I was at the culinary kickoff, Stein and Dine, for a dinner prepared by Chef Lynn and the staff of the Waterloo Inn. When I finally got to eat it, it was pretty tasty. “My” salad with beer-pickled beets was light and well dressed. A trout schnitzel with pilsner remoulade was a standout, perfectly cooked, quite the trick given the number of portions served. The Applewood-smoked pork chop with sausage gravy was very tender and accompanied by an unusual side: a ham hock, apple and sauerkraut bread pudding.

Dessert was a signature dish from Crawford’s restaurant, Ruby Watchco, a sweet pretzel streusel with airy pumpkin cheesecake, served in a small mason jar. Each of the dishes were well-paired with a Molson product (Creemore Springs lager and pilsner, and Rickard’s Red and White) by Justin Lamontagne, one of only 8 Cicerones (think beer sommeliers) in Canada.

You’ll note I said “My” salad. Yes indeed, I ended up on stage, endured a Survivor-style elimination (see photo by Sylvia Pond Photography), and was dressed by Chef so I could prep the salad with her. That involved more of the same, i.e. no, as in zero, handling of food, except for pieces of pickled beet stuffed in my mouth and a bit of jar shaking. Now I admit I had provoked Chef with my comment about silly hats (see photos again), and fully deserved the continuous ribbing I took from her, to the delight of the crowd.

I departed the stage arms full: a jar of brown derby dressing, a spoon, a chef’s hat, a cleaning cloth, her book (At Home with Lynn Crawford), and a tube of Rub A535 to soothe my aching arms. As I said later on Twitter, I’m expecting the offers to come rolling in from the fest halls now I’ve proved my mettle as a beer carrier.

The thing I did not leave the event with was an interview with Chef Crawford.

Third time lucky?

To see more pictures, click here.

To see all past columns please see (and “like”) the Food for Thought Archives

Alex (Alex can be reached at fft@thehamiltonian.info or on twitter @AlexBielak)