Food for Thought with Alex Bielak- Sips and Bites (and #MadLove): The Departures, Returns and Arrivals Edition.

This week we heard of the sad and untimely passing of Dave Hanley, founder of Popup Hamilton, and a great booster of the city’s chefs and culinary scene. Dave, with his trademark porkpie hat and #madlove tweets, genially took the Hamilton food scene by storm, beginning with a series of Dishcrawls – a precursor to the Popup events – through Hamilton’s neighbourhoods. Food for Thought wrote about him several times beginning in 2013, noting “Dishcrawl was a win for Hamilton.”

Hanley leaves a wife, and young daughter, and a GoFundMe campaign is underway to help defray funeral and other costs. A candlelight vigil is being planned for this coming Saturday, Sept 23, at the East Side of Sam Lawrence Park from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fittingly NOSH, the 2017 edition of Hamilton’s upcoming culinary week, has been dedicated to him. RIP Dave.

In other news, the 5th Annual Flamborough Chillifest takes place at the Waterdown Legion this Tuesday, September 26th 4 – 8 pm. The event – always a fun time for families – is organized by
Flamborough Women’s Resource Centre and last year raised $22,000 to support women and children in the Flamborough and greater Hamilton area.

I’m once again honoured to have been asked to judge the offerings by the dozen or so participating contestants, including Harrington Lane Farms, Earth to Table, Bo’s Sports Bar, Flamboro Downs, Copper Kettle Café, Cascata Bistro, Boston Pizza, Dutch Mill, Izabel’s European Restaurant, Wildhagen Greenhouses and the lovely ladies at Roseto Catering. For more information call the FWRC at 289-895-8580 or check out their Facebook page. Advance tickets are $10 or you can get them at the door for $15. Kids get to eat their fill for just five bucks.

In other news:

Betula Restaurant , Chef Mike Stauffer’s new spot in Dundas, launched successfully this summer and is doing really well. When I visited the place was hopping, at lunchtime on Tuesday! The portions are big and the seasonal food is really good.

Aure Wines in Beamsville, a short drive from Hamilton, has rebranded as the London Born Wine Company with several new wine released to mark the change. Perhaps, as significantly, their restaurant offerings have been revamped. Co-owner David Hoare informs me “Corey Bourton, our chef, shares many of our values and this is reflected in his new menu where he endeavours to use every part of the animal in our dishes. A tradition named “nose to tail” cuisine. There are a couple of restaurants in Toronto offering this style, namely Black Hoof and Beast, but to our knowledge we will be the first in the Niagara region.” It certainly sounds like they will be worth a visit. Soon.

My friend and fellow food aficionado, Chris von Rosenbach, has been enthusiastically talking up a relatively new addition to Hamilton’s dining scene, the Heather. He said “Matt Cowan has opened this wonderful little establishment at 357 Barton St. in Hamilton. He is only open Thursday, Friday and Saturdays. His intimate boite seats 12. There is one seating for dinner at 7:30. Dinner is a prix fixe multi-course tasting menu which comes with an optional wine pairing for each course (I highly recommend the suggested pairings.) I have to tell you it was a fantastic experience. Matt uses all the tricks, sous vide prep, molecular gastronomy, blowtorch sear, dehydrated essences, urban foraging for ingredients etc. It is only he and his wife serving up this fantastic culinary experience. Set aside from 7:30 to 10:30 pm for a meal.” So many places, so little time…

Meanwhile, at the end of August, the wonderful Chef Stephanie Brewster shuttered Fuego Tapas, her brilliant joint in Oakville. The harsh realities of living her own restaurant 24/7 caught up with her and her family, and she wisely took a step back, bravely putting out the reasons on social media. The flood of supportive messages (almost 300 on Facebook alone) was heartwarming to see. The irrepressible Brewster quickly bounced back into things – I hope not too soon – and is now cooking up a storm as Chef de Cuisine at an Oakville mainstay, Ristorante Julia. Brewster will be on AM 1010 tomorrow to discuss the closure of Fuego, and what she’s up to now.

Finally a blatant piece of cross-promotion. Look for my article about another strong woman who has moved her culinary business to Hamilton. Camilla Wynne is the founder of the Preservation Society and my profile of her appears in the September edition of Hamilton Magazine that has just hit the newsstands. In fact Wynne is offering a workshop class on Canning Fruits tomorrow, at the Kitchen Collective at 3 pm Saturday 23rd. It may not be too late to book – details and a phone contact are on her events page.

And remember Hamilton, #madlove can make the world a better place.

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Alex (Alex can be reached on twitter @AlexBielak)