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Saturday, November 30, 2013

TOP GIFT FOOD AND WINE BOOKS FOR 2013

ON THE DEAN'S LIST:
 
MY 17TH ANNUAL SURVEY OF FOOD AND DRINK-RELATED BOOKS
SUITABLE AS HOLIDAY GIFTS FOR THE 2013/14 PARTY PERIOD
 
NOVEMBER 30, 2013
===============================================================
 
By Dean Tudor, Ryerson Journalism Professor Emeritus and Gothic
Epicures Writing, www.deantudor.com (World Wine Watch Newsletter).
Blogs: http://gothicepicuresvincuisine.blogspot.com.
       http://fauxvoixvincuisine.blogspot.com.
        Twitter: @gothicepicures
 
------
 
There are so many new food and wine books out there for people who have picky tastes!!
What to choose? I have cast about for material and have come up with a decent selection
to satisfy any pocketbook, any host, and any friend or relative. All books and book-like
materials that are listed here are RECOMMENDED, and probably can be purchased at a
discount via Amazon.Ca, Chapters.Ca (with free delivery on a total purchase of over
$25), or even The Book Depository in Guernsey.
Price Alert: because of US dollar fluctuations with Canada, all prices will vary. I have
used CAN wherever I know it.
 
Part One: TOP GIFT IDEAS
========================
 
A. Art/travel/expensive cookbooks might be some of the best books to give a loved one
(or to yourself, since you are your own best loved one), because most may cost you an
arm and a leg. Books for the coffee table have their place in the gift scheme: just about
every such book is only bought as a gift! And don't let the prices daunt you. Such books
are available at a discount from online vendors. Because of the "economy", not too many
pricey food and wine books were released last year and this year, and book reviewers
were cut off from many foreign imports and expensive books.
 
--SETTING A FINE TABLE; historical desserts and drinks from the Officers' kitchens at
Fort York (Whitecap Books,  2013, 144 pages, $19.95 CAN paper covers) is probably at
the top of my gift food books for the Holidays – it is a great read and it is affordable
(Amazon has it at $14.56). It's edited by Elizabeth Baird (well-known cookery expert and
author AND a volunteer historic cook at Fort York) and Bridget Wranich (Programme
Officer at Fort York AND co-founder of the Culinary Historians of Canada). There are
31 preps here, with the original and the modern equivalent for each, introduced by an
explanation of why it was chosen, how it would have been used at the Fort in the past and
how it is used at the Fort today. Research and testing was done by the Volunteer Historic
Cooks at Fort York. Everything in that day was local, and so it is here today. Go mad
over orange gingerbread, jumbles, peppermint drops, and negus ice. There's also a
bibliography for additional reading, including a list of historic cookbooks, and
specialized recipe indexes.
 
--THE WORLD'S BEST ASIAN NOODLE RECIPES (Race Point Publishing, 2013, 288
pages, $30 CAN hard covers) is a publisher's collation consisting of some 125 recipes
from top international chefs who specialize in noodles: from Japan, China, Korea,
Thailand, India, as well as Montreal, New York city, London, Paris. Each prep is sourced
as to provenance, with tales of the restaurant. Recipes are presented by ingredients:
seafood, meat, poultry and veggie. Typical are ebi yakisoba (sweet and spicy shrimp
noodles), potato noodles in sake clam sauce, Tokyo seafood ramen soup, bow ties with
Asian chicken, and Thai sesame noodles.
 
--THE ART OF THE PASTRY (Monacelli Press, 2013; dist. Random House Canada,
240 pages, $45 hard covers) is by party designer David Stark with John Morse. Stark
does planning and design events for dinners, opening nights, baby showers, museums,
awards evenings, bat and bar mitzvahs, children's parties, anniversaries and weddings.
These are all here. Indeed, some weddings here were produced in collaboration with
Martha Stewart Weddings (30 pages of details).
 
--125 MILLION TRADITIONAL ITALIAN GOURMET MENUS (Academia Barilla,
2013; distr. T. Allen, unpaged, $31.95 spiral bound) is from the well-respected Academia
Barilla, a teaching/research centre in Italy. There are 225 recipes here, 50 for each of four
courses (antipasto, primo, secondi, dolce) plus 25 side dishes. Apparently, it is
mathematically possible to mix and match for 125 million combinations of Italian
cuisine, enough to satisfy everyone. Each prep is on a card in this spiral edition, which
can be flipped back and forth to match other dishes – and thereby you can create your
own menu. Each prep is illustrated, and there are indications of cooking times, calories,
difficulty, ingredients (both avoirdupois and metric weights and volumes), and the
instructions. Some suggested menus are given, and it is all held together by an index.
Bargain price.
 
--PIMENTOS & PIRI PIRI; Portuguese comfort cooking (Whitecap Books, 2013, 376
pages, $39.95 CAN soft covers) is by Carla Azevedo, a chef grad from George Brown
College and a grad from Ryerson's Journalism school. It is a substantially updated,
revised, expanded and extended version of her first book, Uma Casa Portuguesa which
dealt with home style Portuguese food, but largely Azorean. Here, she concentrates more
on the mainland and some transition elements in North America to account for the tastes
of the waves of Portuguese immigrants over the past 20 years since she wrote Uma. She
spent time with Portuguese women and came up with this book of new preps and stories
from the Portuguese kitchen. There is a primer on the essential of Portuguese cuisine, 330
recipes from apps to desserts, engaging photos, and both metric and avoirdupois
measurements in the ingredient lists. Anyone for grilled octopus in red pepper and olive
relish? Or caldo verde, piri piri, and bolo de natal com figos?
 
--KENVIN; an artist's kitchen (Gibbs Smith, 2013; dist. Raincoast, 344 pages, $60 CAN,
hard covers) is by Kenvin Lyman (1942-2011), a cook, winemaker, organic farmer,
international artist and illustrator. Indeed, it has been described as "food, art, and wisdom
of a Bohemian cowboy". The book is part memoir and part cookbook, loaded with details
about his Utah ranch and farm: growing, preparing, and eating locally). His illustrations
are scattered throughout. It is well worth a look.
 
--TREME; stories and recipes from the heart of New Orleans (Chronicle Books; dist.
Raincoast, 240 pages, $34.95 CAN  hard covers) is by Lolis Eric Elie, and comes with
tons of endorsements, which are unnecessary since the book is related to the acclaimed
HBO cable-TV series. Here are 100 heritage and contemporary recipes from the post-
Katrina survival of New Orleans. There are original preps from chefs and guest stars
(such as David Chang) and from Commander's Palace restaurant. Try crawfish ravioli,
smothered turnip soup, slow-roasted duck, sweet potato turnovers, and the Sazerac
cocktail.
 
--J'AIME NEW YORK; 150 culinary destinations for food lovers (Editions Alain
Ducasse, 620 pages, $52 CAN hard covers) is by well-known chef and educator Alain
Ducasse, assisted by Alex Vallis. The book weighs 11.5 pounds (just over 5 kilos) and
has a padded cover – to protect your foot if you drop it?? Included is a portable
guidebook to take with you on your outside journeys. There are lots of photos and
materials on restaurants in New York City. The basics range from hot dogs in Brooklyn
to restaurants in Manhattan, with histories and food accounts plus recipes. Ducasse also
wrote J'Aime Paris, but that book had 200 destinations.
 
--SWEET DELIGHTS FROM A THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS (I.B. Taurus, 2013;
dist. Raincoast, 254 pages, $33.50 CAN hard covers) is by Habeeb Salloum and his two
daughters, Muna and Leila. It is an historical account of traditional Arab sweets and the
sweet tooth of the caliphs and their feasts. The book has academic scholarship, with
footnotes, glossary, bibliography and 32 colour plates. The 300 recipes are derived from
nine major mediaeval Arabic cookbooks, written 1100-1400. About 1600 preps were
examined: pastries, cookies, puddings, cakes, pies, candies. Their next book is to be
Mediaeval Delights from the Arabian Nights, concentrating on the feasts.
 
--MARY PRATT (Goose Lane Editions, 2013, 160 pages, $55 CAN hard covers) is the
catalogue for the Mary Pratt career retrospective now touring Canada (St. John's,
Windsor, Kleinberg, Regina, Halifax). Here are 75 reproductions of her most renowned
work which includes Eggs in an egg crate, Salmon on saran, Eviscerated chickens, and
Cod fillets on tin foil. There are also five essays about her work which elevates the
mundane to the monumental – all food related paintings.
 
--CUISINE NICOISE (Gibbs Smith, 2013, 240 pages, $44 CAN hard covers) deals with
the cooking of the French Riviera, as written by Hillary Davis, a food writer who lived
near Nice for 11 years. The cuisine has always been dependent on locally accessible food,
with lamb-pork-game-duck-chicken dominating over beef. Most of the cuisine is, of
course, related to Italian food: there is a good commingling over time. The wide range
here includes a dozen soups, 13 salads, plus meats and desserts.
 
--PATISSERIE (Rizzoli, 2013; dist. Random House Canada, 800 pages, $55 CAN hard
covers) is by Christophe Felder, a master pastry chef with 20 French cookbooks to his
name plus a major pastry school in Strasbourg. This book is subtitled "Mastering the
fundamentals of French pastry" and promotes the techniques over the recipes: nuances of
rolling out dough for croissants, caramelizing apples for a tarte tatin, and so forth. The
210 preps have 3200 step-by-step photos. Basic chapters and sections deal with crème
patisserie, pate a choux, chocolate ganache, and decorations with sauces and syrups.
 
--MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY AT HOME (Firefly Books, 2013, 240 pages, $29.95
CAN hard covers) is by Jozef Youssef, who has worked in several places in the UK and
trained in molecular gastronomy with Heston Blumenthal. He also manages
www.kitchen-theory.com. He uses food science to being flavour, texture, taste and
aromas to recipes in new ways. And now you can do it yourself (DIY) at home! Step-by-
step photos demonstrate techniques, although sometimes you'll need some close
domestic equivalent. Sous-vide, transglutaminase (meat glue), dehydration, centrifugal
cooking, evaporation, rapid infusion, adding smoke, spherification, carbonation, foams
and airs, the hydrocolloids of gels and gums, liquid nitrogen – they are all here, along
with food pairing and inspired avant-garde presentations. The actually does take culinary
physics out of the lab and into the kitchen.
 
--THE MAGNIFICENT CHICKEN (Chronicle Books, 2013, $28 CAN hard covers) is a
revised and expanded version of a 2001 book, photographed by Tamara Staples. These
are championship chickens, with more than 40 breeds here and an informative text. The
introduction explores the finer points of poultry shows and chicken portraiture.
 
--FEAST; generous vegetarian meals for any eater and every appetite (Chronicle Books,
2013, 288 pages, $39.99 CAN hard covers) is by Sarah Copeland, once  a lead recipe
developer for the Food Network and now a major US cookbook author and food writer.
It's a good book for a variety of lifestyles: transitioning, adding more meatless dishes to
the diet, giving up red meat, moving on from poultry and seafood. The 140 preps are
arranged by meal occasion of breakfast, brunch, sammies, meals in a bowl, and sweets.
She convinced me that I could begin my day with a kale shake, although I'd rather try
roast broccoli and chickpeas with ricotta and kale, or a caprese for four seasons.
 
--DANIEL (Grand Central Life & Style, 2013, 396 pages, $60 CAN hard covers) is the
long awaited book by Daniel Boulud, the multiple Bear Award winner who runs 14
restaurants (7 in New York City) including one in Toronto. There are essays here by food
writer Bill Buford on preparing over a dozen recipes. The whole book contains over 100
recipes with Boulud's insights: these are preps from his restaurants and the photos are for
the professional platings. Each prep actually has two recipes: one as used in the resto and
another for making at home. He's got four seasonal menus based on his fave French
regions: Alsace, Normandy, Provence, and Lyon. For this book, they've called in the
heavy duty top log rollers of Keller, Ripert, Pepin, Vongerichten, and Guerard. What, no
Batali?
 

…and gift books for the drinker? Try –
 
--diffordsguide GIN: the bartender's bible (Firefly Books, 2013, 350 pages, $39.95 CAN
hard covers) is by Simon Difford, an award-winning spirits writer and consultant. Here
he spotlights the craft gin distilling movement, as well as the larger boys. It is the story of
juniper infusion, the travel from Netherlands to London, the penny gin, the G & T, the G
& French and G & It. There's a chapter on how it is made, 18 profiles of the big
distilleries (e.g. Tanqueray and their Rangpur), some classic gin cocktail recipes, and a
directory/tasting notes for about 175 gin brands from around the world (BC's Victoria
Gin is here).
 
--BORDEAUX LEGENDS (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2013, 288 pages, $62 CAN hard
covers) is by Jane Anson, a wine writer and educator specializing in Bordeaux wines. It's
a 500 year history of the five First Growths as listed in 1855 – Chateaux Haut-Brion,
Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, and then Mouton Rothschild more than a century
later. There are notes on how the wines are produced and sold in the marketplace. And it
is also loaded with anecdotes, historical data, and great photos (from Isabelle
Rozenbaum).
 
--WORLD BEER (DK Books, 2013, 300 pages, $40 CAN hard covers) details over 100
different styles of beer from 800 craft and classic breweries with nearly 1000 different
brews. It covers Unibroue's Maudite and Vancouver Island Brewery's Hermannator Ice
Bock through to Belgian Achel beers. It's arranged alphabetically by brewery, with great
thumbnail sketches and 750 full-colour photos (mostly label shots). Canadian breweries
are limited to just 33.
 

Friday, November 29, 2013

Cavas La Capilla Mendoza wine tasting, TOCA, Nov 17/13

The Date and Time:  Sunday, November 17, 2013  7Pm to 9PM

The Event: a tasting of Cavas La Capilla Mendoza wines

The Venue: TOCA

The Target Audience: wine media

The Availability/Catalogue: the wines are available from the agent, CTIL Fine Wines and Spirits (www.ctilwinesandspirits.com)

The Quote/Background: Lorena Meco, Commercial Director of Tradearg, led the tasting, along with Hector Scarsi, company winemaker, and Brijesh Patel from the agency. Noel Gallardo, export manager for Capilla, was also present, giving us a steady stream of facts and figures and prices. Capilla calls itself a boutique winery, with just over a 50,000 case production. Lately, it has been seeking export markets. Its Penitente Malbec won best wine at Intervin, over 1400 other wines.

The Wines: We tasted a range of Malbecs, skipping one entry level, plus a white wine for refresher.

 

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Cavas La Capilla Aldebaran Torrontes 2012 San Carlos Uco, $19 – slightly oily

-Cavas La Capilla Penitente Malbec 2011 Lujan de Cuyo/San Carlos, $43.95 – creamy, long length, ready

-Cavas La Capilla Templum Malbec Gran Reserva 2010 Altamira, $74.75 – very Euro, Bordeaux-like, one more year but approachable now.

 

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (8890 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Cavas La Capilla Aldebaran Malbec 2012 Lujan de Cuyo, $24

 

The Food: an international and Quebec cheese plate and a charcuterie plate, garnished with savouries veggies and dried/fresh fruit, plus breads.

The Downside: I had just eaten dinner, and was assured that crackers were on offer, so I was surprised at all the food! I know, I know – I didn't have to eat it. My fault.

The Upside: a chance to taste some really good higher end Argentine wines.

The Contact Person: lorena@tradearg.com

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 93.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

The Event: 19th Annual Gourmet Food & Wine Expo, Toronto, Nov 14/13

The Date and Time: Thursday, November 14, 2013 6Pm to 10PM

The Event: 19th Annual Gourmet Food & Wine Expo

The Venue: Metro Convention Centre

The Target Audience: VIPs night, wine media

The Availability/Catalogue: I did some wines, most are available via LCBO. There was also a great Casa Toscana olive oil/balsamic tasting.

The Quote/Background: each booth had its own system of displaying its wares, so it was a bit chaotic and noisy. I did not visit every booth, of course, but Select and Trialto were the better ones for notes about the wines. Everybody should use business cards. Other booths visited included Strewn, AltoVino, New Zealand, MCO, Food Wines Portugal, Pontos Imports.

 

The Wines: From AltoVino as private orders, I tasted Farr Rising Chardonnay 2009 (3.5 stars), Key Brothers Block 6 Shiraz 2008 ($99.50, 3.5 stars), By Farr Shiraz 2009, $79, 3.5 stars), J.J. Ahn Regional Shiraz/Cabernet 2010 ($21.95, 3.5 stars), Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2012 ($35, 3.5 stars), Rob Dolan True Colours CSM 2012 ($25, 4 stars), Kalleske Shiraz 2010 ($109, 3 stars) and Kalleske Shiraz Pirathan 2012 ($29, 3 stars). From Pontos Imports, Luna Sicana Fiano 2012 ($25, 3.5 stars), Luna Sicana Catarrato 2012 ($25, 3.5 stars), Luna Sicana Luna Sol NV ($40, 3 stars), Mastrogiureto Calabria Rosso 2010 ($30, 4 stars), Techni Alipiac 2008 ($25, 3.5 stars), plus two Greek wines with winery names written in Greek: a Roditis 2012 ($18, 3 stars) and a Assyrtiko Drama Idisma Drios 2011 (3 stars).

 

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Strewn Chardonnay Barrel Aged 2012 VQA, $12.95 – RWF Award

-Hidden Bench Chardonnay 2011 VQA, $28.95 Vintages

-Pinho Real Vinho Verde 2012, $11.80 FWP

-Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon Chile, $21.95 LCBO

-Catena Malbec 2011 Mendoza, $19.95 Vintages

-Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, $19.96 Vintages

-Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Calcaire 2011 Alsace, $24.95 Vintages

-Herve Seguin Pouilly Fume 2011 Loire, $19.75 Vintages

 

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (8890 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Hidden Bench Riesling 2012 VQA, $23.95 Vintages

-Hidden Bench Terroir Cache 2009 VQA Beamsville, $32.95 Vintages

-Strewn Cottage Block Sauvignon Blanc/Riesling VQA Niagara 2012, $12.95 LCBO

-Strewn Two Vines White Riesling/Gewurztraminer VQA NOTL, $11.95 LCBO

-Esporao Red Reserva 2010 FWP

-Oyster Bay Wines Sparkling Cuvee Brut NV, $21.95 Vintages

-Oyster Bay Wines Chardonnay 2012, $18.95 Vintages

-Saint Clair Family Estate Vicar's Choice Sauvignon Blanc 2012, $15.95 LCBO

-Vina Maipo Vitral Reserva Chardonnay Casablanca, $13.95 LCBO

-Trivento Fair Trade Malbec Argentina, $11.95 LCBO

-Ebeia Roble Tempranillo Ribera del Duero, $14.95 LCBO

-Project Paso Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles, $17.95 LCBO

-Mendel Malbec 2010 Mendoza, $24.95 Vintages

-Southbrook Triomphe Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, $22.95 Vintages

-Chateau Pipeau Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2010, $35.95 Vintages

-Chateau L'Orangerie Bordeaux 2011, $13.95 Vintages

-Schmitges Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese 2011 Mosel, $25.95 Vintages

-Michel Delhommeau Harmonie Muscadet Sevre et Maine 2011, $13.95 Vintages

-Vina San Esteban In Situ Signature Chardonnay-Viognier Aconcagua 2011, $15.95 LCBO

-Vignerons de Buzet red Badge Merlot/CabSauv 2010, $12.95 LCBO

-Vina San Esteban In Situ Winemakers Selection Carmenere Aconcagua 2010, $13.95 Vintages

-Chateau Pineraie Cahors 2009, $15.95 Vintages

-Dornier Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot South Africa 2010, $16.95 Vintages

 

*** GOOD -- Three Stars (8587 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Strewn Terroir Sauvignon Blanc 2012 VQA, $18.95

-Esporao Alandra White 2012, $8.05 LCBO

-Esporao Alandra Red 2012, $7.255 LCBO

-Brancott Estate Letter Series B Sauvignon Blanc 2012, $19.95 LCBO

-Stoneleigh Chardonnay 2012, $16.95 LCBO

-Firesteed Pinot Gris Oregon, $17.80 LCBO

-Asio Otus Red Blend Cab/Merlot/Syrah Italy. $13.95 LCBO

-Bonterra Cabernet Sauvignon California, $19.95 LCBO

-Lodez Chardonnay-Viognier France, $12.65 LCBO

-Montresor Amarone della Valpolicella, $35.60 Vintages

 

The Food: I sampled some free junk food for I was hungry and shameless.

The Downside: too dim, too noisy, but it was opening night.

The Upside: a chance to met old friends on the floor and behind the booths.

The Contact Person: Christopher.waters@sunmedia.ca

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 87.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Media Tasting with Ann Sperling and Peter Gamble Nov 14/13

The Date and Time: Thursday, November 14, 2013  1PM to 5:15PM

The Event: Media tasting with Ann Sperling and Peter Gamble: Argentina meets BC meets Nova Scotia.

The Venue: Fine Wine Reserve

The Target Audience: wine media

The Availability/Catalogue: most wines are at the LCBO in some format.

The Quote/Background: This was a tasting of their "out-of-province" wine portfolio, of soon to be released wines.

The Wines:

 

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Benjamin Bridge Blanc de Blanc 2004 MC Nova Scotia, $280 N/A – my fave

-Benjamin Bridge Reserve Brut 2007 MC Nova Scotia, $280 +275396 $74.95

-Sperling Vineyards Estate Brut Sparkling 2008 MC VQA Okanagan, +361436, $39.95

-Sperling Vineyards Estate Old Vines Riesling 2011 VQA Okanagan, +361204, $34.95

-Versado Reserva Malbec 2010 Single Vineyard Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza, +316984, $59.95

 

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (8890 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Sperling Vineyards Estate Sper…itz Moscato 2011 VQA Okanagan, +364166, $12.95 375 mL

-Versado Malbec 2012 Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza, +317008, $25.95

-Clos du Soleil Signature 2011 VQA Okanagan [Bordeaux-type red blend]

-Clos du Soleil Capella 2011 VQA Okanagan [Bordeaux-type white blend]

 

The Downside: nothing

The Upside: on the way to the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo

The Contact Person: versadowine@gmail.com

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 91.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Champagne Deutz tasting Nov 5/13

The Date and Time: Tuesday, November 5, 2013  10AM to noon

The Event: Champagne Deutz tasting with Export Director Philippe Rivet and the team from his Ontario agency, Tandem Selections.

The Venue: Independent Wine Education Guild Toronto offices

The Target Audience: wine media

The Availability/Catalogue: mostly from the agent.

The Quote/Background: M. Rivet spoke to his company before we tasted the wines – they use first pressings only, 80% of their total acreage is Grand or Premier Cru (mostly around Ay), and they use the same distinctive unique bottle shape for all labels. There was a visual tour of the facilities and vineyards, as well as graphs and charts.

The Wines:

 

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Deutz Brut Rose NV, $79.95 - strawbs

-Deutz Brut 2006, $94.95

-Deutz Blanc de Blancs 2007, $109.95

-Deutz Cuvee William Deutz 2000, $199.95 – my personal fave of the tasting (1998 is in BC), nicely decomposing.

-Deutz Amous de Deutz 2005, $229.95 – chardonnay, slightly off-dry

 

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (8890 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Deutz Brut Classic NV, $64.95

 

The Contact Person: crupcic@tandemselections.ca

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 90.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Taste Canada Book Awards Gala Nov 4/13

2. The Date and Time: Monday, November 4, 2013  6:00PM – 10PM

The Event: Taste Canada; the food writing awards 2013

The Venue: Arcadian Court

The Target Audience: food writers, media, publishers

The Quote/Background: The Food Writing Awards drew 64 submissions, for eight categories (four in each of French and English). The Gala Reception was hosted by CBC's Stefano Faita. Other awards were for Taste Canada/CBC People's Choice Book Award (Vegetarian's Complete Quinoa Cookbook) and the new Hall of Fame inductees (Elizabeth Baird, Mere Emelie Caron, and Helen Gougeon), plus awards for student food competition winners.

 

The Book Winners: for the English language,

 

--BEST Culinary Narrative – French Kids Eat Everything (And Yours Can Too), by Karen Le Billon (Harper Collins).

 

--BEST General Cookbook – Canada's Favourite Recipes, by Rose Murray and Elizabeth Baird (Whitecap Books).

 

--BEST Regional/Cultural Cookbook – Burma: Rivers of Flavor, by Naomi Duguid (Random House Canada).

 

--BEST Single Subject Cookbook – The Book of Kale: The Easy-to-Grow Superfood; 80+ recipes, by Sharon Hanna

 

The Alcohol Beverages: there were beers from Alexander Keith's (but no cider)—India Pale Ale, Cascade Hop (Washington) Ale, and Hallertauer Hop (Bavaria) Ale. The Niagara Teaching College Winery sent along their Unoaked Chardonnay 2011 (4 stars) and their Merlot 2009 (3 stars).

The Food: There were nine stations of food for us to sample afterwards:

 

-Chef Joshua Dyer (EPIC, Fairmont Royal York): Ontario elk tenderloin bresola, chevre, quince, marrow and balsamic.

-Chef Matt Dean Pettit (Rock Lobster)- for the second year in a row he left early when cleaned out of Nova Scotia lobster rolls, butter poached vanilla lobster spoons, and lobster deviled eggs (poached with beet juice)

-Chef Brad Lomanto (Cambridge Mill Restaurant): cardoon ravioli, tongue bacon, celery.

-Chefs Michael Robertson and Jamie Meireles (Oliver & Bonacini): maple and chili smoked Pacific salmon, preserved peach and squash pickle, sage crème fraiche, and grilled bannock.

-Chef Vanessa Yeung (Aphrodite Cooks): pork pot stickers, carrot and daikon radish slaw.

-Chef Tawfik Shehata (Toronto International Centre): Willow Grove Hill pork milk braised, Alberta barley cake pan-fried, jalapeno, chick pear flour, eggs – my overall fave!!

-Chef Wanda Beaver (Wanda's Pie in the Sky): sour cherry tarts, meyer lemon tarts, pecan squares.

-Chef Dufflet Rosenberg (Dufflet Pastries): caramel dacquoise of hazelnut meringue and white chocolate, cappuccino dacquoise, and hazelnut dacquoise.

 

The Downside: I had previously killed my tasting palate in the afternoon at the ICE show.

The Upside: it was terrific congratulating all the winners!

The Contact Person: debby@mdgassociates.com

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 94.