REPORT FROM QUEBEC DELIGHTED – RENDEZ-VOUS GOURMET QUEBEC IN TORONTO

REPORT FROM QUEBEC DELIGHTED – RENDEZ-VOUS GOURMET QUEBEC IN TORONTO
Date: Monday June 5, 2023, 9A – 5P
The Venue: Roy Thomson Hall Lobby
The Target Audience: food writers and Ontario wholesale food buyers.
The Event: The 11th edition of Rendez-Vous Gourmet Quebec in Toronto.
Background: This is a joint venture with the Ministere de l'Agriculture, des Pecheries et de l'Alimentation, plus the Bureau du Quebec a Toronto – to help promote the PQ food sector. Some 66 exhibitors were involved in showcasing their sustainable or organic foods or consumer goods and services. It was a trade show with stalls and salespeople plus free tastings of many products. Brochures were generously available, as were specific cards.
My major interests were in wines, beers, ciders, and cheeses. I could only find one Nordic vineyard and distillery at the show: Domaine Le Cageot; but its scope was limited to non-alcoholic wines, vinegars, preserves, honey, syrup, tea, and various collaborations with other producers such as Oree Signature (sausages), Fees Boreales (candles), gifts and baskets. The show had diverse organic free trade non-GMO teas, plus kombucha, mushroom coffee mixes (Dodjivi), tonic water (1642), non-alcoholic ready-to-drink cocktails (Romeo's gin), and Cafe Castelo (a coffee roasting house which provided us with an enormous bag of coffee to take home).
Categories I did not visit included bakery and desserts, confectionary and maple products, fruit and veggies, oils, condiments and spices, ready-to-eat, and retail tech.
I had better luck with cheeses and snacks: only three cheesemakers turned up – Fromagerie L'Ancetre [which is already everywhere in Ontario health food stores with many lactose-free cheeses and organic old double-smoked cheddars, Baluchon, and Raclette cheeses], Plaisirs Gourmets (distributor, offering yummy le cheddar du presbytere, blue Fleuron, Cheval noir de l'isle, and even Blue Benedictine [a perennial prize winner]), and Fromages CDA.
Manba gave me a large jar of their peanut butter which contained a range of Haitian hot spices (very addictive, but yes it didn't run out before I got home). There were plated samples of salmon tartare from Grizzly, as well as salmon burgers and tuna tartare. Northfolk Bison gave me a Bison Burger, emphasizing its strong nutritional value over beef and pork. The company also produces wild boar and elk. Other sampling I did (and enjoyed) included les gars de saucisse and Zoe Greek EVOO.
Snacks abounded, and most of them were nutritious, suitable for schools and daycare. My loot bag contained many small sealed packs, some with gluten-free and organic options. All were peanut- and nut-free. One line from Malyna was even called "Snack Attack". Vitali-t snacks are all based on oats; hence, they were gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO, peanut-free, allergen-free and rich in protein and carbohydrate fibre for sustained energy. Les Fumistes produces Fumix – a cereal-based smoked snack mix – dy-no-mite!. Grandma Emily produces both organic and non-organic granola cereals and bars. GoGo Quinoa specializes in mainly quinoa for its cookies and snacks.
I had a great time at the show....Everybody was warm and friendly, answered all my questions, and generously came forward with samples.
The downside of the show: a lack of wine, beers, and ciders, and I had to miss the cooking demo with Chef Romain Avril.
The upside of the show: a good range of food products – most enjoyable.
The contact Persons: medias@prdepartment.ca; david.dupuy@mce.gouv.qc.ca; valerie.dufour@mce.gouv.qc.ca
The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 88



Dean Tudor,  Prof Emeritus T'karonto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) School of Journalism Treasurer of Wine Writers' Circle of Canada http://www.deantudor.com
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