Canada
Resources
We grow by learning, by equipping ourselves with the best and most thorough resources. This section is full of materials, both new and old, to help make your culinary destination the best it can be. Take a peek and get inspired!
Taste Real From the Ground Up: The Story of a Brand
In Resources by Laura Buckley
This is the story of how a small city
and a rural county are working to put themselves on the culinary tourism map. Just over a year ago a group of stakeholders from the City of Guelph and Wellington County met to put their heads together and create Taste Real From the Ground Up, an umbrella brand for memorable food and drink experiences in their region. They’ve learned a lot along the way.
The Beginnings
Christine Chapman, Program Partnership Coordinator, Economic Development and Tourism Services for the City of Guelph, was part of that first meeting. Chapman explains that they
Read more
Please join us on the Savour Ottawa Chef-Media Farm Tours
In Resources by Laura Buckley
On Monday September 13th & Monday September 27th,
join Savour Ottawa on a culinary adventure.
What?
Chefs and media will tour Savour Ottawa farms; experiencing and savouring the culinary delights of this region.
The farm tours will include a delicious local lunch.
Watch this video to learn more about the tours from last year:
Monday September 13 Tour
We’ll be heading West, savouring delicious seasonal fruit and vegetables, will meet lovely lambs, elks and more.
A local lunch, catered by the Branch Restaurant, will tempt your taste buds.
Monday September 27 Tour
We’ll be heading South, visiting a cranberry bog, a vegetable patch and will meet eye to eye with local cattle.
A local lunch, catered by the Branch Restaurant, will tempt your taste buds.
How?
A comfortable coach bus will take you out to the farms,
leaving from a downtown location in the morning and returning there by mid-afternoon.
Who?
The farm tours are complimentary for Savour Ottawa member chefs and media representatives.
There will be a minimal fee for non-Savour Ottawa members to attend. There is no fee for media.
Please RSVP to heather@justfood.ca by Wednesday September 8 to reserve your spot. There are limited spaces available.
Media
In Resources by Noelle Munaretto
Are you a journalist looking to pitch story ideas about Ontario food? Get in touch with us and we can help connect you to growers, producers, regions, chefs and retailers across the province who embrace their terroir through local food. Send us an email at info@ontarioculinary.com
We’d love to hear from you!
Have you heard about our newsletter? OCTA has a great biweekly newsletter that features stories about the many unique culinary tourism stories in our province. Subscribe now by visiting our homepage.
Interested in learning more about culinary tourism? Come and join us at our annual Culinary Tourism Summit happening Nov. 1, 2010 at the MaRS Discovery District in Downtown Toronto. There will be media tours, amazing discussion panels, a fabulous keynote speech by celebrity chef Michael Smith and an all-Ontario lunch coordinated by Chef Jamie Kennedy. More information on this event will be available soon.
Events
If you haven’t already had a chance to do so, check out the latest culinary tourism events happening this month. These dinners, tours and festivals are great places to discover new stories, meet interesting people and capture stirring photos. Click here for more information
Regions
If you are looking for culinary tourism info related to a particular region, find out what destination marketing organization (DMO) handles culinary tourism through our Regions page. By starting a conversation with a representative from that DMO, you can discover the many untold tales of culinary tourism in that community.
Photos & Video
Chefs
In Resources by Noelle Munaretto
This page is for all those chefs out there who support local flavours in their daily endeavors. Our website can help connect you with a variety of growers/producers, destinations and fellow chefs that support that same locavore approach. In addition, you can find out about local food events in your region that are hosted by farmers, and other organizations. OCTA is all about supporting connections between all those who want to see culinary tourism projects thrive and flourish in their area. Bookmark this page today and check back often to stay in the loop and get inspired!
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Get Connected
Does your restaurant have a newsletter OCTA should be subscribing to? If you do, we want to hear all about what’s cooking. Send us an email at info@ontarioculinary.com letting us know how to subscribe and we’ll join the list.
Have you heard about our newsletter? OCTA has a great biweekly newsletter that features stories about the many unique growers and producers in our province. Visit our homepage and subscribe now!
Are you a chef who’s passionate about local Ontario cuisine, and looking to hire? Whether it’s for the front-of-the-house or the back, send us your job posting and we’ll advertise it on our classifieds pages.
Want to get in touch with OCTA? Send us an email at info@ontarioculinary.com
We’d love to hear from you!
News and Events
Click here for the latest news and events.
Featured Ingredient
This month’s featured ingredient is: Honey
If you haven’t already, sweet, sticky, Ontario honey is great to use in dishes both savoury and sweet. Check out these business listings of honey producers in Ontario and get in touch to find out how to source local honey right from the hive.
Regions
If you have cool local food experiences at your restaurant, pub, café or bar that pertain to culinary tourism, find out who your destination marketing organization (DMO) is through our Regions page. By starting a conversation with a representative from your DMO, you can discover ways in which to transform or integrate your business’s offerings into niche culinary tourism products.
Photos & Video
Growers/Producers
In Resources by Noelle Munaretto
This page is for all those growers and producers out there who support local, sustainable and organic methods in their daily endeavors. Our website can help connect you with a variety of chefs, destinations and fellow farmers/retailers that support that same locavore approach. In addition, you can find out about local food events in your region that are hosted by farmers, and other organizations. OCTA is all about supporting connections between all those who want to see culinary tourism projects thrive and flourish in their area. Bookmark this page today and check back often to stay in the loop and get inspired!
Get Connected
Does your farm or retail store have a newsletter OCTA should be subscribing to? If you do, we want to hear all about what’s sprouting. Send us an email at info@ontarioculinary.com letting us know how to subscribe and we’ll join the list.
Have you heard about our newsletter? OCTA has a great biweekly newsletter that features stories about the many unique growers and producers in our province. Subscribe now by visiting our homepage.
Are you a grower who’s passionate about local Ontario food, and looking to hire? Whether it’s for the field or the market stall, send us your job posting and we’ll advertise it on our classifieds pages.
Want to get in touch with OCTA? Send us an email at info@ontarioculinary.com
We’d love to hear from you!
Resto Regions
Check this month’s list of amazing restaurants who support the local food movement. This is a great way to make connections with possible future buyers of your products.
News and Events
Click here for news and events
Destinations
If you have cool local food experiences at your farm, factory or retail outlet that pertain to culinary tourism, find out who your destination marketing organization (DMO) is through our Regions page. By starting a conversation with a representative from your DMO, you can discover ways in which to transform or integrate your business’s offerings into niche culinary tourism products.
Photos & Video
Visitors
In Resources by Noelle Munaretto
Are you a traveller trying to determine your next vacation destination? Ontario is the perfect spot to begin discovering new sights, sounds and, of course, flavours. Browse through our information below, as well as the rest of the OCTA website, to begin planning your next culinary tourism getaway.
For even more information, get in touch with us and we can help connect you to restaurants, retailers and accommodations across the province that embrace terroir. Send us an email at info@ontarioculinary.com
We’d love to hear from you!
Have you heard about our newsletter? OCTA has a great biweekly newsletter that features stories about the many unique culinary tourism stories in our province. Subscribe now via the box on our homepage.
Featured Region
Check out links from our business listings for this month’s featured region: Prince Edward County. These links will show you some of the best places to shop, stay, eat and play when you’re in PEC.
To find out more about our other regions, click here.
Events/News
For news and events click here
Photos & Video
Slow Food Almanac 2010
In Resources by Noelle Munaretto
Here is the 2010 edition of the Slow Food Almanac, a publication that aims to give clear and concise information to our members around the world about what their organization is and what it does. In this edition we highlight three areas—biodiversity, education and network—where the association has mainly focused its international efforts and describe the projects and activities carried out during 2009.
Carlo Petrini
Slow Food President
To view the 2010 almanac click on the link – Slow Food Almanac 2010
INAC Services Limited
In Resources by Noelle Munaretto
Grant-writing services, research services and business development consulting for agriculture and food industries.
http://inacservices.com/site/agrifood/
Cookstown Greens Presents: Seven Reasons to Buy Local
In Resources by Noelle Munaretto
The great folks at Cookstown Greens have complied a wonderful list of reasons why you should buy local. The list, which appeared in Cookstown’s latest e-newsletter, is chock full of tips and information that can help turn you into a budding locavore! Check out their “Seven Reasons to Buy Local” below:
1. Locally grown food tastes better and is more nutritious.
Food grown in our own region was probably picked within the past few days. It is crisp, sweet and flavourful. Produce trucked or shipped from California, Florida, China, Chile, or Holland has, on average, changed ownership three times, traveled over 4,000 km, is seven days old, and used tremendous amounts of polluting fuel to reach you. Sugars are turning to starches, plant cells are shrinking, and nutrients and flavours are breaking down. Meanwhile Canadian produce frequently receives premium prices in U.S. markets because it is perceived to be more flavourful. Your customers will also find Canadian foods usually have premium flavour.
2. Locally grown food is becoming fashionable.
In the 80s it was “natural”. In the 90s it was “organic”. In the new millennium it became “ecological”. Today the buzz is “local”. It will be difficult, however, for multi-national food corporations to usurp this word. Local farmers and growers along with local chefs and restaurateurs can now perfect this concept. This is already the basis of Culinary Tourism which has become a very important industry in Europe and Asia. This concept will provide tremendous potential for our hospitality industry as we switch from “California Cuisine in Ontario” to our own “Created in Ontario Cuisine”!
3. Locally grown food benefits local communities.
With less than half a per cent of our population claiming farming as their primary occupation and with the average age reaching 57 years, farmers are a vanishing breed. (Their children see little future in this career.) According to UN studies Canada continues to have the cheapest food in the world – 20 per cent cheaper than the US, 50 per cent cheaper than UK, and a ridiculous 65 per cent cheaper than most other developed countries! Choosing local foods contributes to our own rural communities. You can gain insight into the local seasons and our traditional cuisines, and receive an introduction to the enormous variety of foods which could become available just for the asking. It can also give you access to a real farm where you and your children can experience first-hand the miracle of growing food.
4. Locally grown food preserves a healthy environment.
Farmers do much more for us than just grow food. They are also stewards of our environment. Farmers grow cover crops to store organic matter, which minimizes erosion, prevents flooding, and reduces drought. This organic matter is also very effective at cleansing the ground water of harmful organisms, and it is the most effective way to absorb carbon emissions – to reduce harmful global warming. Local food also pays to paint the barns and fences and to support local villages that provide visitors with picturesque and rejuvenating country drives.
5. Locally grown food maintains security.
For each dollar we spend on food, first-world governments spend two tax dollars to hold prices down (Financial Post Sept. 1996). Primarily this goes to support cheap transportation and to support industry and university research for high yield industrial agriculture. Excess food drives down profits to the point where farmers and shippers must take potentially dangerous shortcuts. Then governments around the world must bail out their farmers to maintain a secure food source. Poor people around the world are going hungry only because they have no money to buy food. If there really was a food shortage, food prices would be rising dramatically. With so many people hungry for no fault of their own they become frustrated with nothing left to lose. This is a seed for terrorism.
6. Locally grown food preserves genetic diversity.
In the modern industrial agriculture system, only a few varieties fit the requirement of simultaneous ripening for single-pass harvesting; tough enough to withstand harvest equipment, packing lines, and long-distance shipping; and stable enough to withstand extended storage. Local farmers, on-the-other-hand, choose from the many varieties bred for extended harvest periods; textures so crisp they require careful hand-harvesting; and flavour that makes a chef’s job easier. Lack of demand has meant that over 95% of varieties available a century ago have now become extinct! Remaining heirloom varieties can contribute to a unique, worth-checking-out, local cuisine for our hospitality industry.
7. Locally grown food is typically GMO-free.
Although biotechnology companies are trying to commercialize genetically modified produce, they are currently licensing them only to large factory-style farms. Local farmers do not have access to genetically modified seeds (and most would not use them even if they did). A June 2001 survey by ABC News showed 93 per cent of Americans want labels on genetically modified foods so they can avoid them. Canadian studies demonstrate similar support. But under pressure from global industry lobbyists, Ottawa defeated the bill for Canada to join most of the world in requiring GMO labeling. Buying local remains the most reliable way to avoid these risky and unpopular organisms that your customers clearly want to avoid.
Local Food Procurement Policies
In Resources by Admin
From Greenbeltfresh.ca
LocalFoodProcurementPoliciesLitReviewNS.pdf
