OCTA

Explore your new farm dream in Owen Sound

by Noelle Munaretto

Offered at Georgian College in Owen Sound for first time!

Over 12 hours (four three-hour sessions) and one day of farm tours, the Explorer course takes a learner-centered approach to exploring agriculture as a career. As a participant in the course, you will be guided through an in depth self-assessment process, designed to help you identify the specific aptitudes, interests, skills and resources that you can bring to a new farm business. You will receive support through the process of researching opportunities in agriculture. And you will meet other serious gardeners, livestock enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs who are also asking themselves, “Is starting an agricultural business right for me?”

Where: Georgian College, Owen Sound  View Map.

When: Tuesdays, Sept. 14 – Oct. 12th, 2010
4 Tuesday evenings & 1 Saturday farm tour

Cost: $290 per person

To register: call 1-519-376-0840 x2022 or visithttp://www.georgianc.on.ca/campuses/owensound/

For more information about the course and accompanying workbook, please visit the Explorer Course website, or contact our New Farmer Coordinator, Monika Korzun, at monika@farmstart.ca, or (519) 836-7046 x 110.

Battle of the Bubbies at Caplansky’s this weekend

by Noelle Munaretto

A great new menu, a party to celebrate its first year on College Street, and the “Battle of the Bubbies” will keep Caplansky’s Deli hopping in September.

“You don’t need to be a Bubbie or even have a Bubbie to enter the competition.  All you need is balls – matzoh balls, that is,” says chief mensch and bottle washer, Zane Caplansky.

(Bubbie: “a grandmother”, from the Yiddish, bubeleh.  No relation to Buffy, the vampire-slayer.  Matzoh balls:  a dumpling made from ground meal which are shaped by hand and dropped into a pot of boiling water or chicken soup.  End of Yiddish lesson).

A panel of expert judges will pick winners in two matzoh ball categories: “cannon balls” and “fluffy balls”.

“If your mother, Bubbie, or designated matzoh ball maker made them hard like a cannon ball then that’s what you’re genetically attuned to enjoy.  It would be unfair to compare or judge the two kinds of matzoh balls side by side,” explains Zane, who has a personal affinity for fluffy balls.

The “Battle of the Bubbies” matzoh ball smackdown happens starting at 4 p.m., Sunday, September 12, in Caplansky’s Deli.  Bubbies and would-be bubbies are urged to pre-register for the competition by contacting Zane at zane@caplanskys.com or 416-500-3852. A panel of tasteful experts, including Moses Znaimer and food mavens Bonnie Stern, David Sax, Lara Rabinovitch and Amy Wilson, will judge the bubbie battle.

“Pre-registration is vital; competitors who pre-register get a free lunch, and I need to know how many I will be on the hook for,” a worried-looking Caplansky says.

September 5th marks the first anniversary of Caplansky’s at its historic digs at 356 College St.   To celebrate, Zane unveils a new menu following the “Battle of the Bubbies”.  Caplansky’s regulars and invited guests can indulge in a new menu tasting after 7 p.m. on September 12th.  Please RSVP if you’d like to attend.

Slow Food Chefs Series at the Cheese Boutique

by Noelle Munaretto

Slow Food Chefs Series

Tuesday, September 14th – 7 p.m.

The Cheese Boutique – 45 Ripley Avenue

A stationed-smart-casual affair, all guests will be able to interact with participating chefs.

Reds Bistro: Michael Steh

Cheese Boutique: Afrim Pristine

Crush Wine Bar: Michael Wilson

Stratus Winery: Wine Pairings

C5-ROM: Ted Corrado

Le Select Bistro: Albert Ponzo

Earth, Globe: Kevin McKenna

$75 per person.

Call @ Cheese Boutique to reserve: 416 762 6292

*Proceeds from the evening will help send our chefs to Terra Madre, Slow Food’s Bi-annual conference on sustainable world food economies in October 2010. Terra Madre brings together those players in the food chain who together support sustainable agriculture, fishing, and breeding with the goal of preserving taste and biodiversity.

Taste Real From the Ground Up: The Story of a Brand

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

Gates Open: Savour Durham

by Noelle Munaretto

One of Durham region’s most anticipated farm events is back again for the fifth year!

On October 3, Gates Open: Savour Durham will showcase regional farms and culinary delights. What better time than a crisp fall day to learn about agriculture, taste the season’s bounty and have some simple fun with your kids?

Take part in a region-wide farm tour celebrating Durham’s natural resources. Map out your own route and stop by as many farms as you like to learn about agriculture with on-farm activities. Along the way, sample farm fresh products and treats created by farm families and chefs from around the region. No need to pack a lunch as local options will be available at two of the farms. Be sure to bring your cooler as some stops will have product for sale (cash only please).

http://www.gatesopen.ca/default.htm

Calling All Fred’s Bread Lovers!

by Noelle Munaretto

Andrea Damon Gibson and Steve Gibson Write: “Fred’s Bread is 15 Years Young! It’s a little unbelievable because the years have gone by so fast. On reflection, 15 years sounds like we are a success, and all of us behind Fred’s Bread feel lucky. After 15 years we’re creating loaves that are better than ever; if we had to do it all over again, you bet your baguette crumb we would!”

To Celebrate our 15th Year Anniversary- we’re asking you- Fred’s Bread fans, home cooks, gourmands and food lovers to join in the party!

A message from Norfolk’s Cindy Vanderstar

by Noelle Munaretto

As the promotions coordinator of Norfolk County tourism and local foods, I often get asked by city folks about our farmers’ markets.  This year, with the warmer weather and early summer, our crops seemed to just pop out of the ground and it “hit me” – our whole county is one big farmers’ market.

What can be better than stopping by a road-side stand to buy a dozen cobs of freshly –picked corn to eat only an hour later?  Or to take your kids to the local cherry farm, climb a ladder and pick your own cherries right off the tree?

Norfolk County is Canada’s most diverse agriculture area and is home to Canada’s and Ontario’s largest growers of some of your favorite foods.   Sweet potatoes, popping corn, peanuts, asparagus, apples, pumpkins and strawberries are only a selection.  But our local foods also include Lake Erie perch, cheese, honey, Texas Longhorn cattle, a variety of meat products, maple syrup – even wine.  People talk a lot about the “100-mile Diet” in other regions and large cities but can they truly get the variety and year-round selection that is found right here?

Norfolk County promotes its local foods with a campaign “Direct From Norfolk – Know Where your Food Comes From” and it is important for all of us to look for these labels and support the local growers and producers.   You can find over 50 farm gates, pick-your-own, markets, retail stores and restaurants , all growing and supporting the “local movement” , in the official map and local food guide published each year by the tourism and economic development department.

Local foods can be a lot of fun and a great learning experience.  With the popularity of television food channels and celebrity chefs, cooking and local foods have become “cool”.   New terms like “agri-tourism” and “culinary tourism” have emerged as reasons to travel.   If you think about a trip to Italy, what would be your one thing to try?  Pizza? Wine?    Travellers seek out these unique agri-tourism experiences and local food establishments.  If they can “walk the crop” at a nearby strawberry field and learn about the many varieties and differences of strawberries, then purchase their own basket to snack on – they’ve had a great Norfolk County food experience.  If they can horseback ride through a shitake mushroom  farm, then enjoy a western-style barbecue on a picnic table in the woods, served with their own hand-picked mushrooms – they’ve had a great Norfolk County food experience.  The popular coined phrase “field to fork” becomes reality.

It’s an exciting time with local foods as we think more about health benefits, great-taste and helping the environment.  Norfolk County continues to attract new types of crops, such as the Goji Berry and ginseng and to appeal to more businesses joining the “culinary” trend.  You can visit www.norfolkfarms.com to find local foods, recipes and stay current with events and food festivals.  Whether you’re a resident of Norfolk County or just visiting, enjoy our county-wide farmer’s market.  Great flavours, great fun and experiences you’ll never forget.

Cindy Vanderstar
Promotions Coordinator – Norfolk County Tourism

Burt’s Greenhouse Tour & Sweet Potato Workshop

by Noelle Munaretto

When: Sunday, September 12, 1 – 4 PM

Where: http://www.burtsgh.com/ (Lennox Addington – directions will be emailed upon registration)

To register: please visit http://www.newfarmproject.ca/farming-training/.

Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to see the operations of Burt’s Greenhouses! You will get an overview of the operation from planting to pest control to selling including a tour of our propagation area (both seed and cuttings). After the tour, the real fun begins! Burt’s have been experimenting with sweet potatoes for the past two years including a greenhouse grown crop. You will receive a description of how they came to grow sweet potatoes and how the greenhouse crop is grown. We will then harvest a selection of plants so that you can see how they perform.

To learn about other upcoming FarmStart workshops, visit: http://www.farmstart.ca/workshops_

Please join us on the Savour Ottawa Chef-Media Farm Tours

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.

Get Your Ontario Culinary Tourism Summit 2010 Tickets Now! Earlybird Discount!

by Noelle Munaretto

Tickets are now on sale for the 2010 Ontario Culinary Tourism Summit!

This year’s summit will be held on Monday Nov. 1 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the MaRS Discovery District in downtown Toronto. A special after-party, pickle “Smackdown” will be held at the Drake Hotel at 7 p.m.

This year’s summit also features:

• Keynote delivered by celebrity Chef Michael Smith
• Discussions lead by NYC food writer Adam Sachs, Chicago culinary journalist Steve Dolinksy, and Vancouver food writer Randall Shirley
• Breakout sessions featuring Local Food Plus, the Wine Council of Ontario, communications design firm Hypenotic, and other industry leaders
• An all-Ontario luncheon organized by locavore chef Jamie Kennedy, featuring the foods and wines from our province’s amazing regions
• Select and exclusive pre-post summit Destination Familiarization Tours (FAMS) to Prince Edward County, Niagara and Toronto, available for an extra cost
• Presentation of Local Food Distribution System research by Lauren Baker
• The chance to network and interact with the best and brightest in the culinary tourism supply chain

Get your tickets at the special earlybird price of $100 (+HST) now by clicking on this link:

http://2010ontarioculinarytourismsummit.eventbrite.com/

We’ll see you there!!