Certain farms jobs are just a lot more fun with a large group. Maybe you really need help weeding, harvesting root crops, mulching strawberries, or setting up a greenhouse. Generally any task that is relatively easy for people to pick-up quickly without extensive instruction works best. Of course you may have a variety of smaller jobs that you would like done simultaneously, and that is fine too!

FarmStart has eager volunteers who are interested in volunteering for a day on a farm.  If you have a large task coming up, where you could use some extra hands, e-mail us at least three days ahead of time. We will then get the word out among our volunteer network and you get a few extra people out to your farm when you need them!

From June 8-17, Luminato will present music, theatre, dance, visual arts, literature, film and celebrations of all kinds throughout the city.  During opening weekend, the city’s best chefs will once again take to the street for President’s Choice® 1000 Tastes of Toronto™ and put their own delicious spins on global street food.  This year a fresh twist has been added, with the chefs featuring a Canadian ingredient in their creation.  Here’s hoping someone whips up some Beavertails!

Another new addition to the festival this year is Austrian artist Rainer Prohaska’s Toronto Carretilla Initiative, which brings new meaning to the term “culinary arts”.  Prohaska will be dispersing mobile kitchens throughout the city and assembling them into larger sculptures.  The installations—a seemingly makeshift assortment of household objects attached to a shopping cart—can be assembled for the preparation of both simple and complex dishes; but recipe instructions are delivered in unexpected forms and then distributed to participants.  The public is then invited to collectively prepare, and partake in a meal.  Such a cool idea!

To learn more about where to find the mobile kitchens and to see a full list of programming, visit the Luminato website.

In this installment, we highlight Jason Persall, third generation farmer and president of Pristine Gourmet.  He talks about the terroir of Ontario farms and the journey he took to get to where he is today.

Jason is a dying breed.  There’s no doubt about it. He is a new radical… by being an old radical?

As one of the few young farmers in his area embracing the social media, he is trying to change the way farmers are viewed in the province.  He argues that our agricultural community should stand up and be proud of what they re accomplishing every day.  According to Jason, we produce some of the safest, most delicious food in the world–and that’s nothing to be scoffed at!

Jason’s father was a farmer.  Jason’s ‘puppa’ was a farmer too.  During his talk on the importance of local food sourcing and pride in production, he often spoke of his puppa and the values he instilled in his sons and grand-kids.  It’s what inspired him to take his farm to the next level.

How did he do that?  Well, he installed some cold-pressers, starting growing edamame alongside his canola, sunflower and soy plants and he hit the pavement.  It’s what brought him to Ontario chefs like Michael Olson and what put his product–some of the best oils in the market–onto store shelves.

Check out this video for more on Jason and his passion:

————–

Pristine Gourmet Five years ago, 4th generation Canadian farmer Jason Persall had a vision of supplying the food industry with quality, local non-gmo artisan foods. Today his brand Pristine Gourmet carries products like cold pressed extra virgin oils, handcrafted infused wine vinegars, soya sauce and cooking wines, all of which are 100% pure Canadian from field to table.
Eat Well… Eat Local!

————–

ABOUT TERROIR VI

Celebrating its 6th year, Terroir is Canada’s leading hospitality industry symposium bringing together influential chefs, food writers, wine and food experts and business leaders, whose mandate is to educate, network, share resources and build the community that helps to strengthen the industry.  The theme of this year’s symposium is ‘The New Radicals’ highlighting innovators who are raising the bar in today’s food industry.

For more information go to http://www.terroirsymposium.com or follow on Twitter @TerroirTalk

Savour Stratford welcomes Anita Stewart to Stratford on June 2. Ms. Stewart will host a Heritage Canadian lunch inspired by Perth County roots followed by a culinary debate: What is Canadian Cuisine?

Join Anita Stewart for an intimate Heritage Canadian Cuisine lunch on Saturday, June 2 at 12 noon at The Prune. Ms. Stewart will introduce our three-course local and seasonal menu inspired by our culinary roots and prepared by Chef Bryan Steele with references to her book, Anita Stewart’s CANADA, the Food, the Recipes, the Stories.

Tickets are $60 per person (+HST) and are available online or at Stratford Tourism Alliance, 519-271-5140.

Anita Stewart will join panellists Jeff Crump, Executive Chef Ancaster Mill and author of Earth to Table cookbook and Paul Finkelstein, Chef and Culinary Arts Teacher, Screaming Avocado Café, both Stratford Chefs School graduates as well as Monforte Dairy cheese maker, Daniel  Szoller to debate What is Canadian Cuisine? Moderated by Malcolm Jolley, Executive Director of Good Food Media and the Managing Editor of Good Food Revolution, the debate discusses our culinary past from seeds to heritage breeds, terroir and cooking techniques, where we came from and how cuisine is defined today. Screaming Avocado Café culinary students will serve dishes based on heritage ingredients and recipes.

The debate takes place at City Hall Auditorium beginning at 2:00 pm on Saturday, June 2. Admission is $25 per person, students $20 (+HST). Purchase tickets online, at Stratford Tourism Alliance or at the door.

Called “The Wonder Woman of Canadian Cuisine” by the National Post, Anita Stewart’s profile is exemplary. Author of 14 cookbooks, most recently award-winning Anita Stewart’s CANADA, the Food, the Recipes, the Stories, she has spoken, written, lobbied and organized across Canada and internationally proclaiming Canada’s food as exotic and delicious as any on earth; our agricultural and culinary talent can hold their own with any as demonstrated by Perth County producers and at the Stratford Chefs School.

For more information about Savour Stratford culinary programs visit their website.

The Stop is a source for an amazing set of innovative programs in Toronto looking to promote urban agriculture and sustainable food systems. One of them, the After School Program, has brought celebrity Chef Chuck Hughes to stop by the community centre’s Green Barn and teach/share with the kids his passion for food.

Chef Hughes was given a tour of The Stop’s facility including the kitchen, greenhouse community gardens, composting facilities, and the amazing Global Roots Gardens beginning to bloom and provide their bounty.

The Global Roots Garden project is a set of ethnic community gardens started in 2011. Through this project,  senior citizens pass on knowledge to youth involved in the program on gardening traditional food ingredients. On a side note -make sure you visit The Stop to take a peek at the Tibetan, Italian, Philipino, Latin-American, Polish, and Chinese gardens. This is definitely a must tour for this spring-summer season-.

The After School Program seeks to encourage children from the ages of 8 to 12 to learn about cooking, food-growing, and healthy eating. The lesson of the day included learning how to prepare a fish for the plate. In the true spirit of local, the Lake Erie SilverBass was used for this preparation. Chef Hughes explained to kids how to filet and debone and they absorbed every piece of knowledge and technique that he shared.

At the end of the evening the kids sat down to enjoy the meal they prepared with their very own hands and shared some time ‘playground-style’ as Hughes skipped the rope and played with the kids from the program.

For more information on The Stop and programs offered visit:

http://www.thestop.org/

For more information on Chef Chuck Hughes go to:

http://www.chuckhughes.ca/

This week, Vanessa profiles Prince Edward County cheesemaker Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co and their award-winning Rose Haus cheese. 

Photo by Andrew Dobson

My cheese pick this week is less than two years old debuting as the first cow’s milk cheese from leading “green” Prince Edward County cheesemaker, Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co.  Fashioned after stinky German Limburger cheese, award-winning Rose Haus – is named for Rose House (see the label) – one of Ontario’s oldest museums, mere minutes away.  Like your favourite uncle, you can take it anywhere and be guaranteed a good time.

Hand crafted, this single note, semi-firm, washed-rind, cow’s milk cheese is made with the milk of a small herd of Holstein cows from local Quinte Crest Farm.  Rose Haus has a firm, creamy, buttery ivory yellow paste, apricot-to-gold coloured rind, and rich mild milky, earthy and mushroomy flavours.  When ripe, the paste softens and becomes oozy as the aromas intensify. On special occasions Rose Haus gets washed with local beer, which adds an extra flavour profile, and amplifies the yeasty characteristics of this cheese.  I highly recommend waiting for an extra week or two before enjoying (or buy two wheels if you can’t wait) for the full flavours to develop.  You’ll thank me for it.

FACTBOX:

Cheese: Rose Haus

Producer: Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co.

Interesting Fact: Rose Haus is rind washed in The Grange of Prince Edward County’s barrel fermented Chardonnay which adds a toasty layer to the cheese’s character.

Enjoy! – Vanessa Simmons

Vanessa Simmons is Savvy Company’s Cheese Sommelier -  and she knows her cheese! She has trained with the Cheese Education Guild in Toronto – Canada’s only comprehensive cheese appreciation program & spends countless hours with local cheesemongers and cheesemakers. Her passion for cheeses oozes while her knowledge will melt away all notions that Canada only makes cheddar.  Read more of Vanessa`s Curd on the Street blog or join her for an artisan cheese tasting event.

Available Positions:

TYFPC Vice Chair (description will be posted shortly)

IT & Social Media Guru

Operations Lead

Network Committee Member

Advocacy Committee Leads (x2)

Interested candidates should read the above job description(s) then email the Application for Council Membership along with a resume and cover letter to tyouthfpc@gmail.com by midnight on June 21st.

The Toronto Youth Food Policy Council seeks to engage and mobilize youth to create a local, just, and sustainable food system for all.  We do this by community building, raising awareness, and advocating for policy change.

We’re also known for throwing great parties! Wanna help build a local, just, and sustainable food system in Ontario? Join us!

In this installment, we highlight local food hero, Chef Michael Stadtlander–organizer of Foodstock and his talk “Creating the Message, Galvanizing the Industry”.There isn’t a locavore in this province who doesn’t know Michael Stadtlander’s name.  In 1993, Stadtländer and his family moved to a 100-acre farm near Collingwood where they could live on the land. For several nights a week throughout the year, the Stadtländers welcome guests to their home to enjoy his food. Eigensinn Farm has become an internationally celebrated destination for gourmets.

Stadtlander was also the powerhouse behind last year’s astronomically successful gastronomic anti-mega quarry pilgrimage/protest: Foodstock.

He took this opportunity to announce some very exciting initiatives.  The first being a partnership with Ravine Winery on an Anti-Mega Quarry wine, with $1 from every bottle sold going to the protest fund.  It will be available in July, and in true German fashion, comes in an over-sized bottle.

He also took the time to talk about his latest endeavour, The Singhampton Project.  The Singhampton Project is a creative partnership between French Landscape artist Jean Paul Ganem and Eigensinn Farm encompassing all your senses from taste to touch.  More on that here.

The last announcement comes in the wake of his talk on the integral role chefs play as advocates for the land and the resources that make cuisine possible.  #Soupstock will be the much anticipated ‘sequel’ to autumns 30,000 person crowd drawing event.

No details yet, but we do know it will happen on October 21st in Toronto.

————–

Michael Stadtländer is a well-known Canadian chef who raises and grows the produce he cooks with on his farm in Singhampton, Ontario. Eigensinn Farm and Haisai Restaurant and Bakery are award-winning establishments recognized locally and internationally. For more information on Chef Stadtländer visit here.

————–

ABOUT TERROIR VI

Celebrating its 6th year, Terroir is Canada’s leading hospitality industry symposium bringing together influential chefs, food writers, wine and food experts and business leaders, whose mandate is to educate, network, share resources and build the community that helps to strengthen the industry.  The theme of this year’s symposium is ‘The New Radicals’ highlighting innovators who are raising the bar in today’s food industry.

For more information go to http://www.terroirsymposium.com or follow on Twitter @TerroirTalk

Our adventures had us exploring some seriously cool, seasonal edible experiences.  The region is much bigger than meets the eye, and is full of rich historical and cultural finds–whether at an antique market, museum or heritage site.

Our travels are dictated by our stomachs though…

We were sampling fresh lake fish in Port Colborne; sniffing lavender near Virgil; foraging for dandelions amongst the peach trees in Pelham; and tasting dishes truly reflective of this regions terroir.

Below, you’ll find some highlights from our adventure!  Hopefully, they will inspire you and your loved ones to explore this unique part of Ontario as well.

Locally sourced breakfast (with a view!) at The Rainbow Room, Crowne Plaza in Niagara Falls

Braised Pork Belly, Lakefish and Duck Broth at AG Inspired Cuisine in Niagara Falls

House brewed 'Lock 8 Lager' at The Canalside Pub in Port Colborne

The Riverside Inn with a view of Peller Estates in Niagara-on-the-Lake

stunning peach and cherry orchards can be found throughout the region!

House-made whole wheat doughnuts with Ontario strawberry preserves at Rise Above Bakery in St. Catharines

And of course, wine country! This is Peninsula Ridge Winery in Grimsby

In this installment, we highlight Tama Matsouka Wong, author of Foraged Flavour, and her self proclaimed ‘plant obsession’.

Where most people see weeds, Wong sees a delicious meal.  In 2007, she was named Steward of the Year by the New Jersey Forest Service. Much more than a field guide with recipes, her book is a fascinating introduction to the growing trend of foraging for wild edibles.

Since her presentation, I have discovered a slue of delicious delicacies in my downtown Toronto neighbourhood.  For instance, it seems garlic mustard has set up shop at every second house on my street!

Other wild edibles we Ontarions should look for?  Queen Anne’s Lace–also called wild carrot, is delicious and it’s seeds can be a substitute for black peppercorns! If you happen to be lucky enough to have a field of your own, try sourcing out some mugwort, staghorn sumac or wild bergamot–all native to these parts.

To help you plan your foraging menus, Wong and her team have put together a foraging calendar of a small selection of their favorites from the book that are easy to find through most of North America and beyond. Check it out here: http://www.meadowsandmore.com/in-the-field/foraging-calendar

Remember, foraging isn’t always sustainable.  Leave enough of the plant behind so that it can recover and never eat something you can’t identify!

————–

Tama Matsuoka Wong is the forager for Daniel, NYC, the renowned restaurant of Daniel Boulud. For several years she has been working with Eddy Leroux, chef de cuisine, exploring the culinary flavors of wild plants. Tama worked as a corporate lawyer in Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York after graduating from Harvard Law School. Upon returning a decade ago to her native New Jersey with her family, she rediscovered her passion for the natural world and the wild plants that grew in her backyard.

————–

ABOUT TERROIR VI

Celebrating its 6th year, Terroir is Canada’s leading hospitality industry symposium bringing together influential chefs, food writers, wine and food experts and business leaders, whose mandate is to educate, network, share resources and build the community that helps to strengthen the industry.  The theme of this year’s symposium is ‘The New Radicals’ highlighting innovators who are raising the bar in today’s food industry.

For more information go to http://www.terroirsymposium.com or follow on Twitter @TerroirTalk