The Canadian Culinary Book Awards have a new name, a new logo and, the organizers hope, some newfound relevance. TV consultant Karen Gelbart (who helped bring the Food Network to Canada) took over as national chair a few months ago and has already put her stamp on the awards, now called Taste Canada—The Food Writing Awards. Gelbart told the Toronto Star that she wants to move away from the “insider feel” of years past to attract more media coverage and more widespread public awareness. In other words, make like the James Beard Foundation and the Giller Prize to generate buzz. As Cookbook Store manager Alison Fryer put it to the Toronto Star: “We’ve got awards for everything—playwrights, poetry, non-fiction, children’s books. For heaven’s sake, cookbooks are always the elephant in the room because they probably sell more than any other category outside of fiction.” Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »
The latest restaurant buzz, including what’s opening, what’s closing, and where to eat, drink and be seen
Reaction Roundup: what Toronto is saying about its new, hockey-themed grocery paradise (i.e., Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens)
(Maple Leaf Gardens image: Kevin Naulls)
In the seven years since news broke that the Maple Leaf Gardens would be turning into a grocery store, it’s become something of a bad joke, a symbol of modernity callously stomping on the past. But after Wednesday’s grand opening of the Loblaws flagship store, Torontonians have suddenly opened up to the idea with surprising vigour. And there’s a lot to love, what with walls of cheese, cupcakes, tea and aging meat, as well as plenty of relics from the days of yore, like a giant leaf sculpture made out of the stadium’s original plastic chairs and a red dot in aisle 25 marking the former location of centre ice. Here’s some of what other Torontonians had to say:
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Deep in the Kentucky Fried Chicken archives (yes, KFC has archives), a staffer has made a startling discovery: a “food autobiography” of the late Colonel Harland Sanders, the man famous for his fried chicken and immaculate white suits. According to the Toronto Star, the document contains “recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner and instructions on the right way to make biscuits, pancakes, omelettes, casserole and pies.” A spokesperson for Yum! Brand, KFC’s parent company, said the company would release the manuscript online for free some time next year. Although Sanders has been dead since 1980, his words live on: “I was a farm boy and lean toward farm cooking. To me, my recipes are priceless.” There’s no word yet on whether the work contains tips on factory farming and shopping mall food court cuisine. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »
Given Rob Ford’s incessant and dour gravy train mantras, it helps to be reminded that some mayors actually enjoy the role of civic booster. Case in point: Calgary’s Naheed Nenshi, who’s apparently on a cross-country Cowtown sales tour. Nenshi told the Toronto Star that although he likes our ubiquitous hot dogs just fine, they don’t quite compare to Calgary’s truffle-oiled french fry trucks or the burger truck—presumably the one run by Charcut, Top Chef Canada finalist Connie DeSousa’s restaurant—that serves a lamb burger with an egg on top. And of course Nenshi’s right. But at least we’re catching up. Read the whole story [Toronto Star] »
iPads popping up in dining rooms across the USA
(Image: uhuru1701)
The era of high-tech kitchens is fading, but it seems as though gizmos are now colonizing the dining room. Stacked: Food Built Well, a food chain from Southern California, has announced that iPads will be replacing menus and waiters as a means for customers to order their meals.
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Magic weight-loss crystals coming to Canada for some reason
Does the secret to weight loss lie in exercise, a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle? Probably. But why waste all that time? Sensa’s coming to Canada. These diet crystals have been available for the past two years in the U.S. and promise weight loss with little to no effort, aside from having to sprinkle them on every meal. They work on the following comical premise: the crystals manipulate one’s sense of smell, triggering a sense of satiety in the imbiber.
And no, this is not a joke.
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Three GTA hot spots make it onto En Route’s list of the best new restaurants in Canada
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En Route’s annual best new restaurants list is out, and it contains good news for the culinary scene in and around Toronto. A few deserving but predictable downtown spots have made the cut: Buca, King West’s rustic Italian joint, is at number nine; Local Kitchen, Parkdale’s rustic Italian joint, sits at number four. As for quasi-Toronto mentions, Singhampton’s Haisai takes the top spot—just as it did for us—while the Scaramouche vets at Dundas’s Quatrefoil came in seventh.
Richard Florida declares Toronto best trick-or-treating city in Canada
Boo! ya: Torontonian kids reap the most ghostly booty (Image: Paul Sapiano)
Toronto’s cool factor has just grown exponentially. Urban theorist and imported know-it-all Richard Florida announced today that, according to his (probably infallible) Trick or Treater Index, Toronto is the best trick-or-treating city in Canada.
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Mark those calendars: KFC’s Double Down coming to Canada in 11 days
Colonel sends his latest creation to invade Canada on October 18 (Image: Mike Saechang)
Few sandwiches have received as much attention as the Double Down, KFC’s grease-fest that features bacon and cheese squeezed between two pieces of boneless fried chicken. Morbidly curious Torontonians interested in trying it, however, were disappointed to learn that their local Colonels were not selling the thing. Well, that’s all about to change. The Double Down will be available in Canada from October 18 to November 14.
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Canadians are fat, even by rich-people standards
In the past few years, Toronto has been overrun by gourmet dining options of the fattening variety. Whether they’re serving gourmet poutine made with duck confit or lovingly hand-crafted burgers topped with rosemary mayo, some of the hottest places to eat are also the fattiest. That may be one of the reasons that a new study has found Canadians are getting chunky, even compared to the residents of other wealthy countries (well, not the U.S., U.K. or Australia).
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Five things we learned about Tim Hortons from the recent Maclean’s exposé
Always fresh? (Image: Ann Baekken)
The paradox represented by Tim Hortons‘ “always fresh” frozen doughnuts got a thorough examination last week in a long Maclean’s feature examining why Archibald Jollymore, former executive vice-president, and others are launching a whopping $1.95-billion class action lawsuit against the doughnut chain. The case pits Jollymore, a cousin of Tim’s co-founder Ron Joyce, against current president (and Joyce’s successor) Paul D. House, and is laced with the family feuding, backhanded commentary, executive rivalries and all the other prerequisites for a juicy corporate scandal.
Here, five things we learned about Canada’s doughnut titan.
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Turns out that disposable chopsticks are an environmental nightmare
Sticky situation: eating implements create environmental problems (Image: Mykl Roventine)
Toronto loves Asian food. Witness the city’s endless supply of sushi restaurants and packed Chinese eateries— declared some of the best in North America. But all that glory and love comes with a hefty price: the burgeoning ecological disaster that is the disposable chopstick. In China, a jaw-dropping 100 acres of trees are felled per day to keep up with demand for the disposable utensils, according to Greenpeace China. That works out to about 16 to 25 million trees per year.
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Warning: President’s Choice cookies may contain shrapnel
Loblaws is recalling some of its President’s Choice Decadent Chocolate Chunk Cookies after someone came to the unfortunate discovery of small, round pieces of metal in the doughy snacks. The shards are about one millimeter in diameter. All packages have been pulled off the shelves and stores are offering a full refund for those who have already bought the cookies.
• President’s Choice cookies recalled [CBC]
• In store baked President’s Choice Decadent Chocolate Chunk Cookies May Contain Small Metal Pieces [Canadian Food Inspection Agency]
Prisoners at Toronto detention centre go on hunger strike
Connoisseurs of penitentiary cuisine may be interested in knowing that the East Toronto Detention Centre in Scarborough has been getting some rather poor reviews of late. The critics—300 of the detention centre’s inmates—are so appalled with the food that they are going on hunger strike. They claim that fruits and vegetables are a rarity and that chicken is served only about once a month. In addition to complaining about the poor quality of the food, prisoners also say the portions are too small. One prisoner even told the Star that he knows the food could be better because he’s been in many different jails and has had better grub. Looks like we were misinformed—being a wise guy doesn’t get you better meals in prison.
• Prisoners go on hunger strike over bad food [Toronto Star]
Forget the five-second rule—food eaten off the ground is always nasty
According to a new article in National Geographic, the zero-second rule should replace the five-second rule. Not that anyone took these regulations seriously, anyway, but a study from Clemson University has concluded that bacteria can be transferred to food as soon as it hits the ground. Some scientists are saying that where the food is dropped is more important than how long it’s been on the ground. Food dropped on the sidewalk, for example, might be more salvageable for the truly waste-wary than food dropped on the kitchen floor, which collects more dangerous bacteria. For those who were wondering, the bathroom floor is also, apparently, a terrible place from which to reclaim dropped food.
• Scientists count five-second rule down to zero for safety [Toronto Star]
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