Cheese | torontolife.com

The comprehensive index of every blog post, magazine story and restaurant review that appears on Torontolife.com

All stories relating to cheese

The Weekender: The Lion King, Easter Eggstravaganza and six other can’t-miss events

Woody Harrelson, Measha Brueggergosman as Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito and Adam Jacobs as Simba in The Lion King

1. THE LION KING
You wouldn’t think a theatrical adaptation of a Disney movie would run for so long (nearly 14 years), earn so many accolades (more than 70 awards, including a Tony for Julie Taymor’s direction) or turn out to be so good, but somehow The Lion King does all of that. Oh, and did we mention it’s gorgeous? The puppets, costumes and stage design have been consistently blowing young minds since the show opened. This limited engagement is only in town for eight weeks—don’t miss it. To June 12. $35–135. Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. W., 416-872-1212, mirvish.com.

2. CHOCOLATE AND CHEESE PAIRING (FREE!)
We usually pair cheese with wine and chocolate with, well, more chocolate. But this free foodie event, hosted by chef Chris McDonald (of Cava and Xococava fame) and Jane Rodmell (founder of All the Best Fine Foods), pairs two of our favourite foods with each other. Expertly spiced chocolate tiles are partnered with their ideal matches from All The Best’s stock of specialty cheeses. To be honest, we’re just a tad skeptical, but if anyone can make this pairing work, it’s McDonald. April 23. All the Best Fine Foods, 1101 Yonge St., allthebestfinefoods.com.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

TV Diner

April 19, 2011 | 12:34 pm

9 Comments

Top Chef Canada recap, episode 2: saying cheese

The nightmare team of Darryl Crumb and Jamie Hertz at the Edward Day Gallery (Image: Food Network Canada/Insight Productions)

TOP CHEF CANADA
Season 1 | Episode 2

Week two of Top Chef Canada celebrated that most essential of Canadian values: moderate ambition. Last night’s episode—brought to us by the Dairy Farmers of Canada and featuring two cheese-themed challenges—consistently rewarded those not-too-tall poppies who found the sweet spot between being flat-out bores and overexerting flame-outs. Thankfully, episode two turned out to be way cheekier than the somewhat polite premiere—there were plenty of chefs shooting their mouths off and clowning around in their underwear (sweet abs, Patrick Wiese). Here, our recap of the dizzying highs, the grotty lows and the creamy centres that turned out just right.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

TV Diner

April 12, 2011 | 12:06 pm

24 Comments

Top Chef Canada recap, episode 1: playing with knives

TOP CHEF CANADA
Season 1 | Episode 1

Like most fans of the original, American Top Chef, we came to last night’s premiere of Top Chef Canada with some pretty serious expectations. Would the level of competition be as fierce? Would Thea Andrews be credible as the host? Could we blindly trust head judge Mark McEwan the way we do Tom Colicchio? Would the producers be able to cram in as many egregious product placements?

We needn’t have worried. Top Chef Canada is eerily similar to the original—same structure, same music, same sound effects, same stock phrases—but with an extra dash of Canadian hokeyness added in. Here, our recap of the best dishes, quips and insidious sponsorship.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

March 30, 2011 | 10:05 am

60 Comments

Best New Restaurants 2011

Oysters from Frank's Kitchen

This year’s crop of restaurants, from a million-dollar dining room to a brazen burger joint, pushed Toronto’s culinary culture in creative, comforting and blessedly cheap directions. Here, the 10 new spots that are redefining the way we eat, drink and play in the city By Chris Nuttall-Smith | Photography by Ryan Szulc

See the list »

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Aprons & Icons

March 14, 2011 | 1:43 pm

Comments

Terroir 2011 roundup: we talk to Toronto’s top chefs and restaurateurs at the foodie symposium

Fergus Henderson (St. John’s) and Arlene Stein (event chair) at Terroir

A couple weeks back, 400 members of the food and hospitality industry gathered at Hart House for Terroir V. The annual symposium saw chefs, restaurateurs and members of the food media musing over this year’s theme: “the balance of artistic creation and traditional craftsmanship in our hospitality industry.” We caught up with some top chefs—including Jason Bangerter (Luma), Mark Cutrara (Cowbell), Matt DeMille (Parts and Labour) and keynote speaker Fergus Henderson—who shared with us what they took away from the day.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Weekly Lunch Pick

March 14, 2011 | 8:40 am

2 Comments

Weekly Lunch Pick: a sumptuous tart with an earthy soup

The prix fixe at Biff’s: a parsnip and pork soup with a caramelized onion and anchovy tartlet (Image: Matthew Fox)

A favourite with financial district suits, Biff’s combines bistro decor—art nouveau posters, yellow walls, black and white photos, a large silver-framed mirror—with the Oliver and Bonacini group’s trademark polish. We go for the prix fixe: an onion and anchovy tartlet with a parsnip and pork soup.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Rumours & Rumblings

March 10, 2011 | 5:04 pm

4 Comments

12 trends we observed at 2011’s Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association show

Health-conscious indulgences at the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association show (Image: Renée Suen)

Yesterday we reported the results of the second annual Canadian Chef Survey of menu trends. The relatively predictable list might reflect the chefs’ outlook on food trends, but attending the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association show showed us exactly what food-service providers are pushing onto the dining room table. After the jump, 12 trends we observed from the CRFA show.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Restauran-TO

March 9, 2011 | 4:26 pm

Comments

Canadian chefs: local food is still the new black

Bite-sized desserts were one of the few fun trends in this year’s survey (Image: Eliyas J)

The results from the 2011 Canadian Chef Survey were announced Monday at the fourth annual Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association show. More than 500 chefs confirmed what locavores and the 400-plus attendees at last week’s Terroir Symposium knew all along: locally produced food and locally inspired dishes are hot. Less surprising still was the focus on sustainable practices and nutritionally driven plates. While the list hardly qualifies as revolutionary, it is interesting to compare this year’s results to the up-and-coming trends predicted one year ago. So how close was it?

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Pantry Raid

February 25, 2011 | 10:23 am

8 Comments

The Foodist Market, a new organic grocer, takes over Pulp Kitchen’s space on Queen East

(Image: Signe Langford)

The Foodist Market, a new small grocery shop in Leslieville, has only been open for a few days, so it’s no surprise that many of the deep, white shelves lining the walls of this former juice bar are still bare. The shop should be fully stocked in a matter of days, but until then there are still plenty of organic goodies in store to draw the locals. Standouts include over-the-top rich and porky lonza (cured pork loin), pancetta and capicollo from Niagara Food Specialties, cheeses from Monforte, breads from nearby St. John’s Bakery, salsas and chips from Toronto’s Mad Mexican and, of course, locally grown veggies, eggs and meats. Despite these, the focus here is on organic first, local second.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Pantry Raid

February 17, 2011 | 3:40 pm

Comments

Owners of Queen West’s Delight Chocolate open new cheese store in the basement

Highland Blue, Grey Owl and Cape Vessey cheeses from Le Caveau (Image: Signe Langford)

Building on their success with chocolate and cheese lovers in the Junction, Jeff Brown and Jennifer Rashleigh, co-owners of Delight Chocolate and Junction Fromagerie, have taken their show on the road to Queen West. The husband and wife team opened up a second location of Delight last March in the two-story space that once housed the Spice Trader and the Olive Pit. Last Saturday, they opened the door to a second cheese shop, Le Caveau—only this time, it’s in the chocolate shop’s basement.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

February 11, 2011 | 11:27 am

12 Comments

Toronto’s six best local cheeses

Canada’s cheeses are competing against Old World classics at the city’s finest cheesemongers. Here, six stinky stunners

1. Monforte Dairy Halloumi
This sheep’s milk cheese is exceptional brushed with olive oil, grilled or pan-fried, then eaten hot; the crusty exterior gives way to a squeaky-chewy interior. Available March through November at various farmers’ markets, including St. Lawrence Market North (93 Front St. E., 416-392-7120) on Saturdays. $2.50/100g.

2. Glengarry Cheesemaking’s Lankaaster Gouda
About Cheese carries this pasteurized cow’s milk cheese from Ontario. It’s mellow enough to appeal to the stink-phobic, but complex enough to charm hardcore fromageophiles. The slightly sweet paste with a semi-firm texture makes for an awesome nibble or an upscale addition to a sandwich. $6.85/100g. 483 Church St. (at Wellesley St. E.), 416-925-8659.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Culinary Curiosities

January 25, 2011 | 12:30 pm

15 Comments

Sloppy, drippy, salty, meaty, fruity, earthy and cheesy: Chris Nuttall-Smith takes on M:brgr’s $100 burger

The $100 brgr and its associated finery (Image: Colin Griffin, M:brgr)

I ate two Kobe beef patties for lunch yesterday, plus a couple slices of bacon, a wedge of foie gras, an ounce of gloopy brie, a slick of fig jam, a stack of really fabulous grilled pear slices, four asparagus spears, piave del vecchio cheese, garlic-roasted ham (effing delish), porcini mushrooms (I’m thinking they weren’t porcini, but that’s what the menu said), three white bread buns, an olive, and a side each of black truffle slices and honey truffle aïoli. All this cost me $100, plus tax and tip, and the burger—yes, it was a burger—was so tall that it took several tries and a near-miss nasal-labial injury to get an honest bite of the thing into my mouth.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

January 13, 2011 | 9:12 am

1 Comment

Good Stuff Cheap: 11 selections for a kick-ass and low-cost charcuterie plate

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Pantry Raid

December 13, 2010 | 3:54 pm

Comments

Gourmet grocery store wants customers to buy shares, save business

Monforte's cheese-share program helped the company stay afloat (Image: Monforte)

It appears that the warm, fuzzy sentiments that usually come with supporting locavorism aren’t enough to ensure that Culinarium, a local-focused grocery store near Eglinton and Mount Pleasant, will stay afloat. Owner Kathleen Mackintosh is hoping a solid group of customers will invest in “dinner plate shares,” The Star reports, in an effort to gather the $50,000 to $100,000 needed to keep the place open. The shares would entail an initial investment that would pay itself back, with a bit of interest, in the form of redeemable vouchers over the next three years. A $500 investment would yield $600 in groceries; a $1,000 investment would yield $1,305.

Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »

All stories relating to cheese

Contests

Links and Offers

Most shared stories today

The latest from across the St. Joseph Media network