Stadtländer argues that the quarry would result in the loss of prime Ontario farmland and would threaten local wildlife and the integrity of much of Ontario’s freshwater resources, since the proposed land is below the water table. “It’s some of the best farmland in Ontario, and it’s only 100 kilometres away from Toronto,” he told The Grid. “We are really only at the dawn of local food right now. The human population is growing and we really have to secure places where we can grow food.” Perhaps the best comment we’ve heard in reaction to the event comes from David Waters, an Orangeville real estate agent and Foodstock volunteer, who told the Toronto Star: “You can’t eat gravel.” Event details and tickets available here.

The list of contributing chefs is a staggering tour of southern Ontario locavorism:

Toronto:

Paul Böehmer and Milana Lise from Böhmer
Teo Paul from Union
Adam Colquhoun and Robert Bechard from Oyster Boy
JP Challet from Ici Bistro
Lola Kirk from Ruby Watcho
Jeffery Cladio from Scarpetta
Chris Brown from The Stop Community Food Centre
Jamie Kennedy from Jamie Kennedy Kitchens
Aaron Bear Robe from Keriwa Café
Fabio Boni and Michael Sangregorio from Local Kitchen and Wine Bar and Bar Salumi
Luis Valenzuela from Torito Tapas Bar
Victor Barry from Splendido and The County General
Albert Ponzo from Le Select Bistro
Hiro Yoshida from Hiro Sushi
Anthony Walsh from Bannok and Oliver and Bonacini Restaurants
Carole Ferrari from Locale Café
Carl Heinrich and Ryan Donovan from Marben
Michael Sacco from Chocosol Chocolate Traders
David Kokai from Loïc Gourmet
Anthony Rose from The Drake Hotel
Derek Bendig and Colen Quinn from Pangaea
Zane Caplansky from Caplansky’s
Evelyne Gharbirian from Hearty Catering
Rodney Bowers from Hey Meatball
Matty Matheson from Parts and Labour
Derek Zavislake from Merchants of Green Coffee
Keith Froggett from Scaramouche
Lorenzo Loseto from George Restaurant
Rob Gentile from Buca Restaurant
Patrick McMurray from Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill, Ceili Cottage
Joshna Maharaj
Steffan Howard from Palais Royale and Casa Loma
Kevin McKenna from Globe Bistro, Earth Rosedale and Earth Bloor West
Phillip Heilborn from Earth Bloor West
Trish Donnelly from Chef Donnelly Catering
Brad Long and Sarah Kuntz from Belong Café
John Higgins and Oliver Li from George Brown College
Daisuke Izatsu from Kaiseki Sakura
Christopher Palik from L-Eat Catering and Paese Ristorante
Daniel Muia from Mogette Bistro
Joe Levesque from the International Centre
Graham Pratt and Christine Fancy from The Gabardine
Giacomo Pasquini from Vertical
Aubrey Demers
Bertrand Alépée from The Tempered Chef
Fawzi Kotb from Veloute Bistro and Catering
Nick Laliberte from Poutini’s House of Poutine
Dawn Woodward and Edmund Rek from Evelyn’s Crackers
Jacob Sharkey Pearce from Two Brothers Inc.
Linda Burnside and Kevin Walters from Alternative Grounds
Alexandra Feswick from Brockton General
Diane Cartwright from Whole World Trade Ltd.
Jeff Brown and Jennifer Rashleigh from Delight
Lesia Kohut from LPK’s Culinary Groove
Anton Potvin and Nick Liu from Niagara Street Café
Johan Maes from Goed Eten

Durham:

Michael Schmidt and Chef Carey McLellan from Glencolton Farms

Mississauga:

Erica Trabulsi from The Culinary Art School of Ontario

Shelburne:

Rob Uffen from Rob Uffen’s Trout House

Rosemont:

Ross Midgley and Beth Hunt from The Globe Restaurant

Owen Sound:

Robin Pradhan from Rocky Raccoon Café

Creemore:

Michel Masselin from Chez Michel
Dave Nesbitt from Creemore Coffee Company
Don Akehurst from Sovereign Restaurant

Collingwood:

Gareth Carter from Men with Knives
Leona Nyman and Andrea Greyerbiehl from Azzurra
Jeremy Korten from Oliver and Bonacini Café Grill and Blue Mountain Restaurant
Mark and Christine Kraus from Espresso Post
Scott Chalmers and Andrew Barber from Simplicity Bistro
Christophe and Wispy Boivin from Tremont Café
Joelle Rogers from Tesoro Restaurant
Mike Duffin from One99 Broadway
Roger Genoe from Ravenna Country Market

Singhampton:

Martina Gómez and Jörg Neth from Haisai
Michael and Nobuyo Stadtländer from Eigensinn Farm

Orangeville:

Jason Reiner from The Mono Cliff’s Inn
Alex Johnston from Hockley Valley Resort

Flesherton:

Shawn Adler from The Flying Chestnut

Burlington:

Tobias Pohl-Weary from Red Canoe Bistro

Guelph:

Carin Balint from Garden of Vegan

Niagara:

Paul Harber from Ravine Vineyard
Janice Suarez
Ryan Crawford from The Stone Road Grille

Stratford:

Ruth Klahsen from Monforte Diary

Parry Sound:

Philip Patrick from The Ridge at Manitou

Barrie:

Matthew Flett from Georgian College
Randy Feltis from Oscars
David Keenan from At the Five
Daniel Hong and Anna Kim from Furasato Restaurant
Ceasar Guinto from Cravings Fine Food Market and Catering

Thornbury:

Shaun Edmonsteon and Jennifer Vipond from Bruce Wine Bar

Waterford:

Tracey Winkworth from The Belworth House

Aurora:

Jason D’Anna from Magna Golf Club

Ottawa:

Rob Fraser from Fraser Café

Saskatchewan:

Moe Mathieu

Nova Scotia:

Stefan Czapalay from Culinary Design Solutions

• Fully Stocked [Now Magazine]
• Foodstock fights mega-quarry with mega-feast [The Grid]
• In the forest with Michael Stadtlander [Toronto Star]

(Image: James Lee)

There’s no denying it: the craft beer renaissance is officially upon us. The second edition of Ontario Craft Beer Week officially kicked off yesterday, and for the brew connoisseur to the merely curious, there’s hardly a better opportunity to see just how much better we’re getting at making the stuff. After the jump, one event per day to keep you occupied for the rest of the week.

1. Monday—Brewing Under the Stars
Brewers from Great Lakes, Cameron’s, F&M and Biergotter are invading Stout Irish Pub on a mission to transform the bar’s brand new patio into a miniature outdoor brewery for the night. Those curious about how the stuff gets made can take an intimate tour of the whole brewing process, while samples of five different beers will be offered, along with a collaborative one-off cask. $10. 7 p.m. Stout Irish Pub, 221 Carlton St., 647-344-7676, stoutirishpub.ca.

2. Tuesday—C’est What Beer Festival
C’est What has been brewing and serving craft beers for years, so it’s no surprise that their tasting events seldom disappoint. Over 26 styles of microbrewed bliss will flowing during the brew pub’s five-day swill, with Mill Street, Barrie’s The Flying Monkeys, Black Oak, Granite, Grand River, Muskoka and more represented. Casks and drafts will get changed every day, and the best part? One-dollar samples. June 21 to 25. C’est What?, 67 Front St. E., cestwhat.com.

3. Wednesday—Barbecue Test Flight with Sam Corbeil
When Mill Street brewer Sam Corbeil isn’t making award-winning porters and ales, he’s often edifying Torontonians on how to pair beer with cheese. Catch Corbeil and his cheese-meets-brew session at the Leslieville Cheese Market Wednesday night, where guests can dig into five cheesy, barbecue-inspired courses paired with five beers from Beau’s All Natural. Beer cupcakes courtesy of Sassy Lamb Cupcake Company top off the evening. 7:30 p.m, overflow class at 8:45 p.m. Leslieville Cheese Market, 891 Queen St. E., 416-465-7143, leslievillecheese.com.

4. Thursday—Sinfully Educating
Let’s face it—the world of craft beer can be pretty dude-centric. Luckily, Craft Beer Week offers up an event for the ladies, too. Toronto-based beer aficionado Mirella Amato will be on hand at Highway 61 to teach the fundamentals of pairing beer with chocolate. Amato will be taking beer lovers and chocoholics alike through a guided tasting session, with chocolates provided by The Chocolate Messenger. The event is being run by Barley’s Angels—sorry, gentlemen, there’s a strict no-dudes policy in effect here. $20. 6 p.m. Highway 61 Southern Barbeque, 1620 Bayview Ave., 416-489-7427, beerandchocolate.eventbrite.com.

5. Friday—Great Cooks on Eight: Beer vs. Wine Dinner
Top Chef Canada contestant and Great Cooks on Eight chef Andrea Nicholson is hosting a battle that will determine, once and for all, which booze pairs best with different foods: beer or wine. Nicholson has been charged with whipping up a six-course dinner, with each dish designed to be paired with different Muskoka beers and Chateau des Charmes wines. Voters get to decide which libation emerges victorious. $125. 7 p.m. Great Cooks on Eight, 401 Bay St., 8th floor, 416-861-4333, greatcooks.ca.

6. Saturday—Session 99 Craft Beer Festival
Last year’s inaugural Session 99 Festival got overshadowed by the hell that was the G20, which is precisely why organizers Jed Corbeil and Curt Dunlop are going all out to make this year’s event special. Nearly 40 North American craft breweries are expected to show up, including Surrey, B.C.’s 2010 Canadian Brewery of the Year winner, Central City. Special guest Garrett Oliver of New York’s award-winning Brooklyn Brewery kicks off the nine-hour-long soirée with a noon-hour toast. The Burger Bar, Oyster Boy and Cowbell are taking on food duties, and Broken Social Scene’s Jason Collett is slated to make an appearance. $35. 12–9 p.m. Session 99, 99 Sudbury St., 705-646-0706, session2011.ca.

The evening begins with cocktails and hors d’oeuvre, followed by a five-course sit-down meal catered by Paul Boehmer (Böhmer), Adam Colquhoun (Oyster Boy), John Higgins (George Brown Chef School), Daisuke Izutsu (Kaiseki Sakura), Jamie Kennedy (Gilead), Chris McDonald (Cava), Anthony Rose (The Drake Hotel), Michael Stadtländer (Eigensinn Farm and Haisai), Anthony Walsh (Canoe) and Hiro Yoshida (Hiro Sushi). Generous donations from a number of wineries (including Tawse, Southbrook and 13th Street) and breweries (Creemore and Sapporo) will supply the tipple, in addition to prizes at the silent auction. Boehmer has donated his space for the ticketed event, and all of the money raised will go to earthquake and sunami relief.

McDonald told us that Nobuyo Stadtländer had called to ask if he would participate in the cause. “It’s the least I can do,” McDonald says. “Everyone is donating to this. With a hundred seats and more from the auction, that’s a substantial amount to be raised. It’s a small effort on my part, but in the end, it’s shared with those who are donating their money to the event; this generosity collectively becomes a lot. I’m hoping that the Canadian the government might match this.”

Support for Japan, March 27. Cocktails at 5 p.m.; Dinner at 6:30 p.m. $250. Böhmer Restaurant, 93 Ossington Ave. For reservations, call Milana at 416-531-3800.

Ossified: The avenue is changed forever (Photo by Dawn Paley)

How much more can Ossington take? A lot, it seems. The avenue’s seemingly endless gentrification will take another step this summer when chef Paul Boehmer opens his first restaurant, Böhmer. After considering Queen West and Yorkville, the former Rosewater Supper Club chef set his sights on a 5,000-square-foot single-storey building at 93 Ossington Avenue. “I see a real surge of restaurants on Ossington. It’s bringing the whole street alive, and it’s full every day,” says the chef, whose credits also include Scaramouche, Atlas and, more recently, Six Steps. “If you capture a reasonable market—like, don’t charge $45 for an entrée—and keep it to a price range where people can afford it and hang out, they’ll keep coming back.”

Boehmer sums up the menu with one word: local. “I’m going back to my roots, to when I apprenticed with Michael Stadtländer 25 years ago,” he says, noting that caribou and foie gras will be some of the items featured. “I’m also working with Michael Potters [Harvest, Spoke Club], and there’s going to be a market concept on the side where we’re going to sell preserves and vinegars.” He estimates appetizers will cost $10 to $20 and mains $20 to $30.

The dining room will have a recycled wood motif, done by local furniture makers Brothers Dressler. The decor will be a collaboration between Boehmer and Roy Banse, whose clients include the Toronto Film Festival and condo builder UrbanCorp. And to get the neighbourhood involved, he plans to display artwork and photography by locals.

As for the vanity moniker, Boehmer says it wasn’t his idea. “I got convinced by my friends—mainly Adam Calhoun from Oyster Boy, who insisted on it. So the signage is my signature.”