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RESTAURANTS • RECIPES • WINE • TRAVEL
KANTINA
London’s Chic Stellar
Taste of SERBIA
FEATURING
Bradshaws
in Stratford
TG’s Addis Ababa
Restaurant
in London
Quai du Vin
Estate Winery
in St. Thomas
ALSO
Savour Stratford
Perth County
Culinary Festivall
The Garlic Box
in Hensalli
Issue 24 • August/September 2010
Savour Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival
Nine days of glorious food in Stratford, September 18-26,
kicks off with all things garlic at the Garlic Festival! A week
of culinary tours and activities unfold and excitement builds
to the two-day festival along the banks of the Avon River in
Stratford’s Garden Heritage district.
18th Garlic Festival
19th Visit Perth County Farms Tour
20th Shake up your Martini
22nd Edible Stratford Tour
23rd Pilsner, Pubs and Spirits Tour
24th Beerology with Mirella Amato
Tableland Film Screening
25th BBQ, Blues and Brews with Carlos del Junco
26th Savour Stratford Tasting
Discover our food lover’s paradise, visit
www.welcometostratford.com/eatdrink
CONTENTS
11
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010
6
ISSUE 24
FOOD WRITER AT LARGE
The Stratford Tourism Alliance
By BRYAN LAVERY
RESTAURANTS
16
16 Stellar Serbian at Kantina Café, in London
By BRYAN LAVERY
20 Out of Africa: TG’s Addis Ababa Restaurant, in London
By BRYAN LAVERY
11
SPOTLIGHTS
Being Bradshaws, in Stratford
By DAVID HICKS
24 Jackie Rowe and The Garlic Box, in Hensall
By JILL ELLIS-WORTHINGTON
20
48 Quai du Vin Estate Winery, in St. Thomas
By DEBRA BAGSHAW
BOOKS
28 A “Perfect” Quest: The Man Who Ate the World
Review by DARIN COOK
24
34 Changing the Way We Eat: Locavore
Review by BRYAN LAVERY
COOKBOOKS
37 Adventures in Northern Cooking: The Boreal Gourmet
Review & Recipe Selections by JENNIFER GAGEL
3455
48
59
NEW & NOTABLE
40 The BUZZ
BUZZ
TRAVEL
52 Discovering the Tastes of Prince Edward County
By KYM WOLFE
BEER MATTERS
56 Summertime Odds ’n’ Sods
By THE MALK MONK
WINE
59 Prime Pairings at Pellar Estates Winery
By RICK VanSICKLE
THE LIGHTER SIDE
62 Hamming It Up In Havana
By DARIN COOK
eatdrink
™
inc
RESTAURANTS • RECIPES • WINE • TRAVEL
A Food & Drink Magazine Serving London, Stratford & Southwestern Ontario
www.eatdrink.ca
A Virtual Magnet for All Things Culinary
Read an Interactive Magazine Online, Find Restaurants, Read Reviews and More!
Publisher
Chris McDonell — [email protected]
Managing Editor
Cecilia Buy — [email protected]
Contributing Editor
Bryan Lavery
Finances
Jim Sisco
Advertising Sales Director
Chris McDonell — [email protected]
Advertising Sales Representatives
Jane Antoniak — [email protected]
Diane Diachina — [email protected]
Loretta Hogan-Andrew — [email protected]
Mary Pat Pegg — [email protected]
Telephone & Fax
519 434-8349
Mailing Address
London Magazine Group
525 Huron Street, London ON N5Y 4J6
Contributors
Bryan Lavery
Jennifer Gagel
D.R. Hammond
David Hicks
Cecilia Buy
Jane Antoniak
Darin Cook
Rick VanSickle
Kym Wolfe
Debra Bagshaw
Jill Ellis-Worthington
Editorial Advisory Board
Bryan Lavery
Cecilia Buy
Cathy Rehberg
Copy Editor
Jodie Renner — www.JodieRennerEditing.com
Graphic Design & Layout
Joanne Grogan
Chris McDonell
Website
Milan Kovar/KOVNET
Printing
Impressions Printing
Copyright © 2010 eatdrink inc™ and the writers. All rights reserved.
Reproduction or duplication of any material published in
eatdrink™ or on eatdrink.ca™ is strictly prohibited without the
written permission of the Publisher. eatdrink™ has a circulation of
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eatdrink™ are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily
represent those of the Publisher. The Publisher welcomes submissions but accepts no responsibility for unsolicited material.
August/september 2010
issue no. 24
www.eatdrink.ca 5
NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
To Everything There Is a Season
By Chris McDonell
W
hile we’re having a summer
to remember weather-wise,
are you also finding plenty to
savour on your plate and in
your glass? My unscientific polling suggests
that more of us are getting out to dine, and
we’re enjoying a higher quality of fare almost
everywhere we turn. Everyone seems to have
a story of a great meal, and recommendations
are plentiful. So it’s been a treat for me to pass
the word on London’s Kantina Café, which
until now has been a bit of a secret spot. Read
Bryan Lavery’s story on page 16 if you’re not
“in the know” yet. And meet TJ and find out
why her Addis Ababa Restaurant is winning
over fans to Ethiopian dining on page 20.
There’s no better way to enjoy our local
heritage than through a culinary festival.
Quickly, get a Taste of Huron (August 16-27),
and then get ready to enjoy the best of Elgin
County at FreshFest (August 26) and Savour
Stratford (September 18-26, see page 6 for
more details). Garlic and tomato fans, rejoice,
and check “The Buzz” for events tailored
just for you, and more. Yes, there’s much to
enjoy locally. For some insight into why this
is important politically as well as gastronomically, read the review of Locavore on page 34.
If wine is your passion, visit the Quai du
Vin Winery with Debra Bagshaw, and Pellar
Estates Winery with Rick VanSickle. You’re
sure to find a bottle that pleases, then raise a
glass to summer and to the bounty that surrounds us. We are blessed.
Cheers,
Discover Downtown London
For more information contact:
phone: 519.663.2002
email: [email protected]
www.downtownlondon.ca
6
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issue no. 24
FOOD WRITER AT LARGE
The Stratford Tourism Alliance
By Bryan Lavery
S
played roles at Stratford. It is not unusual to
tratford, Ontario, is not only a cultural
see well-known celebrities walking Stratford’s
haven for world-class theatre, but
streets or frequenting local haunts. In the
also for a world-class creative commid-1980s, when I was working at the Church
munity, which includes actors, artists,
Restaurant, actress Maggie Smith (friend of
playwrights, writers, musicians, and many
former Artistic Director Robin Phillips) was a
uniquely talented professionals, all of whom
frequent late-night visitor to the Belfry. Often
contribute to the vitality of the community.
Stratford has a long history of being a hotbed I would run into her on the street or in the
of culinary talent, including farmers, growers, line-up at Canada Trust. Twenty-five years
later, Avon Theatre
chefs, culinary instruchouse manager Eldon
tors and restaurateurs.
Gammon remembers
Hospitality and the culiJustin Bieber, the “little
nary arts are an imporguy with the big voice”
tant and integral part of
playing his guitar and
Stratford’s creative and
singing contemporary
theatrical community.
rock out front for the
Stratford is internatheatre crowd.
tionally known for the
Stratford fortunately
Stratford Shakespeare
has a tremendous
Festival, which runs
tourism visionary in
from April to November. A street performer entertains the crowd at Savour
Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival (SSPCCF)
Eugene Zakreski, who
The festival’s primary
earlier this year added
mandate is to present
a downloadable guide to Stratford’s tourism
repertory productions of William Shakespeare’s plays, but it also produces a diverse website with pop sensation Justin Bieber’s
history and local haunts. Zakreski, Executive
variety of theatre, from classic Greek tragDirector of the Stratford Tourism Alliance,
edies to more contemporary works. The
festival has contributed to the formation of a an early adopter of Culinary Tourism, is fordistinctively idiosyncratic dining culture and ward-thinking and recognizes and supports
the uniqueness of Perth County’s terroir.
restaurant community.
Zakreski and his colleagues, Cathy RehSince the festival’s inception in 1953, Stratberg, Danielle Brodhagen and Cathy Bieman,
ford has been a magnet for gifted theatrical
have successfully helped to reinforce Stratluminaries — many of the greatest Canaford and Perth County’s position as one of
dian, British and American stage actors have
Second Annual
S.P.L.A.T. Fest 2010
Savouring.PerthCounty.Local.Annual.Tomatoes.
Sunday, August 29th, 12–4pm
Visit us at mccullys.ca for more details
Heirloom Tomato & Cheese Tasting Event, Horse-drawn
wagon rides, McCully’s Ketchup, Pazzo grilled pizzas,
Canning demos,Tomato Target Practice and more ...
A garlic and vegetable grower discussed local produce
with market goers at SSPCCF
Canada’s unique and distinctive culinary destinations, by collaborating with the region’s
farmers and chefs to reinforce a strong
authentic food culture and promote culinary
tourism in Stratford and Perth County.
In fact, the Stratford Tourism Alliance
has been repeatedly invited to participate
at local and regional culinary events and is
presented as “best practice” by the Ontario
Culinary Tourism Alliance. Savour Stratford
Perth County is a partnership between Stratford and Perth County tourism and local
economic development organizations.
The mandate of the Stratford Tourism
Alliance is to act as a member and industrydriven private sector not-for-profit organization that manages, develops and publicizes
“Destination Stratford” as a national and
international tourism destination. Stratford
and Perth County’s rich physical heritage,
unique terroir, innovative cuisine, superior
accommodations, interesting retail sector,
and many unique events strengthen the
local economy and enrich the quality of life
in the City of Stratford and area.
Rumour has it that the Stratford Tourism
Alliance will be recognized for its contribution to culinary tourism at the 2010 Culinary
Thought Leadership World Summit in Halifax
this September. “This summit is designed
to foster leadership in the culinary tourism
industry and to exchange ideas and feedback
from around the world,” says conference
emcee and president of the International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA), Erik Wolf.
Savour Stratford Perth County
Culinary Festival (SSPCCF)
In 2008, with a limited programme and
little promotion, the almost sold-out Savour
Online ordering
with FREE DELIVERY
across Southwestern Ontario
www.thewholepig.ca
8
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
Stratford Tasting event exceeded its modest
expectations by almost 200. A request for
additional funding for $7,000 for logistics
had been turned down by city council. Ironically and more significantly, key culinary
Sweet treats are presented at the SSPCCF
policy makers and influencers, including
high-profile Toronto chefs and the culinary
media spread the news about the unqualified success, importance and quality of the
tasting event as compared to similar events
in Ontario.
We service all major
household appliances.
519-601-1050
mrappliance.com/london
Locally owned and operated franchise.
In 2009, Zakreski initiated a three-year
culinary tourism project development strategy, which has been wildly successful. The
Stratford Perth County Culinary Tourism
campaign is being implemented by Danielle
Brodhagen (Programme Development,
Stratford Tourism Alliance, and Savour Stratford Perth County), who was the original
driving force behind the inaugural Savour
Stratford Tasting event. Organizers anticipate as many as 10,000 visitors per day at
this year’s event.
The Savour Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival, now in its third year, presents
nine days of food from September 18 to 26,
beginning with the Garlic Festival on September 18, where you can dine out at any
number of restaurants featuring local “Field
to Chef” garlic-inspired menus. The Garlic
Festival is followed by a week of culinary
events, dinners and activities, culminating
in the popular two-day festival September
25–26 along the banks of the Avon River.
According to the Stratford Tourism Alliance,
the third annual Savour Stratford Perth
County Culinary Festival promises to be bigger and better than ever with significantly
enhanced programming.
The signature event of the popular festival
is the Savour Stratford Tasting, which takes
place on Sunday, September 26. The Savour
Stratford Tasting pairs local chefs with Perth
County producers to create delicious Perth
County terroir-inspired samplings. VQA
wines and local craft brews will accompany
over 30 samples that are designed to delight
gastronomes and foodies alike.
It is also possible to experience Perth
County’s terroir at the Stratford Farmers’
Market every Saturday and Wednesdays
in the Summer or the Slow Food Market at
Monforte Dairy, featuring everything from
local eggs to elk, pork, sheep’s milk cheese
and cider. The Stratford Farmers’ Market,
established in 1855, is one of the longest continual links in Stratford’s culinary history.
For 2010, VIP tickets have been created for
the much-sought-after Savour Stratford Tasting. This will provide an exclusive opportunity for early entry into the tasting tent
and a unique chance to preview the highly
anticipated culinary creations. VIP guests
are invited to join the chefs and producers at
noon on Sunday — before the event opens
to general ticket holders at 1:00 p.m. — and
will also receive a Savour Stratford gift tote,
Savour Stratford Tasting visitors enjoy the delicious bites
prepared by Farmer-Chef teams and paired with VQA
Ontario wines
which includes a Tasting Plate handcrafted
by local pottery artist, Chris Lass. Enjoy an
afternoon of sipping and sampling in the
heart of Stratford’s garden district.
Savour Stratford Perth County
Culinary Festival Itinerary
Saturday, September 18: nine days of festivities will be launched
with Stratford’s annual Garlic Festival. The festival celebrating the
“stinking rose” showcases the versatility of Ontario garlic. Elizabeth
Baird, editor for Canadian Living magazine, leads an impressive list of
speakers and cooking demonstrators, including cookbook author Rose
Murray. Activities take place from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Old
Stratford Fairgrounds on Glastonbury Drive. Admission is $5 per person
Let us introduce you to our spirits! Inject a little spirit into a walking tour of
Stratford’s heritage pubs. You’ll visit Stratford’s first brewery, then a variety
of pubs in heritage buildings. There will be tastings at each stop. Cost: $25
per person which includes tastings at each stop.
Sunday, September 19: Visit selected farms throughout Perth
County, which will be presenting a variety of products grown and
raised on their farms. This Perth County Farm Tour encourages
families to make the connection between what they eat and where it
comes from. The bus tour includes a local Perth County picnic lunch.
$25 for adults and $12 for kids (10 and under).
Sunday night City Centre Committee presents Movies in the
Square – Screening of Ratatouille at the Stratford City Hall 7pm Free.
Monday, September 20 (and Wed. and Fri., all at 2 p.m.) —
Edible Stratford Tour. Join your culinary connoisseur on a guided
culinary walking tour of Stratford’s food shops, meet the local producers and sample delicious treats. Tours take place Monday, Wednesday
and Friday of this week starting at 2:00 pm at the Stratford Tourism
Office. Tickets are $15 per person.
Monday September 20, Gallery Stratford presents “Shake Your
Martini” – Learn to make three martinis using fresh and local ingredients – Be sure to Dress to your Nines! Schmooze, Mingle and Sip!
Wednesday, September 22, 8pm — “Feast of Comedy” featuring Marc Sinodinos of NBC Today’s Show and Larry Smith of Comedy Club at 54 Join us for an evening of laughs at the Savour Stratford
comedy night at the Stratford City Hall. Limited Tickets.
Thursday, September 23, 8 p.m. — Pubs, Pilsner and Spirits Tour.
Chef meticulously adds the finishing touches to the
tastes presented at Savour Stratford Tasting Sunday event
Friday, September 24, 7 p.m. — Beerology 101 with Beer Expert
Mirella Amato. Learn about basic beer ingredients and how beer is
made, while tasting through a series of contrasting and delicious local
artisanal brews. The workshop is at the new University of Waterloo,
Stratford campus, in downtown Stratford. $15 per person.
10
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issue no. 24
Friday, September 24 7 p.m. — Docfest and Savour Stratford
Present Tableland at Factory163. Craig Noble’s Tableland will be
screened for the first time in Stratford; guests from the film will
answer questions and promote discussion around local food. Cash bar
available. Admission is free.
Friday, 9 p.m. — Launch Party. After a week of activity, we’re
ready to party. Meet at Foster’s Inn for a fun evening preview to the
two-day festival. Complimentary
cocktail and hors d’oeuvres will be
provided.
garden party and dine on over 30 local delicacies crafted by over 30
acclaimed chefs. The local cuisine will be paired with Ontario VQA
vintages and craft brews, and accompanied by French Canadian Artist,
Amelie Chante and Les Singes Bleus. New for 2010 is a VIP Ticket
providing early entry to interact with local chefs and producers and
a take-away Savour Stratford gift bag, which includes a Tasting Plate
handcrafted by local pottery artist, Chris Lass. Tickets are on sale now
and can be purchased online, by
phone or in person.
Saturday, September 25 — The
BRYAN LAVERY is
Festival gets into full swing with a
a respected local chef and
diverse roster of events featuring
writer, proponent of Lonthe best of Perth County. Events
don’s culinary tourism initiastart at 9:00 a.m., so plan to arrive
tive, culinary consultant, and
early to browse the Farmers and
instructor. Lavery recently
Artisans Market set along the
authored Taste London,
banks of the Avon River. You will
Tourism London’s 2010-11
be entertained throughout the day
culinary guide. As eatdrink’s
Fresh herbs and locally-made products at SSPCCF
at the York Street Carnival, the
Contributing Editor and Food
Kids’ BBQ, and Blues and Brews
Writer at Large, Lavery shares his expertise and opinions on a
evening with a live Blues band.
Sunday, September 26 — The Savour Stratford Tasting, the
centerpiece of the festive weekend, takes place from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00
p.m. Set under tents along the Avon River, you will enjoy the culinary
wide variety of subjects. Follow his blog at: londonontarioculinarytourist.blogspot.com
Local le!
,
h
s
e
r
F Availab
Garlic
For recipes and more, visit:
issue no. 24
www.eatdrink.ca 11
SPOTLIGHT
Being Bradshaws
Stratford’s Fresh Inspiration, for  Years
By David Hicks
B
efore Ramsay, before Jamie, before
Martha, even way before Julia, there
was Bradshaws — a cook’s oasis in
Stratford that’s still on its game after
115 years and six generations of owners. If
anything, the allure and relevance for inhouse foodies is stronger than ever. If you
haven’t been there in a while, it’s time to be
good to yourself and drop in.
At the front door, you’ll see the store’s new
manifesto gently announcing Bradshaws’
quality commitment to their customers, an
up-front statement pretty well summed up
with their catchphrase: “Buy
it once and buy it well.”
In our throwaway culture,
this approach is in counterstep, along with the slow/
local/100-mile insurgency
where a satisfied soul trumps
expediency. Changes inside
the store reflect this too.
“Carrie and I changed
the store’s emphasis when
we took over in 2006,” says
Jeremy, the third generation
of Wrefords, who bought the
store in 1975 from the Bradshaw dynasty. “Traditional,
gifty items and collectibles
aren’t going away, but with
celebrity chefs and cooking
channels, people’s interests
have changed, so the store
has changed. They want
practicality, durability, selection, and especially good
design — it’s got to look good
out on the counter.”
Hot Cookware
So in addition to the obvious,
like this year’s hot colour for
Le Creuset cookware (Cassis),
you’ll find high-quality alternatives like Staub and Emile
Henry. Same with their decision to carry
several lines of German knives alongside
Japanese names like Shun and MAC. “Our
staff has real depth of experience and product knowledge,” says Carrie Wreford. “Some
of them have over twenty years’ experience
here, and you can tell they genuinely enjoy
helping our customers make decisions.”
But not everything in the store is for the
cognoscenti. There are gadgets and gizmos
for as little as a dollar, left-handed wooden
utensils that just feel right, and guidance
for choosing a pepper mill that will actually
Carrie and Jeremy Wreford put Bradshaws’ commitment
to their customers out front, quite literally.
12
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
balsamic vinegars, and local stars like Moss
Berry Farm’s jams from Embro and Hensall’s
The Garlic Box [see story on page 24].
Is there a tagine in tangerine? If there is,
it’ll be at Bradshaws.
last. (Carrie helped me in my quest for a
worthy garlic press.)
“We emphasize products that improve
people’s quality of home life, and even the
industry, in some way — like build quality,
innovative design, unique materials, price,
longevity, green values and so on,” says Carrie. “I love Jeremy’s ‘buy once, buy well’ line
– one of the greenest things you can do is not
buy stuff you’ll throw out in a couple of years.”
Besides well-known international and
Canadian names like Umbra, the Wrefords
ferret out hard-to-get lines like cutting
boards, bowls and burls by Stratford artisan
Don Stinson; pepper mills made with found
wood by Cam Laver in Erin; and Québecois
items such as Tom Littledeer’s hand-hewn
cooking paddles and spatulas, and fine Porcelaines Bouquet.
For the discerning and/or hard-to-buyfor, the expanding specialty food section features items like estate-bottled olive oils and
The Wrefords seek out unique Canadian lines,
such as these pepper mills made from found wood
by Cam Laver in Erin ON.
Urban Family Values
Although Jeremy grew up with Bradshaws, it
didn’t interest him until after years of living
and working in Toronto, where he and Carrie
met and married. “It felt like it was the right
time to come back,” says Jeremy, who holds a
degree in interior design. “And the store has
become more and more a personal expression — our own family life emanates from the
kitchen, we use the things we sell at home, and
the store has largely become our lifestyle.”
For a stylish young urban family, with
Carrie’s visual media background including
graphic design for Roots, the move back to
Stratford explains the experiential, designdriven choices for the store. “Bradshaws is
such a part of how we think now,” she says.
“When we’re out to dinner, shopping, on
vacation, at tradeshows in Toronto, Chicago
or Paris, I keep seeing things and thinking,
‘We should carry those… We could do that
kind of display.’”
“She’s forever taking pictures.” Jeremy
rolls his eyes with a smile.
After four decades of southwestern
Ontario downtowns imploding, surely a key
component of the continuing success of
�or a
Specializing in Continental Cuisine, prepared with a
local flair. Menus change frequently, as each season
inspires new delicacies from our region’s bounty.
Extensive, well-rounded and reasonably-priced wine list.
Carrie, Jeremy and their staff know their
French cookware, like this Emile Henry line.
Bradshaws and others in Stratford’s core is
the spirited creativity applied by local, entrepreneurial, non-cookie-cutter businesses.
Being family-owned raises the stakes. “We
came into this with the advantage of a century of Bradshaws’ momentum, but no one
can rest on their laurels these days. I’m in
awe of independent business people who
are putting themselves out there with something new — small business has gone from
‘risky’ to ‘daredevil.’ ”
Sitting in a back office cluttered with
product samples, historical Bradshaws
photographs and publicity pieces for local
food fêtes, Jeremy shrugs. “The Big Boxes
and internet shopping are just realities of
our time. But agility and active community
engagement should enable small businesses
to run around the feet of the giants.”
Bradshaws
129 Ontario Street, Stratford
519-271-6283
www.bradshawscanada.com
DAVID HICKS is a Stratford freelance writer and
branding consultant who loves to crush garlic for his wife.
Contact him at [email protected].
14
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
Stratford is more than great theatre.
“I made a delicious discovery: Stratford has a culinary obsession.
And, for me, finding what I call a ‘food town’ is a rare and
magnificent thing ... You’ve got a place that feeds all the senses.”
— Marion Kane, Food Writer
www.marionkane.com
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www.eatdrink.ca 15
16
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issue no. 24
RESTAURANTS
A Chic and Stellar Taste of Serbia
London’s Kantina Café is drawing rave reviews
By Bryan Lavery
T
here’s a new game in town: a
contemporary, upscale Serbian hot spot serving great
food. This new arrival on the
restaurant scene is stylish, streamlined and urban chic. The concept
was designed by Miljan Karac and his
wife Bojana, who operate the restaurant. The newly renovated space on
Talbot Street, formerly occupied by
Libido, has a clean, modern style and
features a fresh and contemporary
take on international and traditional
Serbian cuisine.
The restaurant’s logo and signage
communicate not only the owners’
personalities and originality, but also their
unique sense of style. The room itself is both
striking and attractive, with brown leather
lounge seating transitioning into spacious
wood block tables, white leather banquette
seating, and simple but stylishly comfortable chairs. On one wall, a series of identical
gold-framed mirrors reflect the reclaimed
heritage yellow brick wall opposite them.
For those looking for a cocktail or a cafe au
lait, there’s a small bar at the back of the
room with seating for six. The kitchen is
on the small side, but Karac has plans to
The Lounge area
Stylish, streamlined and urban chic
enlarge it. Lively, modern Serbian and Balkan Gypsy music plays in the background.
Restaurant insiders agree that this restaurant is noteworthy. “Chef Danijel Markovic is
not only talented but he is cooking some of
the most delicious food in the city,” said one
prominent local chef, and several other chefs
concurred. Kantina currently ranks among the
top restaurants in London for a truly superb
and innovative culinary experience. A hop,
skip and a jump from the John Labatt Centre
and around the corner from King Street’s hip
restaurant row, Katina has a very bright future,
but so far it has remained relatively
unnoticed by the local dining set. I
predict that this is about to change.
Karac tells me, “Serbian cuisine
has many culinary cultural influences, including the Byzantine
Empire/Greek, Turkish and AustroHungarian cuisines.” This certainly
make sense, as Serbia borders
Hungary to the north; Bulgaria and
Romania to the east; Macedonia
to the south; and Croatia , Bosnia ,
Herzegovina and Montenegro to the
west. Serbia’s capital city, Belgrade,
is among the most populous in
Southeastern Europe.
issue no. 24
Serbian cuisine is interesting and
continues to evolve from the Slavonic
traditions moulded by the tumultuous changes and influences it has
experienced over the years. In recent
times, the very large Serbian diaspora
has helped popularize Serbian cuisine across the world, and here in
London, we have approximately
3,500 Serbians living in the city.
Food preparation is a strong part of
the Balkan family heritage. In Serbia
and Croatia, unlike other European
countries, food is usually homemade,
prepared by families for their members only. Many of the foods that we
might typically buy in the grocery store are
often painstakingly handmade at home. The
reasons for this range from personal expressions of the culture to the preservation of
secret family traditions. Out of a sense of
necessity and economics, many ingredients
and recipes have become cultural icons.
Serbian cuisine is characterized by such
idiosyncratic ingredients as kajmak (clotted cream); ajavar, a traditional relish made
www.eatdrink.ca 17
Wood block tables, white leather banquette seating,
and simple but stylishly comfortable chairs.
from red bell peppers, eggplant, garlic and
chilli peppers; sir, a generic term for a variety of semi-hard white cheeses made from
sheep’s milk and kept in brine (feta-style);
and two very distinct types of yogurt — one
from cow’s milk and a more luxurious one
made from sheep’s milk.
Chef Markovic, who is new to both London and the English language, comes out
of Kantina’s kitchen to speak personally to
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Fanshawe Park Road at Richmond Street
Every Saturday 8am-3pm
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Plenty of Free Parking • www.londonsfarmersmarket.ca
18
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
the restaurant’s patrons. Markovic is able to
communicate his artistry, a passion for food
and his mastery of ingredients before the
food ever arrives at the table. Arrive it does,
on beautiful dinnerware that complements
his creations. Chef tells me that the visual
attractiveness of each dish is important, and
he certainly strikes a fine balance
of colour, texture and proportion.
Markovic likes a challenge and
has offered us, on several visits to
the restaurant, a “trust me” menu
featuring some very interesting,
delicious and unusual flavour combinations. There is an innate originality to his cooking style.
Chef Markovic, who is a mere 22
years old, was born in Croatia. In
his early youth, he was interested
in cooking and worked with his
mother in the kitchen. After graduating from a culinary high school
in Belgrade, Serbia, Markovic
entered a hotel/culinary college
where gastronomy was his main
focus. He studied and worked at the
same time. After graduating from
college, he was hired at the Hyatt
Regency (5-star) hotel in Belgrade
as a line cook. His natural talent
and abilities quickly propelled him
into the position of line chef. This
advancement allowed Markovic
the opportunity to be mentored by
many international chefs (Italian,
Australian, German, Indian and Sri
Lankan). The hotel’s dining room
menus featured modern interpretations from China, Japan, Malaysia
and Vietnam, bringing an eclectic
approach to classic dishes from
each country’s cuisine. You can see
these influences from time to time
in Markovic’s cooking.
Chef’s veal soup with finely
diced root vegetables, sour cream
and white turnip is truly a revelation and a testament to the Chef’s
tremendous talent and his ability
to layer many flavours with great
effect. An upscale/rustic cream of
potato and leek soup with toasted
almonds, crunch bacon, tiny shrimp and
truffle oil is out of this world.
One of the chef’s signature specialties is
Karadjordjeva (Black George Schnitzel), a
delicious rolled fried pork schnitzel with
kajmak stuffing. Chef also does a delicious
hamburger and fantastic sandwiches, but
prefers more challenging fare, such as his
perfectly cooked stuffed calamari accompanied by black (squid ink) risotto.
On one occasion, a chilled, luxurious
Several dishes demonstrating Chef Danijel Markovic’s
creative take on Serbian cuisine: (TOP) Fresh Tomato
Soup (homemade ricotta, basil and pesto); (MIDDLE)
Cream Potato and Leek Soup with toasted almonds;
and (BOTTOM) Fresh Strawberry Soup.
Serbian-style Stuffed Pepper
strawberry purée with balsamico that has
both sweet and sour elements arrives after
dinner for dessert. On another occasion,
smooth fudgy pot au crème, topped with
mousse and flavoured with cloves and star
anise, is accompanied by a whimsical jam
pot of strawberry purée and a chocolate
tuille.
The menu changes seasonally, prices
are affordable and the wine list is modest.
Kantina also serves a delicious breakfast on
Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Kantina Café
 Talbot Street, London
519-672-5862
www.kantina.ca
Also on Facebook
hours of operation
tuesday–thursday: 10 am–10 pm
friday: 10 am–closing
saturday: 9 am–closing
sunday: 9 am–6 pm
monday: closed
BRYAN LAVERY is a well-known local chef, former
restaurateur, culinary instructor, and an avid proponent of
the regional culinary scene. As both Contributing Editor and
“Food Writer at Large” for eatdrink, he shares his thoughts and
opinions on a wide spectrum of the culinary beat.
20
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
RESTAURANTS
Out of Africa
TG’s Addis Ababa Restaurant, in London
By Bryan Lavery
I
t’s an inconspicuous restaurant
on Dundas Street between Burwell and Maitland, and directly
across from London’s popular
Latino Market. Inside, forget the fading travel posters that line the walls.
Just close your eyes and savour the
exquisite aromas emanating from
the nearby tables and the kitchen.
For the last seven years, TG’s Addis
Ababa Restaurant has offered an
authentic cook’s tour of Ethiopia.
As in much of Africa, hospitality is
important in Ethiopia, and at TG’s
Addis Ababa it is paramount. TG and
her extended family look forward to
“spending some precious moments
with you.” Regulars, restaurant insiders, and the vegetarian crowd are
TG holds her daughter, seated between her husband Sam and his
known to flock to this off-the-beatenmother in traditional Ethiopian dress, ready for a family meal.
track restaurant, for reasonably priced,
fresh, well-executed Ethiopian cuisine
back millennia. Addis Ababa (meaning “new
in a homey and hospitable environflower” in Amharic) is the largest city in
ment. And Ethiopian expats and many local
Ethiopia, with a population about the size of
taxicab drivers who know more than a thing
Metropolitan Toronto. Comprising an area
or two about great Ethiopian cooking are
often on hand. Often, TG, the gracious owner, of tremendous geographical diversity where
is both chef and server herself. TG’s husband 70 languages are spoken, Ethiopia repreSam speaks proudly of the restaurant and his sents a very diverse population, and its food
culture varies regionally. However, there are
wife’s many accomplishments.
Ethiopia is an ancient, landlocked country a few culinary staples that remain hallmarks
of the cuisine, such as berbere and injera.
in East Africa, with a history that stretches
issue no. 24
www.eatdrink.ca 21
Berbere (pronounced bari baray) is a
brick-red mixture of spices which include
chile peppers, ginger, cloves, coriander,
allspice, rue berries and ajwain. This spice
mixture is a central ingredient in the cuisines of both Ethiopia and Eritrea and adds
a succulent heat and
piquant kick to many
dishes. Many years
ago, my introduction
to berbere by local
Eritrean cook, Ghenet
Ethiopian cuisine is generaly
Abahara, gave me
designed to be shared.
my first inkling of the
Whether it be a meat
essential role and
dish (ABOVE), a
subtle complexity
vegetarian selection
played by spicing in
(BELOW), or a
East African cuisine.
combination of the
Ethiopian cuisine
two (CENTRE), the
is thought to be greatly influinjera flatbread is
enced by the Indian masalas,
central to the dish,
with their combinations of
serving as both a
dried (and usually dry-roasted)
platter and eating
hot spices, or pastes made
utensil.
from ground spice mixtures
mes Meat
Deliingredients — often
and&
other
Version #2
onion, garlic and ginger.
Another hallmark of East
African cuisine is injera, the flatbread that
Ad Size:
1/4 Vto both Ethiopian and Eritrean
is central
Issue cuisine.
#: 23 Spongy in texture and crèpe-like in
appearance,
es Rep:
Loretta injera has a sourdough taste
to it.May
Traditionally
made out of fermented
Date:
30
tef, injera is used as both the serving platter
and eating utensil. Protocol dictates tearing pieces of injera off with your right hand,
wrapping it around the meat or stew, and
Try This Months Feature
then popping the injera into your mouth.
No other utensils are used. Various entrees
Delicious Bruschetta and
and side dishes are placed decoratively and
Parmesan Stuffed Chicken Breast
served directly onto the injera, allowing it
for the BBQ
to absorb individual flavours and spices.
Dishes are always accompanied by extra
Perfect for Parties & Cottage Vacations or
injera to scoop up the food with. Start the
Just at Home with the Family!
meal by tearing off a piece of injera then use
it to scoop up some food.
#1
Ethiopian meat dishes fall mostly into
We have a
two distinct categories: red stews (wat),
BBQ Pig Roaster
which include berbere, and green stews
Available to Rent
(alicha wat), which do not. Wats are propFor Special Events
erly prepared with a generous amount of
chopped onions, which the cook simmers
519-268-0500
or sautés in a pot. Onions are fried without
4218 Catherine St., Dorchester
oil, which gives then a distinct taste cenShort Drive from London
tral to Ethiopian cuisine. Once the onions
www.thamesmeatanddeli.com
have softened, the cook adds niter kebbeh,
22
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
a clarified butter infused with ginger, garlic
vegetarian dishes, with a large repertoire of
and other ground spices. TG’s menu includes deliciously spiced preparations and beautiseveral types of meat dishes, such as Quanta
fully balanced flavours, based on lentils,
Fer-Fer, which is strips of marinated grilled
split peas, chickpeas and other pulses. At
beef, prepared with hot red pepper sauce and TG’s Addis Ababa, defen misir, delicious
mixed with injera. Another
green lentils traditionAddis Ababa specialty is
ally seasoned and cooked
dulet kitfo, which consists
with onion and possibly
of freshly minced, very lean
turmeric, has become one
beef, mixed and cooked
of the restaurant’s most
with clarified butter, onion,
popular vegetarian dishes.
jalapeño and the traditional
Coffee originated in
spice mixture mitmita (an
Ethiopia, and drinking
indigenous hot crushed
traditional coffee at TG’s
orange-red or yellow pepper
Addis Ababa is a ceremony
spice mixture that contains
in itself. TG tells me,
ground cardamom seed,
“Ethiopians hand-roast
cloves and salt).
their coffee, often bringing
TG’s menu is designed
out a pan of sizzling ripe
to eat à la carte or comgreen coffee beans so that
munally, and TG guides the
their guests can first smell
uninitiated to select from a
the aroma.” After roastmenu of elaborately spiced
ing, the coffee is ground,
TG’s is a family-friendly place
and very fresh vegetarian,
then boiled in a clay pot.
chicken and beef dishes.
Often the hostess will sit
Sharing a selection of delicious dishes that
on a stool in front of a low table and burn
have been expertly arranged on a common
incense. The coffee pot is left to rest until the
platter for two, three, or more — the tradigrinds settle to the bottom, then the coffee is
tional way to eat a meal in Ethiopia — is a
poured into tiny cups and served with sugar.
convivial introduction to the cuisine.
The hostess will make a second pot using
Ethiopian restaurants are a popular
the same grinds, and the process will be
choice for vegetarians. Traditional Ethiopian repeated. Often a third pot will be made.
cuisine employs no pork of any kind, as most
TG’s dining room has recently been
expanded, and there is a small
bar near the kitchen door with
additional seating. TG is also
well-known as a local caterer of
fine Ethiopian cuisine.
TG’s Addis Ababa Restaurant
465 Dundas Street
(at Maitland), London
519-433-4222
www.tgsaddisababarestaurant.ca
Enjoy Ethiopian Coffee Ceremonies
Ethiopians are Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, Muslims or Jews. Orthodox Christian
Ethiopians traditionally eat a strict vegetarian diet twice a week, so Ethiopian cuisine
has developed a large variety of complex
hours of operation
tuesday–saturday: 11 am–10 pm
sunday: 2 pm–9 pm
closed Mondays
BRYAN LAVERY is a well-known local chef, former
restaurateur, culinary instructor, and an avid proponent of the
regional culinary scene. As both Contributing Editor and “Food
Writer at Large” for eatdrink, he shares his thoughts and
opinions on a wide spectrum of the culinary beat.
issue no. 24
www.eatdrink.ca 23
24
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
SPOTLIGHT
Ontario Garlic Finds a Growing Market
Jackie Rowe and The Garlic Box, in Hensall
By Jill Ellis-Worthington
T
he concept of terroir has long been
used for wine and is now often
applied to other types of agriproducts. But garlic? This ancient plant
is used in virtually every culture to add flavour to food and is valued for its medicinal
qualities, for sure, but applying the same
principles of climate, soil and topography as
fine wines to this humble bulb? Really?
Jackie Rowe does just that. Her enterprise, The Garlic Box, has gone from being
a two-person operation with minimal sales
to employing twelve staffers and grossing a
million dollars a year. Rowe is stunned by
the growth, but as a garlic fan herself, she
isn‘t surprised by the popularity of Ontario
garlic. “The soil, the air, the climate here all
mean that we have the best-tasting garlic,”
says Rowe, reflecting on the concept of terroir as it applies to her products.
Based in Hensall, The Garlic Box takes the
produce of twelve acres — 50,000 pounds of
garlic — from a local farmer and turns it into
forty products sold across Canada in over a
thousand retail outlets. From salad dressings and seasonings to splashes (to enhance
meat, poultry, vegetables and salads) and
bread dips, Rowe wholesales nationally and
internationally, and sells via internet to the
U.S. and Britain.
The Garlic Box came from another enterprise that Jackie and her husband Jim were
part of thirteen years ago. “Jim planted an acre
of garlic with some partners,” she explains.
That garlic was replanted and one acre turned
into seven, leading to a co-op for developing
and promoting Ontario garlic.
“The Garlic Box was developed as the
marketing branch of that enterprise,” says
Jackie. She would take the bulbs not perfect
enough for selling on their own and experiment with them. An interior designer by
profession but an avid cook by choice, Rowe
started developing innovative products featuring Ontario garlic.
When the garlic market took a dive in 2000
with catastrophic crop loss and a bad agri-
Jackie Rowe
economy, the co-op failed. Jackie pulled The
Garlic Box out of the ashes and built it into
the thriving business of today. She came up
with the intriguing name, as well. Packing the
freshly picked bulbs into wooden boxes usually meant for shipping apples, Rowe took her
inspiration from these useful containers.
Ontario garlic is a hard-neck variety called
Music garlic, named for Al Music, a former
tobacco farmer who started growing it in the
mid-1980s. It is planted in October and harvested in early to mid-July, depending on the
spring weather. After drying, the year’s fresh
crop is usually available in August.
A garlic jelly was one of Rowe’s first products on the market. “I took it to a street fair
in St. Mary’s and [sold $300 worth] that day.
That was the beginning,” she says, smiling.
A savvy local retailer spotted Rowe’s
products at an early debut in Stratford. Jill
Wilcox of Jill’s Table is a nationally syndicated
columnist and author of three cookbooks,
with a fourth coming out soon. She’s
impressed with the quality of Rowe’s products. “She takes so much time and care with
what she produces,” says Wilcox. Jill’s Table
carries more than a dozen of The Garlic Box’s
products, which are top sellers in the store.
Passionate about local agribusiness, Rowe
has partnered with other Ontario producers to diversify the company’s lines. For
instance, Niagara wine is one ingredient in
Winter Garlic Cloves in Chardonnay; local
organic apple cider is used in the Apple and
Cider Vinaigrette; and horseradish grown
in the Delhi area is used in two products:
Horseradish Garlic Seasoning Mix and Garlic Horseradish Potato Seasoning.
“You’ve got to be able to offer a huge
line,” says Rowe, as she strives to have a wide
audience appeal. She is working on two
new products: bringing back garlic jelly and
developing three flavours of garlic paste.
Describing herself as “cooking all the time,”
this diminutive dynamo has an eye on food
trends to ensure that her line is growing and
reflecting what people want to eat.
26
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
Rowe describes garlic
scapes as “the new parsley.
You can use them in soups,
Recipe courtesy of The Garlic Box
sauces and dips.” These long
bean-like veggies are an
Garlic packs a flavour punch!
1 Rim glass with lemon juice
inherent part of the hardClamato
rimmer
and Clamato rimmer. Place
neck garlic. Rowe says they
1¼ ounce vodka
ice cubes in glass.
grow out of the neck as a
Clamato
juice
result of the bulbs being
2 Pour vodka, Worcestershire
1 tsp (5 mL) Worcestershire
stressed by our cold winters
sauce, Garlic Steak Splash
sauce
— not unimaginable if your
and lemon juice over ice, add
1
tsp
(5
mL)
lemon
juice
evolutionary parent was from
Clamato juice, and stir well.
dash of Tabasco sauce
the Middle East.
1
dash
of
Garlic
Steak
Splash
3
Garnish with a toothpick
Scapes are used in some of
celery
stalk
topped with Garlic Stick in
The Garlic Box’s products, like
Garlic Sticks in olives
Olive, and add celery stalk.
garlic relish with scapes and
roasted garlic oil with garlic
Since her products are offered in higherscapes, but fresh ones are also
end food shops, Rowe emphasizes that
available. Rowe recommends a recipe from
“Ontario garlic offers added value. It has
the website that sees the chef mixing scapes
the high-quality nutritional profile.” This is
and green beans. My partner tried a simpler
equally true of the garlic scapes. Garlic is
approach: he blanched them in boiling water
good for you — no doubt about it!
for a minute, then tossed them into a pan with
If you’re motoring up Highway 4 toward
some olive oil, butter, and coarse salt and pepper for a few minutes. It’s delicious with chicken Lake Huron, make a stop at The Garlic Box in
Hensall or pick up some of their products at a
cooked on the barbecue, doused with some of
gourmet store for your next barbecue.
The Garlic Box’s Chilli Lime Chicken Splash.
The Ultimate Bloody Caesar
issue no. 24
www.eatdrink.ca 27
The Garlic Box
 London Rd., Hwy. #, Hensall, ON
1-888-772-9994 or 1-519-262-2470
www.thegarlicbox.com
store hours: mon to fri 9–5 p.m.
In Ontario, products from The Garlic Box can be found at retailers from
Aberfoyle to Zurich, including Remark Farms, Angelo’s Italian Bakery,
Bradshaws in Stratford, and the Clay Gourmet in Bayfield.
Garlic Scapes
JILL ELLIS-WORTHINGTON is a freelance writer and chief
communicator for Write.On Communication Services International
(www.writedoton.com).
New H
Honey
oney
yC
Crop
ro
op N
Now
ow O
On
nT
Tap!
Bring in your favourite container and we’ll fill ’er up!
28
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
BOOKS
The Man Who Ate the World
In Search of the Perfect Dinner
by Jay Rayner
Review By Darin Cook
A
fter a career in journalism, covering
stories like the Bernardo/Homolka
murder trial, Jay Rayner became
restaurant critic for the London
Observer, with the prospect of fancy food offering
a respite from heavier topics. Noticing that highend restaurants were cropping up everywhere,
Rayner recently headed out to eat in seven cities
across the globe. The results are The Man Who
Ate the World: In Search of the Perfect Dinner
(Henry Holt & Company, 2008, $28).
Starting in Las Vegas, at a time when the
restaurant scene is graduating from its customary all-you-can-eat buffets to gourmet restaurants, Rayner samples the type of cooking
from Wolfgang Puck and Joel Robuchon that
is intended to launch Vegas into a destination
known for more than
its gambling.
Rayner’s wit is sharp,
and his cynical observations are laugh-out-loud
funny, but the book is as much a cultural critique of the cities he visits as a look at their cuisine. He is told that food coming into Dubai has
quality issues due to Islamic laws, which sounds
absurd given that the Dubai tourism-crazed juggernaut attracts the best chefs to run the most
exclusive restaurants. But this doesn’t prevent
Rayner’s food experiences from being unmemorable and inauthentic as he eats a poor attempt
at Swiss fondue while watching people ski on
snow inside a mall in a 74-degree desert.
Rayner never strays far from his political background. His trip to Moscow focuses as much on
issue no. 24
the Mafia-style criminal activity as on the food,
with restaurants riddled not only with expensive
meals, but also the bullet holes of “businessmotivated assassinations” and a decadent elitism
that he attributes back to Soviet times.
In Tokyo, he fears that Japanese chefs are
giving him all the weird stuff “that nobody ever
eats to see whether I’d be too polite to refuse.”
Rayner holds a personal philosophy that you
must try everything once, if only to say you
don’t like it, even if that means trying lavender
ice cream in green bean soup.
His restaurant experiences tend toward
the outlandish and extravagantly expensive.
He makes no bones about the conspicuous
consumption of modern restaurants. He flirts
with meals rumoured to be $1,000 a head, and
in New York indulges in champagne that he
labels “remortgage-the-house champagne.” This
type of garish spending causes him to wonder
whether Michelin-starred restaurants exist only
to please greedy eaters with no monetary limits.
This questioning of a career that pursues the
love of expensive food leads to one last hurrah
in Paris to taste-test seven restaurants in seven
days. He likes some, abhors others, and ends his
last night shaking his head at a $1,250 bill.
He believes there are flashes of perfection
throughout his trips, including L’Astrance in Paris
and a sushi meal in Tokyo, but Rayner concludes
that his quest may go unfulfilled because perfection is based on individual tastes and appetites.
On a more personal level, he says, “My pursuit of
the perfect meal was doomed to failure because
I had been conducting it in entirely the wrong
company, which is to say, my own.” This is when
he returns to his hometown of London, England
to dine at his favourite restaurants with his wife,
making the statement that dining with the right
person can make a meal taste better.
It is these personal touches from Rayner’s
life that make his globetrotting narrative most
enjoyable. Even while dining in establishments
once frequented by the Rat Pack in Vegas or the
Russian first lady in Moscow, he attributes his
www.eatdrink.ca 29
family’s long love affair with food for his good
fortune of having a job that consists of eating in
restaurants. But what should we expect from
an man who tells us that one of his most lasting memories of childhood is sneaking away
alone on a school trip four nights in a row to eat
escargot in a nearby French restaurant instead
of skiing with his friends?
DARIN COOK is a freelance writer who keeps himself
well read and well fed by visiting the bookstores and
restaurants of London.
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30
www.eatdrink.ca
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issue no. 24
• Shop • Stay • Play
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www.eatdrink.ca 31
issue no. 24
Loved by generations for our
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Try our fresh breads and pastries
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32
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
Elgin County has an abundance of great culinary
destinations, and we’re ready to show them off.
From fine dining, quaint bistros and unique tea rooms to casual
diners and delis, Elgin County’s restaurants will satisfy every taste.
Travel our culinary trail and visit award-winning wineries,
pick-up the freshest produce at roadside markets,
and take a stroll through a field of lavender.
You can also visit Elgin’s own microbrewery, take a
cooking class in a historic bank, experience adventure at
a bee farm, and so much more.
Savour the tastes of Elgin County.
For information on the Savour Elgin Program,
call 1-877-GO ELGIN x137 or visit
www.savourelgin.ca
Members of Savour Elgin
Clovermead Bees & Honey
11302 Imperial Road N, Aylmer
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Empire Valley Farm Market & Greenhouses
27983 Talbot Line, RR #1 Wallacetown
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Farmgate Markets Deli & Fresh Meat
310 Wellington Street, St. Thomas
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Heritage Line Herbs & Silver Birch Tearoom
53443 Heritage Line, RR #1 Aylmer
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Horton Farmers’ Market
Manitoba Street (just north of Talbot Street), St. Thomas
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Kettle Creek Inn
216 Joseph Street, Port Stanley
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291 Bridge Street, Port Stanley
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47589 Sparta Line, RR #5 Aylmer
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Mad Hatters Tea Room / Quaker Barrel
47272 Talbot Line, RR #3 St. Thomas
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Pinecroft Pottery & Green Frog Tearoom
8122 Rogers Road S, RR #5 Aylmer
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Quai du Vin Estate Winery
45811 Fruit Ridge Line, RR #5 St. Thomas
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Railway City Brewing Company
168 Curtis Street, St. Thomas
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Ruby’s Cookhouse
583 John Street N, Aylmer
tXXXSVCZTDPPLIPVTFDPN
Rush Creek Wines
48995 Jamestown Line, RR #2 Aylmer
tXXXSVTIDSFFLXJOFTDPN
The Arts & Cookery Bank
242 Graham Road, West Lorne
tXXXUIFBSUTBOEDPPLFSZCBOLDPN
The Windjammer Inn
324 Smith Street, Port Stanley
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34
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
BOOKS
Locavore
From Farmers’ Fields to Rooftop Gardens,
How Canadians are Changing the Way We Eat
by Sarah Elton
Review By Bryan Lavery
I
am an ardent reader of Sarah Elton, food
columnist for CBC Radio’s Here & Now,
who writes regularly for the Globe and
Mail, Maclean’s and the Atlantic’s Food
Channel, and is also an informative blogger
and tweeter. Her new book, Locavore: From
Farmers’ Fields to Rooftop Gardens, How
Canadians are Changing the Way We Eat,
was officially launched at the Green Barns
Market in Toronto at the end of March.
The New Oxford American Dictionary
selected locavore as its word of the year in
2007. Since the term entered the lexicon,
it seems to be on the tip of every culinaryminded person’s tongue. The term was
coined in San Francisco by Jessica Prentice,
for the 2005 World
Environment Day,
to describe consumers who
choose locally produced foods over other
high-carbon-footprint options.
As the emphasis on local food, sustainability and terroir continues to gain momentum across Canada, Elton’s book champions
the movement away from global food production. Elton writes with a steady focus on
Canadian farmers, producers, cheese makers, chefs, restaurateurs, farmers’ markets,
and the regular “Janes and Joes” who are
creating sustainable alternatives to agribusiness and the current global food system.
With the premise that food is the founda-
tion of our culture, Elton allows the reader
a behind-the-scenes journey into the local
food movement and an overview of Canadian terroir and the collective culinary sensibility of a nation. She travels the back roads
from the Maritimes to Vancouver Island as
the quintessential culinary agritourist, and
allowing us a close-up analysis of a burgeoning new local food order. Meticulous
journalist, part culinary zeitgeist, and urban
farmer, Elton resides in downtown Toronto
with her husband and two daughters.
According to Elton, “Our farmers’ markets
are not only hopping, we have more than 500
across Canada.” We also spend about $1 billion at them each year. Although the number
of farmers has been on the decline for several
decades, a more noble-minded younger generation is moving away from urban areas to the
countryside to get back to the earth with sustainable and organic farming practises.
Imagine my surprise when I read that La
Sauvagine, a soft cheese that won a raft of
awards in 2008, and which I have touted in
these pages, turns out not to be a handcrafted
farmstead cheese and the very essence of
Quebec’s terroir. Instead, Elton reveals that it
is actually a mass-produced cheese made with
cheap stand-in ingredients instead of fresh
milk. The “artisan” featured on the packaging,
Alexis du Pont, is nothing more than a counterfeit farmer. Elton also imparts that the unregulated term “artisan” is becoming increasingly
trite and meaningless. Major corporations
eagerly smack this warm and fuzzy marketing
adjective on an increasingly long list of industrial products to deceive consumers.
Locally, Jo Sleger is a well-known farmer
in Middlesex County, whose company supplies about 55,000 boxes of produce a year
to upscale restaurants and grocers, mainly
in Southern Ontario. Sleger specializes in
organic greens, which he cultivates yearround in greenhouses, using soil plugs that
are nourished hydroponically. Sleger has
been growing lettuce in his greenhouse
since 1987, when he was only 21. Elton takes
her readers on a brief tour of Jo and Pauline
Sleger’s organic operation. Elton poses the
question, “So are greenhouses the missing
piece in this puzzle? Are they the answer to
getting us from October to May? Could greenhouses be a way to entice everybody — and
I mean everybody, not just those committed
to reducing their food miles at all cost — to
buy local?” Interestingly, Locavore also tells
Unparalleled Elegance.
Historic Charm.
Culinary Delight.
fresh, seasonal cuisine
open for breakfast,
lunch and dinner
a la carte sunday brunch
3 6 G R A N D AV E N U E
L O N D O N , O N TA R I O
WWW.IDLEWYLDINN.COM
36
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
us that nearby Essex County has the largest
number of greenhouses in North America,
with 87 dedicated to vegetable production.
In June, I had the opportunity to speak
with Elton face-to-face at London’s Central
Library. In person Elton comes across as being
neither an elitist nor a purist — her approach
is even-handed and pragmatic. But she also
tells her audience that she has had to rigorously defend her views and her opinions on
locavorism since her book tour began. Speaking to an audience of about 100 people, many
of them farmers and members of our local
food community concerned about the global
food chain, Elton revealed that an innocuouslooking cookie with a mile-long list of ingredients was the catalyst that instigated a profound
change in her relationship to food.
One of the many lively discussions at the
Central Library centred on the decline of small
rural abattoirs. Historically there were hundreds of small abattoirs in Ontario. But due to
stringent government food and safety regulations these small abattoirs, which serve the
local and sustainable meat market, are being
forced out of business. Operators are unable to
a
Fiesiat lists!
Spec
From Mild to Wild!
keep up with the red tape and paper work, and
cannot afford the upgrades and renovations
the government now requires of their facilities.
The problem is that if they go out of business,
there won’t be sanctioned facilities for local
farmers to have their livestock slaughtered.
Consumers will be forced to buy exclusively
from factory farmers. The National Farmers’
Union has organized a campaign to save the
abattoirs, and local farmer and Executive Secretary for the N.F.U. in Ontario, Karen Eatwell,
passed out postcards to the audience with a
letter of protest.
Fortunately, the trend to buying and eating
local is showing no signs of declining. Instead,
the fruits of our local terroir are quickly
becoming a patriotic trademark of Canada’s
best tables. Elton offers a good case for the
premise that a strong greenhouse industry
might be the answer to building a sustainable
food shed in Ontario. So, if you read one book
this summer, do yourself a favour and read the
immensely enlightening Locavore.
BRYAN LAVERY is a respected local chef and writer,
and eatdrink’s Contributing Editor and Food Writer at Large..
issue no. 24
www.eatdrink.ca 37
COOKBOOKS
The Boreal Gourmet
Adventures in Northern Cooking
by Michele Genest
Review and Recipe Selections by Jennifer Gagel
W
ho would have guessed that
the Yukon is Canada’s slowfood mecca? This is an area
where everyone forages,
pickles, hunts, preserves and loves to eat
the indigenous and unique ingredients.
It’s a place that boasts a Slow Food chapter
since the ’70s. And it’s a cuisine that Michele
Genest is perfectly suited to take us on a
culinary tour of via her book, The Boreal
Gourmet: Adventures in Northern Cooking
(Harbour Publishing Co., 2010, $26.95)
Genest was practically trained since birth
to appreciate great food — her mother was
a gourmet cook who served lamb chops in
a wine reduction as a matter of course. As
a teen, Genest’s first jobs were mainly in
restaurants. Then she spent some formative
years on a Greek island, where cooking
from the land was commonplace and often
the only source of entertainment. Upon
returning to her home and native land,
she wrote on food and dining, and later
became dining editor for enRoute magazine.
Then, just as it happened for many other
transplanted Northerners, she went to visit
in the Yukon and never looked back.
As she discovered, Yukoners “were mad
hunters, fishers and foragers, supplementing
a store-bought diet with the indigenous food
First Nations people have subsisted on for
thousands of years. Here was the approach I
had first encountered in Greece, transposed
to a northern landscape. I fell in, with
enthusiasm.”
She sought out the unique ingredients,
such as spruce tips and wild rose petals, and
blended them creatively with a lifetime of
cultural influences. The result is a northernsouthern fusion, which is about “moose
cooked with spinach, dried fruit, coriander
and cinnamon..., roasted spruce grouse with
a sour cream and Madeira sauce..., caribou,
ginger, Portobello mushrooms and red
pepper sautéed in butter and finished with
red wine, or
salmon steaks
marinated in
soya sauce,
maple syrup, garlic and sesame oil.”
From the strong, acquired taste of
highbush cranberries (which stand up
perfectly to all sorts of game), to the
delicate, almost citrus note of young spruce
tips, she takes the reader on a traveling
adventure that traipses through flavours
as varied as the landscape and the people
who contributed ideas and recipes. Tales
of gathering the ingredients along with
colourful, anecdotal stories give us insight
38
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
into these wild Northerners. She takes us,
and her dog, up cliffs hunting for elusive
berries and pulls us to a screeching halt
at the roadside to harvest Shaggy Mane
mushrooms. We delve below one woman’s
trap door, where a horde of lowbush
cranberries gleams like treasure in its silver
bowl. The recipes flow from these tales.
Some recipes are gifts from fellow Yukoners or reinterpretations of classics, but many
she crafted with the help of her community.
To discover the best flavour combinations,
she invited people who had a vested interest in the final product; they had produced
the ingredients themselves. The Wilted
Arugula Salad with Fireweed Honey Vinaigrette was conceived during a tasting buffet
that included such fare as almonds, morels,
halloumi and honey, with a bottle of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo to go with it. Then these
lucky people set forth, grilling, baking, combining, testing all the results with abandon.
Summer solstice is a huge event in the
Yukon and always involves a potluck. Sigrun
Maria Kristindottir’s Beet and Turnip Bisque is
one such treat, and even though Kristindottir
has returned to Iceland, her spirit is kept close
by this smooth and creamy soup, where the
earthiness of the beets is drawn out by the
smoked paprika, then accented by the slight
tang of the turnip.
Regardless of the amount of sun your
locale sees, Genest’s enthusiasm will have
you seeking out wild ingredients near you.
But if you’d like to duplicate, there is an
extensive source listing included, along with
an excellent index. Crisp, clear photos of the
dishes are interspersed with detailed closeups of the ingredients and stunning vistas of
northern landscapes.Wide margins for notes
and a sewn binding so the book lays flat make
this book an extra pleasure to cook from.
For anyone who likes to travel, hunt, forage, read, cook or eat, consider The Boreal
Gourmet for your next adventure.
JENNIFER GAGEL is a freelance writer specializing in
food. She can be contacted at [email protected]
Recipes courtesy of Michele Genest, from The Boreal Gourmet:
Adventures in Northern Cooking (Harbour Publishing Co., 2010).
Photos by Cathie Archbould (www.archbould.com).
Wilted Arugula Salad
with Halloumi & BC Blackberries
This recipe is very forgiving of substitutions—the
important thing is to keep the balance of tart fruit,
crunchy nuts, vinegar and honey.
½ pound (225 g) of arugula leaves, washed
Handful of pine nuts (or almonds, or hazelnuts)
½ cup (125 mL) blueberries (or raspberries, wild
strawberries, blackberries or even cranberries)
5 tbsp (75 mL) olive oil
1 red onion, halved and sliced
1 pkg of Lendrum-Ross halloumi cheese (about 7
ounces/200 gr), cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp (30 mL) sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 tsp (5 mL) fireweed honey
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Place arugula, fruit and nuts in large bowl. Heat
2 tablespoons (30 mL) oil in iron frying pan
over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until
brown and softened, about 7 minutes. Transfer
to bowl with arugula.
2 Fry halloumi pieces in the same oil, turning
when one side is brown, about 2 minutes. Cook
for a further 2 minutes; add to arugula.
no. 24
SIGRUNissue
MARIA
KRISTINDOTTIR’S
www.eatdrink.ca 39
1 SautéTURNIP
the onion in the oil
in a thick-bottomed
BEET AND
BISQUE
pot until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the
remaining vegetables and the stock and simmer
until
vegetables
are soft.Canada
Strain theand
soupthe
intoYukon
a
Sigrun, inventor of the soup,
lived
in southern
an
bowl.
In a Brian
food processor
or blender,
purée small is p
goopy.
and
Susan’
s
halloumi
wrote for the Yukon News. She
returned
to
Iceland
in
2005,
where
she
amounts of vegetables and liquid at a time until
uses:
for
breakfast,
fried Return
and
placed
on to
the
soup
is smooth
and
creamy.
to the
currently doing a PhD in Environment
and
Natural
Resource
Studies,
focusing o
pot,
whisk inhoney;
cream, smoked
paprika, salt
and on sh
fireweed
for
a
summer
lunch,
sustainability, at the University pepper,
of Iceland.
remains a reporter at hear
reheatBut
andshe
serve.
We still miss her.
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
large white turnip, peeled and
Wilted Arugula1Salad
with Halloumi and BC Blackberries
chopped
3 Add vinegar
to pan, let bubble briefly until it
4–6 beets, peeled and chopped
loses its sharp aroma, remove pan from heat,
2 and
medium
potatoes,
peeled
add
honey
remaining
oil.halloumi
Seasonand
with
Wilted
arugula
salad
with
andsalt
BC
chopped
and
pepper.
Pour
over
arugula;
to coatclub.
and
blackberries from the organictoss
produce
4 cups
(1 immediately.
L) beef, moose or caribou
wilt slightly.
Serve
stock
Makes four servings.
1 cup (250 mL) 35 percent cream
baby tomatoes and shrimp brushed with li
(hig
and in this wilted arugula salad adapted
Sauté eight
the onion
in the oil in a thick-bottomed pot un
Makes
servings
for wilted
spinach and feta. To those of
golden, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining vegetabl
the
Market
invegetables
Shipyards
in
TIP:
The
smoked
paprika
picks
up
on
the earthiness
and
theFireweed
stock and
simmer
until
are Park
soft. Stra
of
the
beets
and
the
horseradishy
bite
of
the
turnip,
thea soup
into a bowl.
In a foodevening:
processor oryou
blender,
pur
summer
Thursday
could
but
proceed
withofcaution.
Theand
first liquid
time I made
thisuntil t
small
amounts
vegetables
at a time
almost
entirely and
from
Yukon-grown
prod
soup
went overboard,
added
a whole teasoupI is
smooth and creamy.
Return
to the pot, whisk
spoon
of smoked
paprika.picked
Too much.
Next
time,
I the n
local
blueberries,
by
you.
For
cream, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, reheat and serv
cut back to one-half teaspoon, which was just right.
to
accompany,
well,
you
might
have to sear
Add
andatCrème
Fraîche,
ifin using,
to “taste,
individual
bow
As
thegin
chefs
Le Cordon
Bleu
Paris
say,
2 Add gin and crème fraîche, if using, to individual
honey; for an appetizer of saganaki
bowls just before serving.
just before
taste,
taste!”serving.
Makes eight servings
½ tsp (2.5 mL) smoked paprika, or
more to taste
Sigrun Maria Kristindottir’s
WILTED
ARUGULA SALAD W
Beet and Turnip
Bisque
FIREWEED HONEY VINAIGRET
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional, to garnish:
A splash
of gin and a dollop of
1 medium onion,
chopped
Crèmeoil
Fraîche (page 150) in each
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive
bowl peeled and chopped
1 large white turnip,
recipe is very forgiving of substitutions—the important th
4–6 beets, peeledThis
and chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
themoose
balance
of tart
4 cups (1 L) beef,
or caribou
stockfruit, crunchy nuts, vinegar and honey.
1 cup (250 mL)
35
percent
cream
Tip: The smoked paprika picks up on the
½ tsp (2.5 mL) smoked paprika, or more to taste
earthiness of the beets and the horse-radishy
Salt
pepper
to tasteof arugula leaves,
½and
pound
Place arugula, fruit and nuts in large
bite(225
of the gr)
turnip, but proceed with caution.
OPTIONAL,
TO GARNISH:
washed
The first time I made this soup I went
tablespoons
(30Turnip
mL)
oilwith
in Crème
iron Fraîche
frying pa
Beet and
Bisque
A splash of gin and a dollop of crème fraîche in
overboard,
and
added
a
whole
teaspoon
of
Beet and Turnip Bisque with Crème Fraîche.
each
bowl
Handful of pine nuts (or almonds, or
high heat. Add onion; sauté until brow
smoked paprika. Too much. Next time, I cut
back to one-half teaspoon, which was just
right. mL)
As the blueberries
chefs at Le Cordon Bleu
½ cup (125
(orin Paris
say, “taste, or
taste,wild
taste!”strawberries,
raspberries,
hazelnuts)
about 7 minutes. Transfer to bowl with aru
blackberries or even cranberries)
Fry halloumi pieces in the same oil, turnin
is brown, about 2 minutes. Cook for a fu
add to arugula.
230mL)
| The
Boreal
5 Tbsp (75
olive
oil Gourmet
1 package of Lendrum-Ross halloumi
cheese, (about 7 ounces/200 gr) cut
into bite-sized pieces.
Add vinegar to pan, let bubble briefly until
aroma, remove pan from heat, add honey
oil. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over
coat and wilt slightly. Serve immediately.
2 Tbsp (30 mL) sherry vinegar or
balsamic vinegar
Makes four servings
1 red onion, halved and sliced
40
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
only the highest quality ingredients, such as pure Canadian
mustard seed and cold pressed olive oils. All of Carrothers’
products are natural, healthy and preservative-free, including 25-year-old Balsamic Vinegar, truffle oil, San Marzano
tomatoes, smoked sea salt and imported olive oils.
NEW AND NOTABLE
The BUZZ
N
ot to wish the summer away, but when you
start thinking ‘back-to-school’, consider
signing up for some of the Fall and Winter
Cooking Classes at the Idlewyld Inn
(www.idlewyldinn.com) and celebrate the bounty of an
array of local produce. Join Executive Chef Tim D’Souza
for these special classes, starting in September.
Red Roaster founders Kendra and Adam Green have
branched out, opening a burger business in Wortley Village. Relish Gourmet Burgers at 135 Wortley Road offers
a selection that includes beef, bison, chicken and veggie,
with over 40 different topping combinations available.
Scott Carrothers, founder of Savoury Chef, is a red seal
chef with 15 years experience in the food industry. His
experience runs the gammut from organic farming, retail
to working as the Executive Chef at the Sheraton Hotel in
Hamilton. Carrothers is currently putting his skills to use
at the Western Fair Farmers’ Market by crafting and
retailing a line of artisan mustards and vinaigrettes using
Check out their website (www.aubergerestaurant.ca) for full
menus, but Auberge du Petit Prince is offering a 3-Course
Dinner for $29 and a 3-Course Lunch for $18. The stylish
French-inspired restaurant should also provide just the right
atmosphere for a Murder Mystery Soirée. Reserve early
for either September 23rd or November 4th. Only $49 per
person for a 3-course dinner, inclusive.
A Dior Soirée will be held October 14th, featuring the
latest fragrances, makeup and skin care lines from Christian
Dior, with a promise of exclusive access to Dior trade secrets!
$55 per person, inclusive, includes a 3-course dinner, a $20
Dior gift certificate, a complimentary glass of wine, a Dior
loot bag and great door prizes. Reserve early!
Coffee roaster and Western Fair Farmers’ Market owner
Dave Cook has landed a lucrative deal to supply Loblaws
with coffee, only five years after starting up his Fire
Roasted Coffee Co. The parents of the head buyer for
Loblaws shop at the Saturday Market, where Cook roasts
and retails 50 types of coffee beans, and suggested they
would bring their son to see Cook’s operation. Cook’s fairtrade beans — roasted locally, but purchased from small,
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independent producers in countries such as El Salvador —
are now on the shelves of 67 Loblaws stores, including all
in London. The Western Fair Farmers’ Market Cafe and
Roastery is open to the public Monday to Friday from 9 to
5. Saturdays from 8 - 3.
For ten days in September, the annual Western Fair takes
centre stage in London, Ontario. Consistently recognized
as one of Ontario ’s top 100 events, the Western Fair is a
premier family attraction in Southwestern Ontario. This
year, over 200,000 visitors are expected to pass through
the gates to experience the sights, sounds and scents of
this annual community event.
The Western Fair Farmers Market would like to invite
you to take part as a vendor/exhibitor during the upcoming
Western Fair. The goals of the event are to help promote local
food, agriculture and other culinary initiatives. For many
fairgoers, shopping is part of the experience. 78% of Fair
patrons visit vendors located in the commercial buildings.
More than 52,000 square feet of exhibit space is dedicated to
the spirit of commerce, making Western Fair Market an ideal
venue to showcase a myriad of consumer goods and services. And it works. Scores of vendors return to the Western
Fair every year to capitalize on a proven, cost-effective way
to reach thousands of customers.
Western Fair Farmers’ Market operating hours during
the Western Fair: Monday-Wednesday, 3pm-9pm;
Thursday, Friday & Sunday, 11am-9pm;
Saturdays, 8am-9pm.
The Western Fair Farmers’ Market serves as an active
incubator for new businesses, and welcomes entrepreneurs
and new small businesses to sell their products. Of particular
interest are food vendors/artisans, growers, farmers, artists
and craftspeople. Take advantage of this outstanding opportunity to market your product or service.
The Northeast Multicultural Market operates on the
4th Saturday of July, August, September, and October 2010.
This community market offers local fruits & vegetables,
cultural handmade items including food, crafts and clothing, skills, art, photographs and wood carvings. Musicians,
artists, performers, storytellers and more are welcome to
this family-friendly event. The next market will take place
on August 28 from 10:00am - 3:00pm at the Kipps Lane
Plaza (1050 Kipps Lane)
Museum London Annual Corn Roast — Ron Benner
is a Canadian artist whose work encompasses a wide-range
of food and social justice issues. Every year, Benner hosts a
traditional corn roast at Museum London, featuring his
roving corn roasting wagon, Maize Barbacoa. Music will be
provided by Frank Ridsdale. Sunday September 12 at 1 p.m.
It’s A Party! London’s first truly Waste-Free Ecofest &
Unity Roundtable. The fall harvest provides the background to a low-cost forum to educate families about
buying locally and respecting the environment for a
sustainable future. L.O.O.K., in partnership with TREA
www.eatdrink.ca 41
42
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
(Thames Region Ecological Association) and Waste Free
World, will entertain, enlighten and engage Londoners in
Queens Park, Western Fair, on October 2.
Spearheaded by two local artists, Jessica Conlon and
Jamie Hume, with Rob Butterwick of Apollo X Productions, the event is designed to raise awareness about
local food, local products, local actions and local music in
a fun and festive atmosphere. The free performance stage
will be powered by the people through the use of specially-engineered bicycles. To feed the spirit and honour the
beautiful trees, a special “Serenade of the Trees” will
be held throughout the park, through music, poetry and
dance. Collaborations are encouraged.
To feed the body, there will be a variety of vendors
offering local, seasonal, organic food choices all day. To
feed the senses, there will be several local artisans displaying and selling their creations. Activities for younger
children will involve learning about recycling, reusing and
repurposing of existing materials. Vendors secure their
space through a refundable deposit, as this Waste Free
EcoFest is a not-for-profit event designed to provide artistic expression and environmental education for all.
Festa Italiana is one of London’s “marquee” events
and also one of the city’s liveliest and most anticipated
festivals. It is a three-day (August 27, 28, & 29) celebration
of Italian culture, cuisine, music, dance and more. Each
year, the popular event attracts over 35,000 attendees.
Festa Italiana organizers are proud to share and showcase
all that is Italian with the people of Ontario. The market
square at the Covent Garden Market is transformed into
an authentic Italian “piazza,” so attendees can drink in the
sights and savour the authentic sounds and tastes of the
true Italian culture for three spectacular days.
The Covent Garden Market hosts the 6th annual East
Coast Festival August 20 & 21, with live and recorded
music, dancing, down-home food, beverages and art. With
its all-Canadian Atlantic theme, Covent Garden Market
Square will come alive with the sights, sounds, and flavours of Canada’s East Coast.
The City Farming Project hosts its annual Tomato Fest
September 18, 11–2 pm., at the Covent Garden Market. In
2006, local food activist Rose White founded the City Farming Project, a sustainable agricultural project in the city, and
began farming on a half-acre plot of land within the city
limits. The City Farming Project is a not-for-profit initiative
whose aim is to provide Londoners with an opportunity to
reclaim their food heritage. To this end, they keep gardens
in the city to teach people, hands-on, how to farm their
private and/or community garden plots. Through a variety of
activities and locations, they produce a range of heritage and
heirloom vegetables, which they sell to local chefs, as well as
the public at London’s farmers’ markets.
The Horton Farmers’ Market (hortonfarmersmarket.
blogspot.com) in St. Thomas is a community-driven
market committed to providing fresh products from local
producers to St. Thomas and area since 1878.The market
hosts over 35 vendors, including Berry Hill Fruit Farm,
DeBackere Farms, Frisa Farm Eggs, Gredigs Apple
Orchard, Lindsay Mushroom Farm and Oegema Turkey Farms. Enjoy your morning coffee from The Peasant
Blend and a breakfast sandwich from Farmgate’s, hot
off the grill. Then fill your bags with the areas freshest
seasonal produce and some fresh-baked pastries.
Your love of all things Italian begins at
Visitors to Stratford, and area residents, now have a second
farmers market to visit. Slow Food (Perth County) put
forward the idea, and Ruth Klahsen helped to make it a
reality, offering premises on the Monforte Dairy property
on Griffith Road. Vendors “embrace the good, clean, fair
philosophy” says Laurie Knechtel of Slow Food. The market
will emphasize locally grown food but will include farmers
from outside Perth County as well. Antony John of Soiled
Reputation is among the vendors, bringing his very fresh
and tasty produce to the Slow Food Market. 49 Griffith Road,
Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm , through October.
Savour Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival [see
story on page 6] has been expanded to 9 days of food,
food, food! Celebrations kick off with a Garlic Festival
(see below for details). The week following is filled with
an Edible Walking Tour, a screening of the film Tableland, a new tour of Stratford’s pubs in heritage properties
with ‘spirits’ and an exploration into beer with Mirella
Amato, back by popular demand. All this builds to a
celebrations of Perth County producers and Stratford chefs
coming together with those who love food and music and
all things connected to it. The key culinary event is the
Savour Stratford Tasting on Sunday, September 26 from
1-4pm, when 30 local producers are paired with chefs to
create delicious tastes. This is paired with VQA wines and
craft beers. Tickets are available online at www.welcometostratford.com, by phone 1-800-561-7926 or in person at
Stratford Tourism Alliance, 47 Downie Street, Stratford.
Love chocolate? Stratford invites you to satisfy your sweet
tooth on the Chocolate Trail. With 16 different stops on
the trail, you will receive 8 passes to exchange for chocolate tastes or take-away items in Stratford. You can select a
visit to famous candy makers, chocolate paired with wine,
chocolate mint bath salts, decadent chocolate caramel
cake and chocolate teas with your $20 pass valid for 3 days.
Bring a friend and dip into Stratford for some chocolate
fun! Go to www.welcometostratford.com/chocolatetrail/
index.html and order your pass online.
Looking for a truly unique festival? Head for the 4th annual
Stratford Garlic Festival, Saturday, September 18, 9am4pm, showcasing Ontario garlic and garlic-related foods
and products. This year’s event features an outstanding
lineup of presenters and demonstrators, including a number
Billy’s
Downtown
Deli
Welcome to Our Table
113 Dundas St @ Talbot
519-679-1970 Closed for Ho
Aug. 22 lidays
-30
Breakfast or Lunch
Closed Mondays
www.billysdelirestaurant.ca
44
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
of celebrity cooking demonstrations. An extensive garlic
market features more than 70 vendors with an array of garlic
and garlic-related items. Try some garlic fudge, enjoy a garlic
sausage, and savour all the flavours and experiences of the
day! The festival is a family-friendly event with numerous
children’s activities offered throughout the day. The Stratford Garlic Festival (www.stratfordgarlicfestival.com) is a
community project of the Kiwanis Club of Stratford in
conjunction with the Garlic Growers of Ontario. Proceeds
from the festival support local community projects. Cost: $5
per person (Children under 5 free). Where: The Old Stratford
Fairgrounds, 20 Glastonbury Drive, Stratford. For more info,
call 519-275-2279 or email [email protected] .
S.P.L.A.T. Tomato Festival takes place on August 29 at
McCully’s Hill Farm, just west of St. Marys on Perth Line
9. Bring your family and celebrate all things tomato. Go to
www.mccullys.ca for more information.
If you miss the Pubs, Pilsner and Spirits Tour in September, join in on October 15 as Stratford launches the
Heritage Festival with this fun tour and tasting event.
The Heritage Weekend includes a period Heritage
Dinner menu at Falstaff Centre in Stratford offering
locally sourced menu reflecting the period that the Falstaff Centre was built. Russian service and entertainment
will round out this intimate dinner. Book dinner and tour
tickets at www.welcometostratford.com/fall after Sept 1.
Join us for drinks
and conviviality!
347 Clarence St. (N of York)
519-858-9900
Jazz Legends at Pazzo is a great way to mix a little music
with your food Friday and Saturday nights starting at 9:00
pm. Late Night Cabarets at The Church are begin at
11:30 pm. Add a Coffee Cantata at Balzac and Picnics
in the Park auctions every Saturday. Stratford Summer
Music continues through August 22. Tickets and information are available at www.stratfordsummermusic.ca.
Culinary Walking Tours of Stratford. Take your taste
buds for a culinary adventure within heritage downtown
Stratford with a local foodie as your guide. Visit several food
shops and sample local products and locally made foods
whenever possible. Tours run rain or shine. Bring an umbrella
and wear comfortable walking shoes. For groups of five or
more or a private tour, please call ahead 519-273-7818. Cost:
$10/per person (Pay your guide directly in cash) and reserve
ahead to ensure a space.
Gallery Stratford presents “Shake your Martini”
Monday September 20th at 7 pm, during the Savour
Stratford Culinary Week (www.savourstratford.com). Learn
to make three martinis using fresh and local ingredients.
Schmooze, mingle and sip at Gallery Stratford, 54 Romeo
Street South. Limited Tickets.
Fall marks the rural celebrations of the harvest and agriculture with fall fairs. Stratford Fall Fair (www.stratfordfairgrounds.com) takes place September 23-26 with exhibits,
shows, a midway and more.
“A casual
pub with serious food...
Recommended: the artisanal
Quebec cheeses and
special charcuterie plates.“
plates.”
www.brennansbeerbistro.ca
Pick up the Event Calendar online
issue no. 24
The 2010 Huron Perth Buy Local Buy Fresh Map will be
launched on August 9th at the Brodhagen Community
Centre (6708 Perth Line 44). Keep a copy in your car and
turn thePantry
county roads into your grocery aisles, for fresh
The Village
local food. Get your copy at the Taste of Huron and Savour
Stratford Culinary Festivals!
Birtch Farms and Estate Winery (www.birtchfarms.com)
the harvest with an Apple Festival, September
/4 H celebrates
18 – 19. This 2-day kick off to the fall festival season features
9
pick-your-own apples and pumpkins, horse drawn wagon
Diane rides along the “Apple Tale Trail”, scarecrow making, corn
Sept 24maze, food tent, wine tasting and new product sampling.
Strolling musicians, fresh baked apple fritters, apple pies,
apple muffins, caramel apples and much more.
www.eatdrink.ca 45
displayed at the Culinary Festival site Saturday, September
25 and Sunday, September 26.
Take some pictures of food, glorious food! Choose your
best shots, whether it be planting, growing, cooking or
eating our local bounty. Entry is open to all photographers
living in Perth County, who may submit up to two (2) works
accompanied by completed submission forms, and entry fee
on Friday, September 17th to Factory163. The submissions
will be judged by celebrity photographers on Saturday,
September 18. Winners will be announced on Monday,
September 20. As well, a People’s Choice Award will be
presented at the end of the Exhibit and will join the other
Perth County Greenworks and Perth County Visitors
Association partner with Savour Stratford to present “Discover Perth County” Farm Tour on Sunday, September
19th. Hop aboard a bus that will transport you to several
local farms, where you’ll spend time with the farmer at each
venue learning about the dynamic agricultural character
and food culture that have transformed Perth County into
a culinary and agri-tourism hotspot. Visit a garlic farmer,
learn about alpaca farming, shear a sheep and feed the wild
boars! $25 for adults and $12 for children (10 and under),
which includes a delicious local brown-bag lunch.
Stratford is offering a number of Culinary Packages, some
in conjunction with the Stratford Chefs School. This
season’s packages include Monforte Artisanal Cheese Making;
A Fresh Approach to Healthy Baking (Chef Brian Holden
teaches the techniques and benefits of gluten-free baking);
and Cultivate Your Palate With the Manic Organic. For more
details, visit www.welcometostratford.com/packages.php.
The Perth County photography exhibit, From Farm to
Table, is the newest addition to the Savour Stratford Perth
County Culinary Festival in September. This is the first food
photography exhibit and sale to compliment the highly
anticipated culinary festival. The exhibit runs from Monday,
September 20th to Friday, September 25th at Factory163,
163 King Street, Stratford, with the winning photographs
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46
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
winning photographs in a display onsite at Savour Stratford
on September 26th, 2010. Visit www.savourstratford.com for
forms and guidelines. For more information, contact Irene
Miller at Factory 163 at 519-271-6500 or [email protected].
Elgin County is pleased to introduce Savour Elgin: A
Taste Experience. The Savour Elgin program includes
a tour guide and map of the culinary trail, a website,
sponsored events, and much more. 16 members from
across Elgin County and St. Thomas feature the best the
area has to offer in culinary attractions. Savour Elgin will
be launched at FreshFest in St. Thomas on Thursday,
August 26th at the Canada Southern Railway Station.
Outstanding Salads for BBQs,
Rehearsal Dinners, Bridal Showers
or Brunches ... Made from Scratch!
Tasty Handmade Hors d’Oeuvres
Homemade Inspired Baking
Turkey Dinners & More
e
City Weidry
Deliv
Savour Elgin is pleased to be sponsoring the event with
the Mobile Culinary Theatre, a fully-functional mobile
demonstration kitchen for all of the chefs’ demonstrations.
FreshFest, a celebration of local farmers and the foods they
grow, is presented in partnership with talented area chefs
and restaurants, wineries and a brewery, to create the
ultimate tasting experience. Food, wine and beer samplers
will be on offer. Mix in the summer sounds of top-notch
entertainment, and the opportunity to raise funds for the
CASO Station through a live auction of great prizes, and you
have a recipe for the best party of the season. Last year’s
event was sold out in advance – get your tickets early! Check
www.freshfest.ca for details and ticket information.
The Taste of Huron culinary festival hits Ontario’s West
Coast from August 16 to 27, 2010. Join up-and-coming
chefs, award-winning cookbook authors and food writers
as you savour the best of Huron County’s local harvest!
You’ll enjoy hands-on culinary workshops, special restaurant and gala events, farm tours, markets and more!
Named the “Best New Event of 2009” by the Economic
Development Council of Ontario (EDCO), and a regional
winner of the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence, the 2010 Taste of Huron event (www.
tasteofhuron.ca) promises to be another delicious success!
Don’t miss this delicious event! On Saturday, August 21,
from 10am to 1pm on The Square in Goderich, the Taste
of Huron Village Marketplace will be hosting a Recipe
Challenge in partnership with the Goderich Farmers’
Market, where local chefs will prepare dishes using local
foods. As event sponsor, eatdrink will help judge dishes
based on taste, presentation and use of local foods. Just
off The Square at The Livery, local chefs and restaurants
will be preparing samples in the Taste of Huron Tasting
Area. For more details on the Taste of Huron culinary festival, visit www.tasteofhuron.ca.
The historic Van Egmond House in Seaforth will be home
to Ciderfest on Sunday, September 26, 10am to 4pm. This
event is a celebration of the local harvest which can be
shared by all members of the family, young and old, held on
the grounds of the Van Egmond Foundation, a provincially-
recognized historic site. Good food, good music, good times.
Known for: Home-cooked food using the freshest of ingredients include renowned fresh apple fritters, (people line-up
of these as they are made as you wait), homemade meat
pies, local cider and chilli. Activities will include fiddle music,
demonstrations, crafts, and tours of historic Van Egmond
House (80 Kippen Road, Egmondville, 1 mile south of Seaforth’s main intersection at Hwy 8 & Main Street). Cost: $2.00
Chef Devin Tabor of Clinton has teamed up with The
Regional Equine & Agricultural Centre of Huron
(REACH) to offer Dine & Vine, a series of educational wine
and food pairing dinners. Featured wineries include Flat
Rock Cellars, Cave Spring and Pelee Island Winery.
Soiled Reputation and Metzger Meat Products are
among the local suppliers. A special Gala Fundraiser is
planned for the October event, with N0 99 Wayne Gretzky
Cellars as the featured winery. Cost: $50 plus HST per
person, which includes the meal, wine tastings and lecture.
Limited seating at each offering, so register early. Dates: Saturday July 24th (oh, you missed that one); Thursday August
26th; Thursday September 23rd; Saturday October 23rd. Call
519-482-3998, ext. 1482 or visit www.reachhuron.ca.
Lynn Neitsch, owner of Sweets & Memories on the
square in Goderich, has been busy this summer adding to
her list of more than 60 store-made gelato flavours. A true
devotee of the frozen dessert, Lynn rotates her flavours
daily but she always has one palate cleanser available
– with grapefruit being the latest hit – and always one
chocolate gelato along with her newest creations.
Kulpepper’s, on the square in Goderich, is the brainchild
of Steve and Lynn Rock. For almost four years, these two
foodie fans have offered a growing collection of appealing
kitchen treasures that are worthy of Homestyle magazine’s
pages (in 2009). Getting excited about spices, sauces, comestibles and foodie tools and treasures you can’t find in big box
stores is the perfect reason to explore this heritage district.
The Whole Pig (www.thewholepig.ca), a new online company, delivers farm fresh pork to our local area. Long-time pork
producers Teresa and Martin Van Raay have developed this
new retail arm for their family farm near Dashwood in Huron
County. The company offers packages ranging from a whole
pig to smaller packages that include various cuts such as
shoulder, ham, bacon, ground pork and sausages. They deliver
within a 100-mile radius of their farm, which covers a wide
territory across Southwestern Ontario.
Slightly further afield, the Amherstburg Farmers’ Market (Malden Community and Cultural Center, County Rd.
20 & Howard Ave.) is running every Saturday until October
30th, from 8:30am - 3:30pm.
We can’t print it if you don’t send it. Our readers
want to know, so send us info about culinary events,
fundraisers, and regional news. With BUZZ in the Subject line, send to: [email protected]
519.432.4092
FREE APPETIZER FOR TWO
With the purchase of two entrées,
GARLIC’S OF LONDON invites you to enjoy a
COMPLIMENTARY APPETIZER FOR TWO prepared by
our Chef and created especially for You and your Guest.
Please present this coupon to your server upon arrival.
Coupon expires September 30, 2010.
48
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
SPOTLIGHT
Summer Sounds Delicious
at Quai du Vin Estate Winery, near St. Thomas
By Debra Bagshaw
Q
uai du Vin Estate Winery
is tucked atop the rolling slopes of Fruit Ridge
Line, just south of St.
Thomas. Like a pleasingly interesting wine, it’s a place
that draws you in, layer by layer.
First there’s the location —
Fruit Ridge Line runs through
pretty countryside at some of
Elgin County’s highest elevations.
The retail wine and gift store is set
into a slope, complete with wine
barrel waterfall. Inside, approachable staff will invite you to taste
and will be pleased to answer any
questions. You can also relax with
a glass of your favourite in the
shade of the Wine Press Terrace.
Enjoy a glass with Lisa Quai
The Quai du Vin Estate Winery vineyards
issue no. 24
www.eatdrink.ca 49
Resident winemaker Jamie Quai, in the barrel room
From the terrace extends the event area,
where Quai du Vin hosts their outrageously
popular “Summer Sounds Delicious” musical events (many sell out in advance), as
well as private functions and weddings. The
substantial tent-covered stage faces lawns
rolling toward the vineyards, lending an oldworld feel. Nothing beats the experience of
enjoying a decadent picnic with the sound
of the blues wafting through the vineyard
towards Lake Erie — you can’t see it but it’s
not far away.
Redi and Louisa Quai planted the first
grapes in 1970 to sell to other wineries; those
vineyards are still in production. The location, with heavy clay soil, good elevation and
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324 Smith St., Port Stanley
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air movement, has proven a wise choice,
comparable in many ways to the Loire Valley
region of France.
With the introduction of free trade in the
late ’80s, surplus Canadian product meant
the loss of market for Quai du Vin grapes.
Redi and Louisa’s son Rob had been a longtime amateur winemaker (and award winner), and his thoughts of “maybe someday”
making wine suddenly became a necessity.
Rob and wife Lisa opened the doors to
Quai du Vin Estate Winery in 1990 and
haven’t looked back. They produce over
90,000 bottles a year and corked their millionth bottle in July 2002. In 2010, they celebrate the winery’s 20th anniversary. Rob
Open for
Lunch & Dinner
7 Days a Week
LIVE
Acoustic Music
Friday Nights
and
Sunday Brunch
OVER THE BRIDGE, BEFORE THE BEACH
50
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
Jamie and Rob — two generations of Quai winemakers
and Lisa’s children (and the extended family) have been actively involved, both with
the agricultural end of the operation and in
helping out with events.
Quai du Vin’s focus has always been to
create quality, affordable wines and to organize events that are fun and memorable.
Rob has been instrumental, over the last
few years, in bringing together businesses in
Elgin County to create an impressive presence at the London Wine and Food Show.
He is unfailingly enthusiastic about the possibilities of combining wine, food, music
and laughter.
The vintner’s genes have been passed to at
least one member of the third Quai generation. Son Jamie graduated in 2006 with an
HBSc in Oenology and Viticulture. He talked
recently about the direction of winemaking
at Quai du Vin.
In his early teens, Jamie felt a bit ambivalent about the winery — it was a lot of work,
and he comments laughing, “with a winery
you can’t even consume the product your
labour goes into.” However, grade 10/11
chemistry courses grabbed his interest.
While considering possible careers, Jamie
suddenly realized that he had a fascinating chemistry lab in his own back yard. He
continues to be intrigued by both winemaking and gastronomy.
Jamie notes that the winery has reached
the stage where it’s self-sufficient in supporting family and staff. He says, “It is still hard
work, but success gives you the opportunity
to step back and focus.” He would like to
refine and narrow the list of grape varieties
grown and develop a reputation for producing a really excellent Riesling or Chardonnay. He advocates dropping some of the
unripe fruit, if necessary, to obtain better
balance — smaller yield but higher quality.
He has performed controlled trials to prove
to both himself (and more importantly, to
Dad Rob) that there are measurable benefits
to discarding some of the early fruit.
He also looks to his European roots for
inspiration. Says Jamie, Chile and Argentina
are producing big wines meant to stand
alone. Old world wines, like those from
France and Germany, are often more subtle
and pair better with foods. His interest in
developing wines definitely has a more
European influence.
Jamie’s interest in food has become a driving force behind the direction of his winemaking. For both taste and health reasons, he
is enthusiastic about the food he buys from
issue no. 24
a local organic farm and farmers’ market. He
likes to cook simply, whenever possible using
products with less than five ingredients. In an
endeavour to learn more about food, he volunteers as a chef’s assistant for Kim Saunders
at the Windjammer Inn in Port Stanley. (The
Windjammer has been recommended in
Where to Eat in Canada for three years running. Kim is known for her flare, enthusiasm
for local food, and inspired taste combinations.) Says Jamie, “I enjoy the multi-tasking
needed to cook in a restaurant — I really
wanted to learn about food and thought I
might as well learn from the best.”
Jamie describes the latest wines bottled
at Quai du Vin as “subtle complex reds” and
“refined and flavourful whites.” He has started
thinking more about the ageability of their
wines, and experimentation has revealed
some pleasant surprises. He is finding the
’09 whites “incredible” and the ’08 reds “fruit
forward with lots of berry, dark cherry, and
strawberry.” Although ’08 was not as good a
year as ’07, the wines have good complexity
that he thinks customers will like.
Winemaker’s Dinners, held in the wine
cellars at Quai du Vin, have presented
opportunities for Jamie to observe people
tasting wine with food. He has developed
an appreciation for the diversity of people’s
taste preferences and the wonderfully complex science of taste. This has led him to
experiment more and more with blending
(for example the 2008 Cabernet and 2008
Merlot) to please different palates.
Quai du Vin offers opportunities to savour
many enjoyable combinations of food, wine,
experience and place. Savour a layer or two,
and you are likely to want to come back to
discover more.
www.eatdrink.ca 51
Quai du Vin
45811 Fruit Ridge Line, RR #5, St. Thomas
519-775-2216
www.quaiduvin.com
Quai du Vin is a member of the ELGIN COUNTY
SAVOUR ELGIN program and culinary trail launched
in August. Photographs are by PHILIP J. BELL, Shutter
Studios, St. Thomas.
DEBRA BAGSHAW is the editor of Relish Elgin (www.
relishelgin.ca).
Come stroll in our gardens
and experience
the wonders of lavender.
www.savourelgin.ca
52
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
TRAVEL
On the Trail of Terroir
Discovering the Tastes of Prince Edward County
By Kym Wolfe
P
rince Edward County (PEC), at the
eastern end of Lake Ontario, is one of
Ontario’s newest wine destinations.
The 104.8-hectare almost-island is
filled with vineyards, eateries, artists’ studios
and galleries, scenic vistas, farm markets,
beaches, and hiking and biking trails — in
short, all the ingredients needed for an interesting week-long or weekend getaway. The
county is steeped in history, having been
established in 1792 as a haven for United
Empire Loyalists following the American Revolution, and much of the original architecture
has been preserved. Many historic buildings
have been converted to B&Bs, bistros, boutiques, wineries, and tasting rooms.
The county boasts more than two dozen
wineries, which range in size from two to fifty
acres. Local winegrowers say there is a unique
terroir here, in part because many of the vineyards are sitting on a broad limestone plateau.
“The county produces the best quality of wine
because the
Sommelier Brian
roots have
Hanna, at Huff
to work hard
Estate Wineries.
to get to the
water table,”
say Brian
Hanna, the
sommelier at
Huff Estate
Wineries.
Hanna has
worked with wines for 47 years, and one thing
he has noticed since coming to PEC is that “all
the wineries in this area are making dramatically different products.”
The county is on the same latitude as
northern France, Germany and Austria, but
historically couldn’t grow the grapevines
found in those wine regions because any new
growth wouldn’t survive the harsh Canadian
winters. Winegrowers here began experimenting in the early 1990s and pioneered
a technique that has enabled them to grow
Chardonnay, Pinot and other traditionally
European vines.
“The trunks are
only six inches
high, and we bury
all the exposed
shoots in earth to
keep them from
freezing over the
winter,” explains
Lynn Sullivan
of Rosehall Run
Vineyards. “In the
spring we uncover
them by hand. It’s
very labour intensive.”
Lynn and her
Doreen Pendracs in the
husband Dan
Huff tasting room.
planted their first
vines in 2001, and
by 2005 had produced their first award-winning wines, landing four medals at the 2007
Artevino County Wine competition, including gold for their 2005 Chardonnay. “Prince
Edward County wines have a distinctive
taste,” says Lynn. “The soil is only about an
inch deep, with solid limestone underneath.
The grapevines are rooted in the limestone
and pull the mineral taste from it.”
We visited two
other wineries
during our brief
visit to PEC — the
County Cider
Company and
The Grange of
Prince Edward.
The County Cider
Company is a
family-operated
estate winery specializing in hard
Lynn Sullivan in the
Rosehall Run vineyards
www.eatdrink.ca 53
Paul Beedham at the door to the County Cider Company
ciders. Because it was a wet and dreary day,
we weren’t able to linger and enjoy the view
from the patio that overlooks Lake Ontario,
but we did enjoy the cozy atmosphere inside
the 1832 stone barn, where the tasting room
and retail store are located. I particularly
enjoyed their ice cider, which has a lovely
fruit flavour and is less intense than icewine.
The Grange is owned by Bob Granger
and his daughter Caroline. The tasting
room, situated in a refurbished 1826 Loyalist barn, is a pleasure to both the eyes and
palate. One of the locals described it as
“the prettiest winery in the county.” While
the winery’s Cabernet Franc has won more
awards, Caroline told us she takes a personal
pride in the Trumpour’s Mill Rosé. “I argued
that we needed a rosé,” she says, so she
pushed through and created her first batch
in 2003, and it remains one of her favourites.
“It is only available for a short period of time.
We release it on the May long weekend, and
it is usually sold out in August.”
We also tasted wines from Black Prince
Winery during dinner at Milford Bistro &
Gallery. The delicious 2008 Cabernet Franc,
with its chocolaty overtones, was recommended by our chef and the bistro owner,
A refurbished Loyalist barn houses The Grange of
Prince Edward’s tasting room and retail store
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54
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
Milford’s original general store,
transformed into a cozy bistro
Chris Pengali. The bistro is located in a
charming old building that started its life as
the village general store. Pengali has retained
the original store shelving and plank floor
and created an intimate dining experience
with a menu that, as much as possible,
features locally sourced foods. “Our most
popular menu items are the local lamb and
free-range chicken,” says Pengali. “And the
vegetables! Vickie’s Veggies must have more
than a hundred types of tomatoes. In the
summer it’s a dream.” Cherryvale Organic
Farm is another favoured supplier, and
Pengali says that working the fields there is
almost a rite of passage for staff in PEC eateries. “Almost all staff working in local restaurants have worked at Cherryvale.”
Most dining establishments here take pride
in serving local cheeses as well. We visited
Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company, a niche
producer of handmade goat and sheep milk
cheeses, and Canada’s only LEED certified
dairy. Founder Petra Cooper spent four years
researching, planning, and building before
the dairy produced its first batch of cheese
in July 2008. A scant two years later, the company has captured more than a dozen awards
for its cheeses, particularly its signature Cape
Vessey goat cheese. Fifth Town is the only
cheese maker in Ontario that produces caveaged cheese, and visitors can take a peek
into the caves through the viewing windows.
The staff has also experimented with some
unique wine-washed cheeses, but master
cheese maker Stephanie Diamant says these
are more one-off creations and not yet a regular part of their product listing.
A wide range of accommodation is available in PEC, from an inexpensive campsite
along the white beaches of Sandbanks Provincial Park,
to the upscale
inns and healing centres.
We stayed at
the inn at Huff
Estates Wineries. Each room
has a private
patio, the perfect place to
enjoy a latenight glass of
award-winning
wine (the 2007
Reisling OffDry is among
the best I’ve
Andrew Laliberte delves into the
tasted). Lanny
art of cheesemaking at Fifth Town
Artisan Cheese Company
Huff is the only
PEC winery
owner who was born in the county, but he
did not choose an architectural style to mirror the county’s historic roots. Instead, the
issue no. 24
well-appointed inn is concrete and steel and
incorporates west-coast design elements.
If you’re interested in works by local
artisans, there are a number of galleries
sprinkled throughout PEC, and you can also
find their paintings, stained glass and other
pieces showcased in local eateries. On the
Huff Estates grounds, between the winery
and the inn, is the Oeno Gallery, which features contemporary Canadian art, including
some unique outdoor sculptures that can be
found right up to the edge of the vineyard.
One of the pleasures of travelling in Prince
Edward County is seeing how the different
elements of the county feed into the overall
experience. There is no blatant commercialism, but more a genuine feeling that the
winemakers, chefs, artists and other residents
are welcoming you to experience a bit of
their relaxed way of life. As one of my travelling companions, Doreen Pendgracs, commented, “The pride here is very high, and I’m
sensing a real level of passion for what they
do. They all support one another and they
have maintained an authentic rural feel.”
If you’re planning a visit, be sure to check
www.eatdrink.ca 55
Outdoor sculpture at Oeno Gallery
out http://tastethecounty.ca. The locals have
staked out both a Taste Trail that highlights
places to eat and drink (www.tastetrail.ca),
and an Arts Trail populated by a variety of
artists and galleries (www.artstrail.ca).
KYM WOLFE is a London-based freelance writer. She
enjoys exploring different parts of the province and is always
up for a road trip!
56
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
BEER MATTERS
Summertime Odds ’n’ Sods
By The Malt Monk
odds and sods, noun. Usage: Brit. 1. A motley assortment
of things — odds and ends, oddments, melange, farrago,
ragbag, mishmash, mingle-mangle, hodgepodge.
W
e dream about summer for
six months while shivering
under a confining blanket
of snow, so let’s not waste a
second of it. I hope you’re spicing up those
precious summer moments with good food
and crafted artisan beers. Our local crafters
have some fantastic new seasonals to seek
out. If you’re lucky enough to get to a good
beer pub, here are some of the season’s best
offerings: Grand River’s Raspberry Pilsner,
Great Lake’s Green Tea Ale, Hacker-Schorr
Kellerbier, Beau’s Juniper Witbier, and Black
Oak Summer Saison. All are on tap for a limited time this summer, so ask your publican
for them.
I’m going to stray somewhat from my
usual format and just give you some reviews
and news on the latest beer releases and
industry news. Let’s start with a newly
released beer that has been anticipated for
over a year:
Schneider Hopfen-Weisse (lcbo 164046).
This wheat beer is the result of a collaboration between Schneider brewmaster
Hans-Peter Drexler and
Brooklyn brewmaster
Garrett Oliver. Schneider Hopfen-Weisse
represents the tradition
and “terroir” of Bavaria
paired with the inventive
creativity of New World
microbrewing for which
Brooklyn is renowned.
This beer is dry-hopped
with the local Hallertauer
Saphir hop at a rate of
three pounds per barrel! It gives off an earthy
herbal aroma and a
woody-citrus flavour.
Hopfen-Weisse is like a
Bavarian Hefeweiss with
micro-brewed huge beer flavour. The result
is a rich, full-flavoured, full-bodied, aromatic wheat Heller Bock. This is not a light
spritzy patio wheat, but rather a big-flavour,
big-bodied, unfiltered wheat bockbier. Best
offering of the season and a natural pairing
for seafood and creamy cheese dishes. If
you get the bottled product, remember to
leave a half inch in the bottle and swirl it to
get all the settled goodness out of the bottom of the bottle.
Ölvisholt Skjálfti (lcbo 168393). Another
pleasant surprise of
the summer season
is the appearance
of Ölvisholt Skjálfti.
Between the Norse
runes on the label
and the fact that
the brewery is
straddled directly
over where the
North American
and European
continental plates
meet, plus you
can see an active
volcano from the
brewery door, it’s
hard to imagine
a more Icelandic product. Founded by two
neighbouring farmers whose passion for
artisan brewing was greater than for dairy
farming, Ölvisholt brewery has grown to be
Iceland’s premier craft brewer, exporting beer
to Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Canada.
Ölvisholt Skjálfti, their amber lager,
approximates the character of a steam beer.
Highly recommended to fanciers of amber
lagers or steam beers, it’s a versatile fullflavoured natural beer that pairs well with
meats, fish and BBQ.
Mill Street Brewery Schleimhammer
Roggenbier (lcbo 186809, and on tap at better beer bars). As a distinct style, Roggenbier
is about the oldest relic of medieval brewing
we have left. Actually, were it not for fifteenthcentury monarchs regulating the food supply,
rye would be the traditional primary brewing grain instead of barley. It seems rye was
not deemed too poor for beer making, but
too good. Rye and wheat were ordered to be
diverted to bread-making and barley to beermaking. So the ancient traditional rye beers
died a legislative death around 1516 with the
Bavarian Beer Purity Law. Today’s revival of
the style is much like the original Roggenbiers
— top fermented, unfiltered, muddy brown
in colour, puffy caps, sparkling carbonation,
earthy-spicy sour-rye-bread character with a
very dry finish.
Roggenbier (rye beer) is a style most
Ontario beer fanciers weren’t exposed to
until Mill Street brewed it for their pub
patrons a couple years ago. Now they are
bottling it for wider distribution. Fresh tasting, a very good representation of a Bavarian
Roggenbier, a tad sweeter in the front, but
the extra-dry finish makes up for it. A very
flavourful and drinkable beer, made for sessioning or pairing with big sandwiches.
Gaffel Kölsch (lcbo 167130). Finally, we
have a true Köln-brewed Kolsch in
Ontario this summer. The LCBO
lot is fairly fresh. Gaffe Kölsch
decants a clear light gold ale in
the glass with a two-finger tightpoured white cap. This lasts and
laces the glass well. Sharp carbonation. Aroma of apple, some
pear, toasty-biscuity grains,
leafy herbs and woody aromas,
plus some musty-honey sweetness. Flavour is grainy, balanced well with woody-herbal
Nobel hopping, some demure
sweetness. Finish goes dry,
with a light herbal-citrus snap.
Very crisp light dry character,
dry tart mouthfeel. A great
Kolsch, pretty much defines the
style — crisp, delicate character,
subtle complexity, deeply quenching.
Dieu du Ciel’s Rosée d’Hibiscus (lcbo
165746). A summer special from Quebec’s
most innovative artisanal brewer, Rosée
d’Hibiscus is a soft-spoken unfiltered wheat
beer that totally hides its 5.9 abv. The rose
colour comes from the hibiscus flowers
added during the brewing process. A bottle
pours a turbid pink (like a cloudy pomegranate juice) in my wheat flute, with a billowy
pink sticky cap, and tiny natural carbonation
bubbles wind up the flute sides. Aroma is
Patio
Now
Open!
Now Ope
n!
Chec
London’sk out
taste se newest
nsation!
855 Wellington Road South, London
58
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
odds and sods, noun. Usage: Brit. 1. A motley assortment
of things — odds and ends, oddments, melange, farrago,
ragbag, mishmash, mingle-mangle, hodgepodge.
W
e dream about summer for six
months while shivering under
a confining blanket of snow, so
let’s not waste a second of it. I
hope you’re spicing up those precious summer moments with good food and crafted
artisan beers. Our local crafters have some
fantastic new seasonals to seek out. If
you’re lucky enough to get to a good
beer pub, here are some of the season’s
best offerings: Grand River’s Raspberry
Pilsner, Great Lake’s Green Tea Ale,
Hacker-Schorr Kellerbier, Beau’s Juniper Witbier, and Black Oak Summer
Saison. All are on tap for a limited
time this summer, so ask your publican for them.
I’m going to stray somewhat from
my usual format and just give you
some reviews and news on the latest beer releases and industry news.
Let’s start with a newly released
beer that has been anticipated for
over a year:
Schneider Hopfen-Weisse (lcbo
164046). This wheat beer is the result
of a collaboration between Schneider
brewmaster Hans-Peter Drexler and Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver. Schneider
Hopfen-Weisse represents the tradition and
“terroir” of Bavaria paired with the inventive creativity of New World microbrewing
for which Brooklyn is renowned. This beer
is dry-hopped with the local Hallertauer
Saphir hop at a rate of three pounds per barrel! It gives off an earthy herbal aroma and a
woody-citrus flavour. Hopfen-Weisse is like
a Bavarian Hefeweiss with
micro-brewed huge beer
flavour. The result is a rich,
full-flavoured, full-bodied,
aromatic wheat Heller Bock.
This is not a light spritzy
patio wheat, but rather a bigflavour, big-bodied, unfiltered wheat bockbier. Best
offering of the season and a
natural pairing for seafood
and creamy cheese dishes. If
you get the bottled product,
remember to leave a half
inch in the bottle and swirl
it to get all the settled goodness out of the
bottom of the bottle.
Ölvisholt Skjálfti (lcbo 168393). Another
pleasant surprise of the summer season is
the appearance of Ölvisholt Skjálfti. Between
the Norse runes on the label and the fact that
the brewery is straddled directly over where
the North American and European continental plates meet, plus you can see an active
volcano from the brewery door, it’s hard to
imagine a more Icelandic product. Founded
by two neighbouring farmers whose passion for artisan brewing was greater than
for dairy farming, Ölvisholt brewery
has grown to be Iceland’s premier craft
brewer, exporting beer to Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Canada.
Ölvisholt Skjálfti, their amber
lager, approximates the character of
a steam beer. Highly recommended
to fanciers of amber lagers or steam
beers, it’s a versatile full-flavoured
natural beer that pairs well with
meats, fish and BBQ.
Mill Street Brewery Schleimhammer Roggenbier (lcbo 186809,
and on tap at better beer bars). As
a distinct style, Roggenbier is about
the oldest relic of medieval brewing
we have left. Actually, were it not for
fifteenth-century monarchs regulating
the food supply, rye would be the traditional
primary brewing grain instead of barley. It
seems rye was not deemed too poor for beer
making, but too good. Rye and wheat were
ordered to be diverted to bread-making
and barley to beer-making. So the ancient
traditional rye beers died a legislative death
around 1516 with the Bavarian Beer Purity
Law. Today’s revival of the style is much like
the original Roggenbiers — top fermented,
unfiltered, muddy brown
in colour, puffy caps,
sparkling carbonation,
earthy-spicy sour-ryebread character with a
very dry finish.
Roggenbier (rye beer)
is a style most Ontario
beer fanciers weren’t
exposed to until Mill
Street brewed it for their
pub patrons a couple
years ago. Now they are
bottling it for wider distribution. Fresh tasting,
issue no. 24
www.eatdrink.ca 59
WINE
Business and Pleasure
Prime Pairings, at Peller Estates Winery
By Rick VanSickle
W
ine is serious business in Niagara. But it’s just not enough
anymore to produce a great
bottle of wine. Consumers are
looking for much more than that.
Wine is a lifestyle ingredient and represents
only one aspect of healthy living and enjoyment. One of the other key ingredients is food.
And the harmonious marriage of food and
wine is what more and more wineries in Niagara have decided they want you to experience
when you come and visit their wineries.
One winery that has tailored its entire
program to the fusion of food and wine is
Peller Estates Winery in Niagara-on-theLake. This gorgeous jewel, set amongst the
peaceful estate vineyards just off the Niagara
Parkway, close to the historic town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, is a spectacular example
of how chef and winemaker can
come together to create a food
and wine experience like no other.
With a rich program of pairing
food and wine, both in the winery
restaurant and with special events
often taking place right in the
vineyards, chef Jason Parsons and
winemaker Lawrence Buhler are
working together to achieve the
highest standards imaginable. Mark
Torrance, director of estate wineries
at Peller, calls them “two peas in a pod.”
Winemaker Lawrence Buhler
Torrance says “food and wine is at our
core,” and having the chef and winemaker
working in unison towards that ultimate
goal has made the experience at the winery
successful. “The length of time
people spend at the winery is
growing and growing,” he says.
Food is so critical at Peller
that all involved with the winery
made a conscientious decision
a few years ago to grow grapes
and make wines that were more
food-friendly. “The freshness
of the wines, the acidity in the
wines, has drifted up,” says Torrance, who adds that the wines
were softer four years ago with the generous
60
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
use of malolactic fermentation, which gives
wines their softness in the mouth and less
mouthwatering acidity.
Today, the wines are fresh and fruity, and
just go better with food. To prove his point,
Torrance starts bringing food and wine creations to our table at the gorgeous winery
restaurant, with views out into the vineyards.
First up is a locally prepared charcuterie
plate — with most of the cured meats, jellies
and assorted breads prepared on site — which
the winemaker matches boldly with the Peller
Estates Signature Series Ice Cuvée bubbly. The
apricot, honey and apple flavours work brilliantly with the
savoury cured
meats. “From
a consumer’s
point of view,
this is the wine
that puts a
smile on everyone’s face,” says
Torrance.
Next, chef
Parsons whips
A selection of local charcuterie
up a Niagara
spring onion soup with roasted onion,
wild garlic, lamb, Thunder Oak gouda, and
horseradish croustade, which is paired
with the Peller Estate Private Reserve
Gewurztraminer 2008. It’s a lovely match,
with the spicy-floral notes of the wine working smartly with an explosion of strong flavours from the soup.
One of the most interesting pairings is the
Digby scallop and Aux Champs d’Elise foie
gras with the Andrew Peller Signature Series
2008 Sauvignon Blanc. The dish consists of
roasted scallop, new asparagus, chanterelle
and goat cheese risotto, and delicate and
textured seared foie gras, and shows off the
barrel-aged
Sauvingon Blanc
beautifully. A
heavenly match,
indeed.
Our final
match is the
Prairie bison rib
eye with ciderglazed rapini,
hothouse grape Aux Champs d’Elise Foie Gras,
from the Peller Estates restaurant
tomatoes and
The Peller Estates Winery barrel room
potato gnocchi, served with a 2004 Andrew
Peller Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon.
A lovely way to enjoy a beautifully aged
wine with a perfectly prepared cut of bison.
Peller Estates is a premiere destination for
wine lovers because it does things right. The
main facility is a busy hive of activity with
tours, one of Niagara’s largest tasting rooms,
and a winery restaurant that offers intimate
indoor dining and gorgeous, more casual
dining on the large patio. The wine program,
built and maintained by winemaker Buhler,
is always crafted with food in mind.
Here are some wines we enjoyed with
Buhler, Peller’s talented winemaker. (These
limited production wines are only available at
the winery or on the web, but there is a large
selection of Peller wines for sale at the LCBO.)
Andrew Peller Signature Series Sauvignon Blanc 2009 ($30). A gorgeous, barrelAndrew Peller Signature Series
aged Sauvignon
Blanc with grapefruit,
Chardonnay ‘Sur Lie’ 2007
tropical
fruit,
vanilla and subtle
VQA NIAGARA
PENINSULA
toastWINE
notes
on the nose. This
is a
MAKING
WINE ANALYSIS
SweetnessfloLevel: (0), 2.5 g/l Dry
bold Premium
wineChardonnay
in the mouth, with
grapes are gently pressed to
Alcohol:
13.5%
release the purest
of juice. fruits, atouch
TA:
6.0 g/l
ral notes,
spiced
of
 Barrel fermented and aged
 PID# :
1038936
sur
lie
for
11
months
in

UPC#
:
0 48162 00549 5
herbs,
and beautiful texture
and
80% French and 20%
 Price:
$30.00
American oak barrels (40%
 Production: 32 barrels
mouthfeel.
new oak).
A
partial (50%) malolactic
Andrew
Peller Signature
fermentation to soften
acidity and add complexity,
Series
Chardonnay Sur Lie
yet retaining enough acidity
to refresh the palate.
2008
($30). Loaded with tropical
FLAVOUR PROFILE
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
fruits,
toasty
oak Lemon yellow
colour withvanilla, and
 Serve lightly
chilled at 13 to 15°C.
a delicate bouquet of toast,
 Enjoy as a cool evening sipping
inspired
Lovely
creamy
biscuit, ripe applespices.
and
wine.
spice.
 Serve with wild mushroom bread
pear
flavours
 A medium
to full-bodied in the mouth
stuffing andwith
your holiday turkey;
with an
mushroom soup; cream
aChardonnay
touch
of minerality. creamy
elegant
structure.
sauces on pasta tossed with smoked
salmon or scallops; grilled firm
 Flavours of green apple,
Andrew
pear,
lemon, spice and Peller Signature
fillets of fish on cedar plank;
delicate oak notes on the
roasted game hen with pine nut
Series
Cabernet Franc
Icewine
palate.
stuffing.
 Lemon, spice and toast
 Best enjoyed through 2011
2007
($90).
is one
very
notes linger
wonderfully This
on
the finish.
intense
icewine with strawberry
compote,
raspberry and cherry
CRITICAL ACCLAIM:
Best Chardonnay, Gold Medal – Cuvee Niagara 2009
Silver fresh
(Best in Class)
– International
Wine & Spiritwith
Competition 2009, UK.
aromas. It feels
on
the palate
Silver Medal – Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2009.
90 points –and
“… showing
smoky prowess,
with nectarine, apple
honey sweetness
highly
extracted
redand citrus poise.”
Gordon Stimmel, Torotno Star, February 21, 2009.
fruits that are balanced out by high acidity.
July 2009
(+bottle deposit)
RICK VanSICKLE is an avid wine collector and freelance
wine writer. He writes a weekly column on Niagara wines in the
St. Catharines Standard. He can be reached at winesniagara@
gmail.com, or check out his website: winesniagara@gmail.
Peller Estates Winery
290 John Street East, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada L0S 1J0
Phone: 1-888-267-8687 or www.peller.com
62
www.eatdrink.ca
issue no. 24
THE LIGHTER SIDE
Hamming It Up In Havana
By Darin Cook
A
friend of mine spent time in Cuba
on business, and his advice to me
before my own trip to Havana was
not to expect much in the way of
gourmet food. Apparently, he had ham and
cheese sandwiches for lunch every day.
“Canned ham is their national food,” he
warned.
I thought he was either joking or abstaining
from being an adventurous eater by not trying enough local dishes; food
is, after all, an integral part
of the travel experience. But
now I know better. It’s safe to
say there is very little adventure, variety or spiciness
when it comes to Cuban food,
and he had little choice but to
survive on ham and cheese.
I am a sandwich lover, and even though
Cuban bocaditos were in every roadside
restaurant, it was rare to find anything other
than ham and cheese. Most countries have
menus that define them, but Cuba, even
with its unique and rich culture, has very
few food items that can be ascribed to it
alone. No one comes to Cuba to gorge themselves on ham and cheese sandwiches, but
if forced to pick a national food, it would
have to be ham. I heard that employees were
rewarded with gifts of canned ham for showing up to work on time — not your typical
work bonus, but in Cuba, it makes sense.
I once ordered la bocadito especial, which
was supposedly the special of the day, but alas,
it was only ham and cheese. Being at a restaurant without ham and cheese would be noteworthy. Cuban chefs must be brainwashed
to use as much ham as possible. A number of
times I avoided the ham being offered because
the quality was questionable, and I often asked
for solo queso (only cheese). This was not
natural for Cubans to hear. “Solo queso?” they
repeated in the form of a question, as if a sandwich without ham was a criminal offence, then
shook their heads and threw some canned
ham on my sandwich anyway.
Even amongst dubious sandwich offerings
from rundown restaurants across Havana,
home cooking often saved the day. Staying at
a casa particulares in Cuba is the equivalent
of a bed and breakfast in Britain, and the ones
in the smaller towns in the countryside put
on a good breakfast spread for their guests
with fresh fruit, bread, eggs, and sweet Cuban
coffee. And of course, plenty of ham.
One night, my friends and I stayed at
a charming home in the
pleasant town of Vinales,
surrounded by tobacco
fields and rolling countryside. We arrived late at
night and the homeowner
informed us breakfast would
be at 8:00 a.m. With a big
smile, she guided us into
the kitchen, gesturing at a dead pig on the
counter. The whole pig — hooves, snout,
and all. She seemed pleased to show us
the freshness of what most likely would be
included in our breakfast.
I never expected to spend so much time
among chickens and pigs, in what is conceivably an urban centre, and the noises coming
from these farm animals were non-stop. My
night’s sleep wasn’t very restful in what I
thought would be a peaceful town, away from
the racket of Havana — the traffic, the yelling
people, the blaring salsa music — but a whole
array of new noises was awaiting in this town
of Vinales. Cuban roosters are obviously not
privy to the idea that roosters crow at dawn —
cock-a-doodle-dos continued all night. When
a rooster wasn’t crowing, there was a pig
grunting like there was no tomorrow, which is
most likely true, because all that ham comes
from somewhere.
The next morning, the breakfast was
excellent. And the ham? At least it didn’t
come out of a can.
DARIN COOK is a London-based freelance writer and
avid traveller.
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kantina kantina - eatdrink Magazine

Transcription

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