anyone attend the TORONTO TASTE event yesterday? it was awesome. it was my second time attending this event ever (the first was in 2001) and it was just as amazing as i remembered.
http://torontotaste.ca/
the chefs that participated were:
Herbert Barnsteiner of Corner House Restaurant
Wanda Beaver of Wanda's Pie in the Sky
Yannick Bigourdan of Splendido
Olivia Bolano of All the Best Fine Foods
Sal Borg of Sanci's Tropical Foods
Donna Dooher of Mildred's Temple Kitchen
Roberto Fracchioni of Millcroft Inn & Spa
Keith Froggett of Scaramouche
David Garcelon of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel
Linda Haynes of Ace Bakery
John Higgins of The Chef's House, George Brown Chef School
Hans Kienast of Longo's
Martin Kouprie of Pangaea
Fawzi Kotb of Caviar Centre Inc.
David Lee of Nota Bene
Didier Leroy of Didier Restaurant and Catering
Brad Long of Veritas
Bradley Macdonald of Sassafraz
Gordon Mackie of Far Niente
Kevin Maniaci of Inn on the Twenty
Roberto Martella of grano
Christopher McDonald of XOCOCAVA
Mark McEwan of North 44 // Bymark // ONE // mcewan
Maggie McKeown of Great Cooks on Eight
Jamie Meireles of Oliver & Bonacini at the Toronto Board of Trade
Hart Melvin of Gelato Fresco
Brian Morin of beerbistro
Jess Ostlund of Ruth's Chris Steak House
Amar Patel of Indian Rice Factory
Reg Pearce of Sodexo
Robyn Perlmutar of Pauline's Pastrie
Marisa Rocca of Trattoria Sotto Sotto
Dufflet Rosenberg of Dufflet Pastries
Claudio Rossi of Studio Cafe, Four Seasons Hotel
Albino Silva of Chiado
Marc Thuet of Petite Thuet
Scott Vivian of Jamie Kennedy Kitchens
Kelvin Ramjattan & Tessa White of Harvest Kitchens
Bruce Woods of Centro Restaurant & Lounge
Anne Yarymowich of FRANK Restaurant, Art Gallery of Ontario
we sampled foods from every chef and winery that was in attendance and, unlike crappier events like the FOOD & WINE EXPO, the TORONTO TASTE event is 'all you can eat, all you can drink' and the chefs that participate do their best to outdo each other.
most interesting taste belonged to kevin maniaci (inn on the twenty) who presented white chocolate spaghetti with maple cured bacon, followed by pulled pork ice cream with asparagus and a beer chaser.
best overall offering went to david lee (nota bene) who presented thick wagyu beef burgers (meatball shaped and very rare inside). this was so delicious, i went back for seconds.
other notables were bradley macdonald (sassafraz) who presented lobster sandwiches and a bunch of folks that focused on raw fish (arctic char was a common theme) and tartar.
mark mcewan's showing was weak (small piece of raw fish on a mini-bed of greens) considering he was the poster-dude for the event. it was very tasty, but it did not stand out amongst the stellar competition.
we left very full, drunk and with a bag full of bread that thuet was giving away. (i made a lightly toasted sandwich this morning out of his whole wheat sourdough and think i may never buy bread from anywhere else again.)
this event rates a 10/10.