Dana and I had the privilege of attending our third Terroir event a few weeks back; over the next 5-6 weeks we’ll be sharing a weekly column reviewing what we learned from this amazing symposium which “brings together the innovative and creative influencers of Canada’s hospitality industry including chefs, food writers, wine and food experts and business leaders.”

This years theme was “The New Radicals.”  Many of today’s top chefs and restaurants are behaving in ways that are different from previous generations.  Many are opening restaurants in abandoned sports bars with little-no budget (and no financing/ business partners), others are serving food from trucks, some are showcasing their skills in the form of television commercials and some are doing all of the above.  Consider Toronto restaurant Parts & Labor which is a serious kitchen on the main floor (it converts to a dance club by midnight on the weekends) and a hardcore band venue in the basement.  Business as usual is no longer so usual.

Like our previous years, Terroir started early in the morning for breakfast.  Bleary-eyed members of the Hospitality community (it has transcended beyond an industry, at least in this room) pulled in to Arcadian Court for its inaugural event) and huddled over cups of coffee and pastries as if they were a campfire.

When Dana and I first entered this room two short years ago we were somewhat intimidated and unsure if we belonged.  And while we found ourselves to be quite welcomed back then, the experience has become wholly different now with more hugs and warm greeting of friends, acquaintances and so many people who we respect adds to the buzz of the event.  I attend a considerable number of conferences through my day job and have recently learned the power of these gatherings is often unleashed after multiple years of attending the same ones and meet more people through the room.

One of the exciting things about Terroir has been it’s ability to either influence or predict what is coming in regards to trends and developments in Toronto (and perhaps beyond but I can’t personally validate).  I was speaking to a friend (who owns two bars/ restaurants and is also a designer of all things cocktails) about Terroir in advance of the event and mentioned that I had attended a great session on infusing and custom cocktails.  She mentioned that this wasn’t so much as innovative as it is practically a must-have for many restaurants/ bars in our city in the last 12-18 months.  When I shared that it was Terroir IV (2 years ago) that had presented this, we laughed.  I don’t know if it was Terroir that influenced this (there were 300-500 of the cities chefs, mixoligists and hospitality professionals) or did it merely see it coming?  I’m not sure it matters – it did see it coming before many did.  And that, to me, is the joy of such an event.

The day covered a lot of topics and rapid-fire speeches/ presentations (I covered the full agenda in advance  here).  There was one breakout session though most of the sessions were held in the grand ballroom that our day started in.

The people that stood out to us (and that you’ll be hearing more about soon) included:

• Barton Seaver (Author, For Cod and Country)
• Doug McNish (Vegan/ Raw food chef and author)
• Lilia Smelkova (Food Day USA)
• Tama Matsuoka Wong (Forager and author)
• An amazing video (made for the event by Arlene Stein) which shared the vision of NOMA (which just won ‘Best Restaurant in the World for it’s third consecutive year)
• The team from Societe Originale (which I can’t even begin to explain without a full post)

Lunch featured a compiled effort made by 15 amazing Chef’s and was based on Chinese-Canadian Cuisine.  It was an impeccable feast that’s only criticism from some was it’s pure decadence in a day which had significant talk about sustainability and restraint.  I tossed this paradox back and forth before reconciling that this was an annual event that is meant to share what’s happening in food right now and experiencing it is more powerful than speaking about it.  So, for right or wrong, I justified this on the basis of it being an educational event:

Every year at Terroir I come out with 1 observation.  This years anecdote is about sustainability in the kitchen and defining the role of chef and restaurant in regards to influencing and creating change in kitchens and grocery stores around us.  This conversation was often the ‘sidebar’ topic of recent years or reserved only for the most elite of restaurants.  It’s no-longer a back-burner issue and it’s one that’s engaging considerable thought and conversation.  Not all agree on the answers but many are exciting to engage in the conversation around sustainable change and this subject will thankfully continue to be a pressing issue for the foreseeable future.

I also find myself leaving with insight into my own cooking and something to work on for the year (in year one I knew I had to focus on balancing salt and acid while in year two it was all about uncovering umami).  This years lesson?  Despite eating seasonally and mostly local, I have a whole lot more work and research to do about the taste of ‘here’ – indeed, this year has got to be a deeper exploration of my own terroir.

The day wrapped up with local wine, cheese and snacks and then an after-party at the Drake Hotel.  It was an amazing day.

Stay tuned over the next few Friday’s to see what we learned from each of the speakers listed above – it was an amazing day!

Imagine a room filled with chefs, farmers, writers, food and wine experts, business leaders, food activists, cocktail mixologists, sommeliers, and professionals from the world of Hospitality.  Imagine a 10-hour marathon of presentations by some of the best of the best in the country and the world.

You don’t have to imagine: you can be there on April 23rd at Terroir VI being held at the Oliver & Bonacini Arcadian Court in Toronto.

Dana and I have attended the previous two years (Terroir IV and Terroir V).  While neither of us is a professional in the Hospitality Industry we both spend a lot of time with those who are and WellPreserved links us closely with those in the field.  I will always remember the first time we went to Terroir – I was, frankly, intimidated and a little nervous to be entering a room full of some of the most passionate professionals in food and we were two people with a blog. 

Terroir, and its guests, welcomed us with open arms.

What is Terroir?  It’s a summit of Canada’s Hospitality Industry.  It’s a very hectic day of lectures, presentations and networking that honours the Industry Leaders as well as bringing together the best the Industry has to offer to discuss the direction that we’re headed together – and set a course for those leading the way (this is more of an outcome than a formal goal, of course).

Consider the lineup this year (you can see the full breakdown here):

• Welcome by Arelene Stein (Chair the Non-Profit Terroir Symposium), James Chatto (one of the cities leading food writers) and Peter Oliver (Oliver Bonacini)
• Breakout sessions by:
  • Ken Friedman (Partner in The Breslin, The John Dory Oyster Bar and The Spotted Pig)
  • Max Rimaldi (Partner in the Liberetto Restaurant Group)
  • Vanessa Eckstein and Marta Cutler (Blok Design)
  • Doug McNish (Raw & Vegan Chef and author)
• A break followed by more breakouts on:
  • Second Harvest (a local food rescue program)
  • Better Food Systems (from Lilia Smelkova, Food Day USA Campaign Manager)
  • Hospitality and it’s role as advocate and review of Foodstock (by Chef Michael Stadtlander of Eigensinn Farm)
  • Sustainable Seafood (By Barton Seaver, author of For Cod and Country)
  • Discussion of Foraging (by Tama Matsuoka Wong, who forages for the flagship restaurant of Daniel Boulud)
  • Canadian Cuisine (By Vancouver Chef Kristian Eligh)
• There’s then a long lunch which is an epic journey in and of itself.  The food is curated by the fantastic Ivy Knight while cocktails are by Dave Mitton (Harbord Room).  15 of the best Chefs in the city (with some national representation) are assembling a concept lunch that weaves the history of Canada, the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Chinese Smorgasbord.
• More breakout sessions follow;
  • Natural Wine: Highest Respect or Simply Neglect? (Alice Feiring, Wine Writer and Author)
  • A Fork in the Road: Hungry for Travel (Rebecca Leheup, Executive Director of Ontario Culinary Tourism)
  • Culinary Drink Trends (a panel of 7 experts promises a deep dive into what’s happening now)
  • Expression and the Rebellion of the Quebec Boreal Territory (a very mysterious sounding topic that examines breaking away from mass agriculture) presented by 3 experts.
  • Cocktails, The Backstory (the extremely talented pair of Dave Mitton and Author Christine Sismondo)
  • Terroir of Ontario Farms (by Jason Persall of Pristine Gourmet which make amazing Ontario cooking oil).
• And, yes, there’s more.  A choice of:
  • Accountability and Answers in the New Food Order (ethical and moral parameters of trade and commerce in Hospitality) by John Lee (Chippys)
  • Growing with the Flow: From Idealism to Successful Business Model (amazing chef and author, Jeff Crump)
  • Fame & Fortune: How Connie DeSousa is Seizing the Day (Connie finished in the Top 3 of Canada’s Top Chef and discusses her journey, social media and collaboration with others)
  • For the Love of Food (Ben Shewry, Chef Attica in Australia); talks about his approach to creativity and how food can be used as subtle education.
• The day concludes with an awards presentation.

If you’re in the Hospitality Industry and want to have your finger on the pulse of what’s happening, this is a must-attend event (tickets can be purchased through their site; they are $175 per).  I can’t recommend it highly enough.

If you’re not in the industry, stay tuned – we’ll share all that we learn (minus our lunches and a cocktail or two).

On February 5th, 2012 (from 10-3) our Farmer’s Market is making 2,000 liters (around 2,000 quarts of Onion Soup):

It’s a pay-what-you can event that helps raise funds for our local market; bring your own bowls, spoons and a donation and you’ll get your fill of soup!

People often wonder why a Farmer’s Market, especially one that is supported by so many volunteers would need to raise money.  Although I don’t profess to know all of the expenses I was surprised to find out that:

1. They have to rent the public park in order to run the market.
2. In order to rent, they need to be a registered non-profit.

And, of course, incorporating as a non-profit has business expenses including annual taxes, audits and I’m sure there’s insurance.  I really wish we had far fewer rules – instead we seem to be adding more and more…

The Market has also promised to make this a no-waste event.  All of the soup will be consumed and any remains will be used and/or shared (a few posters welcome people to bring ‘buckets’ so you can bring some back home to watch the big Football game later that day.

This was the first year of this Sunday market and it’s been an absolute awesome place to grab food, meet others in the community or sit and be entertained by many of the great musicians they bring to the park.

To learn more about the market, check them out on Twitter, Facebook or on their website!

Today is National Can-It-Forward Day in the US.  I`m inviting the rest of the world (and of course our friends South of the border) to crash the party and make this thing International.  I`m declaring it Canapalooza – it`s a party within a party and there`s many ways for you to get involved; including at actual Can-It-Forward Day events that our buddy Sean has linked to above.

But I`d love it if you came to our party.  And you don`t have to get out of your chair to do it.

We`re doing a mega-batch day of preserving today.  There will be 10-15 different types of preserving going on in our kitchen (some of them small, some of them large).  We`ll share photos live through the day in our Facebook group and we`d love you to interact in the following ways (and add your own):

1. Post your photos or updates on what you`re preserving on our wall.  Share ideas with others and ask questions or give them love for their posts.
2. As we post our photos, ask questions, share what you do that`s similar or different and communicate with each other and us.
3. If you`re a blogger, add links to recipes that you have that are similar to what we`re making – i.e. when we make pickles, add your links to your pickle posts.
4. Share the photos and ideas with your friends and preserving family on Facebook or on twitter.
5. Tweet links with the hashtag #Canapalooza
6. If you have a Facebook page and are sharing links, encourage others to come to the party and join along!

Now, to be clear, I`m having fun with the `National`vs `International` thing – I think it`s amazing what this movement is doing and adore it!  But I`m also serious about having some fun within that party and invite you to join more than 1,500 similar people who are passionate about canning regardless of their experience (you can view the group without joining).  It`s almost 3AM as I write this (my alarm is set for 5 to hit the market) and we`ve just finished a very exciting night of preserving and a whole lot of interaction with the WellPreserved Community on the Facebook site that I think will get even crazier tomorrow!

Hope to see you here!

There is a long preamble to the details of a small jar swap occuring this Sunday.  While the preamble is relevant, those simply looking for details on the swap in Toronto will find them in the last paragraph.  Also, a giant, massive, hugnormous (yes I made that up) CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU to Sarah B Hood  on her new book, Yes We Can.

I had a moment of pure ego pride this week.  It was a simple, quiet moment and one that the room full of people around me would have easily missed.

I entered a local MEGA bookstore.  One of the giant types.  I walked into the cooking section and I scanned the shelves with my eyes.  I was a man on a mission and I wasn’t going to stop until my eyes found their prey.

The moment of success was sweet and my hands shot out and grabbed my target.  I held it in my hands, closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  I smiled widely for my friend Sarah B Hood (also a solid supporter of WellPreserved) who had written this book.  I can barely comprehend the work she’s put in to it.

Sarah had included us in the project and though I had seen a digital copy, it was just something different to hold.  I scanned the pages (every single one) and I’ll admit that I paused a little longer when I saw a page with one of our photos or recipes (full disclosure: we were paid $50 and two copies for our contributions; we’ve always promised to disclose such things; any bias is far more emotional than financial).  I got to the last page and closed the book carefully.  I hadn’t looked at the back yet.

I had prepared a testimonial about the book as had several f my digital blogging friends (each of us previewed the book electronically to get to do so).  I didn’t know if they’d use it.  I did know that once I flipped the book it would be there or it wouldn’t and I’d be fine either way.

WHOOSH.  The book seemed to flip itself. 

Our quote was there, amongst Sarah’s writing and that of others I admire so dearly in this community.  Seeing “Well Preserved” in a real book in a real bookstore was pretty stunning.  The moment was a quiet and reflective moment celebrating the last 3 years of daily writing, waking up early, staying up late and ensuring that fresh content appears daily every 24 hours or less.  It was made sweeter because it was part of something bigger – a community of people who, under the initiative of one (the awesome Sarah), helped make something bigger.

For a kid who struggled with reading, a speech impediment and figuring out left from right, it was a moment that I can’t describe.  I can’t imagine how Sarah must feel considering the volume of effort she has placed in this and what she has produced.

Before feeling too self-important I remember thinking that there were probably 1,000,000 books in this store and if each had 4-5 testimonials, that there could have been 5,000,000 people sharing the same experience at that moment.  I then caught myself laughing alone at the absurdity of my thought process and enjoyed flipping through the book again – this time enjoying all of it equally.

The book (“We Sure Can“) is featured as part of a video review from The Cookbook Store in Toronto (courtesy of Good Food Revolution:

Sarah is launching the book this Sunday at the Leslieville Farmers Market.  She’s also hosting an informal jar swap (just bring a jar and switch it for something yummy) at the market.  We’ll be there for a bit and look forward to seeing many friends who participated and hopefully meeting some new ones too!  The website has the location (the market runs from 9:00AM – 2:00PM) and we’d love to see you there!

Dana and I had the pleasure of attending Marben‘s Sausage League last night.  We both geeked out and accidentally posted simultaneous pictures of the voting ballot on our Facebook group.  A few questions popped up and I realized the answers could take an entire post – taaadaaa!

Sausage League is a friendly competition between 12 of Toronto’s restaurants (The Harbord Room, The Drake Hotel, The Stop Community Food Centre, Table 17, Marron Bistro Moderne, C5, La Palette, Parts and Labour, Torito and Pizzeria Liberetto/ Enoteca Sociale).  Note that the host is not competing.

Marben hosts the event every second Wednesday where diners are offered choices from their regular menu or offered the “Sausage League” menu.  For $25 you are treated to two sausage dishes (one from each of two featured restaurants that night) and a side.  Last night’s side was a bottle of Steamwhistle Pilsner.  Diners are given an anonymous voting ballot of which they choose which sausage was superior and a team is eliminated from the challenge.  The contest started May 11 and runs through September 28.

Let’s talk about the only criticism I’ve seen about the event: the price.  $25 is a steep price for sausage.  If you examine the meal as simply price per calorie or even dollar for dollar of what you would receive on a typical menu, it is higher than you’d typically pay.  Considering a bottle of beer is about $5 in Toronto, we paid $10 per dish which were appetizer-sized (though much more filling as I don’t think of sausage as an appetizer).  But there is no such thing as a $5 artisanal sausage in this city (you pay close to that with a pop for mass-produced, big-agriculture ‘street meat’) so we’re talking a few dollars higher than expectation – at most.

It’s not a ticket for everyone.  We joined 4 other friends, added dinner and another few beverages and spent a lovely evening together – less per hour than the price of a movie (without snacks added).

It was a great night, casual meal and an awesome tasting.  The sausages were outstanding and it was a difficult vote.

In exchange for such a fee, Marben is opening its kitchen and packing it full of teams from it’s ‘competition.’  And to me, that’s the bigger part of the story – beyond price and beyond even the mighty sausage.  Many of Toronto’s restaurants chef’s and their teams are coming together through events such as this.  They are sharing kitchens, ideas and evolving their cuisine and, in the process, further developing a sense of Terroir and what it is to eat the food where we live.  A ‘sense of somewhereness.’

Businesses and chefs who were once seen as competition are working together and creating an excitement greater than any could do as an individual.  Lofty comparisons (that are perhaps inspirational rather than factual) would compare what happened when the California Wine Scene started to work together, American Craft Beer joined arms against mass-produced beer (instead of itself) and perhaps even the “Group of 7″ as a Canadian reference. 

I understand those comparisons are bound to raise eyebrows and perhaps they are too lofty.  It’s simply an exciting time in Toronto’s dining history – a restaurant renaissance of sorts.  A $25 ticket to see Chefs pulled from 4 of Toronto’s busier restaurants (Marben, Torito and Enoteca Sociale/ Pizzeria Libretto) put their egos to the side and provide a cold beverage and see the creativity and contrast produced by different kitchens is just a lot of fun.

Over the past several months the intensity of working together has increased.  Multi-Chef dinners in a single restaurant (for fun, profit or charity), fun competitions (battles over popcorn, pickles and preserves amongst them), our ‘food truck festival‘ and good-spirited collaboration at events like Terroir have seen a magical collaboration that’s been fun to watch as an outsider – and delicious to consume as an enthusiast.

Toronto has a vibrant dining scene that’s becoming more exciting month over month.  I encourage you to join in on the fun by joining in or coming to visit!

We braved the rain with some friends last night and headed down to a food festival on the East End of Town.  A large supermarket chain which was once an independent grocer specializing in Asian food hosted a “Night Market” that was very similar to those found in much of Asia (well-traveled friends reported the experience as being fairly authentic).

It was a lot of fun – street food with influences from all over Asia.  a lot of the food was familiar – although much of it was new to me.  The smell of ‘stinky tofu’ (an actual dish that had lineups of excited eaters) filled the air and intermittent sprinkles and outright downpours kept most of the heat away.

It was a fantastic window into another part of the world.  One of Toronto’s best features is the ability to travel the world without leaving the city limits.

While much of the food was from big agriculture, this festival had notably less waste than many I’ve attended.  Much of the food was served on a stick or in natural vessels such as watermelon and coconuts.

Rather than talking about it, here’s a bunch of iPhone shots from last night:

Dana and I had the privilege of attending Terroir V (5) on Tuesday.  It was our second Terroir and we were most excited to be going.

Terroir is a symposium for the Food and Drink industry in Toronto.  Participants range from chefs, restaurateurs, authors, sommeliers, farmers, mixologists, food writers, butchers and more.  The symposium is intended for those working within the industry.

This conference has helped Dana understand the perspective of her clients in the industry (she is now working with more food-based clients than not) and helps me find more material to write on and perspective to share for WellPreserved but also other sources that we’ve been contributing more frequently to.  I also find I learn many things that help me in cooking and preserving, meet some great people – and that I walk away inspired.

There were 400 tickets sold this year – a rousing success that stretched Hart House to the seams with a passionate crowd.  The event is one of the few conferences I have attended which seems to hold no hostages – everyone seems to want to be there.

The day starts early – breakfast was served at 7:00AM.  I was still bleary-eyed and in a bit of a food coma after a great feast at Beast Restaurant the night before which was the launching of something called LLLSecret (we’ll share more details of this neat project in a few weeks).

I remember feeling like a bit of a wallflower last year.  I’m generally fairly conscious that our 30-40 hour a week ‘hobby’ called WellPreserved could seem like a cop-out for people who live and risk everything they have within this industry.  I long ago learned not to mess with other people’s passions and hoped that our sincerity would come through when meeting others who carve careers out of such a difficult industry.  To put it short and be perfectly vulnerable, I just wasn’t sure I belonged.

I found the room to be very open and inviting.  People were friendly and willing to discuss and it was fantastic to meet so many fantastic people.

The biggest difference this year was the quantity of people we knew – both in real life and in ‘digital’ life who we got to spend time together.  There were as many greetings via handshake as there were by hug.

For those who are unfamiliar with the event, here’s a brief rundown of (approximately) how the day flowed:

• 7:15-9:00.  Breakfast, meet and greet.
• 9:00-10:00.  Welcome and opening speeches – a view of the industry now and to the future.
• 10:00-11:00.  Social time, coffee and ‘networking’ (we all seem averse to that term but meeting, greeting and reacquainting are significant parts of the event and a lot of the fun and value comes from this time)
• 11:00-12:30.  Breakout sessions.  There were guided wine tastings, a steak tasting (in the afternoon), sessions on branding and the origin of taste and more.
• 13:30-2:00 lunch.
• 2:00-3:30 Breakout sessions.
• 3:30-4:30 Keynote by Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver
• 4:30-6:00 Reception – wine, drinks, beer and food.
• 7:00 – ? after party.

In the Origins of Taste session (led by a great team of chefs: Joshna Maharaj, Bettina Schorman and David Kinch), there was a lot of talk about Umami.  Umami is a recent discovery (in the last 100 years or so) and is still debated (although most have accepted it’s validity for 20-30 years) in many circles as the 5th basic tastes (after sweet, sour, bitter and salty).  Simplified as “savory” we were treated to 3 pairs of before-and-after tastings to demonstrate the power:

• “Naked” pear followed by pear dipped in lime with cayenne and toasted coconut.
• Watermelon followed by watermelon with ginger.
• Carrot followed by carrot with smoked salt.

You can easily repeat the tasting above at home (all the better if the watermelon were in season) – you’ll find it truly stunning.  This will change my approach to pickling this year and I’m excited to do some more research for the year ahead.

I had the extreme pleasure of seeing David Kinch speak at last years event.  He was dreadfully ill but braved his way through the presentation.  He said one thing which resonated with me and will change my kitchen (although this is likely obvious to the chefs amongst us):

• It’s all about balancing the acids and the salt.

When I gently warmed some leeks for a leek-and-potato soup last night I added a touch of sherry vinegar to increase my acids.  A touch of sugar was also added (something I normally do when caramelizing onions).  I didn’t get the perfect ratio but I did create the best potato-leek soup I’ve ever had.  It’s nuggets like this that change the way I cook – and the way that I interact and examine food.  I need to pay much more detailed attention to the 5 tastes and how they interact with each other and what I am preparing.

I also partook in a steak tasting in the afternoon.  It was a chaotic room (more than 100 people) which tasted 4 different rounds of steak as guided by Mark Schatzker (author of “Steak“)who walked us through a pile of information that ranged from tasting to farming, feeding, cooking and seasoning meat.  It was difficult to contain the din of the room and hear Mark guide the session but there was plenty of information shared that challenged me (including information on wet aging, resting and feeding of meat which opposed much of the reading I’ve done on the subject).

I must make mention of Chefs Mathew DeMille and Matty Matheson (both of Parts & Labor) who managed to put out 4 tastings in 90 minutes.  I can’t imagine the dance that must have happened in the kitchen and their results were outstanding.

Chef Henderson was fabulous.  He spoke of many things in what appeared to be a scattered shot-gun of a speech but as he neared the end it all came together like some gastronomic orchestra.  The crowd became visibly engaged as he referred to cooks as Jedi Knights.

It was his business partner Trevor that grabbed my attention when he shared a simple tip to the chef’s in the crowd; “Don’t cheat.  If there’s supposed to be 6 things on a plate and you have 5 – you know it.  Don’t hide it, don’t cut one in half.  You know the difference and you need to be perfect.”  I caught myself hand selecting pieces of leek  that had been cooked too long for my soup last night – they were near burned and probably would have remained hidden but I indeed would have known…

We made it to the after party though we called it an evening around 8:30.  It was hosted by Ivy Knight and The Drake Hotel and featured a cheese buffet by the Cheese Boutique.  They nearly melted my mind when they poured maple syrup into snow and wrapped cheese with the resulting “taffy” that was simply genius.

I must also make mention of Arlene Stein (Chair of the event) and her entire team who donate hundreds of volunteer hours per year to the event.  They are changing our province in addition to what arrives on our plates and in our glasses and I am proud to be in a city which has such an amazing group of people dedicated to our nourishment (of body and soul).

It was a fantastic event, one that I’m thrilled to have been part of.

Today`s post is brought to you by the letter Terroir (the site seems to be up and down this morning – you can typically find the details here – you can also see them on Twitter here).  And the name Fergus Henderson.  And Chef David Kinch.

Today is a vacation day for me – we`ll be attending Ontario`s premiere food symposium which will bring more than 300 people together to celebrate Ontario Food, it`s people and professionals.

Fergus Henderson has been brought in from the UK to be our keynote – and I`m bounding with excitement for all of it.

Our plans today include an artisnal steak tasting, breakfast, lunch and snacks after.  The focus will be on food and drink in our Province.  We`re looking forward to seeing a bunch of friends (in and outside of the industry) as well as meeting more.

If you`re from here or if you`re not – you should check out the website.  You`ll get a better idea of the amazing things happening around food in our Province.

Dana and I will both be there – hope to see you too!

America`s Top Next Cow…

It amazes me to watch the `beauty`contests of animals at the fair – judges determining which is the best cow in a group, the audience feverishly writing notes and cheering, tension cutting the room and the prep work – haircuts, hairspray and even spray paint.  I just know that there are people seeing a whole lot than I am – which is easy because I`m just seeing cows.

Of course there are horses too :