Toronto Taste returns June 12 to Chorus Quay once again in support of Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue charity. The foodie-focused event has raised more than $ 11 million since it began in 1991, resulting in Second Harvest being able to salvage enough food to ensure that social service agencies across the GTA can provide 27 million meals. to people in need.
What’s it all about?
The legendary culinary raising funds is now in its 26th year and represents 20 percent of all fundraising from the second crop. Toronto Taste is one of the most popular tickets in the city for foodies and will feature innovative dishes and beverages from over 90 of Toronto’s best food and beverage providers (we have two surprise recipes you can check out at the end from the post). What could be better than hanging out by the lake, enjoying the fresh air, and trying amazing food prepared by some of the best chefs in town?
Last year’s event raised $ 850,000 for Second Harvest, enough to provide more than a million meals for those who are hungry. So Taste Toronto is not only an opportunity to eat and drink like a king or queen for a day, but it also supports one of the largest charities in the city.
Food and drink to wait
Some of this year’s participating food vendors and restaurants include Mildred’s Temple Kitchen (Michael Leary), Boralia (Wayne Morris), The Carbon Bar (Hidde Zomer), ACE Bakery (Erin Marcus), Pizzeria Libretto (Rocco Agostino), Little Anthony’s Italian Restaurant (Garth Legree), Maple Leaf Tavern (Jesse Vallins), Los Colibris (Ella Herrera), The McEwan Group (Mark McEwan) and Buca (Rob Gentile) among many others. You can check out the full (amazing) list here.
In terms of beverage vendors, some of the ones you can expect include Amsterdam Brewery, Brickworks Ciderhouse, Crystal Head Vodka, Steam Whistle Brewing, Victoria Gin, Singha Beer, Churchill Cellars, Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates, Nespresso and Beau’s All Natural, for name, but a few to wait.
More Savor Toronto’s Foodie Fun
In addition to eating and drinking on a (ideally) sunny late spring day for a great cause, Toronto Taste also has some other fun food hacks for attendees. You can also look forward to a fine wine auction, a chance to win a tour of India for two in a drawing (or a second prize of a $ 5000 gift certificate to Knar Jewelery), and a chance to see the chef challenge. of this year . Now in its third year, the challenge pits three chefs against each other in a 30-minute match.
The catch: Chefs need to create a dish from a box of mystery ingredients chopped up to the Food Network. Enthusiastic individual fundraisers can take part in chef challenge action – the top three fundraisers can be excellent chefs during the competition, which means cooking alongside one of the three participating chefs – Kaya Ogruce of Death at Venice Gelato Co., Darby Piquette of ONE Restaurant and Ivana Raca of Raca Café and Bar.
Celebrity Chefs for 2016 include the aforementioned Mark McEwan, along with Bob Blumer and Michael Smith, and the 2015 celebrity sighting was none other than Canadian actress and Sex and the City alum Kim Cattrall.
More on Second Harvest and Hunger in Canada
If you’re wondering what Second Harvest does and why Toronto Taste is so important to them, here are some important facts about the charity. Started in 1985, Second Harvest has been working hard to collect and distribute donated and surplus food – food that would otherwise go to waste. This equates to millions of pounds of good food each year that would otherwise end up in the landfill. That food is delivered to community agencies throughout Toronto. The long-standing charity is Toronto’s leading provider of fresh food for people in need, with more than eight million pounds of food delivered in the last year.
Second Harvest currently delivers salvaged food to more than 220 social service agencies.
Recipe one: garlic prawns with gremolata crumb
As promised, a preview recipe that you can try at home. This one comes courtesy of Little Anthony’s chef Garth Legree.
Gremolata crumb
1 garlic clove, finely minced
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
½ cup breadcrumbs
Shrimp
1 teaspoon of olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon chili flakes or fresh chili
1 finely chopped shallot
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup of white wine
½ cup heavy cream
2 lemons – juice of 1 lemon and wedges to decorate
¼ cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
For the gremolata crumb:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until a coarse crumb forms. Spread on a baking tray and let it dry for an hour.
For the shrimp:
In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter over medium high heat. Add the shrimp and sauté for a minute before adding garlic, chili, and shallots and cook for another 30 seconds. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and remove from the pan. Deglaze the pan with white wine. When the white wine is reduced by half, add the heavy cream and the rest of the butter. Lower the heat to medium and reduce the sauce until it thickens, making sure not to split the sauce. Finish with lemon juice and parsley.
To the plate
Garnish the shrimp with gremolata crumbs and lemon wedges. Serve with lightly dressed arugula salad and plenty of crusty bread or toss with your favorite pasta.
Recipe two: the Royal Treatment cocktail
Summer cocktail recipe for The Royal Treatment, courtesy of Victoria Gin and created by Elizabeth Savage for the Victoria Gin 2010 Toronto Cocktail Competition
1½ oz Victoria gin
4 oz cranberry juice
Sparkling wine
Kiwi slices
A handful of raspberries
A handful of blackberries
6 mint leaves
Add ice to a glass of wine. Add gin, juice, and top with sparkling wine. Add fruit and mint. Stir, drink and enjoy.
Buy Toronto Taste tickets here or donate to Second Harvest here.
