By Diana Condolo
Sweets, savories, food trucks, gourmet street food and drinks – you can find it all at The Good Food and Drink Festival at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto from April 3-6, 20124.
One of the first booths I visited at the Good Food and Drink Festival made a grand pronouncement of OMG. Yes, these were OMG Clusters with the stamp of approval of Arlene Dickinson of Dragons’ Den. You know they are going to be good.
Part of the pleasure of these events is hearing people’s stories. The owners of Jewels Under the Kilt moved to Fergus in 2010 and, with the help of the local nursery, planted 100+ fruit and nut trees. They developed a system of roasting the nuts with maple syrup and fruits that result in amazing morsels. Another reason for purchasing their products is that they are locally grown and no squirrels were harmed in the making of the nuts. The best reason to try these is because they are absolutely yummmy!
Valour chocolates have something for every taste – good quality dark chocolate to sugar free chocolate. I love a little chocolate with my coffee. It is fueling my blogging this morning.
The Detour Coffee Roasters have a cute camper. I just had to peer inside. Here I am taking a closer look.
The Detour Coffee mobile guys are serving up coffee and a friendly chat. They told us engaging stories and they also have great coffee! They are available for corporate setups at your office, weddings, film crew service, concerts and food truck events.
Most of us have busy lives and find it difficult to prepare our own meals. Mealspirations may be the help you need. The company delivers both the recipes and fresh ingredients to your home so that you can cook your meal within 40 minutes. They will soon have customized menu options such as vegetarian meals.
It feels so good to sit down and watch a live cooking demonstration. A little relaxation is necessary after strolling around for hours. Sit back, watch someone else cook and let the aroma tantalize your taste buds. Then get up to indulge in more goodies.
Childhood memories come rushing back as Becky looks at the British candies and chocolates at The Wandering Scott.
The British Baked Goods booth selection of British-inspired baked goods included mixed tarts, cookies, fresh-baked meat pies and quiche. Becky explained to me that each of these baked goods come from a specific region of Britain. Some goods were specially decorated for Easter. These are available at the St. Lawrence Market.
Curiosity stopped the cat at the Urban Cultivator. What appears to be a wine cooler is actually an indoor garden. It is the size of a dishwasher and is fully integrated into the kitchen, allowing you to grow quality herbs and microgreens with little fuss. It truly is the “Zero Mile Diet”.
With too many drink vendors to mention, I know you will find your new favourite drink for summer.
I enjoyed sampling Happy Planet juice mixes including mango, coconut, and various berries, plus we received $1 off coupons – good for any of their products. They also have delicious soups available at grocery stores.
A refreshing alternative to juice, Blu-dot Protein Tea contains zero GMOs or artificial ingredients and contains 12 grams of protein and 6 grams of dietary fibre. Amazing!
After sampling lavender- and chai-infused maple syrup at Pure Infused Maple Syrup, I let out a loud “OMG”. Did you know the uses for maple syrup are endless?
The Good Food and Drink Festival gave out great goodie bags, which included Reggae Reggae Sauce, a Jamaican jerk spice. The sauce was popularized by creator Levi Roots’s appearance on Dragons’ Den. This vegan sauce goes well with veggie burgers too! I plan to try it with tofu and tempeh.
I left the festival mentally building an “OMG chart” – a rating system I have come up with to sort through all the pleasure I have just experienced. I rate each comestible based on how loudly I said “OMG”. This was one big OMG festival!
I had fun there today 🙂
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