Chef's Night Out: Local Food -- Local Heroes

Chef's Night Out: Local Food -- Local Heroes

This mouth-watering event was a co-presentation of Hamilton Eat Local and Slow Food Hamilton.

It was a relaxed night featuring a friendly reception with delicious local food prepared by Tapestry Bistro; an amazing Canadian documentary film called "Tableland"; a fascinating panel discussion led by local food industry insiders, followed by a vibrant question and answer session. Live acoustic music during the reception was provided by singer-songwriter and guitarist Ian Reid. Guests went away with market bags full of local goodies and assorted local food resources.

The event was funded by Friends of The Greenbelt Foundation (www.greenbelt.ca) and was create to be a chance for farmers and chefs (food producers and "co-producers", in Slow Food parlance) to meet in a conversation-fuelling atmosphere. Guest panelists gave everyone a lot to talk about, and they included:

*Executive Chef Jeff Crump of the Ancaster Old Mill
*Food and Travel Writer Barbara Ramsay Orr
*Farmer Chris Krucker of ManoRun Farm
*Daniel Speck, Co-Owner of Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery

The panel was introuduced by Lori Stahlbrand, founder and president of Local Food Plus, and Slow Food Niagara's Karen LaVigne (of Selections de la Vigne) introduced the film and had copies available for purchase, and they sold out fairly quickly after the screening. Hamilton Eat Local's new "Local Food Resource Guide for Chefs" is now available, just contact Project Manager Karen Burson for your copy: kburson.eatlocal@environmenthamilton.org.

Fresh local Delphiniums were provided for the occasion by Joanne Feddes of LaPrimavera Farms. Seed packets and other items were donated by local food businesses. Fantastic above-and-beyond service was provided by the Chef and staff of Tapestry Bistro.

Rain on our parade... or should I say garden party?

Hi all,

The threat of rain plus the lack of strawberries mean that we'll need to find another date for our "Slow Food Hamilton's Old Fashioned Strawberries and Ice Cream Summer Solstice Garden Party at Whitehern on Father's Day 2009". It definitely will not take place this fathers' day. Stay tuned for a new date! We should know in the next few days or so.

With regrets,

*karen b

Read about this upcoming event in The Hamilton Spectator : http://thespec.com/go/food/article/581463

Katrina Simmons puts Slow Food Hamilton and Strawberries in the Spotlight

The Spectator's dedicated reporter on The Hamilton Spectator's local food beat, Katrina has been writing entertaining, thought-provoking, and sometimes even moving articles for years now. She has kept fans of her "Eat Local" column well-informed about field-to-fork issues right across our region with humour and intelligence. People and places come alive for her readers in her weekly profiles.

Enjoy Katrina's article about Hamilton's celebrated food writer for Hamilton Magazine and The Globe and Mail, Slow Food Hamilton's Co-Leader Barbara Ramsay Orr. The article also announces our upcoming event at Whitehern -- the historic McQuesten family estate, which stands quietly nestled behind aging yet grand stone walls in the heart of downtown Hamilton:

http://thespec.com/go/food/article/581463

See you at this year's strawberry event!

*karen b

Katrina Simmons accompanies The Ancaster Old Mill's Chef Brian Gibson

in appraising the amazingly fresh local food selection at the Ontario Food Terminal

Celebrate Strawberries, Songs and the Summer Solstice -- and Learn How to Make Homemade Ice Cream!!!

Slow Food Hamilton presents…

An Old Fashioned
STRAWBERIES & ICE CREAM

Summer Solstice Garden Party @ Whitehern
Father's Day 2009 - Sunday June 21, 1 to 4 pm

Live Acoustic Guitar and Songs by

IAN REID

Whitehern’s Famous ICE CREAM MAKING WORKSHOP
and
A “MAKE-OUR-OWN” LOCAL ORGANIC STRAWBERRY SUNDAE TOPPING TABLE

Croquet and Guided Tours of historic Whitehern are also included!

$15 per person for adults, $5 per child 12 and under
***With 10% off for card-carrying members of Slow Food***
TO RSVP – kcburs@yahoo.com, remaining tickets at the door – SPACE IS LIMITED!

Looking for Lovage In All The Wrong Places? Join us for a FORAGING expedition with a local expert!

Yes, that is Jeff in the picture above, and yes, he was one of the "Toronto" chefs who took part in May 1st's Slow Food Canada "Do It Slow" Banchetto.

Join Slow Food Hamilton for an adventure in foraging led by Jeff Crump, the Executive Chef of The Ancaster Old Mill! Learn how to find wild foods as the chef leads us over the grounds of the historic Old Mill and taste the best, freshest foods imaginable... perhaps you'll discover these same wild foods in your own backyard. But first learn to choose the right plants and know how to harvest (or not harvest) them safely and sustainably, too.

Date: May 20, 2009, 6-8 pm

Location: The Ancaster Old Mill

Topics: Foraging, local ingredients, sustainability, delicious gourmet treats!

This event is offered FREE of charge, but please do RSVP -- donations to Slow Food Hamilton are welcome. You don't need to be a member to participate, but memberships has many benefits. Come learn about them!

PLEASE reserve by May 19, as space is limited: kcburs@yahoo.com

For a primer on foraging in our region visit Barbara Ramsay-Orr's blog:

www.chefdumonde.wordpress.com

click on the most recent "slow food meetings" entry to the right

for our latest updates

The "Do It Slow" Banchetto Launches the Slow Food Canada Convivium Leaders' Meeting in Toronto

Toronto's Slow Food chef extraordinaire Jamie Kennedy led a team of 25 of the city's hottest chefs in creating one of the most unique and memorable banquets that this country has ever seen. Hosted by Slow Food Toronto, the event kicked off an amazing four-day meeting of Slow Food Convivium Leaders from across the country, from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia and points in between.

Saturday was a day of workshops held at The Chef's House facility at George Brown College, Sunday included a breathtaking tour of the Niagara Wine Country and ended with yet another celebratory dinner. To mark the induction of the Tamworth Pig into Slow Food Canada's Ark of Taste, Executive Chef Jeff Crump hosted a very special Sunday Supper Pig Roast at The Ancaster Old Mill.

The Slow Food movement is about more than fancy banquets, a point hammered home by it's founder, the passionate, charismatic and articulate Carlo Petrini

For me personally one of the highlights of the weekend was the opportunity to hear Carlo Petrini speak (once at the Banchetto, again at our Saturday workshop, I missed him on Saturday night but there was another time that I heard him, for the final occasion, at dinner on Sunday night -- sounds like he's the James Brown of the food lecture circuit, making him the hardest working man in Slow business, right?). Petrini is the internationally famous founder of the Slow Food Movement. His impassioned call to us to remember the principles of Slow Food renewed my commitment to wanting to engage our community in the promotion of food that is: Good - Clean - Fair.

Read the superb interview with Signor Petrini in this Globe and Mail article:

http://http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090506.wlpetrini06art1831/BNStory/lifeFoodWine/

For photos, stories and more about those amazing days please visit The Eklectic Kitchen blog:

http://eklectickitchen.blogspot.com/

Sailing Into The Harbour Diner

This day's sandwich special featured grilled chicken with salsa, sour cream and other astoundingly fresh ingredients.

Slow Food Hamilton's meeting at The Harbour Diner was a delightful mix of good company, great food, and lots of food talk. Personally, I had the best sandwich I've ever had in my life, and I'm looking forward to returning soon. My sandwich was made of chicken, bacon, brie, avocadoes, tomatoes and mayo served on soft whole grain ciabatta. Oh man, I want another taste right now... too bad it was only the special of the day.

Thanks to Chef Chris Preston for taking a few minutes from his busy night's work to tell us about the restaurant's history, the changes, the menu and the outlook for a part of Hamilton that doesn't get all the credit it deserves for the strong sense of community and the natural beauty that can be found there, steps away from the waterfront.

Some of us got together for more talk over Americanos and pasteis de nata at Ola Bakery -- imagine the smile on my face as I was told that those delightfully creamy custard tarts with incredibly flaky pastry were still very warm from the oven. They were blissfully crispy-sweet.