22 October 2011 by pat.

JD’s got a small booth, but don’t overlook it. He’s a chef who has created a couple of sauces that he’s selling at the Delicious Food Show.

Two sauces:

And a bunch of bottles.

He had samples of the sauces, and some salmon in the sweet chili sauce. I didn’t try the salmon, but I did try the chili sauce on its own: it’s got nice slow heat from the combination of peppers he’s used, and it’s got flavour to go with it, so it’s not just heat and sweet. Good going, JD!

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22 October 2011 by pat.

Sounds silly, in a floor full of food and (some) drink, but I really wanted to sit down and review my photos, think, and figure out what my next steps were. So I went over to the little Centreplate Bistro, the cafe at the edge of the show. I had a delightful server, Vernice. So professional and excellent, I want to tell you to sit in her section if you can. This is Vernice:

I had the cheese plate and red wine. There was lots of cheese.

A pecorino, blue, brie-like, smoked gouda, and an orange washed rind similar to an Oka cheese. Plus grapes, crackers, honey, and a nice compote. Pretty good for $10!

It made for a good break from the show, and was the gap between me photographing and me buying

Here’s the menu.

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22 October 2011 by pat.

Compare and contrast.

No, I won’t do that, because that’s comparing apples and …hmm. bread? Two vastly different categories, although both are in similar spaces.

Fifth town, if you read back in my blog, is an organic cheese maker based in Prince Edward County. And they’re here, at the Delicious Food Show. I picked up some of their Quark cheese. I had never tasted quark until this summer, when they drizzled some maple syrup over some and offered tastes. Yes, I’ll take that over dessert any day, thanks. It’s delicious.

The other was a maker, Daiya, that I had heard about, and I saw their products when the Foodist Mart was briefly open in Leslieville. They create a vegan product that tastes like cheese.

They had some slices of pizza out with their mozzarella-like cheese-like product, and I took one and ate it. It did have a cheesy flavour, it melted like mozzarella, and looked like it, too. So for vegans who miss the taste of cheese, there’s a product out for you! They also had some grilled cheese sandwiches with a cheddar-like product, but after wandering all the stalls, I confess, I was sated, and didn’t try it.

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22 October 2011 by pat.

I love the colours and varieties of mills they create. Their work delights the eye.

Here are the reds:

And here are the yellows:

Brilliant — maybe aniline dyes? I’m not sure; I should have asked. I know I saw them at the One-of-a-Kind last December, maybe I’ll see them again.

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22 October 2011 by pat.

Something else I saw at the Delicious Food Show today — it’s called the Thermomix by Vorwerk. It’s for sale in Montreal and at the show, and they ship, darling.

It measures by weight. It can do a lot of the work that a blender or food processor does. It’ll knead your bread dough for you. And it will cook your risotto or (absolutely delicious) carrot soup.

If you’ve got a small kitchen, this could replace a number of appliances. It holds 2.5 litres — Mme. Vineberg was generally working with 2L in it.

Here, have some risotto.

As you can see, it’s pretty compact.

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22 October 2011 by pat.

I was walking past St. Phillip’s booth, and accosted by a young woman bearing a tray of creampuffs. I was forced to accept (really). (Well, not really. But I really liked it.)

I took a look around the place and spoke with them briefly. They have two locations —  one in Woodbridge, one in Maple, and plans are underfoot to open one in Toronto (alas, nowhere near where I live).

The creampuff was tasty.

The visuals of some of their cakemanship (I’m sure that’s not a word, but I don’t know how to express the one-up quality and detailing of what they do).

This is the side of their booth. That torso in the dress? A cake.

 Clown? A cake. The chocolate brown thing to the right is the closest one comes to seeing a cake-cake.

But I have to call out the luggage.

 Woh.

Awesome.

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22 October 2011 by pat.

No, it’s not Monty Python

But it almost feels like it could be a sketch. Goodness knows what they would have done with the concept back in the ’70’s when they were doing the show.

What does this mean? Look at that wink the woman in the poster is giving! Are handsome scantily-clad men involved (what else deserves a salacious wink)?

Well, I took a look, and I saw women getting their hands massaged, and martini glasses filled with what looked like chocolate with big sticks in them. Looked to me like they were going to get a chocolate hand treatment.

What do you think? If you have partaken in a chocolate spa experience I want to hear about it.

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22 October 2011 by pat.

I had to highlight them. They’re another place I usually go to at the Saint Lawrence Market — I’ve got green peppercorns I bought fresh from them on the stem. Hmm, I should check on those: they’ve been in brandy for about a year now.

Selsi combines spices with the lovely containers I’m used to seeing at Lee Valley Tools, and put them together as spice kits that are visually appealing, and I’m sure would help get a novice using spices. They have two sizes:

And a smaller sampler:

Support your local purveyors!

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22 October 2011 by pat.

They’re at the Delicious Food Show. I hope more people try Kozlik’s mustards and horseradish. They are my absolute favorite purveyor of those items.

I usually buy their products at the Saint Lawrence Market. I’m a huge fan of their horseradish: it’s got heat and flavour. Totally clears out the sinuses. Has taste and works well in a Bloody Caesar as well as being served alongside a hunk of prime rib, or mixed in with some applesauce to go with pork (think I got that trick from the Joy of Cooking).

One of my favorite mustards is the triple crunch: it’s the caviar of mustards. Three different types of seed — makes a beautiful visual. Has an awesome flavour. Your teeth bear down on a seed that’s been softened and expanded with vinegar, and it explodes in your mouth with pure flavour, the way a fish egg does. It’s awesome. Put some on a slice of aged cheddar and eat it. Your toes will curl with pleasure.

One of the big reasons I love Kozlik’s is their customer service. My father can’t eat sulphites, and for years, this has meant the only mustard he could eat was the Keen’s powdered mustard, which my mother would add water to and make a paste.

I called to find out if any of their mustards or horseradishes were sulphite-free, and got a phone call back (I think it was Jeremy who called), and had a superb conversation. I couldn’t get my Dad a pure horseradish (it requires sulphites to keep it) but I could get him a horseradish mustard (wow, was it tasty). I was also given the names of two other mustards I could get him that were sulphite-free.

You treat a customer well, it’s remembered forever.

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22 October 2011 by pat.

Major Craig should be proud of his great-great-grandson, who is selling his chutneys at the show.

Sir, your great-great-grandson told me that you started as an employee of the East India Company, then became part of the private army, then a Major in Queen Victoria’s army, and continued provisioning. And he’s using your recipes (plus some new ones).

The chutneys are delicious — I bought the Northern India Chutney. Heck, it will work on ice-cream, with cheese, beside a hot curry. It’s a go-to chutney.

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22 October 2011 by pat.

Tracy knows what she’s doing.

Her booth attracted me because it was clean, well-laid out, organized. Her food was all there for sampling.  She reeled me in with a taste of her *no sugar added* bumbleberry spread, which was absolutely delicious.

She makes beautiful food. Look at this trio of drizzles.

And she recommends what to do with them. Sometimes it’s things I wouldn’t expect. Like… use the drizzles on meatballs. Genius. And the picture makes them look mouth-watering.

Then I had to sample more things.

So many choices.

Even more choices.

Delicious, jewel-like jellies. She uses Niagara wines, adds fruit, and reduces them.

I left with a Vidal icewine jelly and port jelly for myself, and a gift pack for my sister-in-law’s parents at Christmas (shhhh! don’t tell them!)

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22 October 2011 by pat.

Or looking for an interesting hostess gift?

How about a set of concoctions to add to bubbly? I’m not going to suggest you put these in a $200 bottle of Champagne, but a $15-20 bottle of prosecco, why not?

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22 October 2011 by pat.

Over at the Delicious Food Show.

I keep thinking about it because of the lovely warm tones, the vein of white and shadings running through it, how it looks like chalcedony (but tastes like salt)… and how I’d like to be leading the type of lifestyle that would require such a lovely centrepiece at my dinner table.

I was at Prohibition Bar, in the Riverside area of Toronto, and my friends and I had the carpaccio, which comes out on a plate, and is accompanied by a huge hunk of Himalayan salt upon which to lay the meat briefly to season it. I’m trying to think of other reasons to have it, because carpaccio is something I eat out, not make in-house.

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22 October 2011 by pat.

Larger and smaller operations are both at the show.

In the larger category, think Rodney’s, truly the eminence gris of Toronto fresh seafood. Once in the basement on Richmond Street by Jarvis (old time, I know) they’re now on King West just west of Spadina.

In the smaller category, think Oyster Boy, on Queen West near Trinity Bellwoods park.

Good prices for fresh seafood. Now that they’ve had the chance to scope each other out, they may have the same price. Yesterday, Oyster Boy was definitely the price winner!

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22 October 2011 by pat.

One item I bought in Florence that I’ve wished I could get in Toronto is goat butter — it has more flavour to it than cow butter. It isn’t as strong as the barnyard flavour in a goat cheese, but there’s a hint of that same taste. At the Delicious Food Show, Stirling Creamery was there — and I had the opportunity to sample the goat butter. Delicious!

The list of retailers included Chris the Cheesemonger at the Saint Lawrence Market in Toronto. You can bet (if they’re not already carrying that product) that I’ll be asking them for it!

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