October 19th, 2011 by Dawn Becker

I haven’t heard anyone use the old adage “a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” in ages but it seems to me that this is also the way to his philanthropic soul. Food-related charity events are quite a trend for non-profits to raise funds and I couldn’t be happier about this.

Events such as Feast For The Fight, a program that my friend Crystal has been helping to promote, is a dining event where host restaurants will donate a portion of their sales from the day to the Canadian Cancer Society. Events like Feast For The Fight allow you to contribute to a good cause by doing nothing more than what you might do on any given Wednesday, having a bite to eat and a few beers somewhere local. Here’s a list of the restaurants participating in tonight’s Feast For The Fight fundraiser. You’ll find me at one of them.

This event goes right alongside the latest book I’ve been reading, Mission Street Food: Recipes and Ideas from an Improbable Restaurant by Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz. First off, one of the guiding principles of Mission Street Food, as set by Myint and Leibowitz, was to build a restaurant business model with a charitable component. On page 63 of their book, you’ll find them discussing the “Benevolent Business” and whether the benefits outweigh the costs. At the end of the day they seem to conclude that it doesn’t matter to them and continued to give money away with the opening of their next three restaurants. If all it takes to be charitable these days is to eat, then count me in. I do it (eat) at least three times a day so why shouldn’t someone benefit from my gluttony.

For a similar reason to why I loved David Chang’s magazine, Lucky Peach, Mission Street Food reads like an artful stream of consciousness, documenting their business wins and woes in a unique and intriguingly arranged cookbook of sorts that’s actually part memories, part cookbook, part kitchen confidential and lots of fun. I suppose, I could learn to be philanthropic, like the theme of tonight’s Feast For The Fight dining event, but this is one book that I will not share with others. Get your own copy.

May 19th, 2010 by Dawn Becker

In March, I posted about working with Jangles Productions. Mark Jacot (pictured below) heads up Jangles and he brings together a great conference team to fill different roles for his variety of successful events. He’s a great example of a dream company to work for and you can see that by the contract staff who get in line to come back to work with Mark and the Jangles team, year after year.

Along with his wife, Margaret, who is also an extremely talented cook, they always throw a fantastic after-party for the team that brings us all together in a fun, casual environment. Mark and Margaret are seasoned world travelers and serious food people and it shows. I have to admit that I feel truly fortunate to be included in the Jangles crew and not just because I rolled out of their home with belly bursting. It’s a special gift to be able to run a big crew like this and keep everyone happy. Mark is like a mentor to me. He runs his business with honesty and integrity and that’s an amazing model for anyone. Thanks to all the Jacots for allowing me to be a part of this fantastic team.

I thought I’d share with you a few of the creations that the Jacots put together for the team party – everything is made from scratch (well not the cheese but they don’t have room for cows in the backyard with the outdoor pool). If you were invited and missed it, eat your heart out. More for me I say. Here’s what you missed and yes, you can be jealous. I ate everything.

May 4th, 2010 by Dawn Becker

It’s that time of year when the good weather beckons and weekends start to get booked up. People often ask me what I’m doing for the weekend so I thought I’d write up a quick post of some events that have been on my radar. I haven’t attended any of these events in the past but they sound interesting if you’re looking for things to do in May. If anyone’s been to these events please comment on them.

GREEN THUMBS GROWING KIDS – GARDEN PARTY & FLOWER TASTING
Sunday, May 16, 2010
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Allan Garden’s Children’s Conservatory
Carlton Street, East of Jarvis
Price: Adults $50; Children FREE

Experience the beautiful Victorian-era greenhouses and a new children’s garden. Sample a fanstastic menu prepared by chef Anne Sorrenti, inspired by and infused with local organic seasonal flowers and herbs. This event includes a silent auction and plant/seed sale along with food and music plus a receipt for a portion of the ticket price can be issued.

TASTE OF MACLEAN’S
Monday, May 17, 2010
6:00 p.m. Cocktail Reception
7:00 p.m. Dinner
Buca Restaurant
604 King Street West
Price $130

Maclean’s exclusive Taste evening includes an elegant cocktail reception, followed by an exquisite five course chef’s tasting menu complemented by wine pairings. Hosted by Maclean’s columnist Scott Feschuk with special guests, food author Jacob Richler and executive chefs Rob Gentile in Toronto.

KOREAN FOOD PRODUCTS & BEVERAGES EXHIBITION TORONTO 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010: 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 22, 2010: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
255 Front Street West, North Building, Room 106
Price: General Admission $5; Children under 7 FREE

The goal of this event is to showcase Korean foods and products. The price is great for an event in this city especially if you happen to be in the area. There are some unique Korean performances planned including something called “Mixing Bibimbap for 200 People” – which needs a better marketing spin or translation assistance for a sexier title – and what I’m looking forward to, Korean Traditional Pancake Cooking Competition. Based on the location and price set your expectations appropriately. You may be surprised to find that an intimate activity turns out to be a better experience. You be the judge.

April 19th, 2010 by Dawn Becker

Creating a new heading under Bits And Bites, this post consists of a short summary of things I’ve been doing, perusing and pondering.

Blogging About Food In Toronto

I recently started doing some restaurant reviews for blogTO — three to date on Chick-N-Joy, Linda by Salad King and just this week, Family Dumpling House. Writing for someone else is not as easy as writing for yourself. I’ve learned quite a few things already from the blogTO editor and also from the readers’ remarks, both positive and negative. It’s an opportunity to learn more about what flies and what doesn’t and I’m open to seeing how this turns out.

A few hiccups along the way have already occurred with things happening out of my control, say a by-line on an announcement that I didn’t write, and one unhappy restaurant owner, which for the most part is par for the course. And if I am willing to critique a restaurant I must in turn be willing to expose myself to the swath of comments and criticisms about what I say. I believe that a thicker skin will be needed with everyone being free and entitled to make a remark or better yet, a compliment. That is part of putting yourself out there publicly. Not everyone has to like my work… but of course, it would be nice.

In the end, I hope writing for blogTO will have the added benefit of exposing BananaViews to more readers. As much fun as it is having the opportunity to express myself here, it’s even better knowing that you’re out there. And thanks for that.

Jealous of Judith Jones

I just read The Tenth Muse by Judith Jones and I’ve been thinking about what a great life she’s had working with some of the most critically-acclaimed chefs and cookbook writers around, most famously Julia Child, Marcella Hazan, Marion Cunningham and Lidia Bastianich to name a few. It’s written so sincerely and she tells about her encounters managing each of these “greats” so graciously. Each page flows and you can easily devour this book in an instant.

Even better, she also devotes the last quarter of her book to recipes including a section called Cooking For One which looks like a prelude to her recent book The Pleasures Of Cooking For One. I am looking forward to reading The Pleasures Of Cooking For One but have delayed it out of sentimental reasons. The idea of one day cooking for one compared to my busy household now sort of breaks my heart. Yet surely the intention of her book is to contrast just that and is exactly the reason why I should read it.

Martin Turns Thirty

My friends throw fabulous parties and Saturday we celebrated Martin’s 30th birthday party which included a mash of Martin’s social circles. Martin (pictured left) decided to have a private party at PM Gallery owned by Powell MacDougall and the wife of our friend, Geoffrey who helped to host the night with Powell catering in the kitchen.

Powell’s cooking is a side benefit if you’re lucky enough to host a reception in her gallery, surrounded by interesting (and very buyable) art. Martin loves his wine and knows quite a thing or two about it and in combination with Powell’s treats this was a tasty night. He served us a refreshing bubbly, Codorniu Pinot Noir Rose Brut Cava, which was bright and light on the palate with nice berry notes. He also served a smash hit rioja that I can’t remember the name of, likely due to having too many of them. Must ask Martin to send me the wine list.

Rowena and Marcus brought Baby Lennon so we could meet him in person. I posted about the big Philippine-style baby shower a while back and here he is.Overall, a fantastic night of frivolity. So as a reminder of the revelry, here are some shots of the party. Note that I didn’t bring my DSLR which would have produced crisper photos but that’s how things go when you’re decked out in heels with a small purse. Happy Birthday Martin!

March 29th, 2010 by Dawn Becker

March for many conference planners is one of the busiest months out of the year. It’s usually the first big crunch before the insanity of the fall event season, especially for those of us who do events for clients that utilize government funding where it’s essential to use available monies before the government fiscal end of March 31.

Right now, I’m at the Venture4Change conference held at Whistle Bear Golf Club on the outskirts of Cambridge, just off Highway 401. This dynamic event brings together social entrepreneurs, defined by the Skoll Foundation as society’s change agents; pioneers of innovation that benefit humanity. It’s a room filled with some of the brightest minds in this area who have come together to solve some of the most pressing social and environmental problems from a for-profit and non-profit basis.

Tomorrow I will be at the second half of the ISAP conference for immigration and settlement workers. I posted about my conference food dilemma at events such as ISAP a few weeks back. Needless, to say, with two conferences back to back there has been little time to indulge in one of my other great passions… ruminating about food and culture. Yet both conferences do have an impact on me in that they offer “food for thought”. And new stimulus is important to keeping the mental palate refreshed and intrigued.

As an event planner I have been privileged to be around these great thinkers and doers for the past ten years. I suppose I’ve been feeding myself a little differently this month. Included in these activities, I decided to start writing restaurant reviews for blogTO. You can see my first post for them here and more to come in April, when my event work goes back to normal hours. Then I’ll be in the development stage for the PROFIT 100 CEO Summit in June and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association conference on Who Belongs? Rights, Benefits, Obligations and Immigration Status, based on a research project they are undertaking on the status of immigrants in Canadian society in September.

In the meantime, I’ve been eating out a lot, mostly for fuel rather than my usual lingering enjoyment. In times like this a home-style meal, made by my own hands with fresh, local ingredients, is what I crave more than anything else. Sadly, there’s been no time lately but I’ll be making up for that in April.

I did squeeze in a quick meal at the newly opened Ajisen Ramen on Spadina Avenue on the west side, just north of Dundas. Here’s a link to the Ajisen Ramen site which hasn’t been updated yet with the Spadina Avenue location but it gives a brief feel of the otherwise extensive menu.

You can’t miss the new location. There’s a giant Ajisen Ramen dolly noodle mascot outside. However, since it’s so new I’m not prepared to give it an in-depth critique. I believe every restaurant needs some time to work out their kinks before they get properly assessed. I also believe a reviewer should eat at a restaurant a few times sampling a wide range of items to offer a fair assessment. I hope that readers appreciate my commitment and that of my stomach! (Oh how I suffer for the integrity of my work ha!)

That being said, here’s a sample of some of a few of the basic dishes I tried on my first quick trip. I like to give the standards a go to get a sense of how the staples are. So here’s a teaser before a more extensive review in future.

Miso BBQ Pork Ramen using a different type of wheat-based noodle imported from Japan that’s more like Italian spaghetti than traditional ramen.

Roasted garlic topping available at each table along with shichimi and soy sauce which can be added to any ramen noodle dish.

Ground pork gyoza – tasty but not delicate. The gyoza at Konnichiwa are made with much more love.

Tender Ajisen Octopus on Seaweed Salad.

Ajisen Ramen has hundreds of options to try and I look forward to giving them a chance though I’m always leary about restaurants that try to do too much. But I’m open-minded and I’ll be hungry when my schedule settles down in April.

March 17th, 2010 by Dawn Becker

My friend Richard Willet is the Vice President of Food & Beverage at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC), Canada’s largest trade show and convention site. You can read how serendipitous our first meeting was in my previous post. Since we met, Richard and I have dined at Guu Izakaya Toronto, attended the Terroir symposium and the latest, an invitation to attend the MTCC’s North American Wine Council. Richard wasn’t able to attend but I was thrilled to participate, which for many would be considered a true once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Imagine having a guided tour through a blind tasting of 117 wines (plus 3 Zinfandels that we just couldn’t get through). Read 120 wines in one sitting! I’m still flabbergasted that there were so many options to try. Above, one of several tables that featured the wine bottles for us to peruse after the tasting.

The wine tasting was led by Jamie Drummond. He’s been a sommelier for nearly 20 years including the Granite Club and the defunct but always memorable Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar (Wine Bar as it is now called has new owners). Now, Jamie is the director of Good Food Revolution and when you read his blog you’ll instantly realize you’ve got the wrong job. Jamie walked us through the various wine flights keeping his comments at our entry level. The first thing he told us was there’s no right or wrong when judging the wine. This put us instantly at ease. We started with a Pinot Grigio wine flight, pictured above. The blue chicken bucket pictured beside the glasses acts as the spittoon. If you don’t spit you’ll never make it through the entire tasting and I didn’t want to be on the floor at 4 in the afternoon.

Here’s what the set up looks like for the Sauvignon Blanc wine flight, and it’s proof that I did not crash the party. While tasting each variety, we recorded our rating for each glass of wine based on aroma, taste and finish, out of ten. All our scores were calculated and we received a copy of the group totals so we could see which ones were the most popular. Some of the more interesting tasting notes I recorded included a Pinot Grigio that tasted “like my grandmother’s sock drawer”. I later realized the flavour was reminiscent of moth balls. I also discovered I do not like the green, viney taste of the Gamay varieties pictured above. We smelled acetone (as in nail polish remover), caramel, citrus, nuts, miscellaneous berries and even gasoline. There was one chardonnay that was so smokey it tasted like “licking a hearth”. After three hours, my tongue felt numb and my nasal passages were stuffed from the histamines. I had a greater appreciation of what it takes to be a sommelier. To be honest, it started to feel a bit like work a third of the way through. No complaints. I like to work. How sommeliers keep their olfactory senses and taste buds sharp is a wonder though.

And to thank us for our efforts, the MTCC served palate cleansing chilled beer and delicious appetizers (some are shown below) after the tasting was complete along with a parting gift of ice wine. Thanks to Richard and the MTCC for letting me be a part of this.

Smoked salmon on cucumber slices topped with whipped cream cheese, endive and chive.

Tender fish cakes topped with a type of tomato salsa.

Goat cheese and arugula crostini.

March 10th, 2010 by Dawn Becker

I’m working at the ISAP 2010 Conference held at the Westin Harbour Castle this week for my friend Mark Jacot who owns Jangles Productions. For event planners like myself who enjoy food adventures on a daily basis, having to eat conference catering for a week can be painful. It’s not that the food is bad, it’s more that the variety is lacking and usually mundane in order to please the lowest common denominator.

Side effects of conference food specifically with buffet-style service include sore tongues and swollen fingers and toes that end up looking like chubby pork knuckles caused by excess salt and preservatives that keep things looking freshly appealing. A short-term diet of too much coffee, with meals eaten too quickly, and too much junk food from the “snack-to-stay-awake methodology”, can really knock your system out of whack. While it’s usual that a planner might be preparing for these events months in advance, we thankfully only have to subject ourselves to conference food for the duration we’re on site. (Photo of lunch buffet below courtesy of Caitlin Bar, official photographer for ISAP 2010, for Jangles Productions.)

The ISAP conference is geared towards immigration and settlement workers where every continent is represented in the delegation, yet ironically the food options at the lunch buffet are pretty much vanilla. The only thing that stands out are the bottles of Tabasco hot sauce that are offered with the salt and pepper at each table.

Of course, dealing with the overwhelming variety of religious laws and dietary requirements such as Halal, vegetarians or allergies (such as lactose intolerance common to the Asian delegates) can make it challenging to offer more exciting internationally-based cuisine in a conference setting. Shown below, soy milk offered along with cream and milk at the coffee stations.I think hotel chefs need to recognize that they have to offer meal options with broader global appeal on even their most basic corporate menus AND at a price point that budget-conscious clients can take part in. As a country, our palates are expanding and venues need to keep up with this diversity. Hotel chefs and caterers have to develop better ethnically-inspired food that’s more than a mere nod. Adding a bit of ginger or scallions to a soba noodle dish, a dash of sesame oil or soy sauce to a sprout salad, or a pinch of curry powder to a fish stew, are nice but inevitably not quite satisfying enough.

Having said that, the overall quality and freshness of food at the Westin Harbour Castle this week have been decent, despite the lack of true variety.

Green Bean and Chickpea Salad

Shaved Roast Beef Sandwich on an Onion Bun

Egg Salad on Multi-Grain Buns

Chicken Salad in Spinach Wraps

Dessert Bars and Cookies

I’ve got to get back to the conference at hand but I’m sure you can understand that I am seriously craving something flavourful and homey, like spicy kam ja tang or a big slurpy bowl of pho.

March 3rd, 2010 by Dawn Becker

As an event planner for more than ten years, you usually find me behind the scenes orchestrating the timing and execution of a conference or awards show. So it’s nice to report on an event that I attended as a guest where I could fully participate and network with like-minded people at yesterday’s Terroir 2010 hospitality industry symposium.

When you’re talking about the hospitality industry you can bet that the food is going to be outstanding and that it was. In a few days, I’m sure there will be many photos posted on Flickr showing the multitude of scrumptious food items that made an appearance at Terroir 4. Today, I’m betting the die-hard organizers are simply recovering from yesterday’s revelry. My copy of the delicious but slightly overwhelming lunch menu is above. To me, the true value of this event comes from meeting the eclectic participants. Terroir 4 offered great networking, if you’re into that kind of thing, where every single person I met had a serious passion for food, whether they were restauranteurs, chefs, servers, industry suppliers, culinary students, writers or otherwise. In terms of content they touched on a variety of areas. Here are the comments that stood out to me.

Alan Richman is a distinguished writer who was recently appointed Dean of Food Journalism at the French Culinary Institute. He was a panel speaker on Media In The Kitchen and stated that “no one listens to writers any more”. (Interesting viewpoint to a new food writer!) Later when asked “What makes a great food city?”, Richman replied that “you can’t plan it. It becomes what it becomes. It has nothing to do with the media.” He also said he had a problem with reviewers today focusing their attention primarily on new restaurants. The old restaurants, he said, should be reviewed to see if they are improving or getting worse. I see the merit in this comment.

Sasha Chapman was on the same panel. She was the former food editor of Toronto Life and continues to write regular columns about food. When asked about her favourite food city, Chapman said Tokyo (currently mine as well). “When the food culture is so pervasive that makes a destination incredible,” she said. I wholeheartedly agree.

For the concurrent morning session, I chose to attend Restaurant Review which discussed what it takes to be successful in the restaurant business. Jenn Agg, co-owner of the Black Hoof said if you “do what you want and crystalize it, people will come.” I suppose if you have the fortune of opening a darling of a restaurant that’s seen pretty quick success this would be true for you. She also stated that the level of service in Toronto is appalling. Agree or disagree?

Chris McDonald, owner of Cava, said “You can’t follow a trend without sincerity. You have to believe in what it is.” McDonald had a humble moment saying that “I don’t feel I’m a particularly good manager. I get by, just barely, on passion and with the help of very skilled cooks and servers.”

In the afternoon, I attended a lively debate on tipping, whether we should abolish it or not. The first vote was 40% for getting rid of tipping and 58% against. I suppose 2% did not vote. After hearing all the arguments, the vote at the end remained stubbornly the same. If you’d like to know, yes I am all for tipping. I like to be able to comment on the service non-verbally with my tip. And I’m not one of those who feels I have to tip any standard percentage though I think I’m probably more on the generous side than less. It’s just my nature.

The day closed with David Kinch, Executive Chef of the many-starred Manresa Restaurant in California. To my delight, he predicts that Asian influence will continue to grow in restaurants explaining that “the great places there (in Asia) are based on terroir already.”

I walked away from Terroir 4 knowing that I got value for my money. The ticket was about $100 if I remember correctly. I would definitely attend again and if you’re at all interested in the food and hospitality industry, you should make a note to look for details on Terroir 5 in your day planner for 2011.