Local is the New Black

Everyone knows a good apple after the first bite.

But who knows good from bad after a bite of a tomatillo, ramp, purple carrot or claytonia?  Lesser-known crops are harder for the average consumer to critique.

To crunch down on any of these goods, you’ll have to order up at a notable Toronto restaurant. For these are not often found at the farmers market, but instead are featured as star ingredients in unique menu dishes.

So to determine the yum-factor of such atypical produce, it’s usually the chef’s call.

And that’s especially true now. Fall is up and for restaurants that means new menu time. That also means chefs have a new slew of fresh produce to try out and get inspired by. Like any industry there is always much to do to get ahead, or in this case, a good head of Winter Density lettuce.

Before harvest, common and not-so-common fruit, vegetables and herbs grow from GTA earth with promise, and smart Toronto chefs become like savvy investors and flock early to the city’s best farmer’s markets to stock their kitchens with the best fresh, yummy capital for new menus.

But there’s another way for chefs get their hands in the honey pot that is tasty produce – after the best of the locally-grown become ripe, these crème de la crème of crop yields can be shuffled through the alleys of Toronto’s restaurant districts. Samples of the finest produce, toted by farmers like gold coins in a dollar sign bag, are offered to chefs through the back kitchen door.

“Through the backdoor, we can get a lot of forgers,” said Anthony Rose, Head Chef at The Drake Hotel. “Like one of the guys we use mushrooms from, he was looking for business and really wanted to be at The Drake Hotel.”

Unbeknownst to most farmers market goers, there exists a black market of farm to table cuisine, and it requires street-sense from farmers to get their goods into the right hands.

The owner of one such pair is Chef Anthony Rose, mastermind of food offerings at The Drake Hotel, and notably nicer member of Toronto’s top chef mafia.

Famous chefs are an elite bunch who sometimes get a rep for laying down a hard law in the kitchen. And if you’ve ever been in a top restaurant’s kitchen, then you know – they may not be mobsters, but those ladle-wielding bosses are taking no prisoners during dinner rush.

To get their produce into the hands of a great chef, farmers need to think outside the market and think menu.

And get a little ‘hood.

Fictional mobster Tony Montana said, “first you get the money and then you get the power.” Obviously, a “little friend” to a farmer is more a weeder than a machine gun, but the desire to reap what you sow is a universal goal – true from the mean streets of New York to Toronto’s earnest back kitchen alleys.

The lucky thing for interested farmers, is that big timer chefs are actually more gentle giant then mob monster. Their love for food is what’s behemoth – it’s big taste, big expectations and big glasses of wine with meals. At the end of the day, it’s not a big power trip. It’s about delivering that real satisfaction to their guests.

It’s important for farmers to network as well to impress a chef, because even with the edibles crowd, it can still be about ‘who you know’. Attending food and wine events, coming in to eat  and schmoozing a bit at the restaurants of interest are all important measures to take. Cringe yes, but selling to a well-known restaurant not only pays well, but later, at the farmer’s market, the stand with a name recognized from The Drake Hotel’s menu, is gunna have a line-up.

“We’re a really good place to have farmers want their produce at, we’re a fairly big restaurant, high volume, high profile…and we sell a lot of food,” said Rose. “We also use a lot of farmers, but my favourite is Mark Trealout, who runs a cooperative called Kawartha Ecological Growers, using about a dozen or more people in his area,” said Rose. “Its amazing dealing with him because he runs his own farm but he is also dealing with so many other people that have fantastic things. Also, I like Andy George and his wife in in the Stratford area who run Soiled Reputation farm, and then from Prince Edward County, I love Vikki and Tim from Vikki’s Vegetables.”

For locally-focused Chefs, the farm and producer become integral sources of menu inspiration and are often credited.  For instance, on The Drake’s menu, Rose highlights his favourite local ingredients by naming the farm it’s from – “Markus mushrooms,” “Kernal peanuts,” “Tymek’s sour pickles,” and “Ezell’s slaw;” listed by name under the dish they inspired, the produce is that appreciated.

“What I like to do is what I call ‘Canadiana’, which is about using what’s good and what’s growing around here,” said Rose. “ Like for the past couple years, I’ve been loving these red peanuts from just around Lake Erie area…But no one really knows you can get local peanuts in Ontario…and it’s become something really amazing to showcase.”

“We try to get all these amazing products and the people who make them into The Drake,” said Rose “so more consumers can find out about local produce and enjoy it.”

GTA earth is ready for culinary success and farmers are the grassroots operation behind the success of our city’s best local restaurants.  Acknowledging farms on menus, bringing farmers into the kitchen and using local produce as menu inspiration are all big steps towards empowering Toronto as a culinary destination.

Nothing is more powerful than feeding someone properly. And with the help of Ontario’s great farmers, chefs can sure do that here.

Last season, on November 9, 2009,Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance (OCTA) made like harvest and gathered together some of Ontario’s most vital farmers, distributors and producers for a feast of the foodie minds – the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance Summit.

The event began with a discussion between three titans of culinary tourism, Jason Parsons, Head Chef, Peller Estates Winery Restaurant, Arlene Stein, Director of Events at Hart House and Mike Whittamore, Producer, Whittamore Farms.  The lively debate, moderated by Kevin Brauch, host of The Food Network’s “The Thirsty Traveller,” moved down a food chain of topics relevant to culinary arts activists.

One major topic served up was the importance of relationship building between local farmers and chefs – a key connection to improving the quality of food served in Toronto.

Local growers should feel confident in their expertise and extend offers to educate chefs on the quality of their crops.

“Chefs are like rock stars now,” said Brauch, noting the rising status of those behind some of the city’s most revered restaurants.

But despite an intimidating status, “It’s important for farmers to face the fear and knock on the kitchen door of restaurants and get chefs to taste their produce,” said chef Parsons.

Basically when it comes to initiating culinary tourism, the real ‘rock star’ should always be the food. And according to one of best in Ontario growing it, Mike Whittamore, it is.

“Ontario has some of the best soils in the world,” said Whittamore, “and that means our province also grows some of the best crops.”

According to research by Local Food Plus (LFP) a non-profit organization working to build a market for local sustainable food, 79 per cent of Central Ontarians recognize this and prefer to buy locally grown food.

“The driving force behind this preference is both the anxiety of bioterrorism and the desire to buy good food with a good story attached – people like to support hometown heroes of the culinary world,” said Rebecca LeHeup, Executive Director of OCTA .

Next to the stage was the Ontario Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs Leona Dombrowsky, who rallied the crowd towards measures for agricultural success.  “When agriculturalists innovate, that’s when culinary tourism get an edge,” said Dombrowsky.

The Minister stressed the importance of the culinary arts community not resting on their laurels. She also stated that a profitable future for Ontario farmers requires producers to stay ahead of culinary trends. By tailoring crops to chef requests, using the most advanced and environmentally safe farming methods, and expanding their customer reach, farmers can start putting more forks in their produce.

OCTA started that trend at lunchtime, by inviting all guests to a meet and greet lunch hosted by Green Belt Canada.  Attendees were treated to lunch supplied by local chefs and farmers, as well as a room full of Ontario food samples. Hungry for both snacks and opportunity, fresh produce and business cards were handed around like hors d’oeuvres.  The meet and greet was a excellent way for local-minded guests to network and exchange tasty treats and tips.

For the afternoon portion, the crowd was led back into the conference to learn about “Mapping a Culinary Destination,” three representatives from emerging culinary destinations were given the floor to discuss their plans, successes and challenges for putting their regions on the foodie map. Rebecca LeHeup moderated the discussion between Danielle Broadhagen of Savour Stratford, Kerri King of Durham Tourism, and  Jaimi Ruoho-Long of  Peterborough and Kawartha Tourism.

After a lively chat regarding issues surrounding the local food movement, the representatives counted down a top ten list of solutions:

1. Create local food ‘clusters’ in your region
2. Work closely with growers associations’ agricultural action committees
3. Support and fund local initiative that links farmers to consumers
4. Educate consumers and food service providers about how to use and source local products
5. Advocate for a Local Food and Farming Act
6. Advocate for a Local Food Procurement Policy
7. Encourage regional farming strategies
8. Compile regional food action plans
9. Establish agricultural enterprise zones
10. Initiate multi-sector food and farming councils

The last talk of the day was given by communications expert Barry Martin of Hypnotic. Martin laid out a recipe for success through social media. He discussed how a local farmer and/or producer can cook up business by becoming a dynamic presence on online culinary communities. Martin suggested the regular use of Twitter, writing a personal blog and expanding contacts online as vital ways to help local foodies stay connected.

Finally, the OCTA Summit closed out with a Taste of Ontario Reception and a pairing of the day’s stew of helpful information with some award-winning VQA wines.

The main dish of the day was certainly the theme of “farm to table” cuisine.  But like any great meal, there must be several courses served up in order. The first step for Ontario farmers and producers to promote the “farm to table” movement is taking their local goods out on the town. Promoting local edibles to busy shops and restaurants, respected chefs, and popular urban spaces is a sure-fire way to make local cuisine the hottest plate around.

After all, it only takes an amuse bouche of local produce, before the rest of the world becomes hungry for Ontario’s culinary arts.

(Also published by BlogTO and Gremolata.com)

Grocery shopping has never made me more hungry. For Toronto foodies, walking into the Wychwood Barns Farmers Market is like being a kid in a candy store.Local farmers, bakers and producers of cheese, honey and jams sell fresh treats every Saturday. It’s a one-stop-shop for all your cravings.

Walking in with a camera, I was instantly approached by Wychwood Barns regulars and swooped up for a Wychwood trivia-filled tour. For the people who spend their Saturdays shopping here, it isn’t an errand – it’s an event and the whole family’s coming.

“This is Ted from Thorpe’s Organic Produce, he is the king farmer of the market,” said Jack, pointing out a fellow regular of the Barns. “He’s barefoot here in the summertime, and he sells the best produce.”

It also seems that at Wychwood Barns, foodie culture starts young. I am schooled by eight-year-old Joe, who tells me about the best cooking methods to make meals from goods bought at the Barns. My jaw drops as I listen to the youngster tells me about last week’s dinner using a “naturally sourced pistachio-crusted Georgian Bay white fish.”

Next I meet Marcus and Damian from High Mark Farm in Cookstown, and learn about High Mark’s organic farming methods. They spray garlic centrate and liquefied copper to on vegetables instead of pesticides –  a self-taught trick that keeps the produce more safe and natural.  I also learn about their background – partners and brothers, Marcus and Damian give me a two-minute lesson on their Italian and Greek cooking styles.  They also snuck some fresh mint-seasoned Halumi cheese in my bag, along with their Mother’s recipe for frying it with homemade ouzo pasta.

My tummy rumbles as head over to the honeyed aromas at Karen’s Kitchen -  a table that appears to have almost sold out in the first couple hours. Karen, is a woman in demand and bakes about 350 gluten and sugar-free loaves, muffins, tarts, bars and buns per week.  All the treats are made with “her own special flour blend of arrow root, millet, rice, bean flour and quinoa, and are sweetened without sugar.”

“I’ve just got a good oven,” shrugs off Karen, “and my husband does the shopping.”

After shaking off my baked good coma (and many muffin crumbs), I visit the Toorshi Foods pickle table.  I go for the spiciest pickled pepper on the table and then go straight for my water. Although it’s only their second year at the Barns, the Toorshi family have been pickling veg for over 50 years. Today the clan keeps busy pickling up 200 jars per day.

I spend another hour or so, meandering about the market, introducing my palette to more delicious treats and chatting with the vendors. Leaving I promise that yes, I’ll be back next week.

And I go home full and happy.

Sit al fresco on any major sidewalk and it’s abundantly clear that Toronto loves a good trend.  The downtown core moonlights as a runway for stylish urbanites to test out style experiments.

Likewise whatever the latest dining got-to-try-it style, Toronto’s got a new bar or restaurant to satisfy that craving.

But to rock the latest or edgiest trend, it’s smart to anchor that look something classic, like a black leather jacket or sexy black heels.

It’s easy to do with what you wear and it’s easy to do with what you eat and drink. Committing to local culinary choices in Toronto isn’t like wearing a uniform.  No ball and chain required…

It starts with just getting more informed.  Of course this site will be a resource but it’s a good thing to take the local movement into your own hands too. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Make a point to check out local restaurants that specialize in ‘farm to table’ cuisine. In other words, restaurants that design their menu around what’s in season and that create dishes to make local produce taste amazing. That’s how local cuisine takes shape!

• Order up local wine in restaurants. Ontario has some of the best wine in the world and it’s totally unique to our region. Plus sipping local wine with local food gets you more bang for your buck because your meal will tastes better. Think about it this way: would you sit in a Parisian restaurant and not order a French wine? No, because that would take away from the local experience.  It’s the same for Toronto cuisine. So if you don’t know now you know!

• In general just TALK about this stuff more. Get chatty with local chefs, sommeliers, retailers, baristas, bakers, cheese-makers, butchers ect. Ask the chef which butcher that amazing steak was from.  Talk to your favourite cheese maker about why local dairy farmers are unique. If a wine menu doesn’t offer local wine, ask the restaurant or bar manager why. Toronto sommeliers love Ontario wine but often won’t feature it on wine lists because they think Torontonians will ignore it. Simply put: if you care than show that you do – when you like something, say something! By creating a dialogue, the local food and wine movement in Toronto is put on the city’s agenda and gains momentum.

• Ask bartenders and servers for a VQA wine pairing recommendations. Developing your palette allows you to grow more refined, and good taste is hot.

• Buy more VQA wine at the LCBO. Google the local wine you bought and read about the vineyard it came from. and the international awards it’s won. This will make you happy for a bonus three reasons: 1. you’ll feel a little pride 2. you won’t be the one that brought that crap wine to the party. 3. hangovers have never felt less guilty when you’ve gotten sloshed on local wine.

• Pop into local bakeries, cheese shops and coffee beaneries more.  Toronto has no shortage of passionate people spending their lives making unique and homemade treats. Yum!

• At the grocery store try to stick to the 100-mile rule when buying food.  When you support local and seasonal meat and produce, you are really helping local farmers.  Living in a concrete jungle it’s sometimes hard to always see how that’s important. Just remember that in Ontario Toronto might be a lion, but rural areas are a big part of our economic food chain. And they feed us when we’re hungry.

Photo courtesy of Rick O’Brien

One bottle of wine down and it’s time for lunch.

We stroll back to our quaint hotel nestled amongst the rolling vineyards, proudly tendered by local vintners to be bottled and drank by happy travelers like me. The lush scenery and the delicious vino beg the question – is Niagara the new Napa?

The Niagara wine region, stretching across the southwest part of the province, along Lake Ontario, is host to a community of wineries and boutique hotels. The temperate climate, diversity of glacial soils and moderating lake effect are important factors in the terroir, that help to create distinctive, not to mention award-winning wines.

Photo courtesy of Rick O’Brien

“Alot of Torontonians don’t get down to wine country,” said Tony Aspler, Canada’s top wine commentator, “but it is really necessary to really see where the wines are made, and make contact with the industry.”

Before the trip I had anticipated something else. In Toronto, it’s as if the world’s wine industry were high school – Italy is the sexy girl with an older boyfriend, California is the captain of the cheerleading squad, France is voted ‘most beautiful’, and Niagara is the girl with the thick glasses and  the 80’s sweater.

I mean isn’t Niagara the land of Grandma and Grandpa theatre dates and table wine? After having been to Tuscany for wine-tasting, in comparison the idea of Niagara seemed well, not so comparable.  But, don’t knock it till you’ve tasted it.

Photo courtesy of Rick O’Brien

“We are a genuine wine region with vineyards and a number of great accessory functions around us, restaurants, cool tasting rooms etc.,” said Helen Young, owner, Inn on the Twenty, “you really can see a wine region in action here.”

Getting out of Toronto was one quick shot down the QEW, and an hour later we arrived at our hotel, the Inn on the Twenty in Jordan, Ont. The village was pretty and quiet, maybe a little too quiet. But after check-in, as we looked around at our room’s wood-beamed ceilings, fluffy bed, and marble tub, our city cynicism surrendered.

Thirty minutes later we were nose deep into wine glasses at the inn’s winery across the street, Cave Spring Cellars. We swirled, we swished, and we listened to Brian Kelly, the in-house wine consultant, talk passionately about the Niagara region. It only took one taste of the Cave Spring Cellars’ VQA Cabernet Franc, and it was official – Niagara makes some serious wine.

“The one thing that is holding the industry back is the price of the wine. The best Ontario wines are too costly,” said Tony Aspler. “The cheapest wines are non-VQA, so people go for those and think that’s what Ontario wines are.”

Before the trip I hadn’t realized how important the VQA standard is to the industry – it is what defines the wine as locally grown. And although 40 per cent of wines at the LCBO are Ontario wines, of that 40 per cent are a good 75 per cent that are not VQA. “Cellared in Canada,” could actually mean 70 per cent Chilean grapes.  The VQA wines we drank at Cave Springs were nothing like an Ontario wine I’d had before.

The revelations continued the next day with an afternoon of wine-tasting with Crush on Niagara Tours. Our tour-guide Paul, arrived at the inn’s front door with a big van to tour us around wine country. In four delightful hours we had hit four vineyards and had drank four bottles worth of some of the best wine I’ve ever had.

Photo courtesy of Rick O’Brien

What I saw at the Niagara wineries was the same thing I saw in the Tuscan wine region – a commitment to the crop.  Vintners see themselves as farmers, but more than that they are artists; they create, they experiment and they live in their fields every day. This is true of all wine-makers, from Italy to Ontario. To grape-growers, it’s not just wine, it is a way of life.

“Our hope in building our business was to present context for wine awareness and enjoyment. You do that best in wine country where the whole process from vineyard to cellar is integral to your awareness,” said Helen Young. “Wine country lifestyle is all about that awareness of place.”

Photo courtesy of Rick O’Brien

Coming back to the city, I wondered, what if one day people talk about Toronto and Niagara like they do San Francisco and Napa? Is it possible that people might come to our city for the great local food and wine? Yes it’s possible. But the difference is, is that Californians have always been and still are behind their wine industry, while we in Ontario aren’t so much.

So how about this: next time you’re at the LCBO, treat yourself to a Niagara VQA wine, she’s a prom queen in disguise.

You don’t need to hug trees to see how “eating local” boosts Toronto’s green trend and economy. But does “drinking local” hold greater implications for the city? Possibly, and it starts in the restaurants.

Few of the city’s wine lists feature Ontario varietals. Instead, foreign wine is often found in the glasses next to fine local dishes. The freshest ingredients from Ontario’s family of beautiful produce are served at Toronto’s most distinguished restaurants, with wine that has been shipped across a sea.

Most who dine out regularly, will be more hard pressed than a pinot grape to find more than two or three Ontario wines on a restaurant’s menu. Basically our city makes local wine sit at the kiddy table.

It is strange because nothing would compliment local food better than local wine. Both born from the same soil, Ontario wine and produce  are naturally compatible and should be served together. Your meal will just taste better.

Photo courtesy of Rick O’Brien

Perhaps restaurateurs are simply responding to the fact that most Torontonians see local wines as no more than a grocery store bargain. And the economy certainly isn’t helping the case.

The best Ontario wines are too expensive for the average drinker; typically priced at $30 or $40. LCBO pricing, tax regulations, and the high cost of grape crops for Ontario vintners all bump the numbers up.

Photo courtesy of Rick O’Brien

The result is that most Torontonians don’t have a clue how good provincial wines are. But local sommeliers and restaurateurs do. There needs to be more responsibility in the city’s restaurants to support Ontario wines and to inform the consumer just how worthy the varietals are.

Those in the know are aware that Ontario wines are beating top French and Italian varietals in international taste tests. Last May, at the Judgment of Montreal, a local wine – Le Clos Jordanne’s 2006 Claystone Terrace Chardonnay trumped the top French varietals in a blind taste-test.

Thirty-three years ago California wine was legitimized by a similar event – the 1976 Judgment of Paris.  Like the Le Clos Jordanne wine, California wines were snuck into the blind taste test and were rated best by the seasoned judges.  The only difference in this situation was that California always supported its local wines, while Toronto restaurants seem to mate outside the breed. When choosing wine lists, why is water thicker than blood?

And here we have the biggest conundrum of all: where is our local pride Toronto? We support The Blue Jays no matter how many times they lose, and local breweries are always on tap, so where is the love for local wines?

Perhaps the most interesting thing is that this is not the case for all of Canada. In B.C. there is huge consumer support – many restaurants out West feature only local wine.

Bottom line, it is time to think about not only what we can do for local wine, but what local wine can do for the city. Supporting local grapes could pack a powerful punch for the city’s economy and tourism; more than a big glass of pinot at lunchtime.

Photo courtesy of Rick O’Brien

The city may be a rainbow of cultures, but it could use something fresh to support together, especially during the recession, to get a pot of gold. By purchasing an Ontario wine you are returning $4.60 back to the economy, but with a foreign wine, the return is only about 80 cents.

Look around, nearby wineries are the economic heartbeat of many cities, like San Francisco and Napa, Toronto and Niagara have an opportunity for shared growth.

The idea is that when Toronto restaurants support the local wine industry the rest of the city will follow. The Ontario economy will also improve and best of all, Torontonians will enjoy a more common ground. Now that’s something we can all toast to.