On the heels of my 60th birthday, and retirement from my day job, I had a broad variety of culinary adventures that will be grist for reflection and future columns. I attended the inaugural (and, for me, life-changing) Food Bloggers of Canada conference. What I learned on many fronts will help improve how I write about food and wine: if you want a taste of what went on see this recap of recaps by a variety of attendees.
I also: got to use some serious molecular cooking equipment at Cedarlane Culinary; took in a demo of Cutco knives and cookware; and participated in the Hamilton Partners in Nutrition volunteer recognition luncheon (they feed breakfast to ~23,000 kids A DAY!). I also survived an Icarus-like cooking disaster in my own kitchen, but that’s another tale…
I’ve mentioned Dave Hanley, the man behind the Dishcrawls, in recent columns about the Hamilton food scene. When I got to the gathering place for the Hess Street event, Koi Restaurant, Dave was there in his pork pie hat greeting guests, and seeing to last minute logistics.
The basic outline of a Dishcrawl is this: Guest stump up a paltry $60 online (actually $71.79 after taxes and processing) to secure their spot. This includes all taxes and tips but not drinks. 48 hours prior to the event participants are notified where to gather. After some introductory remarks by the restaurant owner or chef they are fed. The next location is then disclosed and the crowd decamps. This is repeated again and again, with each of the four restaurants seemingly determined to outdo the others. The atmosphere is great,
