Chef Henry's New Site!

Are you a fan of Brian Henry's cooking? Odds are, if you live in Lakefield, you've probably had some of his cooking, either when he was at In A Nuttshell (catering) or perhaps at an event where he was catering. However you've had it, we're sure you've enjoyed it. So if you're thinking about getting catering, stay tuned to Chef Brian's new site: www.chefbrianhenry.com

New Site for Irwin Inn

Check out Irwin Inn's new site - it's great and with online booking, you can see what's available for that family trip or a romantic getaway for 2. http://www.irwininn.com/

Interested in being in the 2008 Edition of Kawartha Cuisine?

There are some very special deals for businesses who sign up now for 2008. Only a deposit and a contract are required! We also have "Early Bird" pricing for businesses who sign up and pay in full before October 31, 2007! Call today to take advantage of this!

Contact Pierre Saville for more information or pricing at: 705.927.7139 or pierre@kawarthacuisine.ca

Chefs Show off at Taste of Fiesta

Visitors from as far away as Finland and those close to home in Buckhorn came on July 20 to experience one of the province’s premier wine and food shows, Fiesta Buckhorn. The 2nd Annual Taste of Fiesta Culinary Challenge on Friday night proved popular, with more than 400 people watching chefs compete and the judges tasting appetizers and entrees prepared under the pressure of time constraints and an audience.

Each restaurant was paired with a participating winery to offer a match of food with wine. Plates for tasting and presentation were set before a celebrity panel of judges, including Chef Brian Henry; Shari Darling, The Sophisticated Wino; and Tara Barrows, morning show co-host on 107.9 The Breeze Radio.

The Kawartha Cuisine Magazine Awards went to:

Appetizer:
First Place: Don Vassiliadis, Shish-kabob Hut/Colio Estate Wines
Second Place: Chef Erik Hoflick, Ward Street Grill/Fielding Estate Wines
Honourable Mention: Chef Julio Campos, La Hacienda/Kawartha Country Wines

Entrée:
First Place: Don Vassiliadis, Shish-kabob Hut/Colio Estate Wines
Second Place: Chef Julio Campos, La Hacienda/Kawartha Country Wines
Honourable Mention: Chef Erik Hoflick, Ward Street Grill/Fielding Estate Wines

As well, Chef Julio Campos from La Hacienda was awarded the People’s Choice "Golden Whisk" Award for personality and performance during the competition.

"The competition is an opportunity for our creative chefs and wine experts to showcase their talent and experience," said Shari Darling. "It's also a great example that validates my belief that the Kawarthas is a food and wine destination point with beautiful countrysides and blue lakes."

The organizers of Fiesta Buckhorn would like to thank Kawartha Cuisine Magazine and the judges for their support of the Challenge.

First Place Appetizer
Greek Summer Village SaladServes two
4 heritage tomatoes (yellow, orange and red) - sliced 1 red pepper - julienned ½ English cucumber- halved lengthwise and sliced¼ Spanish onion - sliced thin¼ red onion - sliced thin5 Greek Kalamata olives250 g (8oz) goats milk feta cheese -crumbled125 g (4oz) Greek kefalotyri cheese - finely grated½ cup (4oz) virgin cold pressed Greek olive oil ¼ cup (2oz) white vinegar 1 teaspoon dried oregano ½ teaspoon salt
1. On a plate, spread layers of tomato, cucumber, red pepper and onion.2. Pour vinegar over vegetables and sprinkle salt.3. Spread both cheeses on top. 4. Pour olive oil over salad. 5. Sprinkle oregano on top.6. Put kalamata olives around edge of salad.

New Winery in Warkworth!

A WINE EXPERIENCE YOU'LL WANT TO SHARE
Oak Heights Estate Winery is nestled in the rolling hills of Northumberland County, just minutes from the picturesque town of Warkworth, Ontario. Visit http://www.oakheights.ca/ for more information (info obtained from website).

Splice Restaurant is Not to be Missed!

Last Saturday, hot and tired from spending time at the Dragon Boat Festival, we sought an oasis, a refuge from the assault of overwhelming heat. We found it at 379 George Street. Cool and calming, Splice Lounge is a beautifully designed restaurant with a prominent bar and gorgeous leather banquettes from which you can sit and observe the world.

We sat. I ordered a vodka martini. The server asked me if I wanted that dry or extra dry. Heaven. Someone who knows how it should be done. For lunch, I had the butter chicken pizza with chickpea salad. It was everything I needed in a light but satisfying lunch. Pierre had Chef Ashley's rendition of Fish & Chips. Instead of the big slab of beer battered fish, these delicate pieces of halibut were encrusted with Panko crumbs and served with delicate frites and a warm and spicy wasabi tartar sauce. It was perfect.

A light lemony dacquois dessert, with 2 Americano coffees put the final touches on an excellent meal. We'll definitely be back for more!

Have you Been to McLean Berry Farm Lately?

If it's fresh, local, top of the line produce your looking for McLean Berry Farm has just that. As their season kicks off there are tons of things to look forward to. Strawberries are picked fresh every day during their regular strawberry seasons and they've expanded yet again to include over 20 acres of strawberries and raspberries for both pick your own and available at their farm market. Twice a week they venture into Peterborough for the Wednesday and Saturday Farmers Markets and bring along with them their freshly picked produce. Along with strawberries come a host of other fruits and vegetables that are grown right on the farm. Peas, beans, potatoes, tomatoes and of course their to die for corn on the cob are all favourites to look forward to over the summer season. New this year, they've started growing their own Day Neutral strawberries. This means that their delicious local strawberries will be available all summer long - right until October! If you're looking for quality produce whether it be in your store, restaurant or home be sure to check out McLean's - their home grown taste can't be beat! Located just off Hwy 507 (just south of Buckhorn) their Farm Market opens this year on June 16th . To check what's in season or get more information you can call (705) 657-2134 or visit their website at www.mcleanberryfarm.com

Restaurants abound in Peterborough & the Kawarthas!

So I heard yesterday that in Peterborough, there are 30 restaurant for every 10,000 residents. In Toronto, there are 11 restaurants for every 10,000 residents. Puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

Ontario Government is Encouraging Consumers to "Buy Ontario"!

In a press release, sent out May 11, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Leona Dombrowsky stated: " The Ontario Government will be putting the spotlight on the fresh, high-quality foods grown and produced in the province this summer with a new "Buy Ontario" marketing strategy.

"If we all buy Ontario, everybody wins," the Minister was quoted as saying. " We're getting healthy, fresh food from here at home and we're supporting local farmers, our rural economy and our environment."

The government is contributing $12.5 million to the ‘Buy Ontario’ strategy, which includes a consumer awareness campaign designed to increase interest and demand for local foods across the province, expands the Foodland Ontario program to more fresh food products, and boosts the Savour Ontario program in fine and vacation dining establishments. Of the total, $2.5 million has already been distributed to a number of agri-food industry associations to assist them in promoting the sale of Ontario products.

Peterborough Wednesday Farmers

- Market Opening Day Wednesday May 2nd -

Environmental issues are forefront for most Canadians these days. Climate change, over flowing landfills, soil, air and water pollution are issuesnagging us to take action. It can be overwhelming sometimes to know where to begin. The Peterborough Wednesday Farmers' Market is a great place to start. Food is one of those things that we make decisions about many times day.What we choose to eat, how it is produced and where it comes from all havean impact on the natural world.

The Peterborough Wednesday Farmer's Market, located in downtown Peterborough, is a unique market, as it is a local producers only market. What does that mean for you the consumer? Well that means that each vendor must ensure that 80 percent of all the products that they sell are produced from their own farm, while the remaining 20 percent can come from off farmas long as it is still regionally produced. By shopping at the Peterborough Wednesday Farmer's Market you can ensure that you reduce the “food miles”associated with the food you eat. When we reduce the distances our foodtravels to get to our table, we significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions our food we produces.Other good, green reasons to check out the Peterborough Wednesday Farmers'Market are:

· Healthy and farm fresh foods produce is picked fresh and brought to the market, often within a day of being harvested! Ecologically grown andorganic produce is also available just ask.

· Support your local agricultural community in developing a secure and healthy food system.

· You can leave your car at home and take the bus, bike or walk to the markets central location.

· Bring your cloth bags and/or support the Peterborough Wednesday Farmers Market by purchasing one at the market and reduce the number of plastic bags being littered, landfilled or even recycled in our community.

· The Peterborough Wednesday Farmer's Market is friendly, filled with vendors that carry a wide range of products from organic produce to localmeats, handmade natural soaps to fresh fruit, gourmet cooking to preserves, potting plants to spun wool, all locally produced. At the market you get to meet the growers, producer, chefs, and crafts people, ask them questions and get connected.

To start the season off in an environmentally sound way, the Peterborough Wednesday Farmers' Market will be giving away 25 Peterborough Wednesday Farmer's Market tote bags to the first 25 customers at the market on our OPENING DAY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 2ND , 2007. For the remainder of the day these beautiful yet sturdy market bags will be on sale for our opening day priceof $5 each.We hope to see you at the market every Wednesday! It is open from May toOctober, from 8:30 am until 2 pm on Charlotte St. (between George St. andWater St.). For more information contact:P aula Anderson 745-3238 or Lynn Hassen 705-324-9413

The Martini Subculture

The Martini Subculture
By Chantal Saville

There is a whole world of people out there who live, breathe and drink martinis. Gin, a dash of vermouth and a lemon peel or olive. No more and no less. They are almost fanatical about it, to the point of getting right snippy if you dare to call one of those ‘other’ cocktails a martini.

A standard martini is a five to one ratio – five of gin, one of dry vermouth. A ‘dry martini’ uses even less vermouth. The less vermouth, the ‘drier’ the martini. People who are truly into the dry martini will ‘rinse’ the glass in vermouth, but ultimately pour it out before adding the gin. “Connoisseurs boast of… passing the vermouth cap above the glass, shining a light through the vermouth bottle onto the glass, momentarily passing the finished drink near a closed vermouth bottle, or jokingly whispering "vermouth" over the glass. It's been said that a "Churchill Martini" contains no vermouth, just British gin. The legend holds that Churchill would get as close to the vermouth bottle as to "look at it from across the room". This would make it very dry or a so called Churchill Martini.”[*] A ‘dirty martini’ has a little olive juice included with the olive, which is said to lessen the intensity of the alcohol. A lemon peel is another ‘acceptable’ garnish. In fact, the best way is to peel the lemon right over the glass. The peeling action releases some of the lemon oil onto the top of the drink. I myself prefer lime, but that’s a whole other story.

If there was ever a more schizophrenic drink, it is the martini. If you order a martini at a bar, you should receive a standard gin martini. Where it gets complicated is when people order a martini but in fact they are expecting something other than a gin martini. Because of course, the modern bartender can read minds! Should it be ‘shaken not stirred’? This ubiquitous sentence is from James Bond, who always orders his martinis this way in the movies. However, true martini followers have several bones to pick with Bond. First, he asks for vodka, which as we have explored above, is not what a martini is traditionally made with. More importantly, the use of a shaker causes the ice to chip into the drink, thereby diluting it. The proper way to mix a martini involves stirring it carefully with a long spoon. There are also those who say that shaking it will ‘bruise’ the gin. Ultimately, you can tell a shaken martini because it is cloudier than a stirred one, since the shaking adds air to the mixture. Furthermore, a true martini drinker will keep all his ‘tools’ in the freezer: gin, vermouth, glasses, mixing glass.

If you enjoy a good dry martini, you are in good company: Churchill, Truman Capote, J. Robert Oppenheimer, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Cary Grant, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt all partook in martinis, some with better results than others![†] During Prohibition, martinis were the drink of choice because gin was easy to produce – whiskey was too time consuming to make in the quantities needed by speakeasies. Today, there are thousands of variations on the martini that have been developed: Vodkatini, Kangaroo, Cosmopolitain, Appletini… I can’t even begin to list them. Purists, however, would disagree. They would say there is only one martini – stirred, not shaken.
© 2007 Chantal Saville
[*] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martini_(cocktail)
[†] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martini_(cocktail)

Update from Kawartha Food Share

Kawartha Food Share is pleased to welcome five new Member Agencies who are working to help fight hunger in Peterborough. These new member are:
- Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Peterborough
- Canadian Mental Health Association
- Peterborough Community Chaplaincy
- Peterborough Housing Corporation (30 Alexander Avenue)
- St. Johns Anglican Church

Each of these agencies are either creating a new or bolstering an existing food program to help clients who are going hungry. Kawartha Food Share is a distribution warehouse that now provides 30 agencies in the City and County of Peterborough with emergency food supplies. In 2006, our Member Agencies provided food to about 6,500 people each month, with 57% of these being adults and 43% being children. In 2006 we distributed over 400,000 items of food. The generous support of local residents, businesses and agencies such as the United Way enables us to help feed the hungry in Peterborough.

For further information please contact:

Chris Kawalec,
Office Manager
Kawartha Food Share
665 Neal Drive, P.O. Box 1413
Peterborough ON K9J 7H6
ph: 705.745.5377 fx: 705.745.7908
www.kawarthafoodshare.com

Fish Facts and Fictions

There has been quite a lot on the news of late regarding overfishing and species that are almost extinct. It is, at times, difficult to keep track but it matters. The Endangered Fish Alliance has extensive information on the topic and you can even download a wallet size card to keep track when you are out and about!

The ULTIMATE food tool!

I thought I had seen everything. I was wrong:

http://www.leevalley.com/gifts/page.aspx?c=1&p=56683&cat=4,104,53210#pb

Visiting the Big Smoke sometime soon?

Check out a new blog we found: http://www.tasteto.com/
Tons of information on what's going on in Food & Wine in Toronto! Visit soon and enjoy!

Dry Rub for Wine Lovers!

It's called Sweet Jamaica and by all accounts, it is outstanding! A dry rub is used for marinating, grilling, baking, broiling, frying, stuffings, sauces and crusts. Sweet Jamaica is an artisan, hand made dry rub for wine lovers. The seasonings and measurements within this dry rub have been carefully selected to harmonize with certain wines. Foods seasoned with Sweet Jamaica, when served with specific wines, will create a culinary orgasm! You and your guests are sure to moan in ecstasy! Sweet Jamaica was developed by food and wine pairing expert and best selling cookbook author, Shari Darling, The Sophisticated Wino. You can visit her site or pop in to FireHouse Gourmet on Hunter Street East to get some! www.sophisticatedwino.com

New & Exciting!

Well, it looks as though Bacchus is now open (George Street South), as well as a new place called Splice Lounge at the site of the old Cinema 379. If anyone has been to either, we'd love to hear your thoughts on them!

Shafiq's Taste Of India Now Open

Taste of India has opened its doors at 301 George Street South. Feel like a casual evening of Indian food? Call them 741-0009!

New Restaurant in Peterborough

Well, it looks like the site of the Electric Clove has barely had a chance to cool down! There is a new restaurant going in there called Bacchus. The signage is already up so it will be interesting to see what evolves in that space!

Electric Clove Closes its Doors

We were sorry to see them go! Here's to wishing Anthony and Sam all the best in whatever future endeavors they pursue.

New Look for the Original Greek!

George and Anna Anagnostou have just completed renovations at The Original Greek Restaurant at the corner of Parkhill and Water streets in Peterborough. Celebrating 30 years in business they’ve done a nice facelift inside, and honoured their parents, the original Greeks -Paul and Anna Anagnostou, last Thursday with a ribbon cutting and prices from 30 years ago. (source: The Business Beat, by Stu Harrison)

Hot New Wine Book: Red, White, and Drunk All Over

In Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass, Canadian writer Natalie MacLean takes her readers behind the scenes of the international wine world—exploring its history, visiting its most evocative places, and meeting its most charismatic personalities. The book has been described as A Year in Provence meets Kitchen Confidential then goes Sideways. For more information on the book, tour dates/venues and to sign up for Natalie's free wine e-newsletter, visit http://www.nataliemaclean.com/.

Saporito's for Dinner?

Jim at Saporito's let us know recently that he will no longer be serving lunch at his restaurant - he wants to focus on his dinner business. The only exception is if you wish to have a group gathering there for lunch, you can still do so by reservation only! Visit Saporito's soon for dinner and tell him Kawartha Cuisine sent you!

Surreal Café

The AGP's (Art Gallery of Peterborough) new outdoor food and beverage service is now operating from Tuesday to Saturday 11 am to 4:30 pm. The Surreal Café's offerings include scones, wraps, coffee and tea not to mention beautiful views of Little Lake and Del Crary Park. See you there!

Parkhill on Hunter's New Owner!

... is none other than the restaurant's manager Judith Thompson! We wish her all the best in her latest endeavor and look forward to many years to come at Parkhill!