The Royal has begun! Every year for the past 86 years, farmers from all over trek to the big city to join in Canada’s largest combined indoor agricultural fair and international equestrian competition. The Royal Agriculture Winter Fair takes place in the Direct Energy Building at the Exhibition Place in Toronto from November 7-16. I had a peak around on Friday when I was at the Culinary Book Awards and snapped a couple of pics. The fair is bigger than ever!

I love the livestock shows with the 4-H kids showing off their prized calves, hogs, sheep etc. I caught one of them giving a wash down and blow dry to his pretty calf’s rear end right before judging!

The show really has a bit of everything, food pavilions, wine tastings, best of competitions of everything you can imagine (the butter sculptures are always fun!). Last year I judged the jam and pickle competitions.

The real highlight of Royal is the equestrian shows and rodeos. Well worth the ticket, but the popular ones sell out fast.

And, there is a ton of good (and bad) things to eat! Homemade fudge as far as the eye can see, bison burgers, pemeal bacon sandwiches and they also have fine dining restaurants set up right in show grounds.

Here are links to last year’s posts from the Royal:

Jam Judging at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

Peanut Pumpkins! More From The Royal

Enjoy the Royal, let me know if you go and what you find there.

Don’t forget to sign up to have the foodie-file delivered directly to your e-mail inbox, I have seven more cookbooks to give away!

Last Friday Canadian foodie writers were recognized at the Canadian Culinary Book Awards. The event was to promote excellence in food and beverage writing in English and French. The Cuisine Canada and University of Guelph also sponsored awards to promote Canada’s distinct food culture.

There were three categories in which a gold and silver prize was awarded. The categories were: Canadian food culture, which contained books about Canada’s culinary history, ingredients and regional foods; the cookbook category, focused on recipe books; and special interest which included books about both food and beverages.

Here is a line up of the first place winners in each category: (more…)

If you haven’t had a chance to see Tableland, last year’s award winning documentary about local, sustainable small-scale artisanal food producers, those of you in the Toronto area can seize the opportunity now. The film will be screened on Friday October 24 and The Gardiner Museum at 7:00pm. (more…)

I am pre-empting Foodie-finds Fridays because I just received two free tickets to the 3rd annual Whiskey Live show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It takes place next Friday Oct 24th, from 7-10 pm, and I want you all to have the opportunity to take a crack at getting these babies in your hot hands so you can enjoy some excellent imbibing.

The Prize: (more…)

The 4th annual Cowichan Wine and Culinary Festival, a celebration of Vancouver Island’s food and wine, takes place this Saturday and Sunday, September 20-21. The Cowichan Valley is 45 minutes north of Victoria, B.C. and boasts the longest growing season in Canada; it’s name actually means “warm land.”

At the festival you will find wine tasting seminars, dinners, theatre under the stars, and even glass blowing demonstrations. A lot of the events are free so head on down whether you have tickets or not.

The west coast version of Feast of Fields also takes place this Sunday at Victorian Epicure Vineyard in Victoria B.C. The original 19-year-old Toronto version took place last weekend and was, as usual, a rousing success (although I did have one report for a very good source that the portions were skimpy, but I was not there so feel free to dispute this opinion).

If anyone goes to any of these fetes, please update us foodies who are too far afield to participate. We would like to live vacariously through your foodie descriptions.

Click here to sign up for Christine’s Food for Friends e-newsletter!

When you think of Victoria, B.C., do tea and crumpets come to mind? Well, think again. Victoria is home to the Ale Trail, a connect-the-dots tour of the best craft breweries in the area. You can take a day and drive from brewery to ale house yourself or have a guided tour so you can taste everything, without the worry of driving home. You will sample everything from dark porters to citrusy hefeweizens, as well as seasonal brews like Ginseng Creme Ale and Great Canadian Maple Wheat Beer. Brewers are on hand to answer questions and encourage curious quaffers to get their hands into fresh malt and take a gander inside giant copper kettles. (more…)

This past weekend I attended the Hot and Spicy food festival at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. In addition to an iron chef type competition with international competitors, live music and dancing exhibitions, there was a market place showcasing local and international hot sauces. Here are some spicy sauces from the show: (more…)

Last Thursday I checked out the Ontario Craft Brewers Festival and Summer BBQ that was held at Hart House at the University of Toronto. The usual Ontario brewers were there, including Great Lakes Brewery, Grand River Brewing, Creemore Springs Brewery, Mill Street Brewery, Wellington Brewing Co., Camerons Brewing Company, Big Rock Brewery, and Black Oak Brewery. Mario Pingue, of Niagara Specialty Meats, supplied the porchetta, sausage and prosciutto - it was a porky fest!

Here are some highlights: (more…)

The Canadian Wine Awards were created by Wine Access magazine to promote the burgeoning Canadian wine industry. The awards are especially significant because only wines that are one hundred percent Canadian grown, fermented and bottled are eligible to participate. Many made in Canada wines are actually (more…)

Sunday was the Second Harvest’s annual Toronto Taste event at the Japanese Cultural Centre. It was a hot humid Toronto night, tents were flapping in the inclement weather but it didn’t dampen the appetite of the tasters or the tastees! The best of the Toronto food and drink scene were there showcasing their wares in support of the charitable cause.

Highlights were (more…)