Mack, Amanda and I had a great time in Toronto. I was happy I could be a part of Janice and Bennett’s special day – it was a beautiful ceremony and a rockin’ reception! And though Mack jokes that he will now need a vacation after his “vacation”, it was great (as always) to explore Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods. On to this week’s food notes:
- Elm Café’s next pop-up is another Austrian Sausage Stand on May 30 and 31. As always, the menu is extremely value-oriented, at 3 courses for $35: pancake soup made with smoked pork broth; a choice of sausage: Käsekrainer (cheese-filled sausage), Leberkäse (Austrian meatloaf), or Debreziner (spicy paprika sausage); and rhubarb strudel.Make sure to call ahead.
- The next Art Gallery of Alberta Supper Club is taking place on June 1, 2014. Tickets are $150.
- Do you have your tickets for the Mercer Summer Super Party yet? In addition to art displays and an On the Spot Pop Up Market, expect a Hawkers Market offshoot with food trucks! It all goes down on June 6, from 5pm – midnight at the Mercer Warehouse.
- The Edmonton Craft Beer Festival is coming up, June 6 and 7, 2014 at the Expo Centre.
- Next Act’s sister restaurant MEAT is now open! Vue Weekly has a great preview of the restaurant, and Cindy has already stopped by.
- A restaurant in Calgary made the news a few weeks ago after offering a family a “well behaved kids” discount on their meal. What do you think?
- Mack sent me a link to a piece about the history of ramen.
- I’m so happy that the City Market is back outdoors – every Saturday from 9am-3pm on 104 Street north of Jasper Avenue. We were out of town last week so missed the opening week, but I made it out early on Saturday and made sure to snag a few bundles of Edgar Farms asparagus and some tomato plants from Sundog Organics.
Edgar Farms asparagus
- Though I shouldn’t be too hard on a first-time event, I think Host Edmonton has a lot of work to do if they decide to repeat the conference in the future. It wasn’t clear who the primary audience was intended to be – industry professionals? Home cooks? Foodies? I was given the complimentary opportunity to attend two sessions on Saturday morning, and though it was only a taste of the range of sessions, the direction wasn’t clear. My favourite of the two was Chef Christine Cushing’s demonstration. Engaging and clearly passionate about food, I couldn’t think of a better speaker to present on stage early in the morning. That said, I found value in it primarily as a home cook – if I was an “industry professional”, I’m not sure it would have suited my needs. In that sense, Bal Arneson’s keynote was likely meant as an inspirational talk – and there’s no doubt her story (transitioning from a small village in India to a Food Network Star) is quite the tale. But I didn’t receive her casual name-dropping as well as others, and would imagine that her storytelling, interwoven through food, would have been more powerful.
Christine Cushing (an overhead mirror would have been helpful)
Roasted eggplant spread with flat bread and bergamot orange blossom panna cotta
Only Here for the Food 
I agree about Host Edmonton. Although I didn’t attend any of the actual sessions, even the kick-off party seemed somewhat aimless… who was that event designed for?We ended up leaving early since we couldn’t hold a conversation over the loud music, even at the back of the banquet hall. Kinda disappointing.
I also agree about Host Edmonton. I went to a couple of the afternoon sessions Saturday afternoon and wasn’t sure who the target audience was. The “everyday foodie” or industry people? I also was surprised by general lack of food! I didn’t see a single bite to eat for the few hours I was there. It will be interesting to see if and how they change the conference for next. The tickets certainly weren’t cheap and they have some stiff competition with events such as Eat Alberta (which is, in fact, worth the money)!
Re: Host Edmonton – very well said Sharon! I found it a bit disheartening with the lack of food at the kick-off party and how pricey everything was. Everybody that I spoke to was attending on a complimentary pass or giveaway tickets as well, not sure how they even managed to fund everything. Hopefully next year will be better marketed and organized.