Food Notes for October 16, 2017

Just a heads up that there won’t be a Food Notes post next week; Mack and I are heading to Vancouver Island for a short break! On to this week’s notes:

The Edmonton Fall Home Show runs at the Edmonton Expo Centre October 20-22, 2017. Among the attractions is their Cooking Stage, with a number of local chefs who will be presenting, including Bundok’s Ryan Hotchkiss, Mini Kitchen’s Damini Mohen, and Ikki Izakaya’s Ayumi Yuda.
Baijiu’s Chef Alexei Boldireff will be collaborating with two visiting chefs, Vancouver’s Chef Dilan Draper (Cafe Ca Va) and Yellowknife’s Chef Robin Wasicuna (Twin Pine Diner), on October 25, 2017 on a 5-course dinner. Tickets are $75.
During Farmfair International, which runs November 8-12, 2017, Northlands will be hosting a number of hands-on Food Lab sessions, including how to make fresh mozzarella, and steak cooking tips. Workshops are free with paid admission.
Hardware Grill will be hosting a Farm & Guest Dinner in support of the High School Culinary Challenge on November 14, 2017. Tickets are $100.
The Holy Roller, sister restaurant to El Cortez and Have Mercy, opens on October 20, 2017. Expect an eclectic menu, “from Detroit-style pizza to pintxos (shareable Basque-inspired snacks) to poke salad bowls to chocolate truffles made from Mexican-sourced cacao.”
Calgary’s popular OEB Breakfast is coming to #yeg – in the Kelly-Ramsay block (10040 101A Avenue).
If you need your Drift fix in the food truck off-season, you’re in luck – they’ve set up shop in the Shamrock Curling Club!
Chili’s announced that 9 restaurants in Alberta (excluding the airport locations) will be closing October 31, 2017.
Megan shared an early review of An Chay, a Vietnamese vegetarian restaurant that replaced the short-lived Pitaghetti at 11203 Jasper Avenue.
Both Twyla and Vue Weekly had good things to say about vegan pizzeria Die Pie.
Graham wrote a rave review about Avila Arepa.
Vue Weekly is the latest to review Tang Bistro.
Liane tackles the question of what it takes to turn seemingly “cursed” restaurant spaces around.
Congratulations to the 2017 Gold Medal Plates winners – Chef Shane Chartrand of Sage took home the gold, while Royal Glenora’s Chef Steve Buzak won silver and Chef Ryan Hotchkiss of Bundok was awarded the bronze.
The AgFood Council’s signature event, Foodovation, will take place at NAIT from November 9-10, 2017. They will be highlighting three areas this year: food safety, innovation and production, and scale-up and international markets.
The inaugural Festival of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a smashing success this past Friday, even with the chilly temperatures! Mack and I made it down to William McIntyre Park to see some great costumes and lots of enthusiasm for all things Harry Potter. We also tried some delicious butter beer and pumpkin juice crafted by the folks behind Meat Street Pies.