Toronto Taste, Second Harvest’s annual food fest at the Royal Ontario Museum is truly a must attend and this year tickets sold out over a week in advance.
2012 marked the 22nd year of this event and 1400 Torontonians paid $250 for a ticket to this fundraising tasting of dishes by the top chefs around the city. Each ticket purchased to Toronto Taste provided 250 meals to Torontonians in need and this year the event aims to raise enough funds to provide 700,000 meals for Toronto’s hungry.
Party inside the ROM
The event’s motto: Pairing cuisine with compassion.
This year’s tasting featured 60 of the city’s top chefs and 30 outstanding beverage purveyors. Held both indoors and outdoors at Royal Ontario Museum the event was hosted by Food Network’s Bob Blumer and recording artist Roger Mooking, who is also a Food Network personality.
Mooking stated to DelectablyChic!, “All the great chefs in Toronto and we never get to see each other and hang out, but this is the one time of the year where you see all the chefs in one place.”
“It’s a dirty little secret,” he added, “but everyone is competitive and coming with their A game.”
Roger Mooking and Bob Blumer
Blumer added, “I do a lot of things in my day to life centred around me and my career so such more pleasure doing for Second Harvest because it’s about sharing with the community. Being a host of this event for the past five years is my way of thanking Toronto for all the great things I pull from the city itself. Its almost more fun than doing my own job.”
Guests had personal access to the city’s top chefs including Food Network hosts Mark McEwan, Michael Smith and Lynn Crawford.
“I’m having great time. I love coming back seeing fellow chefs. Second Harvest one of my chosen charities and I’ve been here since its inception 22-23 years ago,” stated McEwan. “Coming here is such a treat and the food scene in Toronto keeps getting better and better with the chefs more clever than ever.”
Louisiana Macarons
Crawford added, “I’m a Toronto chef and very involved with the cause. Chefs have a responsibility to give back and it’s overwhelming to see amount of chefs out this evening with all their passion. Great cause.”
As one of the few top female chefs in the world, Crawford wanted to inspire DelectablyChic! Readers, adding, “Success in our field is not about gender, but commitment, driven and passion. You just have to work hard and love what you do and keep thinking how can I be better tomorrow.”
“We’ve been in the business now 36 years, starting out in my mother’s home. Now we have a large factory and mass produce while maintaining quality control. We’ve supported Toronto Taste since it began and support Second Harvest Year round,” shared Dufflet Rosenberg of Dufflet Pastries, adding, “We’re tough cookies.”
Organizations and personalities that took part included ACE Bakery, C5, Buca, Cave Spring Cellars, Woodlot, Eron Novalski, Dufflet Rosenberg, Sotto Sotto, The Tea Emporium, Scaramouche, Patricia Cohrs and Ciao Wine Bar.
Favourite tastings included Scaramouche’s tuna tartare delicacy, Rodney’s Oyster House‘s oysters, Dufflet Pastries‘ Maple Budino and Nicole’s Sinfully Good Rum Balls.
Since the start of Toronto Taste, it has raised more than $4 million to support Second Harvest’s food rescue program. Second Harvest is a charitable organization that for the past 27 years has been taking donated, perishable food, which would have otherwise gone to waste, and delivering it to more than 200 social service agencies in Toronto.
The Daniels Corporation returns as Presenting Sponsor for the 17th year running.
Photo Credit: T. U. Dawood
