The message is simple…. Save The Land That Feeds Us….

Please take a look  at TVO and  Blog T.O. for more information about the event.

With fellow Chef Heather Baker as we arrived to the event!

It was cold and rainy, but people were keep showing up, an estimated 28.OOO came up to support the event!

Helping up chef Christopher Palik and his team from Paese Restaurant.

Checking out chef Michael Stadtlander pumpkin soup bowl. It was really cool!

Yours from Foodstock!

What an amazing event it was. Thank you to the organizers, chefs, farmers and volunteers who help to make the event a reality!

Carlos

The exhibition was named ‘An Extraordinary Alien‘, after the American
visa ‘O’ which is granted to people with “Extraordinary ability in the
fields of science, education, business or athletics”. As far as the
law was concerned, Villanueva was indeed an extraordinary alien.  The
evening of the opening I met fellow Venezuelans and exhibition
curators Ruth Mora and Gaston Soucy. Both Ruth and Gaston are architects who were influenced by Villanueva’s work and now they live and work in
Toronto. They had acquired a collection of photographs that showcased
Villanuevas’s work but had nowhere to exhibit them. They met  Eduardo
and a new exhibit was born.

You can check out the exhibition at Arepa Cafe,  runs until March 29 .

Eduardo and I were so exited about the turn out of the exhibit
opening, that we decided to do something about it.
I said: let’s organized an event to celebrated our roots, art, design
and food from latino America and he loved the idea.

I got on the phone the next day, I called a few Latino chefs that I
know and they all said ” Claro que si” — Let’s do it.
So we had a few food and wine tastings to come up with a great menu.

That’s is how my friends Elizabeth  RivasPlata from the  [AGO], Francisco Alejandri [ Agave & Aguacate] Luis Manuel Cordoba [ Arepa Cafe] Andés Macas [ Que Pasa] Jose Arato [Pimenton] and I we will be cooking at Arepa Cafe on Monday, March 28th

Adrain Marquez from the [AGO]  will be pairing the wines for the evening.

Music by Latino American Choir Cantemos

Reservations, please call 416-362.4111

Or email; info@arepacafe.ca

Proceeds will be used to support local Latin creative and artistic efforts within the GTA.

Don’t miss out is going to be fun.

Yours celebrating roots, art, design and food from the Americas

Carlos

It was an honor for me and my crew, to have been invited to the
picnic, thanks to the event organizers decision to recognize cultural and
ethnic groups from around the world that make Toronto home.
Connecting the global palate using foods grown locally is a great
opportunity to bring environmental and cultural traditions together,
which at the same time makes our city more beautiful in the eyes of
the world.

The crew, from right to left, Adrian Marquez, Marc Lukacs and Eduardo Lee, thanks for your help guys!!

There were food stations from Central and South America, Africa, the
Caribbean, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asian and India.

With that spirit of global food, I decided to make a “Guiso de
Calabaza, queso y Siqui-siqui” (Organic Delicata squash stew and fresh
cheese). I got all my food products from Pfennings Farms and the queso
fresco from Local Dairy Produce (Ingersoll, Ontario) and the
Portuguese Cheese Company, which is based in Toronto.

It was great to see people enjoying the food, particularly the groovy
organic vessel I designed to carry the guiso to avoid plastic or
unnecessary paper.

To make the containers we cut squares of plantain leaf, wrapped them
into the shape of a cup and then held them together with small,
sturdy wooden skewers from Chinatown. All of it will become beautiful
compost.

Happy to report that it was a hit with all my new vegetarians friends.

Yours from the 2009 Bricks Works Picnic
Carlos

Front Row- L-R: Steve Gonzalez, Liz Rumebe and me

Back Row L-R: Jose Hadad, Luis Valenzuela and Mario Cassini.

Marina Queirolo is currently traveling in Argentina

Mario Cassini, Caju
Jose Hada, Frida
Luis Vanlenzuela, Torito
Steve Gonzales, Latino 5-Spice
Marina Queirolo, Sûrkl Empanadas
Elizabeth Rumebe, Alpine Bakery

Plus Sommelier Drew Innes pairing Spanish, Chilean and Argentine wines by course.

Seats are limited.
Don’t miss out.
Get in touch w/Mary Luz Mejia for tickets at 416. 992.2644
maryluz@sizzlingcommunications.com

Proceeds from the event will be donated to Youth Link
See you there.

Yours on a very exiting night
Carlos

And we’re not talking small potatoes. The garden grows 110 fruits and vegetables, including tomatillos, okra and 10 kinds of Latino beans. That’s fantastic in my books.

Last summer harvest

Grand forces of good have also recognized the garden. Last year, the garden won the “David Suzuki Digs my Garden” award, beating out nearly 600 gardens from across the country.

For the last four years, Jane, city staffers Robin Salt and Keely Forth, and devoted volunteers like, Michael Nevin and Frank Iacobucci, have all been lobbying the city for permission to build a teaching kitchen, because they don’t stop at planting, growing and harvesting. There’s a Youth Cooking Program for 11 to 16-year-olds in July, and in August and October the garden hosts a feast bounty from its garden, cooked at the Masaryk-Cowan Centre and then schlepped over to the park and served to the community.

Showing up some tomatillos

This is where the teaching kitchen comes in. Putting it right next to the garden will open up a lot of new opportunities for connecting kids to where their food comes from and what it’s like to grow from seed and what to do with it once it’s ready for picking. It would also help with hosting the community festivals where the food picked from the garden will be cooked and served.
It’s important to note here that extra food harvested in the garden is given to shelters and soup kitchens all over the city.

The building is going to be as eco-positive as possible, beginning with the structure itself, to be made of straw bales, which get plastered and become great insulators. Solar panels will provide heat for water and running energy- efficient appliances and lighting. Fall 2010 is the projected unveiling, but in the meantime, the garden is campaigning for community support with their Adopt a Bale program.

Beautiful spring asparagus

But don’t wait to introduce your kids to the garden. It’s a perfect time to bring them to the park to see the beginning of a magical experience.You cant also check their website for dates and activities.

For all the staff and volunteers it’s like a miracle after all these years. The kitchen is finally opening here!!

Yours from High Park
Carlos

The Great Cooks team, Executive Chef Maggie McKeown, Vanessa and Jenna

Happy guests enjoying the food