Flavourful Saskatoon, January 23, 2012

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – Chef Anthony heads to Nationals, Griffin Takeaway, Slow Food Canada, SPIN Farming and more

Warm the Heart Soup Cook-off, January 29/February 1
Enjoy a bowl of soup and support the Heart and Stroke Foundation during WinterShines by sampling the soups of some of Saskatoon’s most talented chefs.

At noon on Sunday, January 29, beginner chefs will compete against each other for the honour of moving on to the Warm the Heart Cook-off at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, February 1. Both events will be held at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. Pay $5 for soup and bread or $10 for soup, bread and a glass of wine.

Michelle Zimmer of Wild Serendipity Foods has entered her Thai Carrot Coconut Soup in the January 29 competition. Good luck, Michelle! We love your soups as well as your scones and macarons.

Gold Medal Plates Preview Dinner, February 3
Chef Anthony McCarthy, the gold prize winner at the 2011 Saskatchewan Gold Medal Plates, will be competing in the national championship in Kelowna on February 11.

You can preview his dish as part of a four-course dinner at the Saskatoon Club at 6:30 pm on February 3. Tickets are $50 and can be obtained by emailing Chef Anthony at anthonym@saskatoonclub.com or by calling 652-1780. A portion of the proceeds will go towards covering the team’s travel costs.

Slow Food Canada, May 3-6, Edmonton
The Edmonton Convivium will be hosting the national meeting of Slow Food Canada from May 3-6. Valerie Lugonja, the Conference Chair, assures me that there will be plenty of fun activities in additions to the meetings, including a farm tour, a farmer’s market tour, an 8-course regional meal, and a tour of Fort Edmonton.

It would be great to have some Saskatoon representatives at the meeting to gather information for setting up a local Slow Food Convivium. Contact Valerie@slowfoodedmonton.ca for further information.

Griffin Takeaway
Griffin Takeaway has just opened at #10-3311 8th Street East (beside Jysk), so we had to check it out. The owner, Nicole Barr, is a vegetarian and is highlighting dishes that are vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free.

The single-serving pudding cups caught my eye as I hadn’t seen anything similar elsewhere. The lemon curd was tart and refreshing and disappeared all too fast. The creamy goat cheese balanced the powerful olive tapenade in my sandwich – a very good choice if you love cheese and olives.

Griffin Takeaway is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm.

Three Sisters/Nestor’s Bakery
Three Sisters at Nestor’s Bakery continues to add to its products. You can now purchase homemade noodles (in various shapes and sizes) as well as locally-grown wheat – not to mention fabulous jams, jellies and granola from Fruition Orchard.

Wally’s Urban Market Garden
Urban farming has tremendous potential as a source of local food and local jobs.

Wally Satzewich and Gail Vandersteen, the owners of Wally’s Urban Market Garden, have been growing and selling vegetables at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market for over 20 years. They grow their crops on small garden plots in and around Saskatoon.

“We need to redefine what it means to be a farmer,” Wally says. “You can be a farmer even though you’re small. You don’t have to own a large, sprawling farm.”

My interview with Wally, one of the founders of Small Plot Intensive (SPIN) Farming, is on the EcoFriendly Sask website.

Flavourful Saskatoon is a weekly Monday feature. I also post regular profiles of culinary entrepreneurs, new restaurants and new food products.

Follow me on Twitter or subscribe to Wanderlust and Words by email (top right-hand corner) to stay on top of Saskatoon’s evolving food culture.

Comments

A Canadian Foodie said…
Thanks for the shout out. Beautiful stuff happening! I am tweeting your post!
:)
V
January 27, 2012 at 1:48 PM
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