Flavourful Saskatoon, August 3, 2015

 

Saskatoon Farmers’ Market 40th Anniversary, Aug. 22 
The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market is celebrating its 40th anniversary from 8 am to 5 pm, August 22. There will be a corn roast and corn husking contest, a charity barbecue, beer garden, food samples, buskers and a clown.

19th Street will be shut down with Escape Sports hosting a sidewalk sale and displays.

Woods Ale House & White Birch Catering 
Chef Moe Mathieu and White Birch Catering have found a kitchen and will be catering for The Woods Alehouse.

They are hosting a Brewer’s Dinner, Night of a Thousand Monkeys, on August 22. Five versions of cask-condition stout that are flavoured differently will compliment or contrast with five food courses.

I attended a White Birch Catering dinner a few years ago and enjoyed the beer and food pairings.

Community BBQ & Garden Tour, Aug. 28
CHEP Good Food Inc. is hosting a Community BBQ and Garden Tour, starting at 11 am, August 28.


The Chocolate Project
Most chocolate is sourced from West Africa plantations with horrifying environmental practices, child slave labour, and poor quality beans, according to Chef David Mincey, Preservation Foods Chocolate Project. He’s made it his mission to bring together a collection of artisanal chocolate bars from around the world.

“All of the bars we represent are traceable to one country of origin and usually to one single plantation within that country. These are the highest quality beans available, treated with care and respect by the world’s top chocolate masters.”

 A selection of over 100 artisanal bars is on sale at the Victoria Public Market at the Hudson. The labels alone are fascinating and the variety of flavours astonishing. They’re definitely not cheap, but I wholeheartedly endorse the philosophy.


Trying to Make Tea Cool 
I purchase most of my tea from a Montreal company, Camellia Sinensis. They’re a Canadian company and they source their own tea, meeting year after year with the farmers. I like the personal connection and they have a superb collection of original, unflavoured teas. When there is such variety of teas and production methods, I rarely look to flavoured teas to provide a change (but I do sometimes).

The folks at Camellia Sinensis are tea aficionados and this has encouraged me to learn more about growing and producing tea, but I can appreciate that some people would find this intimidating. David’s Tea on the other hand has emphasized accessibility in an attempt to popularize tea with a new generation. I’m not a fan of their teas, but I certainly endorse their mission.

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

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