Flavourful Saskatoon, October 28, 2013


Wild Sage Kitchen & Bar, Regina 
Regina will soon have a new restaurant. Wild Sage Kitchen & Bar will open on November 1 in the DoubleTree Hotel and Conference Centre at 1975 Broad Street. Advance publicity states that Chef Geoffrey Caswell-Murphy will profile the Farmer to Chef relationship using as many locally sourced, artisan and organic ingredients as possible. The chef is East Coast born and raised so I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a focus on seafood.

I'm pleased to see that the trend towards locally-sourced restaurant meals continues in both Regina and Saskatoon.

Seeds of Diversity AGM, Nov. 9 
Seeds of Diversity is holding their annual general meeting at Station 20 West on November 9 from 3-8:30 pm. The event will include a seed exchange, a seed-saving workshop and a gala dinner.

Luscious Desserts 
Never let it be said that I am derelict in my responsibility to seek out all decadent desserts available in Saskatoon.

Dad’s Organic Market is now selling two Gü Desserts – lemon cheesecake and chocolate ganache. These luscious English desserts come in glass ramekins and are delicious.

So, as the Gu website, suggests, “Seek Delight; Give in to Happiness; Pleasure is Everything.”

Food History on the Prairies
Culinaria: A Taste of Food History on the Prairies is an online exhibit of cookbooks and information about “food’s development and depth of influence in Canada’s Prairie provinces.” Do take a look. There are numerous old cookbooks, and the curators have scanned not only their covers but many of their recipes.

“Food history is not simply about ingredients and their preparation; it is about the cultural networks and narratives within which every step of the food cycle is embedded, from farm (or wilderness) to table. Although often overlooked in literary, historical, and cultural studies, food offers insight into topics as diverse as cultural and social identity, agricultural history, economics, geography, political movements, and health.”

Veggie Day 
The City of Ghent in Belgium has declared every Thursday Veggie Day in order to address climate change. Schools and public offices serve a vegetarian meal as do many local restaurants.

Fair Trade Bananas
UK supermarkets frequently sell loose bananas for less than it cost to purchase them. The losers are the banana growers and workers but also the environment as farmers can’t afford to farm sustainably: “Producers are not able to invest in, for example, an integrated pest management system if the price is really too low. They are likely to use whatever pesticides they have, even if they are low quality or dangerous. If retailers raise the price, it becomes easier for producers to invest in sustainable production methods."

FairTrade bananas provide growers with collective bargaining power and a better chance of receiving a fair price.

40 Stories of Hope
Around the world, people are working to build a healthier food system. Here are 40 stories of hope.

Photos: Granada, Nicaragua

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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