Flavourful Saskatoon, October 6, 2014


Saskatoon Co-op Tasting Events – October
Ardbeg and Glenmorangie Scotch Tasting (2 pm, Oct. 18) and Dinner (7 pm, Oct. 17)

If you missed the wine tasting with Pierre Jhean of Henri de Villamont in the spring, be sure to try his Burgundy wines at 7 pm, Oct. 24.

Melipal’s winemaker, Victoria Pons, will introduce her wines at 7 pm, Oct. 30.

There are also rum, tequila and beer events.


Reduce Your Food Waste, Oct. 21
In Canada, an estimated $27 billion of food is wasted every year, half of it at the household level. The SK Waste Reduction Council will share information about composting and other ways of reducing food waste at 7 pm, Oct. 21, at the Frances Morrison Library.

The Sustainable Speaker Series is sponsored by the Saskatchewan Environmental Society and the Saskatoon Public Library.


The Boreal Feast, Oct. 26-27
Whitehorse-based chef Michele Genest will be in Saskatoon October 26 and 27 to promote her new book, The Boreal Feast: A Culinary Journey through the North.

You have three opportunities to meet her and hear her talk about her travels through northern countries, from the Yukon to Scandinavia, finding out about each country’s seasonal feasts.

2 pm, Oct. 26 – Book signing at McNally Robinson Booksellers

6:30 pm, Oct. 26 – Slow Food Saskatoon Small Plates Dinner & Northern Tour slide presentation. The menu is really interesting and mostly vegetarian. I hope to see you there.

6 pm, Oct. 27 – Demonstration cooking class at the Saskatoon Farmers' Market

Those Girls at the Market
The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market will soon be moving indoors for the winter and there won’t be enough space for all the tenants. Those Girls at the Market sell raw chocolate and they won’t have a space. If you have any suggestions for other locations or ways in which they can sell their products, be sure to get in touch with them.


Oktoberfest
I had lunch at Prairie Sun Brewery’s Oktoberfest on Saturday. I loved all the costumes – from lederhosen and kilts to ponchos and sombreros, with a few animals, angels and a devil throw in for good measure.

The pretzels from The Night Oven Bakery were delicious, and I enjoyed my grilled pineapple sprinkled with cinnamon from the Pineapple Express food truck. And let's not forget the Spiced Pumpkin Ale!

Music and various contests were happening all day long. I definitely recommend attending next year. (Thank you for the ticket, Heather!)


UK’s First Zero Waste Restaurant
The UK’s first zero-waste restaurant is really making an effort to combat food waste:

“The restaurant – Silo – is aiming to massively raise the bar when it comes to all things ethical and culinary. It will recycle all of its waste and has invested in a special compost machine – proudly displayed near the entrance – to process all of its food scraps. Supplies will be delivered in reusable containers. Ingredients are being sought from (mostly local) farmers and producers direct. There are no middlemen. Flour for the restaurant’s bread will be milled on site. Booze is being brewed in the basement.

 “Dishes will come served on startling-looking plates made from recycled plastic bags, with drinks – in the main, coffees are excluded for obvious reasons – to be drunk out of recycled jam jars and receipts emailed to customers to save paper. The toilets will be flushed with waste from coffee machines, plus there are plans for solar panels to ease the electricity usage.”

The Role of the Market
Markets play such an important role in our communities. The connect consumers, farmers and chefs. They also provide a meeting place.

“The politics are important,” said Nikolaus Driessen, one of the Markthalle Neun’s three owners, “but at the same time it’s important to connect to the mainstream, to those not going to demonstrations. We want to make the politics of food fun. To bring all movements together and connect people who are very much into eating food with people who grow it.” 

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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