The Great Ontario Craft Brew by Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. & Great Lakes Brewery

Calling all beer lovers!

Our Signature beer sponsors, Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. (Vankleek Hill, ON) and Great Lakes Brewery (Etobicoke, ON), are creating an all-Ontario beer to be tapped at Terroir 2018!

On March 26th, we ventured into the land of Etobicoke to Great Lakes Brewery, where we joined the two breweries to witness the magic in the making!

Now, what is beer without hops, malt and yeast?

We were joined by VQH Farms, Barn Owl Malt and Escarpment Labs on Brew Day to get a behind the scenes look on how such amazing Ontario-grown product is incorporated into the beer-making process.

An Instagram contest was held to allow a lucky member of our beer community a chance to name this locally-inspired brew and to join us on this exciting brew day. The unanimous winner was “Yours To Discover” by James Hamilton, a slogan that as Ontarians, we are familiar with! We thought it was the perfect name to reflect the provincial roots of the brew.

For those who are beer nerds (us included), Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co. and Great Lakes Brewery decided on a one-of-a-kind, crushable Ontario Pale Ale for the 12th Annual Terroir Symposium.

To create the scene, last year, Peter Bulut, Owner & Chief Brewing Officer at Great Lakes Brewery, purchased a 30th birthday present for the brewery – a beautiful copper pilot system that can produce up to 700 litres (or 7 barrels). From this, GLB created their “7 Barrel Series” that allows them to create more unique and experimental beers – just like this one!

To start the mashing process, Brew Day participants poured four different grains into the copper mash/lauter tun – Barn Owl Pilsner, Pale Ale, Red Wheat and Munich.

VQH Farms Chinook, Cascade and Centennial hops were then measured and added to the wort. There will be a touch of dry-hopping later in the process for good aroma measure!

And last but certainly not least, the “Wild Thing” wild Saccharomyces yeast from Escarpment Labs was added for the fermentation process to begin!

And now, we wait. Want to get a taste of the final product? You can check it out at the 12th Annual Terroir Symposium being held on Monday, April 23rd at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

As a bonus, if you've signed up for the Craft Beer Master Class, you'll get a chance to sit in on a locally-driven discussion between Peter Bulut from Great Lakes Brewery, Rob Morra from Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. and Crystal Luxmore from Beer Sisters.

In the meantime, stay tuned for a creative logo featuring the “Yours To Discover” name – another collaboration by both breweries’ creative teams.

Meet Ned Bell, Legendary Ocean Wise Chef

If you couldn’t tell by now, we are sustainable seafood superfans. In addition to partnering with Ocean Wise, we’re thrilled to welcome back sustainable seafood advocate, Ned Bell.

Ned is the talented Ocean Wise Executive Chef. Not only does he practice what he preaches in the kitchen, he is also committed to preaching the word across the country.

In 2014, Chef Ned created Chefs for Oceans in partnership with the Ocean Wise seafood program. This movement engages chefs and communities across Canada to ask questions about the seafood they’re eating, where it comes from and how to make ocean-friendly choices. Ned was able to raise tremendous awareness by riding his bike across the country for this worthy cause. Talk about provoking inspiration!

The goal is that through increased awareness and accessibility to sustainable seafood, environmentally responsible practices will become the standard for generations to come. Ned hopes that one day, all Canadians will be able to easily access sustainable seafood for themselves and their families. We can’t wait to be a part of that world.

Besides his work with Ocean Wise and Chefs for Oceans, chef Ned Bell is also an ambassador for National Sustainable Seafood Day; a day that highlights the importance of healthy rivers, lakes and oceans for both people and our environment. With his two young children in mind, he is dedicated to making our oceans healthier for all children and future generations.

Hear from Ned and others in the sustainable seafood movement at Terroir 2018. He will be joined by Hana Nelson of Afishionado Fishmongers, Maxime Daigle of La Maison Beausoleil and Sonia Strobel of Skipper Otto to talk about how you, as a consumer and/or foodservice professional, can support your fishmongers and oyster farmers.

Learn more about sustainability guidelines and how to prepare some of these delicious fish in Chef Ned’s new cookbook, Lure: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the West Coast.

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ABOUT OCEAN WISE

Overfishing is one of the biggest threats our oceans face today. The Ocean Wise symbol next to a seafood item is our assurance of an ocean-friendly seafood choice. With over 700 Ocean Wise partners with thousands of locations across Canada, the Ocean Wise seafood program makes it easy for consumers to make sustainable seafood choices that ensure the health of our oceans for generations to come.

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Discover Small-Batch Craft Cider in Thornbury Village

Take a trip into the famous Blue Mountains along Georgian Bay in Ontario and you will come across a plethora of sweet apple offerings. While you're there, make sure you stay awhile in Thornbury, the heart of Ontario apply country. With a variety of knowledgeable, experienced apple growers, it's the idyllic place to build a hard cider house.

That's one of the reasons Thornbury Village Craft Cider House set up shop right smack-dab in the heart of the town. They've been producing award-winning, premium quality Ontario craft ciders in their century-old historic apple processing facility since 2007.

Thornbury Village Craft cider is carefully crafted in small batches using Ontario-sourced, fresh-pressed apples.

Thornbury is committed to using only the best production systems to make an authentic product that reflects the quality of the apples they source. The hope is that one day Thornbury Village will be associated with cider the way that Niagara is associated with Canadian wine.

Their flagship product, Thornbury Premium Apple Cider, is the #1 selling Ontario-made craft cider. This cider drinks like the classic English-style cider – light, dry & crisp. Best served chilled or over ice on a sun-soaked patio. BONUS: Thornbury Premium Cider is 100% gluten-free!

Beyond their flagship cider, they also offer other unique creations like the tart but refreshing cranberry apple cider and the a seasonal spiced autumn cider, both available in their tasting room. A visit to their brand new tasting room means getting to try their latest experimental varietals and learning more about the cider making process.  

Enjoy the celebrated Thornbury Village Craft Cider being poured at the 12th Annual Terroir Symposium.

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Find out more about Thornbury Village Craft at thornburycraft.com

Newcomer Kitchen Creates Hub for Syrian Families

Newcomer Kitchen is "cooking up opportunity" for Syrian refugee families in Toronto. 

Many people in this country are happy to announce they “are proud to be Canadian.” People quickly go on to recount a story or explanation about what it means to be Canadian or why it’s so great to live in the Great White North.

A common thread in many of these stories is how Canada is inclusive.

We’re here to share one of these stories. It’s an outstanding story about a small restaurant space that became a community for newcomers in a strange city.

Photo by Newcomer Kitchen

The Depanneur is a unique venue in Toronto’s West-End that hosts culinary activities and creative pop-up food experiences. Recently, “The Dep” as it’s affectionately known, opened its doors to the Newcomer Kitchen. This non-profit organization invites Syrian refugee women to cook a weekly meal in the Dep’s kitchen space.

This was a simple idea that has grown into something bigger thanks to the collaborative nature of everyone involved. It’s transformed into a beautiful, engaging food experience for the community, while providing new economic & social opportunities for the women and their families. Bringing people together in the kitchen has provided a safe and persistent semblance of home. It has allowed them to share stories, nurture relationships and pass along knowledge, while learning more about Canadian culture.

It’s an inspiring story, one we’re proud to share. Len Senater, Rahaf Alakbani & Esmaeel Aboufahker, co-founders of Newcomer Kitchen, join us at the Terroir Symposium on April 23, 2018 to discuss their success in building this incredible network. Their goal is to create a model that can one day be replicated with any newcomer group, in any restaurant kitchen, in any city around the world.

Newcomer Kitchen’s weekly pop-up will be hosted at The Depanneur on Wednesdays starting February 7th, 2018. The meals are sold online for pickup or delivery, and the proceeds are shared among the cooks.

To learn more about how to support or get involved with the Newcomer Kitchen, visit their website here.

Cocoa on the Horizon: It's About More Than Chocolate at Cacao Barry

Close to two centuries ago, Charles Barry travelled to Africa to seek the highest quality cacao beans he could find. Later, he became the very first chocolate connoisseur. The Cacao Barry brand has become a symbol of excellence and innovation around the world, sourcing and creating some of the finest sources of chocolate from various countries. Not only do they create these delicious morsels of sweetness, but they truly do good in this world too.

We love that one of the key priorities for Cacao Barry is sustainability – they put a lot of work into guaranteeing the livelihoods of farmers and the availability of cocoa!

One of the many ways they support cocoa farmers is through the Cocoa Horizons Foundation.

Cocoa farmers around the world face incredible challenges to make ends meet and to live healthy, productive lives. There are many reasons for this, including:

• Limited knowledge and understanding of good agricultural practices
• Aging farms and depleted soil
• Unpredictable effects of climate change
• Gender imbalance – women have limited opportunities to build skills and generate income
• Limited basic infrastructure and services (schools, literacy, access to safe water, healthcare)
• Child labour and unsound labour laws

…just to name a few.

The Cocoa Horizons Foundation is a non-profit organization supervised by the Swiss Federal Foundation Supervisory Authority that works on the ground with these farmers to better understand these challenges, their needs and how to address the complex issues in each community.

The foundation’s activities aim to promote rural self-reliance, working with farmers on sustainable agricultural systems and focusing on community development & capacity building so that farmers can support themselves in the long-term.

In order for cocoa farmers to build their businesses, there needs to be demand for their product. So, in turn, Cacao Barry helps brands create innovative and irresistible products that keep consumers coming back for more.

To link cocoa farmers to chefs, Cacao Barry created the CacaoCollective. This community is built by chefs, for chefs, to allow them to collaborate and share resources & ideas and to truly know the chocolate they are working with. Chefs and farmers are connected to evoke inspiration and to increase farmers’ engagement and recognition.

These experiences also ensure transparency of cultivation methods, good agricultural practices and implementation of innovative processes.

We’re thrilled to partner with Cacao Barry again as they embody many of the values Terroir represents! This April, Ruva Chinyemba, Sustainability Brand Development Manager, will join us to talk more about how the brand supports cocoa plantations and communities.

To learn more about the Cocoa Horizons Foundation and their activities, visit their website here.

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