TORONTO — At an exclusive media event, held last night at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, Taste Canada unveiled its shortlist for the 2018 Taste Canada Awards. The annual awards celebrate Canada’s best cookbooks and food-and-beverage writers.
The evening began with the opening remarks by Donna Dooher, Taste Canada Chair, Board of Directors, who highlighted the 2018 Taste Canada shortlist and encouraged everyone to join in celebrating National Cookbook Month in October. Media also had a chance to meet gala co-hosts Shahir Massoud and Claire Tansey.
Fairmont Royal York’s new executive chef, J.W. Foster, engaged the group with an interactive cooking demonstration, which walked them through the steps of creating a double-smoked tuna tartar with picked onions and apricot-onion chutney. A tasting menu followed, featuring charred bison cheeseburgers, Ontario lamb kofta, charred squash tostadas and torched Lancaster cheddar with Royal York-produced honey and cherry chutney.
Media were then treated to a chef-guided tour of the hotel’s rooftop garden and bee hives, which supplies the Royal York’s foodservice operations.
The Taste Canada 2018 winners will be announced at the Taste Canada Awards Gala on October 29 at the Fairmont Royal York. The event is open to the public, allowing food enthusiasts to network with Canada’s top cookbook authors, food bloggers, publishers, farmers, chefs, restaurateurs, industry, media, government and cookbook fans.
A champion of cookbook authors and food writers, Taste Canada — a not-for-profit organization — inspires and encourages readers at home and abroad to discover delicious recipes and diverse food stories written from a Canadian perspective.
