It was high tide last night at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York hotel as thirteen of Ontario’s best chefs went ladle to ladle during the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown. The issues that continue to trouble our marine environment played a supporting role to the…
Tonight, at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York, some of Ontario’s best Ocean Wise chefs battle it out to become the 2012 Chowder Chowdown Champion. The chefs are all participating in this remarkable Toronto event, as a means to call attention to the fact that overfishing is the greatest…
It was a fast day of honey seeeking drop-ins at BEEGrrl on Dundas West. I shared a honey flight tasting with Sayyad. He found me through my membership with the Ontario Beekeeping Association www.ontariobee.com , as he was in persuit of a local urban flavour. Sayyad…
Since Chef and I (BEEGrrl) partnered with the Toronto Beekeepers Co-op and Food Share in 2008, the rooftop apiary at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York has always been the bridesmaid and never the bride. My last post referenced our honey “ranking,” at Canada’s annual Royal Agricultural…
Country bees went up against city bees this weekend at the home of fellow urban beekeepers: Melissa Berney and Shawn Caza. The invitation to participate in a “honey party” came earlier in the week and it turned out to be sweeter than ever imagined. In…
The annual Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (RAWF) brings hundreds of breeders, growers, exhibitors and a handful of beekeepers to Toronto, Ontario’s Exhibition Place from November 2 through to November 11, 2012. The fair offers a rare opportunity for growers, breeders and a Toronto urban…
Promise of a glorious fall day and a vacant seat in a friend’s car drew me to the Niagara region earlier this week. A dense morning fog, as thick as any found on the Atlantic shores, soon burned off to make way for a warm…
Oprah Winfrey has a connection to an Ontario apiary where bees have been farmed for over 50 years. I realize this may be a bit of a stretch, but while Oprah made her ground-breaking Toronto tour stop, I hosted an Oprah “tweet up” for Oprah…
I first learned of this Beamsville, Niagara apiary through Chef David Garcelon. Chef had been investigating mead and he learned of a winery in Niagara that seemed to have the best product on the market. Chef wanted to make mead too, but chose to leave…
I first met beekeeper Wilfried Van Haeren in my office at the Fairmont Royal York. He was staying at the hotel during an IT convention and, after learning of the project via the news, he “googled” me to visit the hotel’s rooftop hives. After several…