Toronto hosts second Winter Chocolate Show showcasing local and international chocolatiers, sustainable chocolate making

February 18, 2020 CanCulture Magazine

By Laura Dalton

The historical Enoch Turner Schoolhouse was bustling as the second annual Winter Chocolate Show commenced in Toronto.

The show concluded its second year on Feb. 1, fitting 27 local and international vendors into the cavernous schoolhouse.

The Enoch Turner Schoolhouse. (CanCulture/Laura Dalton)

This year, co-founder Paola Giavedoni expanded the event into the church adjacent to the schoolhouse to fit the vendors. The church hosted the festival’s seminars and chocolate tastings.

Giavedoni owns The Candy Bar, a chocolate and candy store at College Street and Ossington Avenue in Toronto. Her store, which opened in 2013, features the creations from chocolatiers across Canada.

“That business started that love for chocolate … So I created these walls of chocolate and it's all these makers that I'm representing in my shop so people can buy from [chocolate makers] across Canada,” she said.

Paola Giavedoni had her own table at the show where she sold some of the chocolates featured in her shop. (CanCulture/Laura Dalton)

Another business owner who attended the event, Nick Davis, is a former journalist and Jamaican originally born in the United Kingdom. Davis runs One One Cacao, a chocolate company he started in 2016, based in Kingston, Jamaica.

Davis spoke on the challenges facing cacao producers in Jamaica, saying that the nation’s 7,000 small farmers are only producing 100 tons per year of raw cacao, where there is an export potential of 3,000 tons per year.

“It's a miniscule amount,” said Davis. “If you compare back to Haiti or compared to Dominican Republic it's a drop in the ocean.”

Davis added that the Dominican Republic exports as much as 66,000 tons annually.

Davis sources sustainable cacao and works with farmers in Jamaica in an attempt to make cultivation more prosperous for the nation. The lengthy process of producing chocolate means Davis can only make one or two batches per year, making recipe improvements a challenge.

Davis’ chocolate won a silver and a bronze award from the Academy of Chocolate in 2017. The academy was founded in Britain in 2005 with the aim to bring awareness to the significance of fine chocolate over common confectionaries, and to promote transparent sourcing of cacao.

Ariane Hansen is a co-founder of DesBarres Chocolate based in Uxbridge, ON. Like Davis, she is very conscious when sourcing the raw cacao used in her chocolate and works directly with a farmer in Jamaica. She explained that she also orders samples of cacao from fairtrade brokers in Guatemala, Belize, Tanzania, the Dominican Republic and Madagascar.

Desbarres chocolate bars featured at the show. (CanCulture/Laura Dalton)

Hansen said she uses the cacao samples to make a sample bar of chocolate and then decides which one is best for her chocolate.

Originally from the Ottawa Valley, Hansen said that she started the business for fun and for the love of chocolate. Her partner Erik Hansen is the other co-founder of the chocolate show.

Marco Mecozzi has been a chocolate maker since 2018. He is the co-founder of Tribe Chocolate based in Colborne, ON. Mecozzi sources his cacao from a supplier in Honduras, who tests the cacao for its quality.

At the show, Mecozzi described the process of tempering, in which the chocolate is heated and then cooled — creating crystals in the cacao butter — and results in the hard and snappy texture of chocolate.

After only two years, Toronto’s annual Winter Chocolate Show has expanded and touched the surrounding Corktown community. After only a few hours into the show, The Enoch Turner Schoolhouse was brimming with eager customers pining to find original and local chocolate.

The inspiration behind Toronto's fusion restaurants

November 12, 2019 CanCulture Magazine

By Pooja Rambaran

In 2016, Toronto was named the most multicultural city in the world by BBC Radio, and there's no doubt why that still holds true. The city boasts of over 250 ethnicities and 170 languages, with roughly half of the population identifying as a visible minority (in particular Asian, Black, Arab or Latin American), according to Toronto Global.

But Toronto's growing multicultural population goes beyond just the demographics, bleeding into the city’s culture and lifestyle. Over the years, Toronto has become a stomping ground for food innovators and food lovers alike and these unique cultures and perspectives have contributed to the city’s melting pot of a food scene, allowing it to become quite the hub for fusion cuisine.

Here’s a look into the inspiration behind one of Toronto’s biggest food trends: fusion restaurants.

Hungary Thai

Pad thai and schnitzel? Not a very common combination, but a tried and true personal favourite of many who visit Hungary Thai.

Cozy and quaint, Hungary Thai sits in the midst of the bustling Kensington Market.

About 20 years ago, Marianne Kecskeméti and her partner started Hungary Thai. With Kecskeméti handling the Hungarian dishes and her partner handling the Thai dishes, each represented their personal cultures.

“Originally, we just wanted Thai food and Hungarian food separately, but then everyone else wanted fusion so we started the fusion too,” Kecskeméti said.

Now partnerless, Kecskeméti sits in the vibrant restaurant and recalls starting the fusion of the two cuisines some three years ago.

The bar at Hungary Thai. (CanCulture/Pooja Rambaran)

Kecskeméti explained that fusion restaurants are rising in popularity because these unique combinations cannot be found anywhere else. The novelty of the cuisine brings back customers.

“If it’s good,” she added with a smile.

The Haam

A quick hop over to Entertainment District lands you at the trendy Japanese-Mexican restaurant, The Haam.

With exposed brick on one side, modern light fixtures and the bright fluorescent sign that gives you a little extra boost of confidence, The Haam brings two very distinctive flavours together.

Fluorescent sign at The Haam. (CanCulture/Pooja Rambaran)

Tristan Kwon came to Toronto from Korea 10 years ago and started working at a Japanese izakaya, a casual Japanese pub.

In 2014, he moved on to work at the Mexican restaurants Playa Cabana Hacienda and Playa Cabana Barrio Coreano before he was hired as head chef at The Haam.

“I combined these two cuisines because they are what I learned from my experience in Canada and I also like their food and culture,” Kwon said.

Camaron/Shrimp Tacos comprised of chilli shrimp, mozzarella, guac, onion, garlic mayo and queso fresco. (CanCulture/Pooja Rambaran)

Kwon believes each of the cuisines could individually appeal to a western palette, but the combination is born from all of his knowledge, skills and experience. Moreover, he wanted to express creativity and showcase a new style.

“When I create new dishes, the most important parts are their identity and character of the dishes. The taste and look of the dishes have to be something new and familiar at the same time,” Kwon said.

Samba made with yam tempura, avocado, guacamole, tortilla chips and chipotle mayo. (CanCulture/Pooja Rambaran)

Kwon has learned that it is better to consider what he would enjoy if he was the customer.

He expressed that Canada itself is multicultural and people enjoy experiencing a variety of cuisines as they are generally open-minded and respectful of the creativity.

Mother Tongue

Only a short walk away from The Haam takes you to Mother Tongue, an intimate hole-in-the-wall divided into two spaces with a restaurant on the top that continues into a moody cocktail lounge on the bottom floor that's open to customers from Thursday to Saturday.

Mother Tongue fuses Asian cuisines like Filipino, Chinese and Japanese food with North American influences.

Head chef Francis Bermejo was born and raised in Manila, Philippines, then moved to Toronto in 1997 at the age of 13.

“Chinese, Japanese and American culture and cuisine had a big influence in the Philippines and I was introduced to them as a kid growing up by trying different kinds of food,” Bermejo said.

Bermejo was familiar with and enjoyed the flavours, aromas and tastes of all the cuisines individually, but when mixed right, he loved them even more.

"An example is our bistek tataki. The technique in tataki is Japanese but the flavour profile is Filipino," Bermejo said.

Bistek tataki. (CanCulture/Pooja Rambaran)

This dish combines the tataki technique of briefly searing thinly sliced beef with the flavour profile of bistek where the beef is marinated in soy sauce and citrus juice and served with charred onions and garlic crumbs.

When Bermejo creates a new dish, he tries to focus on one ingredient, be it a vegetable, meat or fish, and decides how he would like that ingredient to be showcased in the best way possible with some supporting components.

General Tao Bao Buns made with fried chicken, lemon mayo and pickled onion. (CanCulture/Pooja Rambaran)

"Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world, which I think is what makes it great when it comes to different cultures coming together and embracing each other's differences," Bermejo said.

Chop & Wop Ristorante

Expanding beyond downtown Toronto, Chop & Wop Ristorante combines Italian and Portuguese cuisines in a fine dining experience all the way in Burlington.

Owner and operator Marco Rodrigues is first-generation Portuguese and his partner Giovanni Falbo is second-generation Italian.

“We wanted to combine them to honour both of our families, and his nonna (grandmother) and my bisavó (great-grandmother),” Rodrigues said.

Rodrigues explained that while Italian is a very popular cuisine, Portuguese is less so.

In fact, CNN called out Portuguese cuisine’s difficulty in reaching across borders, stating it often caters mainly to Portuguese immigrants yearning for a taste of home.

However, Rodrigues and Falbo decided to combine these two cuisines because they complimented each other very well.

“An example would be our spin on a caprese salad by adding corn and a port reduction instead of balsamic. It is a Portuguese caprese and is our best selling salad,” Rodrigues said.

The unique combinations discussed are only a few of the many scattered around Toronto and even beyond the GTA.

“I think like anything, people are looking for unique experiences and fusion gives you that while still having some traditional favourites,” Rodrigues said.

As Toronto continues to grow as a multicultural city, the desire for fusion restaurants will only grow with it. These unique perspectives contributing to the city continue to spark inspiration and we can only await for the introduction of even more exciting fusion cuisines and restaurants in the future.

Pow Wow Cafe brings taste of traditional Indigenous cuisine to Kensington Market

February 27, 2019 CanCulture Magazine

By Bree Duwyn

Pow Wow Cafe, home of the Indian taco, is adding to Toronto’s diverse food scene with a taste of tradition and indigeneity.

Growing up in Orangeville, Ont., chef Shawn Adler, owner of Pow Wow Cafe, first fell in love with cooking in high school. After a few years of experience working for various restaurants, Adler attended a two-year program at Stratford Chefs School.

At 23, Adler opened his first restaurant in Peterborough Ont., named Aasmaabik’s Bakery and Bistro - Aasmaabik being his name in Ojibway. This began a culinary adventure for Adler as he opened another handful of restaurants, including The Flying Chestnut Kitchen in Eugenia, Ont.

After selling a few of his restaurants, Adler decided to try out the culinary scene in Toronto. Known for its diverse array of vintage shops, cozy restaurants and colourful art pieces, Kensington Market delivers a multitude of cultures, making it the perfect place for Pow Wow Cafe to open its doors in October 2016.

Adler wanted to bring Indian tacos, differing from regular tacos because of the use of fry bread instead of tortilla shells, to Toronto and got the inspiration for their Kensington Market restaurant through his experience catering at various powwows.

A powwow is an Indigenous ceremony filled with dancing, singing (featuring drum circles) and feasting. It is a cultural and spiritual experience that encourages community gathering and celebration.

“I love catering because it poses a challenge. I like it because it’s often in a barn or the fields. It’s cool to create a field kitchen and do things other people can't do,” said Alder.

Adler holds pride in the originality and value of Pow Wow Cafe’s food, including their famous brunch that has people lining up out the door on the weekends.

“This cuisine is not a trend, it's here to stay,” said Adler.

Pow Wow Cafe also supports the Kensington Market community by sourcing their produce from shops within the neighbourhood, as well as Indigenous suppliers.

The restaurant keeps the ingenuity of Indigenous food alive through a variety of dishes based around fry bread. This includes their extensive brunch menu that features eggs, oatmeal and more.

Pow Wow Cafe’s brunch, displayed on a wooden board, is a big hit with the locals and new visitors. (CanCulture/Bree Duwyn)

Adler’s plans are to further expand Pow Wow Cafe and continue to expose people to Indigenous cuisine.

“I knew in Toronto, there wasn't anyone doing cuisine like we were doing,” said Adler, “So I found this location and the rest is history,” he said.

You gotta try this…

Being someone who thoroughly enjoys food, I am always ready to try out new dishes. After being welcomed by the pleasant staff, I felt comfortably at home inside the cozy restaurant.

Adler advised me that the Indian taco topped with beef was the best choice if I wanted to enjoy a traditional experience.

The appetizers and Indian taco menu are displayed promptly on a chalkboard of Pow Wow Cafe’s wall. (CanCulture/Bree Duwyn)

The taco begins with sweet, melt in your mouth fry bread and beef chili topped with cumin sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cheese, jalapeños, cilantro, sprouts and flowers, including calendula and pansies.

A traditional beef Indian taco with all the fixings at the price of $15. (CanCulture/Bree Duwyn)

It was incredibly filling and delicious, not to mention wonderfully plated. All the elements of the taco went great together, producing an abundance of flavour and texture. The traditional beef Indian taco is definitely a perfect meal on a chilly day.

If you're not one for beef, Pow Wow Cafe also offers a chicken shawarma and seafood Indian taco. For any vegetarians, a red lentil coconut curry option is available.

The restaurant changes its menu often to offer various sensational combos of Indian tacos, but the traditional beef taco will always remain. It's definitely worth taking a trip to Kensington Market or stopping by Pow Wow Cafe whenever you're in the area to grab an authentic Indian taco or try their famous brunch.

Pow Wow Cafe is located at 213 Augusta Ave. and is open seven days a week.