This year’s second ever “Slow Food” Picnic at Toronto’s Evergreen Brick Works is quickly becoming the city’s white-hot red letter day food event. In an effort to expose our taste buds to “what we’re missing as a modern society” in our mad dash to industrialize the heck out of anything edible, the Picnic is an opportunity to savour something a little more thoughtful, a little more slowly prepared.
And that suits the roughly 1000 plus visitors that chose to celebrate almost the end of summer with a day that could rival a July in Vietnam on the humidity front just fine. Touted as an eco-gastronomic event, the picnic did a few things very well- it offered the requisite pamphlets and postcards (a tired looking apple that said: “Say No to Jet Lagged Food” was a personal favourite), Toronto’s finest tap water (not one bottle of water was available at the event) and a spate of terrific edibles. The latter had the happy effect of converting some skeptics (that looked like they were dragged along by food-enthusiast partners) that perhaps seasonal and local might just be better- at least better tasting!
Big Name Chefs and Super Star Farmers/Artisan Producers
Many of the big hitters were there- Jamie Kennedy, Marc Thuet, Brad Long, Jeff Crump, Michael Stadtlander, Anne Yarymowich, Mark Cutrara, Jason Bangerter, Anthony Walsh, David Lee and Patrick McMurray to name but a few of the area’s top chefs in attendance. But this year, it’s the farmers/artisanal producers who shine as the food world’s new "rock star" and NOT the chef.
