The Adventures of Dwarf and Gnome

More Looneyspoons recipes for fun and exciting healthy dinners :) This is a really neat book... next week I will have to branch out to another of my new books.... just need to decide between Jamie Oliver and Food Network.... decisions, decisions :)

As a lover of all things culinary the Savour Stratford weekend, which was Sept 24th and 25th, was the ultimate experience for me. I spent almost all day each day attending demonstrations, sampling food and imursing myself in the experience.

Saturday

The first thing we attended was the Stratford Best Chef competition. The winner was Francisco Alejandri, graduate of the Stratford Chef School and owner of Agave Y Aguacate in Toronto,  and he was challenged by Chef Janet Ashworth of County Food Co. in Stratford.

The judges for the "Best Chef" competition included Chef Chuck Hughes, from the Food Network Canada’s Chuck’s Day Off, Jennifer McLagen, Author of Odd Bits, Bonnie Munday, Editor-in-Chief of Best Health Magazine and Chef Nick Benninger from Nick and Nat's Uptown 21, Kitchener.

After the competition we went off in search of food... we found Papusas whichs is like a corn pancake stuffed with stuff, we hadd veggie and cheese. 

We walked through the farmers market and charity BBQ area and got ourselves some more food, I had BBQ'd corn on the cob with fresh Whey butter and Paul had a Goat Cheese and Apple Grilled Cheese. Both were amazing.

Later in the day we attended Chef Chuck Hughes demo, Chuck stars in his own show on Food Network called Chuck's Day Off so it was very exciting to see him in person, I even got to chat with him and get a picture.

After Chucks Demo I chatted briefly with Top Chef Canada competitor Connie DeSouza and managed to get a picture with her as well. 

With such a long day under our belts we decided to head home and relax for the evening, to get ready for the next day.

Sunday

Sunday was a little more structured. We arrived in time for a wonderful presentation by a "local" Irish Chef Denis Cotter. This presentation was so inspiring becasue he showed us how to take everyday Mash (mashed potatoes) and turn them into a main dish like you would pasta or risotto. Denis is also a vegetarian chef so this provided me with some more new ideas for healthy hearty dishes. I picked up his latest book, which he signed for me, and I am going to be trying out some recipes soon.

The main event on Sunday at the festival is the Tasting Tent, this is a extra paid event but it is worth every penny. "The jewel event in the Savour Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival crown, our signature tasting event is both classic and edgy, pairing our region's finest farmers and artisans with exquisitely talented, local chefs. The result is nothing short of mouth-watering."

"This year the culinary pairings will be competing to win six culinary awards (People's Choice Award, Best Meat Dish, Best Vegetarian Dish, Most Creative Dish, Best Beverage and Best Dessert Dish)

The winners were:

• The People’s Choice Award – Chef Jamie Craig, Wildstone Bar & Grill with Miss Fosters Popcorn and Good Luck Farms - Pickled heirloom tomato with garlic and herbed cheese on a fried wonton finished with micro sprouts
• The Best Meat Dish – “Porkapoluza “ by Chef Nick Benninger from Nick and Nat's Uptown 21 and Perth Pork Products
• The Best Vegetarian Dish – Chef Aaron Linley, Bijou with Weth Mushrooms - Organic Mushroom Pops with Tomatillo Relish
• Most Creative Dish – Chef Mark Brown, Stone Maiden Inn with Koert Organics - Butternut Squash Ice Cream with Black Walnut Shortbread and Dave Koert's Organic Maple Butter
• The Best Beverage – Tea Sommelier, Karen Hartwick from Tea Leaves Tea Tasting Bar - Ontario Savoury Herbal Tea
• The Best Dessert – Chef Rene Delafranier, Rene's Bistro with C'est Bon Cheese Limited - C'est Bon Chevre Panna Cotta

I must say my Favorite was the Fried Risotto Balls from Pazzo and the Monteforte Cheese Filled Donuts... those were amazing. I also found a new favorite Lime Beer from Big Rock Brewery.

All and All the weekend was an amazing success and an incredible inspiring experience for a home chef and beginner food blogger. I encourage everyone to check out the events and mark your calendars for next year. The focus is fresh and local food, where to find it and how to cook it... this is very importantto me because without wonderful farmers food just isn't the same.

Next years festival has been set for September 22 – 23.