Urban Food Growers as Ultra-local Suppliers for Restaurants?
March 22nd 2019. 14:00 to 16:00March 22, 2019 - 2:00 to 4:00 pm
Evergreen Brickworks, Blakes Room, 550 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON M4W 3X8
Free event!
Who is not concerned by the food she/he eats?
Toronto is a lucky city: it is home of many local and urban growers who are willing to provide local, seasonal, organic and healthy food to Torontonians. What is the impact of these productions on the local economy? Are they large and reliable enough to supply local businesses such as restaurants? Is it possible and realistic for a restaurant to cook only with seasonal products? Are there specific crops and vegetables that urban growers should focuses on as cash crops? How to organize a local economy around urban food producers as suppliers to restaurants?
In this public discussion, Culinaria Research Centers (University of Toronto Scarborough) and the Cultural Service of the French Embassy (General Consulate of France in Toronto) gather around a same table specialists and Chefs to explore the potential of urban food growers in the local economy and in particular their role as local suppliers for restaurant:
- Chef Flora Mikula, Awarded French Provence Chef who opened her first restaurant, a Provencal bistro called Les Olivades, in 1996. In 2000, she opened a more gourmet restaurant, Les Saveurs de Flora. Since 2012, she has run her Parisian restaurant, l’Auberge Flora, offering guests bed and board in a one-of-a-kind urban inn. Her traveller’ side takes her in every corner of the world, from New- York to Saint-Barth via London, thanks to her work with the renowned Chefs such as Jean-Michel Lorrain (3 Michelin stars), Jean-Pierre Vigato (2 Michelin stars), Laurent Manrique (San Francisco, 2 Michelin stars) and she became the second of Alain Passard (3 Michelin stars in Paris) for 2 years. She has been awarded Chef of the year in 2009 by Pudlowski.
- Chef Brad Long, renowned Canadian chef with a career spanning over 30 years, Chef & Owner of Cafe Belong, Evergreen brickworks. Chef Long is a pioneer in advocating ethical, local, organic, and sustainable practices from dirt to dish and a strong, vocal leader in the national food scene. Long’s earlier accomplishments range from rebuilding the food and beverage program at the CN Tower to creating the culinary programs for the Air Canada Centre and one of Toronto’s finest dining rooms, The Platinum Club, as well as building a world street food program for Toronto FC’s BMO Field. As an experienced executive manager and leader, Long is often sought after to share his knowledge and passion for good food. Born and raised in the lakeside community of Port Dover, Ontario, eating locally grown food as a simple fact of family life, Long never strays from his deeply rooted belief that “Food is fuel, food is medicine, food is love.”
- Marina Queirolo, Senior Lead, Future Cities Canada Hubs, Evergreen Brickworks. Marina manages Evergreen’s initiatives related to food policy, public markets, and hubs. Marina developed Evergreen’s Food and Public Market Action Plan and created a suite of programs that promote food literacy, community development, local entrepreneurship, and place making.
- Prof Daniel Bender (moderator), Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Global Culture and Director of Culinaria Research Centre. A cultural historian of culture, food, and empire, Bender has been teaching food history courses at UTSC for almost a decade.
- Tinashe Kanengoni- Currently Project Coordinator of the ENRICH Project at the Centre for Immigrants and Community Services (CICS) in Scarborough. The project is a food security and social capital building initiative focused on supporting and enabling newcomer and recent immigrant settlement and integration. Tinashe is also an experienced organic market gardener who has worked with the Afri-Can Food Basket at the Black Creek Community Farm where they supplied ethno-centric restaurants with Okra and Amaranth.
- James Kuhns works in food security and urban agriculture related activities. He is the Co-coordinator of Toronto Urban Growers and an associate of the Ryerson Centre for Studies in Food Security, where he teaches courses on urban agriculture.
Place is limited so please register (free).
This event is co-sponsored by Culinaria Research Centre and the French Consulate in Toronto, and in partnership with Evergreen Brickworks.