Melitta recently hosted a coffee pairing seminar with Canadian foodie personality Trish Magwood preparing dishes with coffee and paring foods with coffee. Trish whipped up Spiced Nuts infused with coffee that were delicious, a rub for a steak that included coffee and and lots of yummy desserts including Chocolate Pots that were quick and easy [...]

Quelque Chose is the name of the Unibroue’s unique ale brewed with macerated cherries over several months. I had the opportunity to try it at the outdoor winter bar in Old Montreal during the Montreal Highlights Festival. The bottle suggests serving on ice as an aperitif or heated; yes, that’s right – I said hot [...]

Friday night was the Women and Wine party at the Fifth in Toronto. Our wine writer Anne Martin participated on the panel of foodie and wine-os competing in a culinary and wine know-it-all contest. Local food celebrities Lucy Waverman, Trish Magwood and Donna Doher among others also participated. Here are shots from a successful night [...]

Ice Cider is a hot trend for 2008 and just as apples are available across Canada so are the Ice Ciders with many delicious varieties to choose from. As we discovered in an informal test kitchen tasting, picking up just any bottle does not mean you are guaranteed a great quaff. What worked best were [...]

Sitting at the Interlaken Hotel bar in the Berkshire’s foothills, the couple next to me buys a drink. A middle-aged couple (their words not mine) having a weekend away from kids – the first in a long time. He announces his age is forty-two and he thinks he is too old to be out. He [...]

If you want to drink Champagne all night long but don’t have the budget for it, look for a cremant instead. It sparkling wine from France – made exactly the same way as Champagne but made from the grapes of the region where it is produced. The one pictured here is Chateau De Montgueret, Cremant [...]

A visit to Creemore Springs Brewery on Thursday incorporated a tour of the brewery, and a lovely beer inspired lunch in the boardroom catered by Eigensinn’s Farms and featuring farm raised suckling pig. Brew master, Gordon Fuller, is proud of the beer they are producing and it is evident that Molson’s influence has been an [...]

Here is the recipe for the Seelbach Cocktail I had Thursday night. I decided to share so you can have it as your holiday cocktail as well but if it becomes a hit trend of the season I’m taking credit!

Today is the first day of the 13th annual Gourmet Food and Wine Expo in Toronto. Purveyors from all over the world are here for the next four days to wine and dine and get as much exposure as they can for their products. My agenda is full – I cannot pack one more event [...]