Save Your Fork… There’s Pie

We attended our last of three Harvest Wednesdays this past week. The schedule rotated through Tasting Nights at $12 each, which were cocktail-party style, Buffet Dinner at $38 each, which was pre-set seating and a huge buffet table, and the Harvest Dinner, the most expensive at $48 each - a family style dinner where you sit with strangers, and pass large platters of food.

The event continues every Wednesday at the nearby Gladstone Hotel until September 19th, which is the finale of a 7-course meal for $110 with proceeds of that night going to FoodShare a local organization that sells weekly boxes of produce to low income people.

The premise of Harvest Wednesdays is that the hotel works with a CSA, and Chef Marc Breton pulls together a menu with only a day’s notice. He has an idea of what he’ll be getting based on seasonality and talking to the farmer, but it’s only when the boxes of produce arrive on Tuesday that he can really put together the menu for that week’s event.

(more…)

Imagine the world without plastic bags. More importantly, try to imagine buying groceries without the things. Now, many people are quite able and willing to do this (I use a backpack and/or bundle buggy along with canvas bags) but for most people, no bags = dilemma.

Loblaws, a Canadian grocery chain, announced today that one of their stores in Milton, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto, would be the first bagless store in North America.

In its continued effort to become a more responsible GREEN retailer, and in response to Canadian consumer support for environmental initiatives, the new Milton Loblaw Superstore will be the first major grocery and general merchandise retail store in North America to eliminate traditional plastic grocery bags at the checkouts.

In April of this year, Loblaw Companies Limited made a commitment to reduce 1 billion plastic grocery bags from Canada’s landfills within one year. Reducing the amount of plastic grocery bags offered in stores, and offering more sustainable choices, will help achieve this goal. Currently, Ontarians use almost 80 plastic bags per second, close to 7 million plastic bags per day.

It should be noted that Loblaws sells their own version of a reusable grocery bag, as well as a “green box” which fits into store shopping carts and which holds 3 to 5 regular grocery bags. Each household in Milton was mailed a complimentary reusable bag, and a coupon for a free Green Box with a minimum $25 purchase. Additional bags will be sold at a “buy one get one free” price, and boxes at $1 off until October 6th, 2007. And of course, shoppers may bring in their own bags of any type.

The press release doesn’t say what happens to people who show up to buy groceries without reusable bags to carry their stuff home in. Reusable bags from all major Canadian grocery retailers have been selling well over the past few months since stores started offering them, but they’ve been selling well in part due to the fact that so many people buy the things and then forget them at home or on the trunk of the car. I seem to recall the PC bags being only $1 each, so presumably if forgetful customers want bags, they’ll have to buy new reusable ones.

The problem is that the Loblaws reusable bags are pretty bulky; they’re not something that would fold up easily in an average to small handbag or a pocket. You sort of have to plan to be going for groceries to really use them. So folks popping in to grab a few items for dinner on the way home from work may soon find that they’ve amassed quite a collection of reusable PC bags - all at $1 a pop.

And you know what does fold up easily in the bottom of a small purse or handbag? That’s right - a plastic grocery bag. Here’s betting the folks in Milton start hoarding the things and keeping them tucked in a pocket or purse for those last-minute supermarket trips.

In all of the talk about eating locally, we often forget that North America exports a huge amount of food to other countries. Some of it with strings attached.

CARE ­ a major international development NGO ­ has announced a major policy shift in their food aid strategy. The aid organization will no longer accept American federal financing for food aid. US food aid funding comes with strings attached ­ it requires that the funds be used to purchase American commodities which are then resold in developing countries to finance poverty reduction programmes. But the practice undermines agricultural production in these regions, perpetuating the need for food aid while supporting major American agribusiness firms. CARE now faces the formidable challenge of making up lost funding.

In order to support US farms and to have an end user for an awful lot of US-grown food that would otherwise go to waste (because despite the fact that in poorer US cities, many people don’t have access to a supermarket, the US actually grows more food than they can use), food aid to foreign countries is handed out not in the form of money for those countries to buy the food they want and need, but in the form of US-grown foodstuffs. The deal was always if you want aid, you must take it in the form of US commodities in order to qualify for the additional cash.

The New York Times reported last week that CARE has turned down $45 million a year in US financing.

CARE’s decision is focused on the practice of selling tons of often heavily subsidized American farm products in African countries that in some cases, it says, compete with the crops of struggling local farmers.
The charity says it will phase out its use of the practice by 2009. But it has already deeply divided the world of food aid and has spurred growing criticism of the practice as Congress considers a new farm bill.
“If someone wants to help you, they shouldn’t do it by destroying the very thing that they’re trying to promote,” said George Odo, a CARE official who grew disillusioned with the practice while supervising the sale of American wheat and vegetable oil in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.
Under the system, the United States government buys the goods from American agribusinesses, ships them overseas, mostly on American-flagged carriers, and then donates them to the aid groups as an indirect form of financing. The groups sell the products on the market in poor countries and use the money to finance their antipoverty programs. It amounts to about $180 million a year.
Neither the Bush administration nor members of Congress are looking to undo the practice, which has gone on for more than a decade. In fact, some of the nonprofit groups say it has worked well and are pressing for sharp increases in the amount of American food shipped for sale and distribution to support development programs.

Not all aid agencies agree with CARE’s decision and many will continue to accept US aid justifying the system by saying that they are able to sell off the commodities for a profit. But most NGOs agree that cash, which would allow more self-reliance and support of local crops in the country receiving aid, would do far more to strengthen the local economy there, allowing individuals to set up small businesses growing and selling crops that could compete with imports.

The original New York Times piece requires a member login, but it’s worth the read.

Welcome to everyone who has found the new home of Save Your Fork.

I’m still in the process of cleaning and tidying things up - the conversion from LiveJournal to WordPress mostly worked well but all of the LJ mark-ups need to be fixed.

Comments have also all been lost in the conversion, but given some of the squabbles that erupted, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

I will have new content within a few days, once I’m done with the housekeeping.

See you soon!

Other people find the image of Jesus in their toast, an inspiring, enlightening experience that at least nets them some cash on eBay. Me, I find things that look like deformed unborn children in my fingering potatoes.

I was gonna give it little eyes made from cloves but that only made it a gazillion times creepier.

Maybe I should search out all the deformed vegetable and set up a freakshow at the local Farmer’s Market. I’d call it the “Sidedish Sideshow.”

I’ve had this book sitting on my desk for so long that I’ve partially forgotten what the damn thing’s about. But it’s been sitting here because I’ve been meaning to write about it, because I not only enjoyed it but found it incredibly useful. Food bloggers will likely recognize the name Steven Shaw as the founder of eGullet, the foodie website.

As a restaurant critic and food writer, Shaw shares his insight into the restaurant biz with chapters on everything from how to get a reservation, everything you needed to know about the Open Table system - live in fear people, Open Table is like identity theft for diners - plus how a restaurant kitchen is run, and even how the supply chains work.

As an internet foodie himself, Shaw also has strong feelings in support of food bloggers and discusses how the internet is changing everything about food writing. He also looks at the changing evolution of the restaurant business, from a shift to high-end cuisine to chefs like Tom Collicchio opening sandwich chains, or the creation of a restaurant from scratch such as Grant Achatz’s Alinea.

The section on how to order sushi is not only amusing but truly informative, with descriptions of various cuts and styles that can make a novice sushi eater look like a pro.

If you enjoy eating out - and who doesn’t - I highly recommend Steven Shaw’s Turning the Tables - Restaurants From the Inside Out. There’s a lot of info here that is guaranteed to help every diner get the best dining experience their money can buy.

I saw an ad on TV the other night for Hellman’s Community Gardens. That is, Hellman’s mayonnaise.

Apparently Unilever the parent company, leased a number of empty lots in various cities across Canada, then sent out seed packets with an invitation to write a 150 word essay and submit it in a contest that would see a number of winners in each city.

The downside - the programme is a one-year project and is set to run only until September 15th, regardless of whether the gardeners still have crops in place.

Needless to say, a lot of people aren’t happy about this, accusing Hellman’s/Unilever of using community-oriented initiatives for their own corporate interests. In Halifax, The Coast, a weekly entertainment paper looked at the issue back in May:

“Hellmann’s wants to inspire Canadians to ‘eat for real’ by providing them with the space to grow their own fresh produce,” emailed Sharon MacLeod, the brand-building director at Hellmann’s Unilever Canada Inc.

As of two weeks ago, Hellmann’s had received more than 50 essays from Halifax residents eager to start gardening. But the company’s promotion has inspired something entirely different in at least one Haligonian—anger and scepticism.

“Community gardens are for people. They’re not for multinational corporations,” says north-end resident Geoff Tanner.

What bugs me the most is that, like so many corporations who contribute to various community-oriented programmes, Unilever has spent more money to tell the world about how wonderful and community-oriented they are than they did on the actual projects. Ads during prime time on national TV cost a helluva lot more than some dirt and the lease on a few otherwise vacant lots.

Most amusing of all is that I can’t find a peep about the community gardens project on the Unilever/Hellman’s website. Given the amount of backlash the Halifax garden seemed to create, this strikes me as a very similar set-up to the Nike “art gallery” that was created in Toronto’s Kensington Market a few years back where ongoing street protests drove them out before their limited lease was up. It was a complete bung-up and created a lot of bad press for Nike. I can only see the same thing happening for Hellman’s, especially if, as is indicated in the links, people will lose their gardens at their very peak of production.

Haligonians - or any of you folks with these Hellman’s Community Gardens nearby - how do you feel about being pawns to sell salad dressing?

We got this press release last week. Now that the cat’s out of the bag and it’s well-known that an awful lot of bottled waters are just plain ol’ tap water (and that plain ol’ tap water tastes better than the fancy imported stuff), bottled water companies are scrambling to keep their market share.

Evian is apparently working on the upscale snooty approach, attempting to lure wannabe celebutantes with a fancy bottle. They promise an elite hydration experience.

I have that every day. I drink my tap water out of a fancy glass. Elite… and free. Imagine.

Evian Introduces New “Palace” Bottle in Canada
Evian Natural Spring Water to Introduce New Bottle for Fine Dining

TORONTO, July 26 /CNW/ - Evian Natural Spring Water, the world’s leading brand of bottled water, is unveiling its new luxury Palace Bottle this month. Designed specifically for fine dining experiences, the Palace Bottle embodies the premium water’s unparalleled ability to provide consumers with an elite hydration experience. The new design will be featured in select hotels, restaurants, and clubs throughout the country.

“The Palace Bottle has been designed to represent the modern vision of Evian while maintaining a strong tie to our heritage in the French Alps,” said Michael Thouin, Brand Manager of Evian Canada. “We also created a unique pouring instrument called the Palace pourer, the first of its kind for the bottled water industry, designed to deliver on both form and function to provide a true luxury water experience.”

The Palace Bottle’s silhouette is sleek and contemporary, a smooth cylinder rising from a rendering of the magnificent French Alps. Clean lines and a crisp logo showcase the purity of the water itself. With the bottle’s stylish accessories, Evian becomes a unique fine dining drinking experience. The Palace pourer creates a poised, graceful gesture reminiscent of the water’s over 15-year-long journey from the top of the French Alps to the glass. In this setting, water is more than a beverage, it is a ‘Ceremony of Evian’.

The Palace Bottle is finding its way into Canada’s hottest restaurants, clubs and hotels. “Evian has always catered to Canadians that demand the highest quality and style in every experience, including restaurant dining,” said Thouin. “We are proud to offer Canadians an even more premium way to enjoy Evian.”

Creating new and innovative packaging is nothing new for Evian. The global bottled water leader has been involved in fashioning creative products and packaging for decades. Unique designs like the Nomad sports bottle, limited edition teardrop glass bottle, flip-cap bottle, 2007 French Alps bottle, hot pink label, and the 2006 limited edition Romero Britto glass bottle prove that Evian is committed to packaging that is firmly rooted in ingenuity and imagination. The upcoming release of the Palace Bottle highlights the brand’s commitment to providing creative appeal, premium style, and a luxurious experience to consumers.