I will be at the Good Food Festival this weekend with the whole Canadian Living Test Kitchen team where we will be demonstrating our “Tested Till Perfect” recipes and techniques on stage and interacting with our readers. Saturday afternoon I’ll be at the Canadian Living Stage making good use of my years of pastry training by showing the audience how to mask a cake and use a pastry bag. I will be giving away prizes but you need to come to the show to find out how to win!
It’s a great show and there’s always lots of good food to be had. Come to the International Centre, Hall 5 and say hello. The tickets are only $12, kids under 12 get in for free and there is free parking. The show runs from Friday to Sunday and it’s a fun way to spend the afternoon.
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Sadly, the Good Food Festival was a disappointment this year.
No offense, but I shouldn’t have the time to sit through 3 Canadian Living demonstrations (in a row!). We did get a little drama when one of the demonstrators forgot to turn off the mike and started badmouthing the “persnickity” audience. And of course, the case of the mystery mixer bowl, but I should be scouring the aisles, going back to stuff my face with amazing new foods.
The best tasting thing was the $2 peameal bacon sandwich, but sadly, I don’t remember the name of the mustard that they were promoting. The chocolate cake that you demonstrated was a close second.
Overall, the show felt smaller, the lines felt longer, and the crowds were more prone to cut in line.
There wasn’t anything that jumped out at me like in previous years, and actual new products were mainly blah, and just a little off.
Healthy new products that I noticed:
Soy pudding? Weird texture.
Yogurt with Protein? I liked it okay, but my wife thought it had a weird texture.
Tofu ice cream? Even the chocolate dipped mint ice cream bar was actually bland.
New beverages:
Acai. I saw at least 3 different products with this in it, but let’s face it, when they start putting into energey drinks, it’s just a fad.
Tea. Sadly, tea’s become another fad drink with lots of different flavours. I did really enjoy the Green Tea with Barley though.
Even where we got to pick the best foods was a little weak. Some categories had only one entry, and they really should limit the entrants to new products. As much as I love apple butter, it shouldn’t be a nominee several years in a row.
I also miss the festivals of past when you could get a picture autographed by Captain Highliner, or get close (and relatively personal) with other food celebrities.
Of course, I will be back next year, but only because I believe in 2nd chances.
- frank
Comment by Frank Yao — April 27, 2008 @ 10:38 pm
I enjoy the show every year, but some years are better than others, and this year was not one of the better ones. I agree with Frank, there did seem to be less venders. The line ups were less around dinner time.
I always enjoy the Canadian Living stage. The “how to ice a cake” demonstration was great.
Comment by Sharon — April 28, 2008 @ 11:20 am