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Today at Dundas Square, the Escoffier Society of Toronto hosted International Chefs Day selling food for $2.00 - $3.00 in support of Second Harvest. Second Harvest is a local charity in Toronto that delivers fresh surplus foods to all sorts of social service programs in the GTA that would otherwise be thrown away. And if you know me, you say the word "food" and "good cause" and I'm there.
I've never been much of a cook, in fact my first attempt with cooking Kraft Dinner, I turned it into soup. So needless to say, I am much better off tasting other people's food. It's kind of sad too because I constantly watch the food network on a daily basis and I have dreams sometimes of becoming the next Julia Child or Giada De Laurentiis, but alas, it's not my forté. Tasting other people's cooking though, now that's another story and that is exactly what today was for.
There were about eight booths set up for the different participating chefs showcasing their creations. Some of the food included things as simple as cheese platters to baby back ribs and lamb shanks. I tried the pulled pork sandwich.
It was rich in flavor and just enough seasonings and spice too. I've had pulled pork sandwiches before and they always seem to be either too salty or overly seasoned. This one was just right.
After food tasting, like every person with their secret guilty pleasure, mine is celebrity sightings. No matter how big or small the celebrity is, I get a high off of seeing one. It's exactly like when you see your teachers out of the classroom, you can't exactly comprehend why it's so astonishing, it just is. The celebrity sighting for today is former NHL player, Mr. Theo Fleury. He's been all over the sports news in the past week with the new release of his book, Playing With Fire, and today he was doing a book signing at Indigo in the Eaton Centre.
I haven't read the book itself, but I am planning to after hearing all about it. It's interesting to know what goes on off the ice with hockey players. I am a big fan of hockey and to me, all I see when I watch NHL games are exactly that, hockey players. So it's always interesting to see a side of them that we don't normally see during games. Fleury's book is a biography of his life as an NHL player but showcasing what went on behind the scenes as well. It's about the hardships he went through while living a very successful NHL career, which included a huge assist in leading the Calgary Flames to a Stanley Cup win back in 1989, to being a key player in the 2002 Olympics gold medal win for the men's hockey team and to having Wayne Gretzky stand by his side as his mentor. Fleury also talks about how he dealt with growing up poor, his addiction to drugs and the now famous story of how he had come so close to committing suicide. It definitely is a must read, and it's going on the top of my to-read list.
Also, may I add, if I wasn't such a celebrity snoop, I wouldn't have found out that Chef Michael Smith of Chef at Home and Chef Abroad is also doing a signing at Indigo on Wednesday for his book Chef at Home.
I am definitely very excited for that. If you watch the Food Network as religiously as I do, you would be too. This guy is a genius. He experiments with new flavors every time he cooks and he uses the most interesting ingredients every time. It's not your every day let's put a sprinkle of salt and a hint of rosemary in your soup kind of guy. No, Michael Smith is adventurous. He has a walk in closet of ingredients for his dishes, everything from tree bark syrup (yes apparently this exists) to paprika that can only be found in the caves of Chile and Guatemala (okay maybe I'm exaggerating with the last part, but if you watch the show, you'll understand... do they even have caves in Guatemala?)
If you're interested in attending the book signing, Chapters has the details.
Until my next adventure, happy reading and good night!
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