2011 Festival Archive

Official Festival Poster

Poster 2011

Festival Vendors

Chefs

Ilyan Balicki – Culinary Enthusiast,  Chocosol Traders.  prepared garlic chocolate mole tortillas with refried beans, goat chevre, fresh arugula, toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds and maple-chili spice.

  

Rodney Bowers – “Delinquent Chef” on Food Network, Executive Chef/Owner Hey Meatbal. Offered variations on the classic meatball.

  

Chandra Deen – Owner, Chandra Food Products and Sauces. Served chicken curry samosa, potatoe samosa, and vegetable curry samosas, with garlic.

 

Brad Long – (Restaurant Makeover” on Food Network), Executive Chef/owner, Belong Café. Served mini-garlic pasteured beef burgers.

  

Sanjiz Mathews – Chef at King Edward Hotel and Owner, Incredible Spice. Chef Sanjiz served fresh dosa with tomato chutney, Boatmans Chicken, Kebabs, Kashmiri Saffron Rice with golden butter fried garlic, Lasooni Dal, and Vegetable Pakoras.

 

Pascal Poilbout – Chef/Owner, Organic Crepe, cooked mushroom, onion and garlic crepes, chicken crepes, and caramel and sea salt dessert crepes.

 

Jack Sobocinski – Chef de Cuisine, Canada’s National Ballet School, showed step-by-step how to prepare pork tenderloin with garlic and herbs.

 

Anne Sorrenti – Chef, Wychwood Farmers’ Market, showed kids how to make bruschetta on olive oil and garlic rubbed baguette.

 

Marcia Sterling – Chef/Owner, Shanty’s Kitchen. Served Caribbean specialties, including their beef patties.

 

Maurizio Verga – Executive Chef, F’Amelia Ristorante, ran a demonstration on making Spaghetti et Aglio e Olio.    

Specialty Vendors

Add Love & Stir – A dry spice mix when mixed with yogurt or sour cream creates a wonderful garlic/sweet red pepper dip mix, called “Roasted Duo’s”.

Brian Hamlin Honey – Unpasteurized honey from Toronto region and First nations, and organic spice infused honey.

Busy Liz’s Farm Shop – Music garlic, fudge, pickled garlic and scapes, jellies, dressings and vinaigrettes using garlic.  

Chetty’s Hot Sauce – made with natural ingredients, including Ontario garlic.  

Evelyn’s Kitchen – the Garlic Grater.  

From These Roots – delicious hand made jams and salsas, and “Peter’s Garlic Scapes.” 

Garlic King – their specially prepared garlic spread.  

Harvey’s Honeys – garlic flavoured honey.

Heritage Line Herbs – dried herbs and blends, herb teas, herb jams and jellies, and garlic mustard.  

Koopeh Designs – garlic chop, garlic peel and garlic keep.  

Moose River Chamois Company – garlic grater ceramic plate, garlic brush, garlic peeler.  

Pepper Brew – unique and flavourful pepper sauces.  

Sarafino Imports – First Estate olive oil. 

Artisans & Other Specialty Product Vendors

Carolyn Showler Pottery – assorted hand-made pottery items.  

 

City of Toronto – “HTO TO GO” water trailer.  

 

Enviro Threads – garlic aprons, oven mitts, food storage bags and more.  

 

Live Green Toronto – info on environmental programs at City of Toronto.  

 

Neob Lavendar – Brownie mix, honey, syrup, sugar, sponge toffee, all made with lavender

Farmers

Cec Andrus – Rockfield Farm & Horselogging – Boulter, Ontario. Music garlic harvested with his horse-driven farm implements.  

 

Bob Baloch – The Fresh VeggiesFarmStart/Brampton, Ontario.  Grows 32 strains of garlic, including Belarus, Brown Saxon, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Music, Persian, Rosewood, Salt Spring, Sicilian (Soft-neck), Ukrainian & Yugoslavian.  

 

Elly Blanchard – Railway Creek Farms, Madoc. Various garlic varieties, garlic powder, and garlic braids.  

 

Les Bowser & Shannon Holton – Cedar Grove Organic Farm & Kawartha Ecological Growers, Omemee. Seven strains of garlic, including Music, Ukrainian, Romanian, California, Grassroot and Russian Star.  

 

Ken Best – Best Berry Farm, Norwood. Miscellaneous garlic.  

 

Simon de Boer – Langside Farms Ltd, Teeswater. Fresh table garlic and seed garlic. Certified organic.  

 

Bart and Lisa Brusse – Love Ontario Garlic, Hillsburgh. Several varieties of naturally grown garlic, for seed and table garlic; and preserves, butter, kitchen gadgets and books.  

 

Jerome Charlebois – Frenchy’s Garlic Acres, Penetanguishene – Table garlic and seed garlic from sixteen strains from the Rocambole, Porcelain, Purple Stripe, Artichoke and Silverskin varieties. Also garlic braids, pickled garlic, garlic powder and jellies.  

 

Al Cowan – Aranhill Garlic Farm, Allenford. Fresh garlic, garlic braids, garlic seed, and roasted garlic. Alsom shallots and processed scapes.  

 

Sheri and Julie Fleischauer – Golden Acres Farm – Gadshill. 20 strains of certified organic garlic seed, garlic bulbil capsules, Sheri’s handmade baskets, garlic jewellry, garlic aprons, and folk and fine art.  

 

JP Gural & So Young Lee – Samsara Fields, Waterford. Grows Music, Russian Red, German and Ontario Red garlic.  

 

Dale & Elisa Lukas – The Cobblestone Farm, Paris. Grows Siberian, Hungarian, Portuguese and Russian Red garlic, plus various hot peppers.

  

Reicza Ham – Reicza’ Rocambole, Gadshill. Music and a selection of heirloom strains.  

 

Johann & Maggie Kleinsasser, Whole Circle Farm, Acton. Grows Music garlic grown on their organic/biodynamic farm.  

 

Bob Litke – Bob’s Garlic, Nithburg. Grows several strains of garlic, for table and planting (many are rare and heirloom varieties from Seeds of Diversity).  

 

Tony McNamara – Acadian Shamrock Farm, Chatsworth Township. Garlic braids (Music strain), pickled garlic scapes,garlic jellies, garlic scape relish, garlic scape spice, garlic dill pickes.  

 

Bob Romaniuk – Northfield Agri-Products Inc, Scotland, Ontario. Music garlic.  

 

Christine Stevenson – Ashburnham Farm – Gaelic Garlic, Bailieboro, Ontario. Garlic bulbs, garlic scape, pesto, and garlic presses. 

 

Andrew Sharko – Hidden Meadows Farm, Caledon Village. Table and seed garlic from Music strain. Also pickled garlic scapes, garli dill pickles, pesto, various jams, jellies and chutneys, and vegetables and herbs including beans, beets, carrots, chard, tomaotoes, melons, ground cherries (Physalis Pruinosa) and herbs. 

 

Vince Steep and Michael Steep – Killaloe Organic Garlic Farm – Killaloe. Organic garlic including Siberian and Music, and garlic seed planting kits.  

 

Mark Wales – Aylmer. Music garlic bulbs and braids, blueberries, sweet and hot peppers, spanish and red onions, eggplants and tomatoes.  

Festival Programming

Speakers' Corner

Cooking Demonstrations

  

10:00 to 10:45 AM: Chef Anne Sorrenti Cooking Demo: Bruschetta (for kids). Wychwood Farmers’ Market chef Anne Sorrenti will show kids (and adults) how to make Bruschetta (this repeats at 2:20 PM)  

 

10:45 to 11:15 AM: Krista Harrington All About Pickling. Enjoy a classic garlic dill pickle workshop by From These Roots owner Krista Harrington (repeats at 1:30 PM) 

 

12:30 to 1:00 PM: Chef Maurizio Verga Cooking Demo: Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. Executive Chef Maurizia Verga from F’Amelia Ristorante will prepares the classic Spaghetti with Garlic and Olive Oil 

 

12:45 to 1:15 PM: Chef Tony Way Cooking Demo: Pumpkin & Garlic Bisque with Roast Garlic Mousilline. Chef Way from Liaison Culinary School shows step-by-step how to make this delicious bisque 

 

1:00 to 1:30 PM: Chef de Cuisine Jack Sobicinski Cooking Demo: Pork Tenderloin with Garlic and Herbs. Chef de Cuisine Sobocinski from Canada’s National Ballet School shows how to make one of his favorite dishes. 

 

1:30 to 2:15: Krista Harrington All About Pickling. Enjoy a classic garlic dill pickle workshop by From These Roots owner Krista Harrington (also at 10:45 AM)

 

2:30 to 3:15: Chef Anne Sorrenti Cooking Demo: Bruschetta (for kids). Wychwood Farmers’ Market chef Anne Sorrenti will show kids (and adults) how to make Bruschetta (also at 10:00 AM) 

 

All Day: Chef Sanjiz Matthews Cooking Demo: Indian dishes. Chef Sanjiz Matthews, owner, Incredible Spice, gives demonstrations in the preparation of Indian dishes throughout the day 

 

Presentations Presenter Topic or Demo Details 

 

10:00 to 10:30 AM: Robert Litke From Tienshan to Toronto: The History of Garlic. Grower Robert Litke takes us on a journey through time  

 

12:00 to 12:30 PM: Angelo Tramonti Speaking of Olive Oil. Certified olive oil taster and owner, Angelo Tramonti offers valuable insights in the world of olive oil 

 

12:45 to 1:30 PM: A.R. Stevenson How to Control Garlic Pests. A.R. Stevenson, garlic farmer and owner, Ashburnham Farm & Gaelic Garlic, will present issues and solutions on garlic pests 

 

2:30 to 3:00 PM: Robert Litke Tips on Growing Great Garlic in the City. Robert will pass out a few bulbs of his rare garlic strains to those attending his talk (for planting, not eating!) 

 

All Day: Live Green Toronto Interactive Food Planting demo located at the Live Green Toronto stall 

Speaker Bios

Robert Litke, Gadshill, Ontario.  A professor of philosophy, Bob Litke teaches environmental philosophy at Wilfred Laurier University. Robert claims that “Growing garlic is a way to not just talk about biodiversity but to engage in it.” While having his head in the clouds he also has his boots on the ground, weeding and checking on the diverse range of plants in his garlic field.  

 

A.R Stevenson, Owner, Ashburnham Farm & Gaelic Garlic. Mr. Stevenson has a have a chemistry and math background and worked in the computer industry since 1971. Helived in the UK for many years, worked in Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong, the US and Canada. In 1998 he began restoring an abandoned drumlin-based farm in Peterborough County and started growing garlic commercially in 2004. He’s been experimenting with bulbils planting for a number of years and now using it to raise base stock. He became aware of the leek moth last year in another local farm and the widespread impact of it in Peterborough County this summer.  

 

Angelo Tramonti, President, Sarafino. Angelo has a passion for food and sustainability. Growing up he remembers planting seeds and picking weeds in the family garden instead of playing sports with his friends. This is something he now appreciates, as gardening has become a part of his lifestyle, stress relief and an important source of his nutrients. Angelo believes that if you do what you love and love what you do, you will never work a day in your life! Sarafino began in 2000 from a need to make real food more accessible to the general public while increasing the value of real olive oil. It felt right promoting what his family was doing in Italy and it just grew from there. Angelo strives to promote and protect traditional farming practices and artisanal food production. His goal is the help bring balance back into human lives, which in turn will bring balance to the Earth. He believes we must first heal ourselves before we can heal the planet.  

 

2014 Toronto Garlic Festival – Sunday, September 21, 2014, 9 AM to 5 PM at Evergreen Brick Works. During the festival take the free festival shuttle bus from the parkette beside Broadview Subway station. Bus leaves every ten minutes! 

Visitor Comments

“Great event. Lots to learn. Lots to taste.” 

 

“Fabulous festival – 5 Lbs of garlic might last me!” 

 

“Just wanted to let you know that my friend and I learned so much yesterday about the one flavor we both love, thank you. All of the vendors were friendly and informative and the food (crepes) yummy. Hope to see you at the second annual garlic fest.” 

 

“The garlic burgers were perfect” 

 

“Enjoyed the walk and yummy garlic pesto.” 

 

“We had a great time walking around. We bought a good supply of garlic, and we also purchased a jar of pickled garlic scapes… we also ran into some friends who were similarly having a great time taking it all in… I’m really looking forward to attending this festival for years to come.” 

 

“I was at the Toronto Garlic Festival and enjoyed every minute of it!  I’m looking forward to next year’s festival and I hope it will be bigger and better. That may be a challenge but give it a try!”

 

“Love the garlic ice cream and garlic fudge.” 

 

“We’re all the more excited to go home and plant.” 

 

“I think it will only get busier next year as more people recount the experience and the great opportunity to get great garlic.”  

Blog Posts

“…for me it’s a dream. Seeing the big Brickworks shed filled with garlic stand after garlic stand filled me with joy and excitement, and I was quickly shelling out money to purchase garlic varieties and concoctions…”https://untilweeatagain.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/impressions-from-the-1st-annual-toronto-garlic-festival/”>untilweeatagain.wordpress.com

 

” Civic engagement…can be as simple as …taking a date to the Garlic Festival.”https://origin.avclub.com/toronto/articles/relax-toronto-you-have-the-av-club-now,61907/”>origin.avclub.com

 

“There was much to see, learn and taste. There was garlic jelly, garlic scape pesto (very yummy), garlic honey (intriguing) and even garlic ice cream. — ”asaltedlife.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/toronto-garlic-festival/”>asaltedlife.wordpress.com 

 

“This past Sunday we went to the Toronto Garlic Festival and it was buzzing with people and vendors…It was great to see everyone, and Toronto was definitely the place to be to enjoy Canadian Culture and Canadian Hospitality.”https://thecobblestonefarmparis.blogspot.com/search?q=toronto+garlic+festival”>thecobblestonefarmparis.blogspot.com

 

“Patrons came from across the city to try the different delicacies, take in cooking demonstrations and learn about the importance of using Ontario garlic.”https://www.thedailyplanet.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6602:vampires-flee-the-brick-works-as-garlic-festival-settles-in&catid=19:off-campus-news&Itemid=261″>thedailyplanet.com 

 

Toronto’s first ever Garlic Festival is being called a success after attracting more than 5,000 visitors, 52 vendors and a host of popular cooking demonstrations this past Sunday, Sept. 25.”http://blogs.canoe.ca/travel/general/wake-up-and-smell-the-garlic/”>blogs.canoe.ca 

 

“Garlic is delicious.”http://katethehunter.blogspot.com/2011/09/garlic-breath.html%20″>katethehunter.blogspot.com 

 

“In addition to the braids and bunches and bags of garlic you could buy, there was also a selection of delicious food containing garlic to eat.”http://beehivecraftcollective.blogspot.com”>beehivecraftcollective.blogspot.com 

 

“He’d just started his lecture about the differences between hard neck and soft neck varieties, what’s popular, how well different types keep… He’s a professor of environmental philosophy at Wilfred Laurier University, and a garlic grower. Full house: not a seat was empty.”http://www.flickr.com/photos/digiteyes/6185310455/”>flickr.com 

 

“I went on a fun adventure today with some friends to Toronto’s Brick Works to check out it’s first annual garlic festival.”http://www.theurbangirlscrapbook.ca/?p=1122″>theurbangirlscrapbook.ca 

 

“And now Toronto has its own garlic festival.”http://www.theurbangirlscrapbook.ca/?p=1122″>canadianfoodiegirl.com

 

“Ten tastes to try before you die: Garlic & Chocolate BBQ Ribs by Toronto Garlic Festival”http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/summer/festivals.cfm?id=3323”>harbourfrontcentre.com 

 

“If one eats garlic, both must eat garlic. Erase first-date jitters at the Toronto Garlic festival.”http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/156390–5-things-to-do-this-weekend-read-up-at-word-on-the-street-and-find-new-frocks-at-the-clothing-show”>citytv.com 

 

“Ontario garlic deserves our support. ”http://fiestafarms.ca/6085/food/ontario-garlic-deserves-our-support”>fiestafarms.ca 

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