Event Bubbles: Taste of Toronto

I, like most, have a deep love for food. I love that food can be more than itself, it brings people together, it can lead to discussion and it's usually found at the centre of life's milestones. Great food though starts with great taste. Toronto has one of the most dynamic and delicious food scenes in the world and this year was proud to be host to IMG's first North American Taste event. Taste Paris and London have been longtime culinary event staples and have tens of thousands of people attending with mouths watering.

I attended Taste of Toronto's first night last Thursday with an adventurous appetitte and a curious mind not knowing what to expect . Taste of Toronto operates with a neat "Crown Card" system, you preload your card at a booth, 1 dollar gives you 1 crown, then you go to all of the vendors and simply tap your card to pay for your dish. It made lines moves quickly as you didn't have to wait for the person ahead of you to enter a PIN, find exact change or ask for a copy of their receipt. As well any left over "crowns" were donated to the incredible charity Second Harvest. My only reservation to the system was having to wait in line at a kiosk to load my card, it would have been nice to have an automatic top up program linked to my credit card or an app on my phone.

Now that you have the system down let's move on to the important stuff, the foooooood. The menu offerings at Taste of Toronto were nothing short of incredible. Some of the city's best restaurants and chefs were offering their greatest hits as well as some unconventional spins on summertime classics. I started the night off at Splendido, with delicious Oysters with an apple, jalapeno topping, the oysters were shucked in front of me and were delectable. The oysters must have left a lasting impression on my taste buds because the remainder of my meals seemed to have a seafood theme...

McEwan's is a Toronto staple, the luxurious boutique grocer and Restaurant spread Mark McEwan has created is a five star experience. I knew I wanted to try some dishes from his tent and to my surprise I was served by Mark McEwan himself. I had the amazing lobster poutine and my partner had, what can only be described as "the best fried chicken ever". The fries were crispy and flavourful and the lobster was cooked to perfection, it made what is usually a late night meal incredibly luxe.

As we were enjoying our offerings from McEwan's I noticed what looked to be like a giant skillet that smelled divine. In front there was a countdown clock for Paella. If you're not familliar with Paella it's a spanish rice dish, it's incredibly flavourful topped with a variety of seafood or meat. This paella from Patria was a mouth watering masterpiece. Hands down the best paella I have ever had. The skillet was cleared in a matter of minutes and a quick, lengthy line up ensued, waiting for the countdown clock to be done.

After having indulged as much as I had, I decided to take a walk around and plan my next meal while enjoying a delicious Nespresso coffee from the Amex lounge. As I was walking I was fortunate enough to run into the creator and founder of one of my favourite blogs, Meghan Markle of The Tig. Many of you may recognise her as Rachel Zane in Bravo's Suits. The Tig "is a hub for the discerning palate - those with a hunger for food, travel, fashion & beauty."If you have not already checked it out I highly recommend it. Meghan was incredibly gracious and I was very pleased to have met her.

On our second round of tasting we headed over to Richmond Station, indulging in a charcuterie plate (gluten free if I may mention) and a Station burger. The charcuterie and pickles were yummy and was a nice tasting of what Richmond Station has to offer. The Burger was as gourmet as burgers can get, prime rib centre, oka cheese, beer chutney and served with a side of kettle chips. Making the summertime classic fresh but true to it's roots.

The night was winding down and it was time to say goodnight to the culinary delight that was Taste of Toronto. The organizer's were on point and had set up an arrangement with Uber where, included in your admission was a credit to ensure a safe taxi ride home. As well new members received an even larger credit. It was refreshing to see an event that celebrated it's purpose, in this case food, but took an ethical standpoint donating to a like minded charity- Second Harvest, as well as making the decision to be safe and take a cab home even easier. I look forward to next year's Taste of Toronto and I highly recommend you put it on your calendar.

#lifestyle