Kingston - Winter 2015

& 1000 ISLAND

INGSTO

A family business

ON THE RISE

THE BREAD & BUTTER BAKERY

CELEBRATING CANADIAN CINEMA KINGSTON’S FILM FESTIVAL

TODAY MAGAZINE

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WELCOME TO KINGSTON Welcome to Kingston, known as the Limestone City, home to the 1000 Islands, and Canada’s fi rst capital!

Thank you for selecting Kingston as your travel destination. During your stay I hope you find the opportunity to explore all that our historic City has to offer. You will discover Kingston is home to the region’s best cultural attractions: museums, galleries and historic sites, including Fort Henry, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With one of the highest numbers of restaurants and pubs per capita, I know you will enjoy your stay in our community!

This year we are especially pleased to have you with us as we commemorate a Father of Confederation, Canada’s first Prime Minister and our most famous Kingstonian, Sir John A. Macdonald. 2015 marks the bicentenary of his birth and our community has planned

a number of projects, programs and events throughout the year to mark the occasion, to learn more please visit canadacomeshome.ca I look forward to welcoming you back soon for one of our great festivals, such as the Limestone City Blues Fest, the Buskers Rendezvous, FebFest, Kingston WritersFest, First Capital Day, or the Sheep Dog Trials.

Enjoy your stay in Kingston!

Sincerely,

Sincerely,

Bryan Paterson, Mayor

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ONTENT 12

PUBLISHER Rev Publishing Inc. PRESIDENT & CEO Daniel A. Pasco SALES REPRESENTATIVES David Gibson Michael Koval Alexandra Mills Sarajane Trier Ron Bowen Carmen Toromino Shannon Panaro Gail Cerrone EDITOR Megan Pasche PRODUCTION MANAGER Tina Lanzillotta GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Tabitha MacDonald Rachel Bertrand IT/WEB DEVELOPER Justin Soungie BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Dave Mace MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Cortney Gusek CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mariana Bockarova Andrew Hind & Maria Da Silva Lynn Ogryzlo Lauren Charley Gabrielle Tieman Evan Saviolidis TO ADVERTISE PLEASE CALL 905.356.7283 or 1.877.888.2825 WEBSITE todaymagazine.ca

facebook.com/RevPublishingInc @revpublishing www.revpublishing.com Today Magazine: Kingston & 1000 Islands is published by Rev Publishing Inc. All opinions expressed in Seneca Magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of Today Magazine: Kingston & 1000 Islands, it’s employees or owners.

Reasonable care is taken to ensure that the information contained in this magazine is as up-to-date and accurate as possible, as of the time of publication, but no responsibility can be taken by Today Magazine: Kingston & 1000 Islands for any errors, omissions or comments made by writers or interviewees that are contained herein. Furthermore, responsibility for any losses, damages or distress resulting from adherence to any information made available through this magazine is not the responsibility of Today Magazine: Kingston & 1000 Islands. All unsolicited manuscripts and/or photographs submitted are assumed to be intended for publication or republication in whole or in part. The right to alter, edit or refuse photos and/or manuscripts intended for publication is assumed. All unsolicited material submitted to Today Magazine: Kingston & 1000 Islands are submitted at the author’s risk. Manuscripts and or photographs intended to be returned must be accompanied by sufficient postage. Today Magazine: Kingston & 1000 Islands does not assume any responsibility for any claims of our advertisers and reserves the right to refuse any advertising.

FOOD & DRINK 16

CANADIAN WHISKY

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MY HOT CHOCOLATE LOVE AFFAIR

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EVANS WINE RATINGS

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BAKING BETTER BROWNIES

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FOUR SEASONS OF APPLES

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THE MEAT OF THE MATTER

Still the best selling whisky in North America Searching the globe for the best hot chocolate Some of the world’s best wines Brownie loyalty: there’s no such thing It’s a year round fruit

Making mouth watering ribs

ABOUT TOWN 39

JOHN A. MACDONALD

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COOKES FINE FOODS

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BREAD & BUTTER BAKERY

Celebrating our founding father Kingston’s destination shop From their family to yours

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE 54

WHY WE LIKE WHAT WE LIKE

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30 DAYS OF DASHION

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DISCONNECTED

The psychology behind how we develop our personal tastes The goal: 30 days to a more stylish and confident you Mariana gives up her cell phone for three months

HERE. SEE. DO 76

OUT & ABOUT

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KINGSTON FILM FESTIVAL

Kingston event listings Celebrating the small but fierce

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ANDREW HIND & MARIA DA SILVA

LAUREN CHARLEY

Andrew and Maria are freelance writers specializing in travel, history and lifestyle. They have a passion for new adventures and experiences, and for exploring little known stories. Andrew is never without a book or three in hand, and some obscure historical fact at the tip of his tongue. Maria is a natural storyteller who loves the paranormal, cooking and good wine (mostly, she’ll say, for putting up with Andrew). You should follow them @discoveriesAM.

Lauren graduated from The University of Western Ontario with an honours BA.in Media Studies, where she also completed many creative and journalistic writing courses. She loves to travel, meet new people, and take too many pictures! Currently Lauren is learning to speak Mandarin. She lives for the summertime, vacations, and anything involving lots of sunshine!

CONTRIBUTORS

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GABRIELLE TIEMAN

LYNN OGRYZLO

Gabrielle is a writer with REV Publishing and holds a passion for covering travel and event pieces. She is always up for an adventure and loves meeting new people but also maintains close relationships with her Keurig and bicycle. Her favorite time of year is scarf season and she has easily watched the movie Armageddon 200 times. You should follow her @ gabrielletieman

Lynn is a food, wine and travel writer, author of three international award-winning cookbooks and regular contributor to REV Publications.

Lynn specializes in culinary tourism covering regional cuisine destinations, slow food, culinary holidays, wine, spirits and “la dolca vita”. She can be reached for questions or comments at lynnogryzlo.com.

MARIANA BOCKAROVA Mariana Bockarova is a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto, where she teaches Psychological Resiliency, the Science of Happiness, and the Psychology of Relationships.

Her research explores narrative medicine and mental health.

She also holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University concentrated in Psychology.

NOTES

Welcome to the winter edition of Kingston & 1000 Islands

by Today Magazine. As a tourism publication, we bring you in depth articles on all the best things to see and do during your visit to Kingston and the Thousand Islands.

Getting outside in the wintertime can be a little challenging; it is after all, easier to stay in, stay warm and just hibernate, but despite the temperature dip, there are still plenty of reasons to get bundled up and get outside.

Kingston is a beautiful, interesting city, so make the most of it during your visit!

MEGANPASCHE

The Kingston Canadian Film Festival is happening at the end of February, and you can read all about it on page 80. Cooke’s Fine Foods (pg 42) and the Bread and Butter Bakery (pg 48), are the perfect places to stop in and get away from the winter chill, and Kingston is currently abuzz, celebrating the bicentennial of John A. Macdonald (pg 39).

Have a great winter season, and I hope you enjoy this issue of Today Magazine: Kingston & 1000 Islands.

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FOOD & DRINK

CANADIAN

whisky STILL THE BEST SELLING WHISKY IN NORTH AMERICA

“G

BY LYNN OGRYZLO

imme a whisky with ginger ale on the side and don’t be stingy, baby,” utters Greta Garbo in the 1930’s Anna Christie movie. Although Greta tried, whisky has mainly remained a mans drink lining the mahogany shelves of men’s clubs, guzzled by gangsters and favoured by cowboys. Garbo would be pleased to know that today, more women are drinking whisky than ever before.

If you thought whiskey making in Canada hailed from Scottish roots, think again. In Davin de Kergommeaux’s latest book, Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert, he claims the fi rst commercial whisky distillers were mostly Americans of English or German descent who were keen to expand business opportunities here in Canada. As for those Scottish and Irish immigrants we thought brought us the golden liquid over ice? Well, they were certainly some of Canada’s most enthusiastic consumers of it.

According to regulations, Canadian whisky must be aged for at least three years, however most are aged 6 to 8 years and are double distilled. The fi nal product is almost always a blended whisky, which produces a rich and complex product.

Canadian whisky and rye whisky is not the same thing as whisky can be made from rye, corn, barley, wheat and other grains. However rye whisky made in Canada is a superstar winning international awards and outselling any other whisky in the U.S.A. In fact, Americans consume a whopping 73% of the whisky produced in Canada.

When it comes to Canadian whisky, we often forget the iconic names are of family dynasties and individuals as well as products. The distinctive Canadian whisky style can be credited to James Gooderham Worts. He arrived in Ontario from England in 1831 and William Gooderham arrived the following year. Today Toronto’s famous Distillery District is housed in the original Gooderham Worts distillery. >>

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Around the same time Henry Corby immigrated and this was also the time Joseph Seagram was born (in Ontario). In 1857, J.P. Wiser crossed the border in to Canada (from U.S.A.) bringing his American distilling methods with him and Hiram Walker followed close behind bringing his English family heritage and expectations of high quality whisky. The Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor was the largest distiller in North America. Reading all of these stories of our spirited heritage makes you want to grab a bottle, pour yourself a drink and sit in front of a roaring fire reading all of this and more in Kergommeaux’s book on Canadian whisky.

If you’re not a whisky drinker but have a curiosity for whisky, you may want to start with a cocktail like whisky sour. It’s a pour of whisky, a squirt of lemon juice and a touch of sugar. Alternately, mix whisky with water or have it over ice, this will release more flavours and aromas. Whisky is a complex drink of toast, brioche, vanilla, white pepper, caramel, nuts, dark rye bread, licorice, smoke and spice.

Drinking whisky neat is a more intense experience than with water, ice or in a cocktail. Fill a traditional whisky tumbler a quarter full and swirl it around. Taking a sniff prepares your palate for what’s to come. Take small and slow sips and let it coat your mouth before swallowing for a full experience.

While Canadian whisky regulations are more open than other parts of the world, what Canadians do that is different (and they’re really good at) is distilling the grains separately before blending the matured spirits together at the end.

In search of “the good stuff” during Prohibition, Enoch Thompson in the popular television series, Boardwalk Empire counted on Canadian whisky to support his bootlegging activities. While this is the stuff of great storytelling, the truth is that Prohibition in the U.S. crippled the prosperous cross-border sales of Canadian whisky driving Corby’s, Gooderham & Worts, Hiram Walker and Seagram’s into near bankruptcy. The U.S. did buy its whisky from Canada but it was Scottish and Irish whisky that simply flowed through Canada to its final southern destination.

If you’re a whisky drinker, you already know Canada makes fantastic whiskies.

Canadian whisky manufacturers have become world renowned for the quality of their whisky and whisky drinking is experiencing a fashionable revival. Perhaps it’s due to the popularity of television shows like Boardwalk Empire or Suits, but whisky drinking is definitely on the rise in Ontario.

While Enoch Thompson (Boardwalk Empire) and Harvey Specter (Suits) preferred to drink their whisky from traditional whisky tumblers, you can increase the enjoyment of sipping whisky with a destemmed red wine glass or a similar shaped whisky glass that is wider at the base than at the top. Like wine, the glass is designed to concentrate the aromas in the area of your nose for a fuller experience.

Unlike wine, whisky is not always a product of one producer. Another of the amazing facts in Kergommeaux’s well researched book on Canadian whisky is that, whisky destined for the U.S. may include some American whisky in it. The same product sold in Canada will not. This has more to do with tax incentives than a flavour preference. Regardless of the intended market, small amounts of foreign spirits will sometimes be added by large distillers to enhance certain flavours. This is not a frequent practice; so it’s still fair to say that, Canadian whisky can best be described as single distillery whisky.

Contrary to Greta Garbo downing her shot of whisky in one single gulp, it’s really not a good idea to gulp whisky. Because whisky has a high alcohol content it’s best to sip it slowly to savour the flavours, reflecting on the experience between sips.

Good news for whisky drinkers, a growing craft distilling industry in Canada means there are now over 30 new distillers with more than half of them already making or planning on making whisky. This means an awful lot more whisky to experience, sip and savour. More than that, whisky lovers can now pick up the recreational sport invented by wine lovers and visit distillers to try different whiskies. Who knows, perhaps a Whisky Trail is in Ontario’s future.

Davin de Kergommeaux’s, Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert will make you realize there’s an awful lot more to this golden drink than meets the lips. It will inspire you to get out there and try some of Ontario’s great whiskies and learn that whisky makers are as passionate about their craft as winemakers have been for generations.

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H ER E A R E A F E W DIS T I L L ER S W I T H I NCR E DI BLY DE LICIOU S W H ISK I E S T H AT W I L L ROCK YOU R PA L AT E !

FORTY CREEK DISTILLERY 297 S Service Rd, Grimsby | fortycreekwhisky.com for hours and events Whisky master, John Hall has a talent for crafting award winning whiskies that are smooth, rich and clean. Forty Creek makes five different whisky products: Barrel Select, Copper Pot, Double Barrel Reserve, Confederation Oak Reserve and Evolution. Winner of 15 international awards for the best whisky.

DILLON’S SMALL BATCH DISTILLERS 4833 Tufford Road, Beamsville | dillons.ca for hours and events Dillon’s white whisky is crafted from rye but without the ageing in wood to complicate the true flavour of rye. Gold Medal winner at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (2013).

NORTH OF 7 DISTILLERY 1733 St. Laurent Blvd, Ottawa | northof7distillery.ca for hours and events White Dog Whisky is an unaged, white whisky blended from four grains. It’s a true reflection of the grains as it never touches a barrel. A new product, North of 7 Whisky is crafted in a bourbon style that will be aged for a minimum of three years. 2017 scheduled released. Watch for it.

STILL WATERS DISTILLERY 150 Bradwick Dr. Unit 26, Concord | stillwatersdistillery.com for hours & events Just released this past October (2014) is their Stalk and Barrel Rye Whisky distilled from 100% Ontario grown rye grain. Other products include Stalk and Barrel Single Malt Whisky made with 100% malted barley and Still Waters Canadian Whisky, a small batch of blended grains.

TORONTO DISTILLERY CO 90 Cawthra Ave., Unit 100, Toronto | torontodistillery.ca for hours & events Toronto Distillery’s Winter Wheat Batch #2 is a certified organic wheat whisky. Awarded the highest score for an unaged whisky in the Whisky Advocate’s 2013 Winter Buying Guide. The wheat comes from Schomberg and distilled in Toronto (in the junction).

CANADIAN MIST DISTILLERS 202 Macdonald Rd, Collingwood | canadianmist.com for hours & events Two delicious products include Canadian Mist Whisky, a whisky of blended grains with a splash of sherry. Collingwood Whisky is a blended grains aged in maple wood for a truly distinctive flavour. TM

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HOT CHOCOLATE

love affair

BY LYNN OGRYZLO

I have a love affair with chocolate that has lasted as long as I can remember.

I don’t eat the candy bar kind you find at the check out aisles, but the good quality stuff. I can give you names of some of my favourites; Vosges, Torres, Godiva, Ghirardelli and Valrhona. I don’t really mind if it’s brittle and dark or liquid and spiked, I just love the flavour of really good chocolate and the satisfying experience I get from savouring it very slowly. Everywhere I go around the world I look for different chocolate experiences. I remember the Bicerin I swooned over in Torino, Italy. The region that brought us Nutella has decadent coffee houses. Walk into any one of these ancient, posh establishments with their 14-foot, rich, gold embossed ceilings, opulent mahogany trim and lustrous mirrored walls with gleaming brass accents and you know you’re somewhere special. On one occasion I was served a Bicerin, a hot, layered chocolate drink.

The way it was explained to me was that dark, bittersweet chocolate is reduced down in giant copper pots for almost 6-hours. This black, pudding-thick chocolate was the bottom third of the drink. The middle layer was a double shot of espresso and the top was a slightly sweet, frothy cream. The reduced chocolate was so thick the espresso didn’t penetrate it. Served in a glass cup you could see the three beautiful, exciting layers. The ceremony was to pick up the tiny coffee spoon and stir slowly. The sultry liquid swirled brown and white like velvet. Take a sip and you are seduced by strong coffee-like chocolate as you feel your body succumbing to the Bicerin’s vampish charms. >>

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That was my greatest chocolate experience and that was 20 years ago.

Just recently I was meeting a friend for coffee. Val works across the street from a chocolate shop, SOMA Chocolatemaker on King Street in Toronto. Guess where we met for coffee?

I walked in and looked at the blackboard. Top of the menu of chocolate drinks was a Bicerin. The experience wasn’t as ceremonial as the Bicerin in Torino, but it was a fabulous drink! On my next visit, I’m trying their hot chocolate and gelato drink.

Just last year I spent Christmas in London, England. I’m seduced by the European Christmas markets and London’s was spectacular.

I strolled the market listening to soft holiday music while looking at the specialty food and craft booths lined up and down the roads. Our hands were wrapped in woolen gloves; we could see our breath and the dampness reached down to our bones. My favourite way to enjoy this was with a hot mug of hot chocolate spiked with Bailey’s. There was something very addictive about the two flavours together and the experience of being warmed and comforted by layers of thick chocolate on a wet, cold December London day.

“ TA K E A SIP A ND YOU A R E SEDUCED BY STRONG COFFEE-LIK E CHOCOL ATE AS YOU FEEL YOUR BODY SUCCUMBING TO THE BICER IN’S VA MPISH CHA R MS.” Back home in the thick of a Canadian winter, I continued to make my hot chocolate and Baileys. I discovered the better the chocolate the better the drink and don’t even think about buying a Bailey’s substitute.

I used up all my Ghirardelli powdered chocolate so switched over to a tin of Whittard Luxury Powdered Chocolate. Just took the experience over the top, when I close my eyes I’m back in Hyde Park strolling the Christmas market. I can almost hear the Christmas music playing in the background.

I remember the time I visited the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory in San Francisco. Walk in and the air is soaked with strong chocolate aromas 22

intermingled with vanilla, caramel and sweet cream. The aromas are so seductive and suggestive; I could have bought every piece of chocolate in the entire store. As I walked along the boardwalk away from Ghirardelli the wind blew my hair across my face and I realized my hair smells like chocolate – woah! I started to smell the rest of my clothes they all had a strong aroma of the dark stuff - I was one walking chocolate bar! To a chocolate lover, life doesn’t get much better.

In Paris, France there is a little café on Avenue de la Motte-Picquet named Pain et Chocolate. Simply translated it means, bread and chocolate, two foods to live by and yes, I visit it often. There is outdoor seating and in the winter you’ll find a blanket on each chair to ward off the damp cold winter air. The hot chocolate here is a secret recipe handed down through the owner’s family. She won’t say what is in it but a large cauldron of hot chocolate is brewed each day and when it’s gone, it’s gone. I always go in the early afternoon. It’s a magical drink, lighter than any other hot chocolate I’ve fallen in love with but layered with complex nuances of almonds, spices and vanilla that fade in and out. It’s simply a stunning and classy drink.

In Chicago, I visited a restaurant named after my favourite drink – Hot Chocolate. Pastry chef, Mindy Segal makes my all-time favourite Hot Fudge Milanos. No words can describe what happens when you bite down on these soft, tiny cookies. In your mouth, they transformed into chocolaty, buttery silk that slithers across your tongue and down your throat with paralyzing lusciousness and electrifying euphoria. After 15 of these delicious tidbits there was no achy feeling in the pit of my stomach, just sunshine and delight radiating from within – ahhh, I could keep eating. Mindy Segal has real talent.

That’s when I discovered her Hot Chocolate Menu.

Yes, a menu like a food menu or wine list, Mindy has a hot chocolate menu with 7 different ways to enjoy a steamy cup of cocoa. After a long and agonizing conversation with the Chocolate Sommelier over the merits of which hot chocolate would be best on a warm but almost rainy spring day, he surprised me with a FLIGHT of all seven!! I love him! My board included the following hot chocolates; Malted Vanilla, Medium, Mexican, Black & Tan, Dark, Chai and Half & Half.

As we enter this beloved season of hot chocolate, vow not to sip the empty calories of those dark, hot, faux drinks. Instead, fi nd yourself some good chocolate, Callabaut or Ghirardelli and melt it slowly in a pot with whole milk. Whip it with a hand-held milk frother and taste. Now start to blend your own magical cup of irresistible chocolate. Add a drop of vanilla, a spill of Bailey’s or a sprinkle of vanilla sugar. Happy Hot Chocolate Season! TM

For a full description of these mind-blowing chocolate drinks go to my blog at The Ontario Table website.

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RATINGS

Evan’s WINE

100 POINT SCALE 95-100 = Outstanding 90-94 = Excellent 85-89 = Very Good 80-84 = Good 75-79 = Drinkable 70 & under = Below average

Evan Saviolidis is a Wine Tasting Challenge Grand Champion, Journalist for Canada’s largest wine magazine: Quench, Instructor for The Canadian Association of Professional Sommelier, and teaches wine appreciation courses in Niagara at WineSavvy. For complete information, please visit www.evanwinesavvy.com.

Canada

RED 92 Angels Gate Winery Mountainview Pinot Noir 2010, Beamsville Bench ($24) For this price, this wine immensely over delivers. Concentrated and ripe, there is loads of plum, cassis, cherry, black tea, spice and vanilla which carry onto the long finale. Suave tannins allow another four years of aging. Mushroom risotto and lighter game fair will be a marvelous pairing with this beauty. (ES) 91 Pondview Bella Terra Cabernet Sauvignon Unfiltered 2012, Four Mile Creek ($34.95) Being a big fan of the 2010 version of this wine, I was hoping that the 2012 rendition would be just as glorious; well, it is! Full-bodied, yet elegant, 14.3% alcohol wine doles out the blackberry, cassis, violets, raspberry, mocha, mint, roasted herbs and graphite qualities. The tannins are still forceful, so hold for two years and then drink until 2022. (ES) 90 Rosehall Run The Certain Ratio 2012, Ontario ($29.95) The grapes for this Meritage were sourced from PEC and Niagara. The ratio is 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot and 21% Cabernet Franc.

Full-bodied, concentrated and layered; the tobacco, dark cherry, plum, olive, spice, mocha and vanilla flavours are underpinned by loads of ripe, yet unobtrusive tannins. It should age well for the next eight years. (ES) 90 Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Niagara Peninsula ($55) A personality of sweet fruits: plum, cassis and raspberry melds with savoury elements à la herbs and tobacco. New oak adds cocoa, vanilla and spice to the mix, creating a complex wine. Medium to full body, the tannins will allow cellaring until 2020 and possibly beyond. Pick your favorite cut of steak to enjoy with this impressive homegrown Cab! (ES) >>

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90 Redstone Syrah Redstone Vineyard 2010, Lincoln Lakeshore ($39.95) The Syrah grapes for this wine were planted back in 1999, as part of the Thomas and Vaughn winery, and where the Redstone winery is being built. An explosive perfume of pepper, raspberry, cassis, plum, cherry, tobacco and oregano leads into a weighty palate stuffed with red and dark fruits coated with cracked black pepper. (ES) 89 Reif Estate Winery Cabernet Franc Reserve 2012, Niagara River ($21.95) This tasty Franc is a terrific follow-up to the equally delicious 2010. Full bodied, there is red currant, cassis, raspberry, anise, cocoa, herbs, tobacco, cola and graphite. The medium acidity, ripe tannins, round texture and long finish will ensure five to six years of cellaring. That said, you can also pop it open tonight and serve with a grilled veal chop topped with a herb infused demi-glace. Excellent value! (ES) 89 Southbrook Vineyards Triomphe Cabernet Franc 2012, Niagara-on-the-Lake ($21.95) This biodynamic Cab Franc includes 12% Merlot. There is a deep ruby colour and a complex combination of raspberry, cassis, plum, violets, cinnamon, roasted herbs and tobacco. Balance is the mantra on the palate, with moderate alcohol, good body, considerable length and ripe tannins.

Enjoy this lovely wine over the next 5 years. (ES) 89 Domaine Quelyus Pinot Noir Réserve du Domaine 2011, Niagara Peninsula ($45) This new winery project is a partnership of 12 Quebec businessmen.

Smartly, they have hired the ever talented Thomas Bachelder, who also produces top Pinot, under his own label, from Burgundy, Oregon and Canada. Mid-weight, this refined Pinot exudes cherry, raspberry, plum, spice and earth. The tannins are soft and the acid fresh, making for a food friendly match with duck magret or a pork terrine. (ES) 88 Norman Hardie County Pinot Noir 2012, Prince Edward County ($39) A cherry explosion encapsulates the plum, earth, rose and clove flavours in this medium bodied Pinot. There is admirable density and persistency as well as a soft texture. Drink over the next three years. As a side note, I had a chance to try a barrel sample of Norm’s premium ‘L’ Pinot Noir.

It is a truly magnificent wine which will easily score in the low 90s when released later this year.

87 Cave Spring Cellars Cabernet Merlot 2011, Niagara Escarpment ($15.95) For the price, this is quite a tasty drop! Plum, spice, cherry jam, vanilla and cocoa meld with a pleasing green edge on the palate. Mid-weight, supple tannins and a flavorful finish make for enjoyable drinking. (ES) WHITE 92 Exultet Estates The Blessed Chardonnay 2012, Prince Edward County ($40) It is safe to say that owner/winemaker Gerard Spinosa is making the best Chardonnay in Ontario as this is the 4th consecutive vintage of this wine to capture the gold medal at the Ontario Wine Awards. Luxurious, it

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pumps out loads of buttered popcorn, hazelnut, cream, mineral, banana, pineapple, red apple and spice. There is excellent length, medium acidity and enough stuffing to evolve over the next five years. (ES) 89 The Grange of Prince Edward Riesling 2012, Prince Edward County ($15.95) Superb value without a doubt! The petrol, lime, honey, lilac, smoky minerals, white pepper and grapefruit are supported by an intense mid-palate. The finale is long, and the balance between acid and residual sugar is beautifully achieved. Drink over the next 3 years.

88 Hidden Bench Estate Chardonnay 2012, Beamsville Bench ($28.75) Yes, there is oak, but it is kept in check by the fruit, producing a mix of caramel, honey, vanilla, peach, pineapple, citrus and sweet apple.

Medium to full body, there is sound acid and a lengthy aftertaste.

(ES) 88 Ravine Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Niagara ($28) Lime, gooseberry, nectarine, white grapefruit, herbs and minerals weave around a medium body and crisp personality. It is linear with very good length and is perfectly suited for a grilled vegetable salad topped with goat cheese or chilled seafood tower. (ES) 87 Burnt Ship Bay Pinot Grigio 2013, Niagara Peninsula ($14.95) I will preface this rating by saying that, as a general rule, I am not a fan of Pinot Grigio. That said, this PG is an absolute joy to drink! The pretty bouquet of banana, peach, honey and flowers give way to fresh apple, mineral and spice on the refreshing palate. Put a good chill to it and enjoy this summer/autumn on the patio or with grilled fish drizzled topped with lemon. (ES) 87 Ridge Road Estate Pinot Gris 2013, Niagara Peninsula ($15.95) No thin, acidic Pinot Grigio here; rather, this is a flavorful, ripe style, made in the Alsatian model, featuring peach, white flowers, spice, cream and apple. The medium body, density and finish make for a delicious drop of Gris. (ES) 86 Union Gold 2011, Niagara Peninsula ($13.95) A blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sauv Blanc and Gewurz. Midweight, there is oak aging here, which adds vanilla and cinnamon to the peach, pear and apple qualities. The palate is slightly creamy at first, then the refreshing acidity weighs in on the finish, culminating on a caramel note. Well made, well priced and ready to drink. Pair with roast chicken or halibut. (ES)

Australia

91 Nugan Estate Alfredo Dried Grape Shiraz 2012 ($26.95) Here is something new: an Amarone-styled wine from Australia. Fullbodied and fruit driven, the plum, blackberry, black cherry, raisins, cocoa, vanilla, anise and eucalyptus carry from the nose over to the palate, where fresh acidity, firm tannins and a long finish join the mix.

The price is right, especially considering that the Italian versions of comparably cost double. Drink over the next decade. (ES) 89 Peter Lehmann Layers Red 2011, Barossa ($17.95) A definite crowd pleaser! From a cool vintage comes this GSM plus Tempranillo blend. Dark plum, sweet cherry, strawberry and raspberry mesh with the oak flavours of vanilla, cocoa and spice. Rather full bodied, the texture is soft, and there is very good length. Ready to drink, preferably with boeuf bourguignon or lamb chops. (ES)

Austria

88 Winzer Krems Sandgrube 13 Grüner Veltliner 2013 ($12.80) For under $13, this wine is a rock solid value as well as a great primer for those who haven’t experienced the joys of Grüner. Spice, apple, grapefruit, white peach, white flower and bell pepper are built on a crisp, food friendly frame. Try with sauteed shrimps with lemon or grilled vegetables drizzled with balsamic/olive oil and topped with chèvre. (ES)

Greece

89 Domaine Gerovassiliou White 2013, Epanomi ($22.95) This is a 50/50 blend of Malagousia and Assyrtiko, the famous white grape of Santorini, which has now been transplanted all over Greece.

By blending the two, the exotic aromas of Malagousia find a home with Assyrtiko’s mineral driven, crisp personality. Peach, honey, white flowers, crushed rock and spice are all in play. Splendid length and ready to drink. (ES)

I tried this wine five times over the period of one month, and every time the wine scored the same. Powerful, concentrated, intense, rich and layered were but some of the descriptors I used. Full bodied, the dark fruit comes at you from every direction, followed by mint, violets, cinnamon, cocoa and vanilla. Needless to say, the finale is super long, and there is a boat load of tannins which will ensure three decades of aging. (ES) WHITE 92 Beringer Private Reserve Chardonnay 2012, Napa Valley ($45) I have become a big fan of this wine since winemaker, Laurie Hook, has toned down the oak level. Still full-bodied and full of flavour, the peach, pineapple, honey, apple and toast on the nose meet up with banana cream pie and spice on the long finale. Drink over the next 5 years, preferably with a salt and pepper grilled salmon filet or chicken breast topped with a jalapeno/tropical fruit salsa. (ES)

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90 Robert Mondavi Fumé Blanc 2012, Napa Valley ($22.95) As the label denotes, this is a dry Sauvignon Blanc (with the addition of 13% Semillon). Furthermore, it is an aromatic beauty with nectarine, verbena, gooseberry, lime, fresh herbs and minerals. Lengthy on the finish with refreshing acidity. Ceviche and fresh water fish were made for this food friendly bottling. (ES) TM

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28

LOYALTY:

THERE IS NO SUCH THING BY: LYNN OGRYZLO It’s one of the top ten sexiest foods in the world. Thick, fudgy brownies, the kind that wrap themselves around your teeth and cream across your tongue, release billows of velvety, thick chocolate stickiness throughout your olfactory senses that have the ability to block out the entire world. The right kind of brownie grabs your full attention just like that, and then proceeds to slowly caress your psyche into full seduction. Who doesn’t love a good brownie?

Ah yes, good is the qualifying word. What makes a good brownie different from an ordinary brownie and even a bad one? For the sake of this story, let’s eliminate the bad brownies. I think we already avoid those pre-packaged squares of dry, pale, brownness.

The ordinary or mediocre brownie either has a slight crystalized sugary crunch, a chalky cocoa texture or a weak chocolate impact. Heaven forbid they’d have all three tell tale signs of lacklusterness. Like all sweets, some will settle for this kind of non-decadence, but I for one am an awful lot more discerning when it comes to brownies.

To qualify as one of the best brownies, it must have the right ratio of fudgy-ness to cakeyness, it should have a glossy, crackly top, be moist throughout with a weightiness and have the right balance of sweetness to blockbuster chocolate. One bite of a brownie with the right combination of these attributes will throw your eyes back into your head. Lucky for you, I’ve obsessively tried many different brownie recipes and have found a few that stand out from the world of brownie promises.

While I can be incredibly picky when it comes to brownies, I have to admit I have no brownie loyalty. How could I? I’ve been known to push my way to the front of a queue to be first to sink my teeth into the perfect salted caramel chunk brownie and I may have lied to get a bag of outrageous, limited edition stout black cherry chocolate brownies. I’ve been known to offend some by creaming the decadence of burrata cheese into my own brownies (they were burrata lovers, not brownie lovers) and delight others with a message stenciled in icing sugar over a platter of yummy brownies. When you’re a brownie lover, there’s not much you can’t do. >>

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 29

30

L ynn’ s Favourite Cocoa Brownies

In fact, it’s too bad its post Halloween season because you could have made it a scary brownie Halloween. Here’s how delicious brownies become scary. A few years ago I made real fudgy brownies into the shape of dog poo (ok, stay with me here). I went to the dollar store and bought a kitty litter pan and pooper-scooper. I fi lled the pan with Rice Krispies cereal and scooped my brownies to trick-or treaters with the (never used) scooper. The reactions of the children were like being on an episode of Candid Camera; fear at fi rst that quickly turned into rolling, tear dropping, belly laughs – yet when the truth was revealed, only half the trick-or-treaters would actually eat them.

They just weren’t sure.

With everything great, there is always controversy. In the brownie world there are two camps and never do the two meet. There are those who believe that the best in chocolate brownies are not made with a base of melted chocolate, but only with Dutch processed cocoa powder.

I know what you're thinking. You’re thinking that all roads to fudgy, dark and rich brownies can only be paved with bricks of melted glossy chocolate; that cocoa powder couldn’t possibly make a better brownie. That's what I thought too. But then I was tricked into sinking my teeth into a cocoa brownie one day and have to admit, there is something to this.

I think it has something to do with the amount of fat in a brownie recipe.

Brownies are made with lots of butter (always a good thing) and if you add cocoa butter on top of that, it almost dilutes the chocolate flavour. But when Dutch-processed cocoa is used, the fat ratio to chocolate flavour is more balanced and the result is a blockbuster chocolaty brownie.

Beyond the noticeable flavour difference, brownies made with bars of tempered chocolate are fudgier and brownies made with cocoa powder are chewier. Most people are quite committed to one style or another but like I said, I have no brownie loyalty.

The other ingredient that requires balancing is sugar. Brownies aren’t supposed to taste like Tootsie Rolls so keep the sugar to a minimum.

Sugar is a powerful ingredient; less of it promotes an upsurge of chocolate flavour. To get a good sugar ratio in your brownie, cocoa powder is better because bars of baking chocolate are processed with sugar. Sugar can also help to create a glossy topped brownie. Whether you’re making your brownies with melted chocolate or cocoa, whisk some of the sugar into the eggs until the sugar dissolves and you’ll get a real glossy crackle topped brownie.

When it comes to my giant squares of black seduction, I’m also not a purist. I could go for almond macaroon brownies one day and completely switch over to salted caramel, pecan brownies the next. My palate conforms from an elegant ganache topped, minted brownie to a hearty whisky, dulce de leche, double chocolate brownie with ease.

When I’m craving a comfort-food brownie, it’s usually a dark, fudgy, walnut brownie with a sufficiently cracked top and when I have guests on a blistery winters day I often treat them to a decadent hot chocolate and a square of peanut butter, Bailey brownies. Oh yea, and it’s ok to spill a little Bailey’s into the hot chocolate too.

Whatever you do, never, I mean never make a brownie from a cake mix. It’s too sugary and dense without any soul. Yes, brownies have soul.

The soul of a brownie is the magical element that makes you swoon, it elevates your palate from ordinary expectations to wow, powerhouse, eye-popping surprise. Never underestimate the soul of a good homemade brownie.

There are people who like brownies and then there are people who LOVE brownies. Those of us who love brownies have no particular loyalty to any one brownies and are not usually the sharing type. But hey, here I am sharing my favourite brownie recipes, well, at least, it’s my favourite today. TM

INGREDIENTS 10 tablespoons (150 mL) butter 1 ¼ cups (310 mL) sugar ¾ cup (180 mL) unsweetened, Dutchprocessed cocoa powder ¼ teaspoon (1 mL) salt (or a heaping ¼ teaspoon of salt flakes as I used) ½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) pure vanilla extract 2 large eggs, cold ½ cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour 1 cup (250 mL) walnut pieces

DIRECTIONS Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 325°F (160C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or waxed paper.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set over a pot of simmering water. Cook until the mixture is fairy hot, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl and let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for a minute. Stir in the nuts and spread evenly in the baking pan.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack. Transfer the brownies to a cutting board and cut into 16 squares.

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 31

FOUR SEASONS of APPLES BY: LYNN OGRYZLO

W

e Ontarians love our apples, maybe because we grow some of the best in the world.

And with our ultramodern storage methods, fine-quality apples are now available year-round. But the new crop, jewel-bright and juicy, is especially tempting.

I wish all Ontario fruit would store as well as apples do. Most of Ontario apple growers have cold storage facilities meaning they can supply apples all year round. Martin’s Apple Farm in St. Jacobs, Warner’s Farm in Beamsville, Chudleigh’s in Milton and Birtch Farm in Woodstock are examples of great farms you can visit year round for fresh apples.

When you visit these farms you’re likely to find apple cider and apple pies. If you think it’s the season for apple pies, you’re absolutely right! You can find freshly baked apple pies at many on-farm markets and farmers’ markets throughout Ontario in as many different flavour varieties as apples. With farm grown goodness and country baking coming together so brilliantly, why would anyone want to bake their own apple pie? So as much as I love a good slice of warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream melting all over it, I’m banning apple pies from this story. Instead, I’m going to dedicate this story to all things deliciously apple, except pie - and there is so much!

Did you know there are more than 7,500 varieties of apples grown throughout the world? Wow! If you ate a new variety each day, it would take you 20 years to try them all. While that’s just the kind of dare I can’t refuse, unfortunately all the varieties aren’t available in Ontario. So what to do next? Try just one year of cooking with apples.

For anyone who cooks with apples, you will know about the apple trinity of butter, sugar and cinnamon. Melt butter in a skillet, toss the apples in sugar and cinnamon and cook over medium heat. The sugar will caramelize beautifully. The trinity is the religion of apples and is the base of most delicious apple recipes, no matter what time of year.

Like the seasons, the way we approach apples changes from hot weather to cold. I love a grilled brie and apple sandwich in the summer and yet wouldn’t think of eating a warm apple dumpling stuffed with mincemeat and topped with a scoop of eggnog ice cream any other time of year except Christmas. Autumn is prime time for cinnamon laced apple crisp while warm apple butternut squash soup takes the chill off a damp spring day.

Raw, sliced, baked, roasted, sautéed, fried, crushed or fresh, apples are one fruit that is not only good for you, but versatile enough for everyone to enjoy at anytime of the year and prepared in literally hundreds of different ways. Simply put, there’s no time of day or year apples don’t belong.

For more than 300 seductively delicious apple recipes complete with pictures go to http://www. pinterest.com/ontariotable/no-apple-pies/

32

SPRING Spring showers demand apples be simmered in a pot. Simmering apples fills the kitchen with the magic to warm you from chilly damp weather. Add to the simmering apples a drizzle of hearty stout and roasted garlic, stir in chunks of gouda until melted and fold into mashed potatoes. Add cubes of apples to butternut squash and simmer into a thick, luscious soup with a kiss of maple syrup. Slice apples uber-thin, top with crispy bacon and lots of your favourite cheese and grill into an apple bacon grilled cheese sandwich. Spring is the time for pampering so spoon warm cinnamon apples over thick slices of brioche French toast. If you like your apples peeled, don’t throw out the apple skins. Instead, cook them with icewine for a pleasure-giving, pink drizzle to use over vanilla panna cotta or stir into an apple bread pudding. Don’t forget the classics like a spring Waldorf salad or add chunks of fresh apple to any salad for that matter.

SUMMER Summer and county fairs go hand in hand with candy apples and Niagara has their own brand of chocolate candy apples, you’ll find Moyer’s candy apples at most grocery stores. The hot weather is the perfect time for Apple Bitch, a chilly apple-cherry cocktail or for a party, make a jug of apple sangria.

One of my favourite ice cream flavours is Roasted Apple Pie, simply crumble apple pie into vanilla ice cream and – wow! Spread apple butter on a fresh baguette and make an open-faced apple and prosciutto sandwich or make a warm apple Monte Cristo. Lazy summer brunches go well with apple pancakes or spoon warm cinnamon apples over a puffy German pancake. For the barbecue, brine chicken in apple cider and grill to perfection. Quick and easy make gouda, apple and ham quesadillas or spoon apple salsa over seasoned pork tacos. While there is no dish that isn’t made infinitely better with apples, summer is the time to eat a cold, crisp apple right out-of-hand.

AUTUMN Start with apples sautéed in the trinity and spoon these warm beauties over ice cream, pancakes or smash them into caramel applesauce. Alternatively, you can fill a pan with the cinnamon sugared apples, top with a streusel topping and bake in the oven. This simple dish of home-made love has the ability to become a family tradition. Every fall the farmers’ market in St. Thomas offers up donuts stuffed with a thick slice of apple and creamy almond paste. They’re deep fried for seductively, rollyour-eyes-back flavour. In the basement of the St. Lawrence Market the Greek vendor cuts uber-thick slices of apples, dips them in batter and deep fries them. Then he heaps spoonfulls of cinnamon sugar over the hot apple fritter – yum! Fall is the time apples can go savoury; dice them into stuffing or partner them with shredded cabbage cooked ever so slowly in a skillet.

WINTER

APPLE PIE TRAIL If you’re an apple lover like I am, you’ll want to join me on The Apple Pie Trail applepietrail.ca on the southern shore of Georgian Bay. Open from the beginning of September to the end of October, more than 28 different businesses from Collingwood to Blue Mountain and Thornbury areas participate with their own apple creations from apple tarts to apple art and everything in between from apple cheesecake to apple cinnamon rolls and apple iced cider. While apples grow all along the southern shores of Ontario the unique microclimate produces some of the provinces most crisp and delicious apples.

These apples are stored in snow caves and used slowly over the long winters, perfect for a day filled with skiing and evenings filled with fresh apple pies.

Cold weather demands that apples be wrapped in buttery pastry. You can peel, core and stuff whole apples with cinnamon, raisins and pecans. Then wrap them in a square of thawed puff pastry. Now bake and cool slightly before serving. You can add ice cream or a buttery dulce de leche sauce to dress up the apple blossom or go ahead - just eat it as is, who can resist! Alternatively, lay warm caramelized apples between two buttery sheets of puff pastry, crimp the edges so the glorious juices don’t escape and bake. Now slice and eat – oh, um! It’s a cross between a hand pie and a Pop-Tart. Apples dress up well in a baked crème brûlée or flambéed with Pernod in a silky crepe with sweet Chantilly cream. Roast pork tenderloin over a bed of sliced apples or dig into thick pork chops with unsweetened, home-made applesauce on the side. TM TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 33

34

GETTING TO

THE MEAT

OF THE MATTER:

MAKING MOUTH WATERING RIBS BY: LYNN OGRYZLO

With a beautiful winter Sunday ahead of me I want a warm weather meal from the comfort of my oven. I’m in the mood for something savoury, something I can really sink my teeth into, something to satisfy my carnivorous craving for a bone to gnaw on and sticky fingers I can lick. It’s the kind of day only a rack of ribs will satisfy.

In her book Bones, author Jennifer McLagan laments how sad it is that “people opt for boneless chicken breasts, fish fi llets and cutlets when good cooks know that anything cooked on the bone has more flavour.” I couldn’t agree more with Jennifer. I like my pork chops on the bone, my prime rib still on the rack and on a beautiful winters day, there’s nothing better than stripping off those tender morsels of flesh from between the rib bones with your teeth while the sticky sauce covers your fingers (and your face).

Not only does meat cooked on the bone tend to be more flavourful, but also the meat around the ribs is marbled with fat, which means it’s always succulent. This is especially true with back ribs, the larger, meatier kind of rib most of us are familiar with.

There are two kinds of ribs; side ribs and back ribs. Side ribs are from the belly of the pig and are often times referred to as sweet and sour ribs because they are mostly used in Chinese cuisine. They are generally smaller with less meat and if you’ve ever eaten Chinese cuisine, you know they contain a lot of cartilage.

Back ribs on the other hand come from the loin, a more tender part of the pig.

They hold a lot more meat, are fattier (hence more flavour) and are traditionally more expensive than side ribs because of all the extra meat you’re getting.

“I’ve never eaten a side rib,” claims Linda Ann Vandermeer, butcher at Commisso’s Fresh Foods in Niagara Falls. “Why would you?” Linda declares she only eats back ribs. She portions her ribs into individual servings, roasts them slowly in the oven, covers them with her sweet barbecue sauce and digs into the fall-off-the-bone ribs. >>

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 35

We tend to think that ribs and barbecue are inseparable, but like Linda, I have always cooked my ribs in the oven. The hard-working meat between the bones may be described by butchers as tender, but the reality is, if ribs are not cooked properly, they can be as tough as any other cut of meat cooked improperly. For ribs, they need time to break down the muscle and tenderize. So here is the great rib debate – to boil or to bake?

I have a friend who boils his ribs to tenderize them before he bakes them. While I think this would make delicious pork broth, I can’t see how boiling away the flavour before slathering them with sauce is going to create juicy, meaty ribs your friends will swoon over. It’s a method meant to reduce time but believe me, you’re not fooling anyone when they eat them.

Ribs need slow and steady cooking to tenderize and keep the meaty flavour and the oven is actually an ideal environment to cook them slow enough to melt the meat and make them tasty, After a few hours in the oven, the meat is nearly falling off the bone and you'll be licking your fingers in no time.

There are other ways to tenderize ribs. If you like a tropical flavour to your ribs (which I don’t), you could actually marinate them in pineapple juice. The active ingredient in pineapple juice called bromelain is an enzyme well known for its tenderizing effect on all meats. While many like this method, I find it simply makes the meat soft and a bit on the slimy side. Alternately, you could remove the tough, translucent membrane from the back of the rack. If you’re not confident doing this, perhaps you’ll need the presence of a good butcher to do this for you. In any case, it does seem to help the tenderizing process.

Racks of sauce-soaked ribs are a specialty of southern barbecue where they’re cooked long and slow in a pit. This is where pulled pork comes from, as well as fall-off-the-bone ribs. This is opposite to grilling where food is cooked very quickly over a hot grill. You cannot cook ribs by grilling without having them do time in the oven first.

Alternately, you could turn down the heat on the barbecue and flip them often to avoid them burning. But think about it, walking away from the oven while they cook for hours is certainly much better than standing guard over the barbecue to make sure they don’t burn (even though we all know that they will inevitably burn or dry out anyway).

The choice is yours, I know some men prefer cooking over an open flame to oven roasting. I think it’s more primeval, psychological and somehow connected to our carnivorous moods than it is a good cooking method for ribs.

So let’s get to the meat of the matter. My method is simple. I love my ribs simply rubbed with an interesting blend of spices. You can buy different spice rubs in grocery stores in a wide variety of flavours from Moroccan to Italian, Caribbean to Indian. Mine consists of (take a deep breath) brown sugar, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, dry mustard, Greek oregano, garlic powder and onion powder.

If you want your ribs really smoky, mix mustard (doesn’t matter which kind as you won’t taste it) with a few drops of liquid smoke, you’ll love the results. Rub the ribs with this before applying the rub mix.

Line a shallow roasting pan with aluminum foil (makes cleanup easier) and set a baking rack on top. By elevating the ribs on a rack it ensures the heat will circulate on all sides of the ribs.

SO HERE IS THE GREAT DEBATE - TO BOIL OR TO BAK E?

36

If you want a deeper flavoured rib, baste and rub the day before.

Just wrap the seasoned ribs in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

When you’re ready, lay the ribs on top of the rack in a single layer.

Either way, make sure the ribs are completely coated on both sides and edges with spices.

Preheat the oven to 225F (110C). Place the ribs, meat side down in the roasting pan, cover, place in the middle of the oven and walk away as they cook for four hours. These ribs are as hands-off as it gets. Then remove the cover and very carefully, turn them over. I use two spatulas to do the job successfully without tearing the rack of ribs.

Now slather a layer of barbecue sauce on the ribs, increase the heat to 400F (200C). Return the ribs to the oven without a cover for an additional half an hour or until some browning begins to take place around the edges. The high heat caramelizes the sauce over the ribs.

They’re meaty, rich and tender on the inside and gooey, caramelized and finger-licking good on the outside.

Finally, remove the ribs from the oven and let them rest for about ten minutes. Now cut between the bones to make three to four rib serving pieces. By the time these beauties come out of the oven, you’ll be so hungry from the delicious smells circulating throughout your house you won’t even question that they didn’t come off the grill. I hope you were roasting some thickly seasoned potato wedges to go with those ribs. Pour a glass of delicious red wine and you’ve got a summer-like meal in the chill of winter. What are you eating this weekend? TM

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about TOWN

CELEBRATING THE 200th ANNIVERSARY OF

CANADA’S FOUNDING FATHER

I

BY: ANDREW HIND

n 2015, Canadians will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birthday of our first prime minister and a Father of Confederation—Sir John A. Macdonald.

Sir John A (as he is fondly known in his hometown of Kingston) was one undoubtedly of the most important men in Canadian history. Born in January 1815, in 1867 he became the first Prime Minister of Canada and served in this capacity for 19 years (1867–1873, 1878–1891), longer than anyone with the exception of William Lyon Mackenzie King. >>

“BELLEVUE HOUSE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE”, ONE TIME HOME OF JOHN A. MACDONALD

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 39

Sir John A. was a man of unique vision who did more to unite the var- including a bank, a saloon, church groups, theatre productions, a court ied British North American colonies into a united Canada through his room and a women’s medical school. When Sir John A died in 1891, dream of a transcontinental railway linking east to west, the purchase his body lay in state in the building’s Memorial Hall.

An entertaining way to brush up on the life and times of Sir John of the vast Rupert’s Land and Northwest Territories from the Hudson’s Bay Company forming the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and A Macdonald, and gain an appreciation of his vision and role in shapAlberta, and by establishing the red-coated North-West Mounted ing Canada, is to take part in Kingston’s own theatrical walking Police, forerunners of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Sir John tour, In John A’s Footsteps, produced by the Sir John A Macdonald A. also created Canada’s first national park in Banff, Alberta. For these Bicentennial Commission and performed by the SALON Acting reasons, and other unifying efforts, Sir John A Macdonald is rightly Company. The one hour Macdonald-themed walking tours winds its way through Kingston’s downtown, the city that was for a brief time, known as Canada’s founding father.

While Sir John A. is often linked to Ottawa because of his lengthy the capital of Canada, touching on spots that were an important part career in Federal politics, he is also considered a native son in Kingston. of the politician’s life.

On occasion, famous Canadians have filled the shoes of tour leader.

It was here, after all, that he lived and operated a thriving law career for more than twenty years. Indeed, there is barely a street in downtown In the past, such well-known figures as journalist Lloyd Robertson, Kingston that has not been touched by Macdonald in some way or sports celebrity Don Cherry, former Prime Minister Paul Martin, and another, and so what better time to visit the city to explore the man’s TV host Steve Paikin have done the honours. Tours depart from the legacy than his bicentennial? Any Macdonald-themed trip must in- Visitor Information Center (9209 Ontario Street) at 2pm and 4pm throughout the summer. Tickets are $12 for adults, $9 for seniors, and clude these Sir John A. highlights: Macdonald’s historic home and gardens—Bellevue House—has $6 for youth.

During the week of January 6-11 2015, Kingston will play host been restored to its 19th century glory and made a National Historic Site of Canada. Built in a rare Italianate villa architectural style, it’s a to Macdonald Week, presented by SirJohnA2015 with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage beautiful home in its own right and staffed Department and the City of Kingston. by costumed interpreters to create a true Over the course of this week-long cele‘living history’ experience of Macdonald’s bration, the public will be welcomed to life and times. A number of commemattend a diverse and exciting collection orative activities are planned for the 2015 of artists, activities and events intended bicentennial; see the website for details as to raise awareness of the life and legacy they unfold (pc.gc.ca/Bellevue). of Sir John A. Highlights include book Visit Market Square behind City Hall, launches, a spiritual night in which parwhere Macdonald’s constituents celeticipants will attempt to commune with brated the very first Canada Day in 1867. the spirit of Sir John, a costumed high tea The tradition has continued every year and community skating party at Market since. Another yearly ceremony takes Square. For a complete listing of events, place every January 11, when the Sir John and other activities across the country in A. Macdonald Statue Ceremony is held celebration of our first Prime Minister, in City Park to commemorate the politgo to SirJohnA.ca. ician’s birth. The statue was first unveiled Wine lovers will want to make the on October 23, 1895, four years after short drive to Bergeron Estate Winery Macdonald’s death, and is a popular landand Cider Co. near Adolphustown, a mark in town. community where Sir John A. Macdonald Consider having a drink or hearty meal attended school as a boy. Here, the Sir in Sir John’s Public House, a cozy historic John A. Macdonald wine, a special label pub occupying the very building in which Georgios Kollidas / shuttersrtstock.com produced for the bicentennial, is availMacdonald had his law office from 1849 able. A portion of the proceeds from the to 1860. The pub embraces its connection to Canada’s first Prime Minister, and is proud to commemorate the sale of each bottle will go towards assisting the non-profit Sir John A. bicentennial through a number of events in 2015 (go to sirjohna.ca for Macdonald Bicentennial Commission (go to bergeronwines.com for more information). details) Sir John A. Macdonald is Canada’s version of George Washington, a City Hall has been a prominent landmark on the Kingston waterfront since being built in 1844, and has long-been a symbolic centre founding father and towering figure in our nation’s development. If any of the community’s civic government and administration. Originally man could lay claim to shaping Canada as we know it, it must surely designed by architect George Browne when Kingston was the capital be this gentleman. In 2015, Canada will join together to commemorof the United Province of Canada, City Hall is one of the finest 19th ate the bicentennial of Sir John A’s birth, a national celebration that century buildings in Canada and a nationally designated heritage site. will unify the country as surely as did the trans-continental railway In additional to municipal government and City Council, the building he founded. Where better to be to celebrate Sir John A Macdonald’s has hosted many different organizations and services over the years legacy than Kingston? TM 40

DISCOVER ROTARY Your neighbors, community leaders, and global citizens uniting for the common good; creating positive change in our communities and around the world.

Photo by Alyce Henson © Rotary International

Cataraqui-Kingston

Kingston-Frontenac

Gananoque

Tuesday, 7:00 AM Renaissance Event Venue 285 Queen Street

Wednesday, 6:15 PM Aunt Lucy’s Dinner House 1399 Princess Street

Tuesday, 12:15 PM | 2nd Tuesday 5:30 PM Gananoque Curling Club 300 William St S, Gananoque

www.ckrotary.org

www.kfrotary.org

www.gananoquerotaryclub.com

Kingston

Kingston Waterfront

Napanee

Thursday, 12:15 PM Minos Village Restaurant 2762 Princess Street

Monday, 5:00 PM RCHA Club 193 Ontario St., 3rd floor

Tuesday, 12:00 PM Lions Hall 57 Centre St S, Napanee

www.kingstonrotary.ca

www.kwrotaryclub.org

Facebook: RotaryClubNapanee

YOU’RE INVITED: Kingston area Rotary clubs welcome you to our meetings.

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 41

42

The Legacy of COOKE’S FINE FOODS

By Gabrielle Tieman

It is important to take time

to appreciate the finer things in life. For over a century, Cooke’s Fine Foods in Kingston, Ontario has offered generations of consumers the opportunity to do just that; creating an authentic fine food shopping experience and serving today’s modern world with old fashioned style.

It is important to take time to appreciate the finer things in life. For over a century, Cooke’s Fine Foods in Kingston, Ontario has offered generations of consumers the opportunity to do just that; creating an authentic fine food shopping experience and serving today’s modern world with old fashioned style.

A destination shop for unique items, speciality foods and locally grown produce, Cooke’s Fine Foods strongly believes in the idea that shopping does not have to be hurried and generic. Inspired by a similar store in England, the Italian Warehouse was born in 1865 as a high quality foods store that believed in stocking its shelves with only premium, unique produce from around the world.

“It was never a general store; it was always a fine food, wine and liquor store,” said Susan Cooke, the granddaughter of one of Cooke’s first owners Hugh George Cooke and current owner of Cooke’s Fine Foods. “An Italian Warehouse meant that they sold the finest of foods. William Begg, the original owner, was trying to sell the best quality he could possibly sell and that was a big deal.”

The morals of the establishment were cemented; and when ownership changed hands in the early 1900s, the fine foods standards were left unchanged.

“The Henderson Brothers believed that the fine foods movement should be preserved so only minor changes were made, like a stained glass window over the door,” said Cooke. “The Henderson Sign is still intact today, having only been refurbished and preserved.”

When Cooke’s grandfather Hugh G. came to work at the store in 1910, he was treated with the same standards that had placed the establishment at its prestigious level; put through a rigorous four year training apprenticeship, Cooke was not allowed to serve a single customer before his training was complete. >>

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 43

The store has maintained its original infrastructure and very little has been changed in over a century. Even trinkets have remained intact on the shelves – including a collection of antique props that were shipped along with produce to help with merchandising.

“He was taught the art of folding paper to make a bag, how to treat the produce, how to display things and organize things on the shelf,” said Cooke. “This was not like working in any old store. There was a process and a presentation for everything which made it unique.” >> In 1924 when it came time for ownership to change once again, Hugh G. was the logical choice; using the generosity of his suppliers who issued him credit, he was able to buy the store, turning the prestigious old world shop into a family run business that would continue to be passed down for generations.

Not breaking with tradition, Hugh G. continued to import high level produce from oversees.

“My grandfather focused on really unique imported foods,” said Cooke. “He would sell deep-fried grasshoppers, chocolate covered baby bees, tins of rattlesnake meat and even turtle soup - which is no longer allowed into Canada. He had beautiful window displays and displays inside the store; all while selling basic groceries as well.”

Catering to his ever growing clienteles’ needs, Hugh G. expanded his services to include exporting; installing one of Kingston’s fi rst phones and starting a mail service that allowed patrons to ship parcels to their family members serving overseas during World War II. Though their current shipping service is limited to Canada, Cooke’s still caters to specialty deliveries of personalized gifts.

From 1966 until 1987 Hugh’s only son John, commonly referred to as Jack, took over the business. Following in his father’s footsteps, Jack began to teach his five children how to maintain the integrity of the establishment.

“My grandfather built an amazing reputation for the store,” said Cooke. “He only sold quality products and gave quality service. We work really hard to maintain that reputation. There have been many challenges over the years with the economy and products come and go, but we still look for the same quality of things when we think to bring in a new product. A lot of thought goes into what we put on the shelves.”

Though Cooke said taking over the store was not always her dream – she moved away with her family for a period of 10 years and became an insurance broker –upon returning to Kingston she realized it was a passion she had long harbored.

“I had no idea I had a passion for it until I was actually in the store,” said Cooke. “That is when I realized how invested I was.”

Cooke took over ownership of the old world shop in 1991 and has since carried on the family centric tradition of hard work and supplying quality produce. Her children Jonathan and Alyssa both currently work at the store full time while her daughter Erika lends a hand in the summer while not in University.

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The store has maintained its original infrastructure and very little has been changed in over a century. Even trinkets have remained intact on the shelves– including a collection of antique props that were shipped along with produce to help with merchandising.

“We work really hard to maintain the look of Cookes,” said Cooke.

“We have expanded with our technology of course, having added electronic computer cash registers, but other than that it has remained the same. The store still has its original floor, original counter, original tin ceiling. While it is a great spot to shop, it is also a really great spot to come and visit and take in the history of everything.”

Along with electronic advancements, Cooke’s has added more local and Canadian suppliers to their shelves; following the expansion of two new store locations in Picton, Ontario and the West End of Kingston.

“There is a whole array of local produce now, and that has changed a lot in the 30 years that I have been running the business,” said Cooke. “In Prince Edward County especially there is a real resurgence in local produce.”

Cooke’s now features locally grown produce alongside an array of Canadian pickled produce, jams and preserves, salad dressings, hot sauces and all kinds of chocolate. Cooke has also brought back the tradition of on premise roasting and grinding of Arabica coffee beans and personal blends.

“A century ago coffee sold in Cooke’s was roasted over an open fire,” said Cooke. “One of the stories my dad always told about my grandfather was that one of the things he learned to do was roast coffee. Nobody was doing small batch roasting at the time and really offering a product that was unlike anything that was available made it special. As soon as commercially roasted coffee became available, [my grandfather] bought it; because he had never liked roasting the coffee. So he bought commercially roasted coffee and he made his own blend called Bridge Party. So when we started roasting again we created that blend to honour him.”

It is this style of thorough, quality production and presentation that has maintained Cooke’s reputation and a steady stream of traffic over countless generations of families.

“We have a very loyal customer base and we have lots of tourist traffic,” said Cooke. “We have people who come back who haven’t been there for 20 years and are thrilled that we are still there. A senior will come in and say ‘I used to come in here with my grandmother’.”

“We are in an age now where everything is instant and when you walk into Cookes you don’t have a sense of urgency.”

Cooke’s Fine Foods has three locations in Eastern Ontario: 61 Brock Street in Kingston, 2395 Princess Street in West End Kingston and 280 Main Street West in Picton. TM

TODAY’S FOOD & WINE

Let ou r online c ommunity gu id e y o u t o p o p u la r lo c a l d e s t in a t i ons, event s & act ivities . D is c ov er what ’s n e w & e x c it in g , g e t s p e c ia l o f f e r s, and e xpe rien c e the fun y ear-rou n d !

T O D AY- M A G A Z I N E . C O M / / F O L L O W U S TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 45

rt.com 00IslandsPhotoA (c) Ian Coristine/10

DISCOVER A WORLD OF LEARNING right on the banks of the St. Lawrence River!

The Aquatarium is Eastern Ontario’s newest star attraction and it will be opening in 2015! It is a 25,000 square foot, interactive, learning and discovery centre located on the shore of the St Lawrence River in the City of Brockville.

At the Aquatarium, learning can be as entertaining as it is educational. A variety of interactive adventures and experiences inspire critical thinking through storytelling and play while cultivating an appreciation of the unique history, culture and ecosystems of the 1000 Islands region. Visitors will discover the diverse wildlife of the islands, explore the area’s unique history and culture, learn about the economics of the St. Lawrence River, and get their bodies moving in one of many recreational experiences. The Aquatarium invites visitors to join a passionate conversation about the world around them while providing a uniquely educational and wholly entertaining experience.

THERE ARE OVER 17 INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCES! HERE ARE JUST A FEW: Aquaria: Uncover a gateway to a world of underwater immersion and exploration. The St. Lawrence River is showcased in three distinct aquarium habitats. Each one has a unique ecosystem that you can explore from vastly different perspectives.

Creation: Discover a world from more than 10,000 years ago, right in our own backyard! Creation is a hands-on experience that lets you trace your way through the ages including getting to know the

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ancient Champlain Sea in our salt water touch tank or digging up the past in a mini archeological site.

Green Screen: Engage your imagination and pretend again; escape the day-to-day by participating in one of our awesome Green Screen experiences. Become a roving reporter or take a speeding boat down the St. Lawrence River. Choose from many themes and props!

The Otter Experience: Our furry little friends invite you to take a step out of the ordinary and explore the 1000 Islands from their point of view. They will keep you captivated as they swim and play throughout the massive glass-enclosed river habitat.

SS Kingston: Our replica of the great paddle steamer SS Kingston will engage explorers with an interactive touchscreen to discover more about the 1000 Islands region.

Ropes Course: Experience climbing through the rigging of a tall ship with our one-of-a-kind ropes course! Climb across the rigging of our two ships, the SS Kingston and the HMS Ontario, before walking to the edge of the deck—where a 4-storey vertical zipline awaits! There’s even a mini ropes course and scramble net for the littlest explorers.

The Power of Water: Discover some of the amazing things the waters of the St. Lawrence River can do, from generating electricity to providing transportation to changing the shape of the land itself!

The Power of Water has an array of engaging and exciting activities for kids and grown-up adventurers.

The Aquatarium isn’t only a place for day trips in the Ontario region. We also host a variety of public and private special events, allowing you to experience our discovery centre in a whole new way. Our spectacular venue provides the perfect ambience for galas, monthly mingles and annual celebrations. We can also host birthday parties, weddings, receptions, dinners, sleepovers, meetings, conferences and more.

RIVERQUEST™ A GATEWAY TO ALL THE INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCES THE 1000 ISLANDS REGION HAS TO OFFER RiverQuest™ is a partnership made up of museums, castles, forts, theatres, art centres, environment reserves, boat tours and much more on both sides of the St. Lawrence River. From Cornwall to Kingston in Canada and from Massena to Sacket’s Harbor in the United States. There is so much to see and explore.

The Aquatarium is 1000 Islands RiverQuest’s showcase.

It offers visitors a taste of everything there is to do in the 1000 Islands. It will inspire visitors to venture out to explore the storied history, complex ecological systems, and abundant recreational activities found throughout the St. Lawrence River region.

In fact, RiverQuest™ has made it easy to explore the region by developing themed Quests centred on any number of exciting cultural and historical themes, including Pirates & Rum Runners, the exciting history of the Gilded Age and thrilling outdoor attractions in the 1000 Islands that invoke the majesty of the great outdoors.

Visit 1000islandsriverquest.com to start your RiverQuest today!

Of the utmost importance is the Aquatarium’s commitment to lifelong learning. Open year-round, the Aquatarium will be a leader in curriculum-based learning for children utilizing experiential and interactive programming that will encourage critical thinking and a lifelong passion for continued learning.

There is so much more to see and do at the Aquatarium. Visit www. aquatarium.ca to plan your visit today and we will see you in 2015!

aquatarium.ca

1000islandsriverquest.com TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 47

FROM

tHEIR FaMILY tO YOuRS: BRead & BUtteR BaKeRy and Fine PaStRieS

by: lAureN ChArley

This winter, indulge in the comforts of fluffy baked bread, sweet pastries, and the delicacy of homemade cakes fresh from Bread & Butter Bakery. The bakery is located in Kingston, where it is owned and operated by Wendy Whitall along with her husband, two daughters, and 35 other employees. The enterprise is a treasure chest of baked goods where you can satisfy your cravings for delicious treats, and also indulge in home-cooked meals to take home with you, prepared by the shop’s savoury cooking specialists.

A HISTORY OF THE BAKERY AND THE WHITALL FAMILY STORY Bread & Butter Bakery was established in 1998 after the Whitalls moved from Niagara to Kingston, where Wendy could follow her dream of opening her own shop. She desired to share her passion for baking and cooking with others by providing customers with an outlet to purchase fresh homemade breads and pastries as well as hearty meals.

Wendy took an interest in culinary at a young age and gained inspiration from her Ukrainian heritage, which embraced home-cooking and growing your own ingredients. “Preparations for holidays, especially Christmas, started at least a month in advance with my mother and aunts baking a huge assortment of beautiful cookies and freezing cabbage rolls and perogies,” recounts Wendy. With the support of her family, Wendy pursued her passion for cuisine and attended the Culinary Arts Program at Niagara College, where she graduated as a Pastry Chef and opened Bread & Butter Bakery in Kingston a few years later.

Bread & Butter’s proprietor is blessed to say that she works alongside her husband, Wayne, and two daughters, Katie, 30, and Hilary 27, at the bakery. Each member of the Whithall family plays an integral role in the operation of their business. Wendy and Wayne oversee and help with a diverse array of kitchen duties by arriving early in the morning to help finish the night’s baking, and assisting with prep work and additional baking during the day. Hilary is the designated cake decorator, and the artistic brain behind the unique presentation of the baked goods. Katie handles all of the business operations and runs the store front to ensure that the shop exceeds customers’ expectations of service and professionalism.

“WHAT I LOVE THE MOST IS USING MY HANDS TO

CREATE SOMETHING THAT NOT ONLY NOURISHES MY FAMILY AND CUSTOMERS,

BUT MAKES LIFE MORE ENJOYABLE. I LOVE TO EAT AND WANT TO SHARE

THAT WITH EVERYONE.”

WENDY WHITHALL

Wendy usually arrives to work bright and early at 5am each morning; however, the kitchen runs 24 hours a day in order to stay on top of all the baking and cooking. Her favourite type of cuisine to cook is “Regional Canadian”, by incorporating locally grown produce and ingredients to let the natural flavours enrich her recipes. This past summer, Bread & Butter Bakery was asked by a market in Kingston to create a 100% local cake for their anniversary to serve. The team whipped up a “Rhubarb Upside Down Cake” using all local rhubarb, maple syrup and spelt flour grown and ground in the area. >>

– WENDY WHITHALL

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 49

FRESH FROM THE BAKERY

TARTS AND SQUARES: Also part of an irresistible collection of desserts are the bakery’s butter and fruit tarts, cream puffs, éclairs, and BREAKFAST PASTRIES: Start off the morning by treating your taste Napoleon bars, as well as brownies, cobblers, and fruit squares. Savour buds to the sensation of a fresh baked, warm breakfast pastry. The the bread pudding with succulent butter rum sauce for a warm and subtle amounts of sweet combined with a soft, flaky texture will put delightful taste of a classic English pudding. you in a good mood and leave your tummy satisfied through the early hours. Choose from selections such as muffins, scones, croissants, and SWEET LOAVES: A slice of a sweet loaf is enjoyable any time of the buns, complete with a dollop of butter from Stirling Creamery. If you’re day, as they marry the dense and filling sensation of bread with the mild craving something super sugary, give in to your temptations with a sweetness of a tasty dessert. Bring your coworkers a piece of happiness by sharing a lemon poppy seed, banana, Guinness ginger, rhubarb, or warm and gooey cinnamon bun. any other kind of sweet bread, perfect to have with a morning coffee or BREADS: All bread loaves are hand rolled and use all natural afternoon tea. ingredients with no preservatives. Bread & Butter’s special “red fife whole wheat bread” is made with red fife and rye flours which are grown PIES: The sensation of delicious homemade pastry will melt on your tongue as soon as you sample Bread & Butter’s flaky pie crust and and harvested in the local Kingston area. crumbles. Select a filling of fresh, local fruit, or embrace the delicacy of CAKES: A perfect addition to any special occasion, the Whithalls and coconut and chocolate cream, lemon and butterscotch meringue, or even their team are excited to make a custom cake just for you, by designing a chocolate caramel peanut butter mousse pie. The pastry experts are an alluring creation as intricate or simplistic as you request. always experimenting with new combinations, keeping their customers Buttercream cakes are made with real butter, and available in chocolate surprised for the next best seller. or vanilla with a choice of filling: vanilla, chocolate, raspberry, lemon or mocha. Mousse cakes are a delicious way to indulge in the moist texture of sponge cake with delectable fruity or chocolate mousse between and HOME-COOKED GOODNESS surrounding each layer. Available in an array of flavours including white In addition to their signatures breads, cakes, pastries and treats, Bread chocolate raspberry and maple pecan, cheesecake are the ultimate treat & Butter Bakery also offers an extensive menu of savoury meals for to satisfy a craving for something rich and creamy. The bakery also you to carry out and take home. All meals prepared are fully cooked offers a choice of specialty cakes including trifle cake, chocolate caramel on the premises and come with full heating instructions. The take out pecan, carrot, and a flourless chocolate torte, all crafted perfectly for a options includes meals such as mac n’ cheese, meat pies, or soups, salads, visual appeal as good as the taste! sandwiches, quiche, and even individual pizzas. Items on the menu

FUN FACT! LAST YEAR, BREAD & BUTTER

TO MAKE THEIR OWN BUTTER,

LAURA’S LADLE: Every month on the Bread & Butter Bakery website, the savoury cook, Laura, shares one of her special recipes which customers can prepare right from their own kitchen. During the winter months, Laura instructs how to prepare her flavourful soups and stews, using local produce and seasonal ingredients. The recipe also suggests what delicious foods can accompany the soup for a hearty main course, including breads from the bakery.

IT WOULD BE A FULL TIME JOB,

HEALTHY THURSDAYS

BAKERY WENT THROUGH 25,000 LBS OF BUTTER! IN ORDER

THEREFORE THE WHITHALLS IMPORT THEIR BUTTER FROM STIRLING CREAMY, LOCATED JUST OUTSIDE OF BELLEVILLE, ONTARIO. The display case in store is always stocked with a variety of whole cakes for customers who want to pick up a spontaneous treat to enjoy.

If you’re craving just a taste, individual slices of cheesecake and mousse cakes are sold at the store, as well as the featured “cake of the month”.

During the month of October, the Spiced Pumpkin with Pecans cake was a hit, as customers loved spiced buttercream layered within slabs of pumpkin sponge. November unveiled a rich Belgium chocolate cake, filled and topped with coconut and pecans.

COOKIES: These enticing cookies will have you hooked as soon as you meet the aroma of butter, sugar, and flour, baked to perfection for an irresistible snack. The old-fashioned recipe generates chewy, fresh cookies with a familiar taste from a Grandma’s kitchen. Available in a variety of classic flavours, a giant or smaller cookie pairs perfectly with a cold glass of milk; if you’re a fan of coconut, try a macaroon, offered in raspberry, lemon, original, and chocolate.

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change frequently so there is always a new special dish for customers to try. Special for the winter season, warm up with their Shepherd’s Pie.

After receiving numerous requests from customers who are devoted to Bread & Butter’s original goodies, yet are becoming aware of the benefits of certain “super foods”, the shop launched their “Healthy Thursdays”. Each week a product is prepared with ancient grains and alternate fats, providing added health benefits to their baking and cooking. There is no reason why you can’t look and feel great while simultaneously enjoying the delights of decadent breads and pastries.

VISITING BREAD & BUTTER BAKERY The bakery is located at 1530 Bath Road, Kingston, Ontario, K7M 4X6 and is open Monday -Friday 7:30am -7pm, Saturday 8:30am- 5pm, and Sunday 9-5pm. Patrons are also invited to sign up on their website for Bread & Butter’s monthly electronic newsletter to stay informed on all the specials and updates from their favourite bakery. TM

CRANBERRY ALMOND MUSELI BARS Wendy kindly provided her recipe for Cranberry Almond Cranberry Muesli Bars.

Her secret tip is to treat baking like cookingusing the freshest, best tasting and most natural ingredients in order to produce the best results.

• • • • • • • • • •

12 oz Butter

6 oz Sugar 135 gm Honey 1 ½ tsp Vanilla 1 cup Slivered Almonds 1 cup Shredded Coconut 1 cup Sunflower Seeds 3 cups Oats ¾ tsp Salt ¾ cup Dried Cranberries

Melt butter, sugar and honey together in a pot until sugar is dissolved. Take off heat and stir in rest of ingredients. Pour into pan that has been lined with parchment paper and the sides sprayed with pan release spray. Press in pan until completely flat and even thickness everywhere. Bake approx. 21-23 minutes, until top is gold in colour.

Cut in 24 pieces when cool, 1 ¾ “ x 3 ½ “

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 51

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A CITY GUIDE TO HELP SAVE YOU MONEY ALONG THE WAY Where can we take you?

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 53 TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 3

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By: Mariana Bockarova

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

WHY WE LIKE WHAT WE LIKE I judiciously placed one fry in my mouth, and chewed slowly. We had been on the road for nearly six hours now, and it was the only place we could find for miles. Really, it was either this or a bag of Cheetos from the gas station nearby. This was my first McDonald’s French fry in what might have been six years. I ate hesitantly, with facts and figures from the film Super Size Me running through my mind. But right then, after the first fry, with indisputable clarity, my reluctant chewing quickened: Whatever I was eating didn’t matter, I liked it. I liked it so much, in fact, I consumed the whole box, along with the McChicken sandwich slathered in sauce next to it. I then ordered seconds. Gluttony, perhaps, or a moment of intense hunger satiated by the delicious taste of greasy, fatty, sugar-filled food.

But I’d known better, hadn’t I? After all, I had read the current research on sodium intake, and seen the YouTube videos of the content that can only be described as “pink slime” presumably forming McDonald’s chicken “meat”. Nevertheless, there I was, French fry in hand. Not only did I like it; appropriately, I was “lovin’it”. Why? >>

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 55

“APPARENTLY, WHEN A PRODUCT MATCHES OUR EXPECTED QUALITY OF IT, WE LIKE IT.” 56

F

rom a biological perspective, in his book, Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, Michael Moss explains that we humans derive an enormous amount of pleasure from eating specific foods. In fact, we’re programmed to: Before we even consume food, just the sight of it is enough for our mouths to literally start watering.

It’s not only the saliva production that acts as a precursor to pleasurable feelings, but when food interacts with our saliva, the taste buds inside our mouths release chemicals into the nerves which signal to the brain that we are consuming something satisfying. While preference for certain tastes begins in utero – such that if your mother ate chocolates, you, too, should enjoy a healthy liking of sweets – this doesn’t only work with sugary foods, but any refined starch - like bread, pizza, even hamburger buns - which our body converts to sugar. While the brain research is still fuzzy, we do know that eating specific foods triggers the “reward circuit” in our brain, mainly controlled through a structure called the Nucleus Accumbens.

In fact, it is this very structure, the Nucleus Accumbens, that isn’t just found to be central when we eat delicious – though likely not so healthy – foods. It is found to be a key player in anything we like, music included. In a 2013 study, researchers from McGill University asked 20 people to listen to music in their preferred genre while in an MRI. The catch was, they had never listened to the songs before, and immediately after each song, they were asked whether they would spend zero dollars, 99c, $1.29 or $2 to purchase the song from iTunes. When a participant in the study really enjoyed the song, the reward center lit up.

The really interesting part was that the researchers found that the more the reward center was activated, the more money participants in the study were willing to spend on the song. Though this is important to note – especially when we have a credit card on hand and iTunes open! – where did one’s “liking” of that genre come from?

From a psychological lens, as identified by Tom Vanderbilt, we like things for a number of different reasons: For starters, psychologist Robert Zajonc’s “mere exposure” effect suggests that “mere repeated exposure of the individual to a stimulus is a sufficient condition for the enhancement of his attitude toward it.” In fact, the McGill researchers found that while the Nucleus Accumbens lit up, so did a region of the brain called the superior temporal gyrus, which is “the part of the brain that has stored all the templates of the music we’ve heard in the past”. The problem with the mere exposure effect is that as we are exposed to more complex pieces of music or even more com-

plicated meals, we tend to prefer them to simpler tastes.

Perhaps this explains why we enjoyed “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” as infants, but it would be an unlikely choice to identify as our favorite piece today.

Second, as we might expect, memory plays a hefty role in liking what we like: Choosing the same brand of peanut butter we used to eat as a child, or keeping a raggedy teddy bear on our nightstand, even though it might be 20 years old? We can attribute these behaviors to the memories and nostalgic feelings we get when we see them, because of the fond memories we have attached to them. In fact, a common phenomenon curbed by memory is gradually disliking what we consume when we consume it. For instance, having that first bite of chocolate always tastes better than when you’ve eaten half (or more!) of the bar. Instead of remembering how bland the chocolate tasted after the tenth bite, our memory tricks us into thinking eating the whole bar was as pleasurable as the first.

Third, our expectations play a large role in determining what we like and how much we actually like it. In a study looking at how food labels influence the liking of food, researchers asked their participants to taste two types of corn - one that was from a recognizable brand, and another that went unbranded. They were told which was the brand-name corn immediately before trying both and asked to rate how much they expected to like each kind.

Not surprisingly, participants rated that they expected to like the branded corn much more than the unbranded.

When eating the corn, they found their expectations to be true – they preferred the taste of the branded corn to that of the unbranded kind. The catch? Both were the exact same corn! Apparently, when a product matches our expected quality of it, we like it.

Evolutionarily, we like what we need. We are programmed to want to survive and reproduce, and our behaviors – including choosing what we like – is directly shaped from this motivation. We like food, water, and sleep because we need it to survive. We like sex because we need it to reproduce. According to Paul Bloom’s book, How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like, from the adaptationist theory of pleasure, we humans like weird things – dying our hair purple, painting our nails black, putting tattoos on our face – as a means to “peacock”. In other words, we choose to like TM strange things because it’s an ostentatious way of attempting to attract a mate.

Whether my eating of McDonald’s fulfilled my evolutionary need to eat, elicited memories of eating Happy Meals as a child, or maybe even overwhelmed my brain’s reward centre upon first bite, we like what we like, and it’s what we like that makes us unique.

GRAND THEATRE GRAND THEATRE

presents presents

2015

Jan 18 Theater Terra presents: Spot, the Dog Jan 20-25 TheatreRUN presents: Dostoevsky’s The Double (Baby Grand) Jan 30 Great Big Sea’s Alan Doyle Jan 31 Sing-a-long-a Sound of Music Feb 5 Toronto Dance Teatre presents: Rare Mix Feb 6 Classic Albums Live performs: Pink Floyd – The Wall Feb 11 Veterans of SNL: Rob Schneider, Tim Meadows & Chris Kattan Feb 17 Lizt Alfonzo Dance Cuba Feb 19 Bettye LaVette Feb 27 Ethan Russell: The Best Seat In Twhe House Mar 6 An Intimate Evening with Jann Arden Mar 7 Jake Shimabukuro Mar 8 Tall Stories Theatre presents: The Gruffalo’s Child

Mar 14 Mar 21 Mar 27 Apr 11 Apr 16

Apr 18 Apr 24

May 2

Preservation Hall Jazz Band Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder Vienna Boys Choir National Chinese Acrobats The Klezmatics with Special Guest Joshua Nelson “Brother Moses Smote the Water” Just For Laughs Road Show The Blues Hall of Fame Tour featuring Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton & John Hammond Canada’s Ballet Jörgen presents: Cinderella

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DAYS OF fashion

30

BY: MARIANA BOCKAROVA

I

n 2014, a study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology made waves about the efficacy of “retail therapy”. The University of Michigan researchers conducted three experiments to see whether shopping made any significant difference on someone’s mood. Surprisingly, not only was retail therapy found to be effective at boosting moods, but it was found that engaging in shopping and carrying through with actually purchasing items was a staggering 40 times more effective in giving people a sense of control in their lives than those who simply browsed, and those who purchased products were three times less sad. The researchers concluded: “Retail therapy – shopping that is motivated by distress – is often said to be ineffective, wasteful and a dark side of consumer behavior, but we propose that retail therapy has been viewed too negatively, and that shopping may be an effective way to minimize sadness”.

But why would shopping produce such an effect? A study conducted by TNS Global on behalf of Ebates.com found that purchasing new products helps us ease into life transitions, acting as a mental source of preparation for a change in our lives. Researchers lists getting married and having a baby - arguably the two most stressful events in our lives - as surrounded by shopping and purchasing activities. Another potential reason shopping might be effective in alleviating our distress is because it boosts creativity: As clothing allows us to express who we are, purchasing new items allows us to reaffirm our identities, safely step out of our comfort zones and seek out beauty and design we might not normally engage in. While retail therapy is scientifically effective yet financially taxing, Nalinie D. Budhu, the Creative Director of Styled By Nalinie, recommends a thriftier approach: 30 Days of Style.

“Embarking on a 30 day style challenge would be beneficial to women because it would push them outside their comfort zone and challenge them to see clothes differently. One of the things I teach my clients is how to take one item and wear it multiple ways. It’s a great teaching tool to show you that you don’t have to have a closet full of clothes, just the right ones. Mixing and matching creates longevity and wear-ability of clothing…taking office wear from day right into dinner at night!”>>

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 67

W

While fashion is “what’s in the shops right now…runway trends, pictures in magazines,” Nalinie suggests crafting a style instead of purchasing continuously changing items as more effective in the long run, as it helps affirm and solidify our identities: “For me, I’ve always been fascinated with fabrics, textures, patterns and how it all works together. For as long as I can remember everything fashion I was obsessed with…Like clockwork, every week I watched Fashion Television to see upcoming trends for the season, what designer was creating the next big thing. It is just a part of who I am and always will be. It was only logical for me to want to be part of this ever growing industry and to pass on the knowledge to clients, so I became a stylist. Over the years, I’ve found style is something that has been modified and customized on an individual level to suit each person’s own personality and body. Clients come to me because it’s more about education and letting the client realize who they truly are.”

For the month of September, I decided to take on the 30 Day Style Challenge, with the promise to renew myself: September 1st, I woke up with an excitement. I had a new zest for life, which I never assumed I would find through the prospect of altering my clothing. Inside the trenches of my closet, I dug and dug finding pieces I hadn’t worn in years. I pulled clothes I don’t recall ever having seen, let alone purchased, and immediately started matching them to my existing set in rotation; pairing a paisley top with jeans, a trench coat over tights, and never again will I underestimate the importance of a staple necklace. Within the first week, I received compliments from co-workers. By the third, variations of “I love how you put that together” and “can you teach me your style?” were phrases I heard regularly. I was on cloud nine. Then came day 22. I had been out shopping and spotted a particularly nice animal print shirt worn by one of the salesgirls. Without flinching, I bought it and threw it on. Instead of feeling stylish, I felt shabby and didn’t know why. Nalinie, however, was spot on: “Most often women are too busy looking at the number instead of the shape and fit. Every designer cuts differently, so instead of looking at the size, focus on the fit and shape the garment gives you. Once you’re able to let go it will open up an whole new way of thinking.” Though the shirt in question was in my size, it was completely wrong for my body shape. An ‘aha!’ moment ensued.

Ironically, this was exactly the sort of outfit I would have worn prior to the challenge without thinking twice. Now that I had started dressing with intention and being mindful about what I wore, I found that not only did I feel my confidence improve, but my mood did as well. I’m happy to say that the poorly fit shirt is now long gone - and my shabby style with it! TM

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IF YOU PLAN ON EMBARKING ON THE 30 DAY STYLE CHALLENGE, HERE ARE A FEW OF NALINIE’S TIPS:

SCARVES ARE A GREAT ACCESSORY; ALWAYS STASH ONE IN YOUR BAG….WHAT A FANTASTIC WAY TO DRESS UP A PAIR OF JEANS AND TEE.

DON‘T SKIMP OUT ON YOUR UNDERGARMENTS! GO TO A SPECIALTY SHOP AND GET FITTED, IT WILL BE THE BEST THING YOU DO FOR YOURSELF AND THAT SHEATH DRESS YOU PLAN ON WEARING!

IF YOU HAVE A CLOSET FULL OF NEUTRALS, ENERGIZE WITH BOLD HUED SHOES AND BAGS. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF COLOUR!

OWN SOMETHING IN LEOPARD. IT’S RACY, ALWAYS GORGEOUS AND A GREAT STAPLE. IT’S A GREAT WAY TO ADD THE WOW FACTOR WITHOUT IT BEING TOO OVER THE TOP.

EMBRACE THE SHAPE OF YOUR BODY, ONCE YOU KNOW THE RIGHT SILHOUETTE THAT SUITS YOUR BODY YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FILTER OUT ALL THE ILL FITTING ITEMS AND SHOPPING WILL BE DONE WITH EASE!

INVEST IN A QUALITY OUTER WEAR. IT MAKES AN INCREDIBLE STATEMENT. LOOK AT DETAILS, SUCH AS SEAMS THAT WILL CREATE THAT SHAPE. FIT IS EVERYTHING!

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 69

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DIS

CON NEC TED WHAT I LEARNED

BY GIVING UP MY CELL PHONE FOR THREE MONTHS

BY MARIANA BOCKAROVA

I

t was around this time last year that the unprecedented ice storm hit Toronto and I found myself, like thousands, without power for a staggering 85 hours in the freezing cold. Within the fi rst 12 hours, I sat in my living room bundled in blankets, shivering, but finding comfort in the dim glow of my cell phone. I cleaned up my email with a sense of satisfaction; the proverbial ‘break from life’ the otherwise heinous ice storm had given me allowed a surprisingly high amount of productivity. As hours passed, I searched through my Facebook newsfeed, visited friends’ profi les who I hadn’t recalled in some time, and read through my twitter feed, with the hashtag #darkTO proving particularly entertaining. With a slight smile noting the communal outrage that was experienced towards the ice storm, though I was without power, the little device in my hand kept me feeling well connected to the rest of the world.

I felt alit, that is, until the “spinning wheel of death”, as it is known in the iPhone community, became the last light I saw that night. Then, everything really went dark: Within the fi rst hour of being cell-less, I felt okay. Although, that isn’t to say I wouldn’t habitually check my phone to see if I had any incoming text messages, only to be cruelly reminded that while my phone was physically there, I was, for all intents and purposes, cell-less. The second hour was full of self-distraction by the means of contemplating how to cook in the cold and trying to clean my house with only a candle in hand (which never bodes well). I found myself routinely wandering into my pocket and digging at my phone, wondering whether it had miraculously sprung to life. It really wasn’t until the third hour that I became desperate – who had called? Who had texted? Despite it being two o’clock in the morning, how many “important” emails had I received? Yes, I gather from staring at my wristwatch that night, it had taken me a total of three hours to feel totally and completely severed from humanity.

I woke up the next morning with thoughts sprinting about my fl atlined connection to the external world: I wondered how many laws of social etiquette I had violated by not having replied to an email or text in an appropriate amount of time. After all, in the context of social game theory, taking too long to respond could constitute a chief offense. Early that morning, then, I found the dissipation of my distressing thoughts to be proper justification to walk a half hour in knee-deep snow to a local library where I planned to charge my phone. Upon arrival, and subsequent realization that the TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 71

NEXT, I LEARNED THAT PEOPLE ARE, IN FACT,

library was not yet open, I stood outside for hours, burrowing my feet in the snow, contemplating how it was possible that this little device had such a hold over me: Marshall McLuhan, famed Canadian scholar and writer, wrote that technologies become an extension of our physical and mental selves. I had become so reliant on my cell-phone, on this seemingly wonderful extension of myself, that I never once thought of the ramifications of this over-reliance: In storing numbers, and using Siri to voice-to-text record notes, I no longer used my memory in order to recall thoughts, but rather I would refer back to my saved data. Through using my cellphone’s built-in GPS, the navigation portion of my brain, which should have evolutionarily been fine tuned in providing a sense of direction by now, had likely weakened as well. I thought about McLuhan’s words and how many times I had wandered on Facebook mobile, particularly during a tiring or boring moment to watch other people live their lives instead of truly living my own.

Perhaps it was a moment of learned helplessness, knowing the batteries of my cellphone would continuously die and I would be launched into cell-less despair again, but I decided in that moment to bury my phone in the folds of my purse, walk home, and embrace my newfound cell-less existence.

The next three months were met by confusion, anger, and – surprisingly – admiration, by both myself and anyone who had attempted contact with me. Not having a cellphone meant not having instant access to my social and professional network, not receiving information at my fingertips whenever it was wanted or needed, and not being able to respond to emails and text messages within seconds. These were all matters of efficiency and productivity, but the poignancy of not “being connected” really boiled down to having to re-awaken the uncomfortable feelings we have whenever we reach into our pockets to distract ourselves from the harsher realities of life; the moments wherein we’re awkward and feel alone. The fi rst time I came to this realization was at the two-week mark, during my daily subway commute downtown. By this point, the novelty of being cell-less had worn off. I looked around at the bizarre nature of what is a human with a cellphone; each passenger connected to a world of their own, together. Surrounded by each other, the only interaction each had would be an accidental bump and

WONDERFUL,

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GIVEN AMPLE

OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS

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a half-hearted apology. Though they were all connected – pods in ear, cell in hand – they were inevitably alone, the cellphone a crutch to make it seem otherwise: As a man sitting next to an attractive young woman peered at her cellphone, she jerked up in surprise. He had violated her somehow by just by a glance. He then noted something about the nature of Candy Crush and for a brief moment, she looked up at him and smiled, albeit reluctantly, before slumping back, eyes to phone, gawking. He re-initiated contact a few times, before her response was clear: No, thanks. To anyone observing the interaction, her phone was not merely an escape, but a protective friend replacing a physical one.

Where she felt she couldn’t speak, her cell did all the talking. With every rejection that faced him, he, as well, would turn to back his phone; too important, too busy to care: The avoidance of those uncomfortable feelings substantially mediated by a cell in hand.

Next, I learned that people are, in fact, wonderful, only they aren’t given ample opportunity to express this quality. This recognition came as I stood outside a subway pod, waiting to be picked up by a friend for dinner. I had no way of alerting her that I had arrived a half-hour early, so I resolved to stay and wait. As I stood there, a middle-aged woman coming out of the subway rushed towards me; “Do you need a token? I have plenty.” I hadn’t approached her, but she must have seen a mark of disappointment on my face and assumed it was due to financial reasons on my part. I explained to her the situation I had put myself in, and she was quick to offer me her phone, as well as admiration for the project I had undertaken. We exchanged numbers – home phone, in my case – and have been friends since. Without my phone, I made a greater effort to connect to friends and saw the quality of my social and family life improve…all without lifting a finger – no pun intended.

Lastly, I learned to sleep. The blue light emanating from our screens suppresses our production of melatonin, a hormone which helps us fall into restful slumber. Decreased melatonin has been linked to higher rates of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers, and studies have found that wearing amber glasses, which block blue light rays, is linked to lower cancer rates. This particular blue light exposure has not only been found to directly correlate with higher cancer rates in mice, but it has a profound effect on mood as well, being linked to higher rates of depression in mice.

My life without a cell phone lasted a total of three months. I feel like I could have extended it for more, had I not recognized that in unfortunate times of urgency, when needing to be reached is essential, a cell phone proves to be an invaluable tool. Nevertheless, I learned lessons I had forgotten for years in my voyage of cell-lessness, which I hope to remember for many more years to come. If not, a three-month cell-less retreat would do just fine. TM

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TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 73

A TRAVELER REVIEW

Just GO - it was brilliant!!!

Reviewed by acrossthepond1, a TripAdvisor traveler » Toronto » August 23, 2013

ALBRIGHT-KNOX ART GALLERY

RHEA ANNA

“If you did not know you were in Buffalo you would only expect this level of quality in New York, London or Paris. Just blew us away with the variety.”

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Dear Canadians, You’ve tailgated at the Ralph. Caught a flight, found a bargain, been to a game and returned home the same day. You’ve been here, done that.

But do you really know Buffalo?

Have you seen a Broadway show at Shea’s? Tried the beef-on-weck sushi at Seabar? Quaffed a craft brew at Cole’s? Toured a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece?

Walked and gawked and windowshopped in the Elmwood Village?

Caught an alt-country show at an opening at the Burchfield Penney? Segwayed through Delaware Park? Stopped to smell

BIFF HENRICH

Sportsmen’s Tavern? Been to

ERIC FRICK

the flowers at Garden Walk? Taken the kids to the Buffalo Zoo? Had an artisanal cocktail at Vera?

Been to a classical concert at Kleinhans?

Kayaked through Elevator Alley?

Gone to a food truck rodeo at Larkin Square? Tried your luck at the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino?

No? Then what are you waiting for? That’s 15 things you didn’t know about Buffalo Niagara. Pop over the Peace Bridge and see for yourself. The nearest faraway place is just a short drive away.

Sincerely,

Buffalo Niagara

VisitBuffaloNiagara.com » 1.800.BUFFALO TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 75

EVENT

LISTINGS

76

here . SEE . do

GRAND THEATRE LISTING

MARCH 28: Pops3-O’Callaghan Sings Cohen

JANUARY 8: Legally Blonde

APRIL 11: National Chinese Acrobats

JANUARY 9: The Great Debate

APRIL 12: MW6-Shostakovich & Schubert

JANUARY 12: Bahamas

APRIL 16: The Klezmatics with Special Guest Joshua Nelson: “Brother Moses Smote the Water”

JANUARY 15: The Glass Menagerie JANUARY 17: Pops2-A Celtic Journey JANUARY 18: Theatre Terra-Spot, The Dog JANUARY 20: Bad News Days Presents-Dostoevsky’s The Double JANUARY 21: Nikki Yanofsky: Kaboom Pow-The Little Secret Tour JANUARY 30: Great Big Sea’s Alan Doyle

APRIL 7: Mike the Knight Live!

APRIL 18: Just for Laughs APRIL 23: Silver Dagger APRIL 24: The Blues Hall of Fame featuring Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton & John Hammond APRIL 25: Pops4-Howard Cable’s Big Band Hits For more information and to get tickets to any of the shows at the Grand Theatre, please visit kingstongrand.ca

JANUARY 31: Sing-A-Long Sound of Music FEBRUARY 1: MW4 Dvorak & Brahms FEBRUARY 3: Stars with Hey Rosetta!

FEBRUARY 5: Toronto Dance Theatre-A Rare Mix FEBRUARY 6: Classic Album Live presents: Pink FloydThe Wall

KINGSTON EVENT LISTING ALIGHT AT NIGHT FESTIVAL December 5 to January 3 in Morrisburg at Upper Canada Village

FEBRUARY 17: Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba Presents Amigas

Take an evening stroll through this beautiful wintertime setting that is lit up by almost 1 million lights. You can walk through the village or take a romantic carriage ride. The Village store is open every night during the festival and will be selling fresh baked bread and cinnamon buns. Get more information at uppercanadavillage.com.

FEBRUARY 19: Bettye LaVette with guests The Walkervilles

FEB FEST February 6 to 9 at Springer Market Square, Downtown Kingston

FEBRUARY 24: Dan Mangan + Blacksmith with Hayden and Astral Swans

The 10th Annual Feb Fest will include ice sliding, public skating, hockey games, live music, food and drink, live shows and more. More information at febfestkingston.com

FEBRUARY 8: The Great Outdoors FEBRUARY 11: Veterans of SNL: Rob Schneider, Tim Meadows and Chris Kattan

FEBRUARY 26: Mom’s the Word FEBRUARY 27: Ethan RusselL The Best Seat in the House MARCH 1: MW5-Rachmaninoff & Tchaikovsky MARCH 6: Jann Arden MARCH 7: Jake Shimabukuro MARCH 8: Tall Stories Presents-The Gruffalo’s Child MARCH 14: Preservation Hall Jazz Band MARCH 15: Mendelssohn’s Elijah MARCH 21: An Evening With Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder MARCH 27: Vienna Boys Choir

SKATE CANADA 2015 NATIONAL SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS January 1 to 25 at Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston This exciting event will feature around 250 skaters in the men’s, women’s, pair and ice dance competitions and they will be competing in three categories: senior, junior and novice. Tickets are available through ticketmaster.ca KINGSTON WINTER ANTIQUE SHOW February 7 (from 10 to 5) and 8 (from 11 to 4) at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour This antique show will feature 52 antique dealers.

Admission is $12 on Saturday and $8 on Sunday.

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 77

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WHAT YOU WANT @ A PRICE YOU LOVE. www.grabjab.com TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 79

80

fierce film festival CELEBRATING KINGSTON’S SMALL BUT

BY GABRIELLE TIEMAN

Celebrating 15 years of honouring Canadian film, the Kingston Canadian Film Festival enters a milestone year with more films, new workshops and bigger than ever programming.

Infused with the belief that Canadian film is vital to Canadian culture, this one-of-a-kind festival gives Canadian film makers and movie goers alike the opportunity to become actively involved in film; developing a forum for conversation, education and celebration. >>

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 81

THE FESTIVAL’S SHORT PROGRAM HAS PROVEN TO BE THE JUMPSTART FOR MANY FILM MAKERS WHO HAVE GONE ON TO WIN AWARDS IN FEATURE FILMS.

T

aking place February 26 to March 1, the City of Kingston will come alive to celebrate the best in Canadian arts. Though the event may be small, it is fierce; attracting a 20 per cent tourist crowd and over five thousand attendees in 2014. KCFF’s team warrants this to the total inclusiveness and work that goes into ensuring that there is an event and screening to peek every individual’s interest.

“For it’s size, it is a very successful festival,” said Marc Garniss, general manager for the KCFF. “It’s not TIFF, but it has grown beyond the student festival that it once was. We have expanded our programming -- this year we are including live music into the schedule -- we feature a wide range of both short and feature fi lms and we like to cover as many genres as possible.”

Launched in 2001 by Queen’s University fi lm student Alex Jansen, the festival began as a three-day event supported almost exclusively by Queen’s students. As the years progressed the festival grew in tandem; outgrowing their original single auditorium and expanding to include multiple venues across the city and attracting both community and regional attention from fi lm seekers.

Today the four day festival has thrived, breaking previous attendance and box office records, attracting Oscar winning artists and growing to be considered the largest showcase of feature fi lms from across Canada.

“We are known as one of the globes only stand alone Canadian Film Festivals,” said Garniss. “In 2013 we even had the composer for Life of Pi Mychael Danna come to the festival five days after he won an Oscar.

This has definitely become a local event Kingston is proud of.”

In addition to the feature fi lm programming , the festival will showcase short fi lms, workshops, career networking events, live Q&A’s and more over the four days, allowing Canadian artists and fi lm appreciators the chance to mingle, share and teach one another about the growing Canadian fi lm scene.

“We try to cover everything,” said Garniss. “We do not hone in on comedy or drama. We have a good hold on what responds well to our audience and what performs well at the festival so we try to include a combination of all genres.”

This year the festival will showcase 25 feature length fi lms by both amateur fi lmmakers and renowned Canadians, including this year’s Canadian submission to the Oscar’s, the French production Tu Dors Nicole, and a larger shorts program showcasing more fi lms by local amateur fi lmmakers than ever before.

“Before each feature fi lm there will be a local shorts program that will play for the audience,” said Garniss. “Unlike when you go to the movies there will be no commercials or previews. We will showcase these shorts and this guarantees the fi lmmaker an audience.”

Garniss said the festival’s short program has proven to be the jumpstart for many fi lm makers who have gone on to win awards in feature fi lms.

“We accept shorts from all styles of fi lmmakers; every age and skill level, everything is accepted,” said Garniss. “Whether it is their fi rst 82

fi lm, or they may have gone to Queen’s and majored in fi lm or the arts, the festival is a great way for people who would usually just put their fi lm up on the internet for their family and a few people to see.”

The shorts will fall into a few categories, including a local shorts program featuring fi lms shot within 100 kilometres of Kingston with a connection to the area, fi lms solely from youth 17 and under and another showcasing music videos. Apart from being shown in advance to the features, the shorts will also be screened back-to-back for 90 minutes.

Something new to look forward to for returning festival goers is the added addition of a music category; including music videos and live performances by bands associated with the fi lms. Garniss said they hope the new addition will broaden the festival’s scope and get music fans interested in the fi lm programming, and vice versa.

“We fi nd [music] is a good way to bring in more faces,” said Garniss. “A lot of people may know about the festival and be on the fence about attending but once thEY attend they will come back and that will expand and grow and spread. We will never just throw a live band into the programming. The music show will always correlate to the fi lms, whether it be that the bands were actors in the fi lm or that they were part of the soundtrack; everything has to tie back into fi lm in some way.”

Due to the size of their pop-up venues -- they generally only have a 100 to 200 person capacity -- fi lms with a larger following will be shown three to four times to allow people a chance to view.

“We really do not have a Cineplex or large movie theatre to use in downtown Kingston so we make use of the spaces we can and luckily we have all our own equipment to convert a space into a theatre,” said Garniss. “Last year we used City Hall which was really special.”

Looking to go further than just a face in the audience? The launch of the Local Filmmaking Initiative may interest you. The initiative provides educational and networking opportunities for local fi lmmakers, guarantees the inclusion of French language fi lms at each festival, retrospective screenings and a high school outreach program.

With the vast majority of attendees found to be from the 19-24 age bracket, this partnership with youth education and inspiring future fi lmmakers can only create more forums and fi lms for future festivals.

“This year we are showcasing more special guests for Q&As and over 15 different workshops all over Kingston,” said Garniss. “We will be visiting places and schools where they may not have arts programs so we can share opportunities with people who may have an interest in the arts and fi lm.”

“We feel it is important to not only share with the community but also teach the community how important Canadian fi lm is to our culture.”

Information on specific programs and fi lms to be shown at the 2015 festival will be available at kingcanfi lmfest.com/ in late December 2014. TM

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IT'S TIME TO PLAY 1-877-8-SENECA (873-6322) | SenecaCasinos.com 310 Fourth Street, Niagara Falls, NY 14303 MINUTES FROM THE RAINBOW BRIDGE

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