"Canada is food, and the world is better for it." 
~ Anita Stewart, Food Laureate at the University of Guelph and Food Day Canada Founder

Have you participated in Food Day Canada yet? A nation-wide event, it is held annually at the end of July/beginning of August each year. It started in 2003 as a national day of culinary celebration, and has grown each year. Food Day Canada is a celebration of meals prepared with only Canadian ingredients.

Last year, I was in St. John's, Newfoundland (one of my favorite cities in the world) for their inaugural Food Day Canada event. Held at the Sheraton, right downtown, this was a perfect introduction to local (and national) cuisine. It was also my first introduction to RANL, the Restaurant Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, and RANL director Nancy Brace, who is a passionate and tireless promoter of the culinary scene on the Rock. 

We'd just taken a Marine Atlantic Ferry over from Nova Scotia, and were eager to explore the city. That Saturday evening, we walked into the Sheraton ballroom, straight into a food-lover's dream. First off, it smelled SO GOOD. Secondly, people were so happy to be there - and with good reason! The whole thing was for, by, and about people who love food.

The ballroom had tables lined up along three of the room's walls, exhibits in the middle, and a podium and art on the fourth wall. 

Not knowing where to start, I went to the first table, Roots Country Farm - naturally grown, fresh local veggies - and found myself tasting some delicious locally-made jam on a cracker. 

The next table, with chef Mark McCrowe (read our interview with him here), featured salt beef and potato crusted cod, mustard pickle puree, collard greens, and a whelk beurre blanc sauce.

Then next table was with John Higgins, director of the George Brown Chef School and a Chopped Canada judge, also of The Chef's House, Toronto, who served savory Celtic bread pudding with black pudding, haggis, seared scallop with relish. My friends tell me I use the word Swoon too much, but really, here it is needed. I love haggis.

And eating our way around the room, the next table featured Darrin Reid and Adam Blanchard of 5 Brothers Artisan Cheese, who served Canada's national dish: Poutine! You can find 5 Brothers Artisan cheese all around town, including at Rocket Bakery, where I'd often stop to get a snack and caffeine.

I loved seeing the canning jars that Roger Dewling, of FEAST and Bonavista Institute, College of the North Atlantic, had sitting on the corner of his table. His offering? Couscous and saffron-poached ice shrimps salad with pickled garlic scapes and purees: ginger and carrot, sweet basil and spinach.

With a twist on Chinese buns, Dana Hauser, Executive Chef at the Fairmount Waterfront in Vancouver, served a steamed bun with porchetta, pickled vegetables, and chimichurri sauce. Look at those freshly pickled vegetables. I wanted to devour the whole bowl.

Next up were fresh organic mussels from Notre Dame Bay cooked with Quidi Vidi 1892 ale and cream and garlic, onions, and parsley. I don't love mussels, but I do like taking photos of them. Look:

The list of extraordinary foods went on and on, with passionate chefs plating them - and describing each one to me. Some were whimsical, including a laundry line of cured duck bacon, dipped in maple syrup and crunchy little bits of deliciousness.

Perhaps our favorites (although who can really choose?) were the desserts, which were scrumptious, and a taste of a meal I later ate again at Tavola on Water: BBQ Smoked pork shoulder with Newfoundland Molasses Baked Beans, a roll of crispy chicarron, and a swoosh of arugula puree. Yes. 

Hungry yet? This year, the 2nd year of Newfoundland's participation in Food Day Canada, will feature both a tasting, like I attended, and a Chopped Canada Chefs Dinner.

Chef enthusiasm is palpable

Why get excited about Food Day Canada in Newfoundland? RANL director Nancy Brace notes, "This is just such an awesome event to show off what we do here in Newfoundland Labrador but also to bring these chefs in and show our local crowd what is going on elsewhere in this country that is so fortunate to have such a great bounty of food and flavours. And... this year we are excited to also offer Indian and Japanese food, which helps drive home the point that we also have a diverse dining scene that supports local ingredients."

Indeed.

RANL also organizes several foodie events around the island each year, including the Savour Food and Wine Show, the From this Rock Culinary Tour and Dinner of Local Fare, and assists with other foodie festivals like Songs, Stages and Seafood Festival, and Roots, Rants and Roars.. The culinary scene is changing here, with exciting offerings from chefs and farmers alike.

This year, Newfoundland and Labrador's Food Day Canada includes many of my favorites! Take a look:

Local Chefs:
Adam Blanchard - Five Brothers Cheese
Andrea Maunder- Bacalao
Chris Chafe - EVOO in the Courtyard
Clay Badcock - Sheraton
Daniel Butler - The Gypsy Tearoom
Denise King (Freelance chef partnering with a visiting chef)
Kenneth Pittman - Seto kitchen+bar
Mark McCrowe 
Shaun Hussey - Chinched Bistro
Nickie Sood - India Gate
Peter Ellsworth - Tavola
Ruth Wigman - Sheraton
Joosung Kim - Sushi Nami Royale
Stephen Howell (with Sysco partnering with visiting chef)
Shawn Halley (Tea Garden Restaurant; partnering with visiting chef)

Visiting Chefs:
Zane Caplansky - Caplansky's Deli, Toronto
John Higgins - The Chef House, Toronto
Judd Simpson - House of Parliment, Ottawa
Ned Bell -Vancouver Aquarium, Vancouver 
Chris Jess - The Food School, Guelph

Canadian Beverages:

Dialog Wines (Benjamin Bridge from Nova Scotia)
Constellation Brands (Jackson Triggs from Ontario)
Atlantic Wines and  Spirits (Jost from Nova Scotia)
Collingwood Spirits and Wines (products TBC)
Pure Iceberg Water (from St. Anthony, NL)
Beverage Baron (Happy Knights Wine from New Bruncswick)

Then there is:
Jonathan Richler (emcee and partnering with Zane Caplansky)
Newfoundland Chocolate Co
Bobbie Pike Art
 

And let us not forget the music:
Fergus O'Byrne and Jim Payne with local and Irish music

And now, how to participate in Food Day Canada in Newfoundland:

1. Get your tickets at: http://ranl.ca/food-day-canada-nl/

2. Show up hungry!

3. Ask questions, learn about Canadian food, and how each chef prepares it.

4. Get inspired to make your own twists on the deliciousness you tasted tonight.

5. Happiness ensues.

Details:

The Sheraton is handicap accessible. I was able to get around quite easily (even in a crowded ballroom) with my wheelchair scooter.

Parking is available in the Sheraton lot or on the street.

Follow along on social media: #FoodDayCanada