Blog
Saw - Sage (Sausage) | November 7 2011
Well it seems I ran into the west coast sausage king while food adventuring. Lets just say there was a lot of this hanging around. It was for an interview that will be coming out soon, so look out. I felt like I was in the movie Saw.
I Wish I Went To - Whats On The Table? | November 3 2011
Picture many of the great executive chefs from Toronto’s locavore movement, all under one roof. This rare opportunity took place on Wednesday November 2nd at 6pm for ‘What’s On The Table,’ a fundraiser for The Stop Community Food Centre.
‘What’s on the Table’ presented 35 chef’s and restaurants all throughout the main buildings site. There was a map that showed where each table was and what was being served. The food was to-die-for. The ingredients were all local and fresh, the flavours were so bright, and the portions were unexpectedly satisfying!
Showcasing the best of the season with simple high quality ingredients were a lot of harvest root vegetables and rich warm ingredients like puff pastry, biscuits, sausage, sweetbreads and lobster.
There were several tree like towers of delectable deserts that included handmade chocolates, macaroons, cakes, candies and pastries; capturing my attention with their colours and presentation. At this event, you not only get to try some amazing foods but have the rare opportunity to be able to talk to the chef’s that made them.
A real passion project, ‘The Stop’ not only provides food for families in need, it has a drop in food bank, perinatal program, community action program, bake ovens and markets, community cooking, community advocacy, sustainable food systems education and urban agriculture.
The music created a chill yet party vibe in a bit of a ‘formal’ atmosphere with songs from Adelle, Sade, Mista John Legend and even the Neptunes. Whoever picked the music did good!
Chef Series with Dufflet Rosenberg | November 2 2011
1. I've read that you are a self-taught baker, how did you get into baking?
I baked a few of my mother's favourite recipes for a restaurant in Toronto, a cafe actually, called the Cow Cafe and I liked what I did. That's really how I started, I didn't have much experience at that point. I wanted to be something in that industry, I just didn't know what. So this opportunity came up and I said, okay, I think I can do that, and that's how it all started. I did bake a little bit as a teenager but not at the level that I do now. And my mom's chocolate cake recipe is still one that we used today. I've tweaked it here and there, but it's pretty much still the same.
2. You've been given the title, the Queen of Cakes in Toronto. When did you realize that you truly are the Queen of Cakes?
Well, I think people may say that, but I feel like it's more of a pun because we're on Queen Street. And I really think it's because we've been around for so long and it's more so because of longevity. It's like the Queen. I mean how long has she been the Queen? That's like me.
3. What about baking appeals to you?
I think when people do it as a hobby it can be very satisfying. What I love about baking is how you can see it from beginning to middle to end. You experience the entire thing over a number of stages; it is such a methodical process. It's all chemistry. Unlike cooking, where you cook and then eat it in 2 seconds, where as baking you can have it for a couple of days. I mean, I am a little bit of an impatient person but I have the patience to bake but not the patience to cook. Of course I love eating, I love eating all the spices and flavours. Indian food. Korean food. I love everything. I love it all. I'm just not interested in the process of making it. I'm not a bread baker either, the process of making bread irritates me, I don't like waiting, like I said I'm impatient. I mean I love bread but it is the process of cakes and cookies that I love. I remember when I started in this industry and I was handling meat, I thought, this really isn't for me, but the butter and the flour and the sugar, that's for me.
4. As someone who was born and raised in Toronto, what are some of your favourite things about the city?
I would have to say cycling in Toronto. My husband and I have a tandem and we often go out of town, put the bike on a car, and go ride for a day. We have a whole route where we go out to Mississauga, sort of through Etobicoke to Mississauga then Queen Quay. When we come back, we like to watch the planes underneath the runways. Sometimes I'll take the Humber bike path because we're out in Etobicoke now. I'll jump onto the Humber up to Berry Road and then down, just past Prince Edward, where I have to walk with my bike, carry it up three flights of stairs and then ride along Royal York. It's really quite nice there. Hopefully I can get a few more rides in before it gets too cold.
5. What do you love about cycling?
Well people have said that my husband and I should write stories about our tandem trips, because we discover a lot of things on our trip. We like to see what the bike tour companies are doing but then we make our route. When you're on a bike trip you end up seeing things that you don't see in cars, you just end up on the highway in a car. On a bike, you get a whole different feel of the city, you get the good, the bad and the ugly.
6. What is soul food to you?
To me it's comfort food. The things I bake, having a bowl of munchies and fried chicken. I was actually just saying the other day how you can't get good fried chicken in Toronto.
Book Signing Event | November 1 2011
Check this one out TODAY. Shhh...Im not suppose to announce it. hehehe.
• More booking signing details HERE
Let The Junket Roll | October 31 2011
The Cookbook has officially hit stores and that means Im hitting the street on a press tour to spread the word. Among many things today, I spent a while at CBC and one of the stops was with Karen Gordon doing a radio interview.
We spent a long time chatting about food, music, inspiration, writing books, James Brown and...look out for it, announcements to follow on all stuff coming up.
I Wish I Went To - Whats On The Table? | November 3 2011
‘What’s on the Table’ presented 35 chef’s and restaurants all throughout the main buildings site. There was a map that showed where each table was and what was being served. The food was to-die-for. The ingredients were all local and fresh, the flavours were so bright, and the portions were unexpectedly satisfying!
Showcasing the best of the season with simple high quality ingredients were a lot of harvest root vegetables and rich warm ingredients like puff pastry, biscuits, sausage, sweetbreads and lobster.
There were several tree like towers of delectable deserts that included handmade chocolates, macaroons, cakes, candies and pastries; capturing my attention with their colours and presentation. At this event, you not only get to try some amazing foods but have the rare opportunity to be able to talk to the chef’s that made them.
A real passion project, ‘The Stop’ not only provides food for families in need, it has a drop in food bank, perinatal program, community action program, bake ovens and markets, community cooking, community advocacy, sustainable food systems education and urban agriculture.
The music created a chill yet party vibe in a bit of a ‘formal’ atmosphere with songs from Adelle, Sade, Mista John Legend and even the Neptunes. Whoever picked the music did good!
Chef Series with Dufflet Rosenberg | November 2 2011
I baked a few of my mother's favourite recipes for a restaurant in Toronto, a cafe actually, called the Cow Cafe and I liked what I did. That's really how I started, I didn't have much experience at that point. I wanted to be something in that industry, I just didn't know what. So this opportunity came up and I said, okay, I think I can do that, and that's how it all started. I did bake a little bit as a teenager but not at the level that I do now. And my mom's chocolate cake recipe is still one that we used today. I've tweaked it here and there, but it's pretty much still the same.
2. You've been given the title, the Queen of Cakes in Toronto. When did you realize that you truly are the Queen of Cakes?
Well, I think people may say that, but I feel like it's more of a pun because we're on Queen Street. And I really think it's because we've been around for so long and it's more so because of longevity. It's like the Queen. I mean how long has she been the Queen? That's like me.
3. What about baking appeals to you?
I think when people do it as a hobby it can be very satisfying. What I love about baking is how you can see it from beginning to middle to end. You experience the entire thing over a number of stages; it is such a methodical process. It's all chemistry. Unlike cooking, where you cook and then eat it in 2 seconds, where as baking you can have it for a couple of days. I mean, I am a little bit of an impatient person but I have the patience to bake but not the patience to cook. Of course I love eating, I love eating all the spices and flavours. Indian food. Korean food. I love everything. I love it all. I'm just not interested in the process of making it. I'm not a bread baker either, the process of making bread irritates me, I don't like waiting, like I said I'm impatient. I mean I love bread but it is the process of cakes and cookies that I love. I remember when I started in this industry and I was handling meat, I thought, this really isn't for me, but the butter and the flour and the sugar, that's for me.
4. As someone who was born and raised in Toronto, what are some of your favourite things about the city?
I would have to say cycling in Toronto. My husband and I have a tandem and we often go out of town, put the bike on a car, and go ride for a day. We have a whole route where we go out to Mississauga, sort of through Etobicoke to Mississauga then Queen Quay. When we come back, we like to watch the planes underneath the runways. Sometimes I'll take the Humber bike path because we're out in Etobicoke now. I'll jump onto the Humber up to Berry Road and then down, just past Prince Edward, where I have to walk with my bike, carry it up three flights of stairs and then ride along Royal York. It's really quite nice there. Hopefully I can get a few more rides in before it gets too cold.
5. What do you love about cycling?
Well people have said that my husband and I should write stories about our tandem trips, because we discover a lot of things on our trip. We like to see what the bike tour companies are doing but then we make our route. When you're on a bike trip you end up seeing things that you don't see in cars, you just end up on the highway in a car. On a bike, you get a whole different feel of the city, you get the good, the bad and the ugly.
6. What is soul food to you?
To me it's comfort food. The things I bake, having a bowl of munchies and fried chicken. I was actually just saying the other day how you can't get good fried chicken in Toronto.
Book Signing Event | November 1 2011
• More booking signing details HERE
Let The Junket Roll | October 31 2011
We spent a long time chatting about food, music, inspiration, writing books, James Brown and...look out for it, announcements to follow on all stuff coming up.
