The inaugural edition of the Taste of Toronto food festival is happening now at Fort York. Featuring celebrated chefs, rising stars, tasting menus, courses and restaurants, Taste is all about cooking, loving — and, of course eating — the best of what Toronto’s culinary scene has to offer.
While the Taste festivals started in London 11 years ago and has grown into 22 cities around the world, Toronto was the first Canadian destination to adopt the foodie goodness. The restaurant-focused event show off Toronto’s diverse eating scene to the anticipated 20,000 foodies that flock to it.
Starting the Canadian Taste fest in Toronto wasn’t an accident, said Meghan O’Hanlon, director of Taste Festivals Canada. “We’ve been looking to [organize this] in North America for a number of years, and Toronto is a city that has grown so quickly in terms of the food scene, the calibre of chefs, and all of these great international chefs setting up shop here. From our observation, people can’t get enough of these events so we decided to roll out a plan for Canada.”
Vancouver and Montreal are also cities that Taste organizers are interested to pursue in the coming years.
The first edition of Toronto’s festival features over 50 different dishes to try, cooking classes and demonstrations, over 70 food and drink exhibitioners with their wares available in a shopper’s market, and an entertainment stage curated by Canadian music label Arts & Crafts.
O’Hanlon says she’s excited by the “freshness” that the city of Toronto brings to the Taste , giving the event its own unique flair. “I’ve loved and worked at these events in a number of different places… and there doesn’t seem to be a strictness or rules or Michelin stars. It can be stuffy in other cities, but people are willing to take risks and do really interesting things here.”
HERE is the list of restaurants that will be at Taste of Toronto this weekend.
HERE is a list of chefs that will be showcasing their talents.
Happy eating!
