This year I was lucky enough to be invited down by the Stratford Tourism Alliance to enjoy Savour Stratford weekend. I enjoyed the festival last year and was super excited to visit once again. Not only did I buy a ton of produce at the market and consume my fair share of Apple Frits but I did lots of other fun stuff too.
Here are a few highlights…
Wine and Cheese Tasting
The first order of business when I arrived on Saturday was attending a wine and cheese tasting with Chris from Chateau des Charmes and Ruth from Monforte Dairy. Sure it was only 11am but that’s not too early for wine, is it? We tried 6 wines from CdC and 6 cheeses from Monforte. I cannot even begin to express how happy this made me. For me the standout of the wines was the Aligote. Aligote is a varietal that you don’t see often in this neck of the woods at all. In terms of cheeses they all made me happy but I really enjoyed the Piacere with rosemary and juniper as well as a cheese that Ruth described as being a French cheddar-style cheese.
Charcuterie Tasting
Given my current interest in charcuterie I was particularly excited for this session with Fred from Perth Pork and Connie de Sousa from Top Chef. We were served a glass of wine and given a plate of meat to feast on while Fred and Connie spoke. Unfortunately there were no demonstrations at this session and Fred and Connie sort of spoke generally about charcuterie vs. related directly to what we were eating. Despite this, I definitely enjoyed my snack plate of meat (even though there were no crackers or bread to make consumption easier). The highlights were the prosciutto and perhaps the silkiest pâté I’ve ever had. The elk terrine with blueberries was also very unique and delicious.
BBQ in the Square
This BBQ event was new to Savour Stratford 2011 and thank goodness! It was GREAT! $30 got you a ticket which entitled you to a half rack of ribs, baked beans, coleslaw, baked beans and a roll. PLUS your choice of either Creemore beer, wine or Harmony Organic milk. All while dining at long tables in the square in Stratford while listening to music. The setting itself was fantastic. The vibe was really chill and luckily the weather was nice enough to sit outside. The true star of this party was the food. The ribs were provided by Boss Hogs and they were DELICIOUS. Some of the best ribs I’ve had in awhile. I go back and forth about whether or not I enjoy dry or saucy ribs more. These ribs were saucy and had me leaning towards that side easily. This was definitely a highlight of the weekend.
Savour Stratford Tasting
The tasting is the main event of Savour Stratford weekend. Restaurants are paired with local farmers and suppliers to prepare goodness for all to enjoy. I ate a ridiculous amount of the above-photographed Chiang Mai-Style hot dogs with lemongrass mustard. These steamed buns were also right up there as my favourites. Much wine was consumed by some of my favourite local wineries. I even snuck in a few ciders and beers too. Another great year for the tasting.
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