CRFA Show 2009

At last, some of our photos from the 200 CRFA Show held March 8-10 in Toronto.

(just click on any of the images above to see the full photo set over on Flickr)

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That’s okay … we never said we were exclusive … *sniff*

Writing Newsbite is occasionally challenging, because it operates in a kind of “in between” space — I know a lot about the industry, but I’m not *in* it, and I’m no more qualified to write about how to make a good curry than I am to write about string theory.  Except to note that I’m pretty sure you can’t cook string theory.

There are, blessedly, many others who do bang-up jobs blogging about food, and you can read — and vote for — some of the best in this year’s Food Blog Awards.   For the most part these aren’t really industry/restaurant blogs, but they’re still pretty darned tasty, I can promise you that.

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He’s eating seafood stew … how about you?

According to Ipsos Reid, one third (32%) of adult Canadians plan to watch or listen to the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday.  That’s more than 7.5 million of us tuning in tomorrow at lunch.

Which has me wondering: what’s for lunch?

Here at the office it’ll be people-pleasin’ pizza pie.

Down in Washington, things are understandably a tidge more formal.  Serious Eats reports:

After Barack Obama takes the presidential oath of office tomorrow, he will be escorted to Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol for a three-course luncheon: seafood stew followed by pheasant and duck (with sour cherry chutney and molasses sweet potatoes) and apple cinnamon sponge cake for dessert, each paired with a wine.

What about you?  Take-out food so you can watch the ceremonies on your PC?  Recession-busting leftovers?  Let us know!

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Mooking: synonymous with (but does not rhyme with) cooking

As promised, more on Roger Mooking!

Our media release says this:

 

Whether in the kitchen, the recording studio or on-stage at the CRFA Show, Roger Mooking makes it sizzle. A third-generation restaurateur, Mooking trained at George Brown College and Epic at the Fairmont Royal York, and is now co-owner and Executive Chef at Toronto’s cutting-edge Kultura and Nyood restaurants. In addition to his restaurants, Mooking hosts “Everyday Exotic,” a popular program on Canada’s Food Network, and recently released his debut album, “Soul Food.”

But to get a real sense of Roger’s passion and excitement about food, you need to see in him action.

• The “behind the scenes tour of Kultura” from foodtv.ca focuses on the creation of Kultura and how Roger uses his background and training to bring “everyday exotic” food to Toronto diners. Kultura’s co-owner Hanif Hanji talks about the inspiration behind the restaurant’s design, and Roger dishes about the celebrities that have enjoyed the restaurant’s private dining room, the Harvest Table.
• The foodtv.ca pages also feature short videos of Roger talking about ingredients — everything from cooking oil to chilli peppers to salt. Check ’em out!

A couple of caveats (those are warnings, not Neanderthal snacks): I had some difficulty getting the videos to play properly in Firefox — you’ll likely have better success viewing in IE. The spots also have short 30-second ads. but it’s worth the wait for the actual vids. Truly!

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No relation to “Subservient Chicken”

Several years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to the term “desperation chicken.”

That’s the pre-cooked/roasted whole chicken that you pick up at from the deli counter at the grocery store, because it’s already 7:30 p.m. and there is no way in Hollandaise sauce you are going to go home and make a whole dinner from scratch.

Undoubtedly my friend — who is truly a connoisseur of “you opened it, you made it” cooking — would agree with the 55% of consumers recently surveyed by Technomic who believe that “retailer-prepared foods have greatly improved over the past three years.”

Technomic’s report, which was released today, also found that:

• More than 80% of those surveyed reported buying at least one prepared meal from a retailer (supermarket) in a typical month
• More than four in ten (41%) purchase four or more retailer meals per month
• Convenience was cited by 86% as the reason for buying more meal solutions from supermarkets
• Three out of five consumers (62%) who report purchasing more supermarket-prepared meals than a year ago are doing so at the expense of fast-food restaurants

It’s worth noting that this study was conducted in the U.S. and so may not reflect the habits and preferences of Canadian consumers. According to NPD Group‘s NET Canada survey, only 2% of all Canadian meals are of the ready-to-eat variety, purchased from a grocery store and eaten at home. As shown in the 2008 edition of CRFA’s Foodservice Facts, the vast majority of meals in Canada (67%) are prepared and eaten at home, and only one in ten meals is eaten at a restaurant, or purchased from a restaurant and eaten at home:

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