Sophistication, luxury, and the finer things in life. I was fortunate enough to sit with the Hennessy Cognac brand ambassador from France, Cyrille Gautier-Auriol who shared his expert knowledge and appreciation of Cognac to have a greater insight on truly one of the finer things in life.
Celebrating their first year anniversary at Bloor Street’s Koreatown, John and I were invited to sample the latest menu items and cocktails at Barrio Coreano, a casual yet lively Korean-Mexican eatery. Featuring a menu of shareable plates, soft and crispy tacos and cocktails, Barrio Coreano is part of the Playa Cabana empire headed by Dave Sidhu.
On Front St. just between Yonge St and Church St in a Heritage building first constructed in 1872, CC Lounge is set to open this Friday, December 12th.
How would you like to swim with the sharks in the GTA? Yeah, that’s a Shark Tank line. It’s fitting given that SURFSET Fitness was the most successfully backed business deal on Season 4, and the first GTA location is open today, December 8th.
Last night, December 4th at 99 Sudbury, our friends at Notable hosted the Notable Awards for Ontario were held at 99 Sudbury. It also turned out to be a great networking party for the who’s-who of young professionals. Even some Toronto Raptors came out for the celebrations.
The Art Gallery of Ontario launched two new ambitious exhibitions: Alex Colville and Michelangelo: Quest for Genius. We had the opportunity to discover the groundbreaking works of the influential Canadian artist, Colville, along with 30 rare drawings from the High Renaissance master, Michelangelo.
The Fashion Group International (FGI) event, Making Scents: The Art and Business of Prestige Fragrance at the Thompson Hotel on November 25th, left a lasting impression. The night was informative, and enjoyable as specialists were on site to discuss how a perfume is created, followed by a panel discussion to talk about the business aspects such as marketing and how to successfully launch a perfume.
On November 25th, 2014 the Canadian Opera Company held its 2nd annual Centre Stage competition. After auditions with 150 singers in 4 cities (Vancouver, Toronto, New York, Montreal), the next generation of 7 short-listed Canadian opera singers competed for this year’s coveted top honours.
On November 14, 2014, Young Professionals for SickKids held it’s third annual Breakfast of Champions networking fundraiser. The early morning event, starting at 7:30am, was a vibrant, energetic and lively affair. The spacious event hall at The Toronto Board of Trade filled up quickly with close to 300 young professionals from legal, financial, media, medical, fashion and agency worlds to mingle with some of Canada’s most celebrated industry leaders, called ‘Champions’.
With World AIDS Day on December 1st, it’s only fitting that we talk about CANFAR – the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research – Canada’s only independent charitable foundation dedicated to eliminating HIV and AIDS through research. Every year around this time, CANFAR holds Bloor Street Entertains – its largest fundraising event, bringing an evening of glitz and glamour to the generous donors.
Last night the worldwide blockbuster attraction called Sensation made another big splash at the Rogers Centre.
The 2nd annual Suits and Staches charity party was held last week on November 21st at Steamwhistle and it was quite a bash. Tickets sold out quickly and reasons are obvious.
On Saturday November 14th, Sleeman Breweries held a secret prohibition era speakeasy party complete with a casino, cocktails, gentlemanly haircuts, Diva Girl dancers and of course the varieties of beer from Sleeman Breweries.
On November 20, I was fortunate to attend the food lover’s dream event – Air Canada‘s enRoute magazine‘s announcement of Canada’s best new restaurants for 2014. This gala brought together restaurants from coast to coast to the Gardiner Museum, where guests met the chefs and sampled some of their restaurant’s signature dishes.
Today is a day for Canadians to be proud as @Canada joined Twitter. In just 10 hours and only 7 tweets there’s been over 50,000 patriotic followers.
On a beautiful masquerade-themed black-tie evening in the Distillery District where fashion and charity come together, the 2nd annual “Le Grand Bal Masquerade” celebrated the launch of Canadian Fabric Magazine Volume 2 on November 24, 2014. Net proceeds of the evening support Toronto’s own Oolagen Youth Mental Health.
For the discerning gentleman who appreciates quality hand-made shoes, Loding opened their second Toronto boutique earlier this month, this time in the financial district at First Canadian Place.
It was another well-attended fashionable and charitable Frocktail Party in its sixth year benefitting JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund). Over 500 guests gathered at the Arcadian Loft to peruse a curated collection up for bid by silent auction.
Top labels included Balmain, Gucci, Lanvin, Zac Posen, Givenchy, Miu Miu, Valentino, Mary Katrantzou, Erdem, Versace, Dior, and Alexander McQueen including generations donations from the closets of
Guests arrived at the Kool Haus on November 12th to be blown away by an elegant and entertaining fashion show put on by one of Canada’s hottest fashion labels, Greta Constantine.
Following the success of Schnitzel HUB‘s first location in Thornhill, owners Yan and Rita Khalfon opened their second location right in the heart of Midtown, at Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave. On November 19, we braved the snow and cold to sample some of Schnitel HUB’s signature eats and drinks, and we’re sure glad we did.
As if the world’s most famous champagne could get even more luxurious. I was one of a lucky few to be given an opportunity to have a one-on-one private appointment with Dom Pérignon’s very own winemaker from Champagne, France, the Chef de Cave, Richard Geoffroy, in a suite at the Trump Tower here in Toronto. The special occasion was to taste the uber-special vintage 1998 Dom Pérignon Second Plentitude 16 years in the making.
It was another fantastic fundraising gala at the Drake Hotel dubbed “The Purple Party” in support of Childhood Cancer Canada.
I love Italian food. What makes Italian food so appealing to me is the philosophy behind Italian cuisine – a focus in highlighting local, in-season ingredients using traditional techniques that are executed well. When I heard that a new Italian restaurant was opening in King West, headed by Chef Luca Stracquadanio, formerly of Terroni LA, naturally I was excited. On Friday, November 14th, Nick and I had the pleasure of visiting the newly opened Ovest Cucina e Vineria.
The latest, highly-anticipated endeavour by INK Entertainment and ICON Legacy Hospitality is set to open next week. Here’s a preview.
World MasterCard Fashion Week came and went with a bang, and we caught some special moments and lots of smiles.
From October 20th to the 25th, David Pecaut Square was transformed into a marvelous dizzy of fashion elite, bloggers, buyers, celebs, consumers and everyone in between. Both in and outside the tent, there was amazing style to be spotted.
Saint Lucia. A tropical country found in the Caribbean waters, nestled between Martinique and St. Vincent. You’ve probably heard of Saint Lucia, but truthfully, how much do you really know about it? This was the purpose of a moonlight dinner – hosted by the culinary ambassador of Saint Lucia, and Top Chef Season 11 runner-up, Chef Nina Compton at the St. James Cathedral’s Deanery – to promote tourism for this island gem. And what better way to introduce us to Saint Lucia than through its cuisine.
It’s evident that Toronto loves Frank & Oak from the pop-up shops they’ve had and also the online shopping community. Now we can rejoice as the F&O Toronto flagship store has officially opened today. Here’s a few photos from the opening party Thursday, November 13th.
Boasting a collection of high-end European fashion brands such as Celine, Valentino, and Alexander McQueen, Louis XIII is a new boutique in Yorkville that opened just last week.
Out of all the shows that went down the runway at this season’s World MasterCard Fashion Week, I’d have to point our spotlight on Mikael D. His show was the finale to the entire week and for good reason. You end with a bang.
We were blown away by last year’s Stems of Hope gala and we called it the best Charity Gala of 2013 (also amazing was Stems of Hope 2012). So this year’s 5th annual Stems of Hope gala helped to continue propelling awareness and funding for this amazing cause in a big way.