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Photos: Havergal Urban Elegance Gala 2013 ft Sean Jones, Eleanor McCain

Sean Jones, Eleanor McCain Photo: George Pimentel
  • May 30, 2013
  • charity, gala
  • Comments Off on Photos: Havergal Urban Elegance Gala 2013 ft Sean Jones, Eleanor McCain
Sean Jones, Eleanor McCain Photo: George Pimentel

Sean Jones, Eleanor McCain Photo: George Pimentel

Sean Jones Photo: George Pimentel

Sean Jones Photo: George Pimentel

Since 1894, Havergal has been educating young women as an independent university day and boarding school for girls. Alumni (“Old Girls”), parents and friends of the school gathered to raise funds at their 2013 fundraising gala entitled “Urban Elegance” for Havergal’s new Outdoor Learning Space in the Junior School, a state-of-the-art Aquatic Centre timing system and upgrades to the Learning Support and Science Lab spaces in the Upper School.

The evening was emceed by Pauline Chan, CTV News, who is also a Havergal “Old Girl” circa 1983. Gourmet food was provided by Chef Mark McEwan, entertainment was provided by Eleanor McCain and Juno-award winning Sean Jones. Live auction was provided by Hal Hannaford.

Interesting live auction items included a Facebook Fantasy, which included a week-long internship with the largest social media company in the world, Facebook, including a lunch with Managing Director of Facebook Canada, Jordan Banks. Another interesting one was the trip to London including a black-tie charity gala inside Buckingham Palace with the Duke of Edinburgh in attendance.

There was also a large silent auction including a Blackberry Z10 and more internship opportunities in the fields of media (including Pauline Chan), Business, Culinary, Medical, Architecture, Fashion, PR and more.

Raffle prizes included a Harry Winston diamond ring and 2013-2014 tuition to Havergal.

Pauline Chan, CTV News, emcee

Pauline Chan, CTV News, emcee

second from right: Eleanor McCain

second from right: Eleanor McCain

Check out Havergal College’s latest video about music at Havergal

For more information visit www.havergal.on.ca

More photos by George Pimentel Photography

A primer for the Festival of Sake, Kampai Toronto

sio-kampai-toronto
After the Beaujolais Wine and BBQ luncheon, Nick and I headed to the Shangri-La Hotel for the media launch and preview of the 2nd annual Kampai Toronto Sake Festival being tomorrow on May 30th at the Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery District.

“Kampai” which stands for cheers in English, is the largest sake festival in Canada. The event is hosted by The Sake Institute of Ontario which is a non-profit organization that brings together sake distributors and producers in Ontario and promotes awareness of sake. There will be over 100 sakes to sample and appetizers to try from 12 of Toronto’s top restaurants.

If you were lucky to snag a ticket to this highly-anticipated sold out affair, here are some notes from the seminar by the world’s leading non-Japanese sake expert, John Gauntner, to help you get ready for the sake tasting:
• Sake is brewed (and not distilled) from rice, and rice alone
• The alcohol content is usually about 16%, watered down from the naturally occurring 20%.
• The existence of sake has been dated about 2,000 years ago, but some sake on the market today, like ginjo sake has been around for only 40 years.
• The three factors that affect the quality of sake are rice, milling, and labour.
• The grade of sake is legally defined by how much the rice has been milled. The more rice is milled, the higher the grade.
• Unlike wine, sake is meant to be consumed young, it will begin to change after about a year.
• Most premium sake should be consumed slightly chilled.

Restaurants participating include:

  • Blowfish on Bay
  • Don Don Izakaya
  • EDO Sushi
  • Guu Izakaya
  • Hapa Izakaya
  • Indian Rice Factory
  • Izakaya Ju
  • Ki Modern Japanese + Bar
  • Kingyo Toronto
  • Momofuku Toronto
  • Mye Restaurant
  • Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill
  • Ryoji Ramen & Izakaya

Here’s the trailer for the Festival of Sake!

For more information visit www.kampaitoronto.com. Even if you weren’t able to get a ticket, the Sake Institute of Ontario also hosts various tasting events and seminars throughout the year. So keep an eye out for updates by the SIO on twitter and facebook.

About the Sake Institute of Ontario (SIO)
Not-for-profit trade association formed in February of 2012. Principle mandate of increasing the awareness, availability, promotion, and education of Sake in the Ontario market. Kampai Toronto is SIO’s flagship annual Tasting Festival; and also hosts satellite Tasting Events / Seminars throughout the year.
Built on the foundation of collaborative cooperation to grow and nurture the Sake category. Principle Members include 9 Sake Importers and 1 Sake Manufacturer; Associate Members include Restaurants, Chefs & Sake/Lifestyle Promoters.

Beaujolais Wine and BBQ pairing at Acadian Restaurant

  • May 25, 2013
  • food
  • Comments Off on Beaujolais Wine and BBQ pairing at Acadian Restaurant

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On a beautiful, warm Wednesday afternoon, Nick and I attended the Acadia Restaurant in little Italy for Beaujolais Wine Council’s wine tasting and luncheon. We tasted 12 different wines paired with a five course meal courtesy of Acadia Restaurant.

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We started with the white wine – Château des Jacques, Beaujolais, Grand Clos de Loyse, 2010(#1). It was fruity and delicate with a dry finish. I enjoyed drinking it on its own.

First course: Creole Shrimp on top of Anson Mills Grits
Wines: Georges Dubceuf FUN Beaujolais (#1), 2009 and Louis Jadot (#2), Beaujolais-Villages Commbe aux Jacques, 2011(#3).

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This classic creamy and savoury New Orleans BBQ dish was best paired with the fresh and fruity Beaujolais-Villages Combe aux Jacques (#3).

Second course: Piri Piri Chicken Leg and Yogurt
Wines: Bouchard Aîné& Fils, Beaujolais Supérieur, 2011 (#4), Jacques Dépagneux, Morgon, Côte du Py, 2011 (#5), and Joseph Burrier, Saint-Amour, Côte de besset, 2009 (#6).

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Tender chicken with yogurt? I raised my eye brow in a good way because as strange as the name sounds, it tasted absolutely delicious. Dry, fruity and velvety tannins of the Jacques Dépagneux, Morgon, Côte du Py (#5) balanced out the juicy chicken and creamy yogurt. As if it was match made in heaven!

Third course: Grilled Eggplant Peanut with Coconut & Curry Condiment

Wines: Château de Pierreux, Brouilly, 2011 (#7), Villa Ponciago, Fleurie La Réserve, 2011 (#8), Georges Duboeuf, Beaujolais-Villages, 2010 (#9)

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Although the eggplant was plain, the curry gave this dish a punch of flavour. The best wine to complement this dish was Château de Pierreux (#7) because it was floral and soft on the palate.

Korean short rib with crispy rice, sesame and chili

Korean short rib with crispy rice, sesame and chili

Fourth course: Korean Short Rib Crispy rice, Sesame & Chili
Wines: Domaine Manoir Du Carra, Juliénas, 2010 (#10), Domain du Carra, Juliénas, 2010 (#11), Domaine Piron-Lameloise, Chénas, Quartz, 2009 (#12)
The meat was so tender that I barely used a knife. It was savoury which matched nicely with the Les Trois Roches (#11). The wine has a velvety and suave texture and ends with spicy vanilla notes.

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As for the dessert, the presentation was elegant and pretty. The dark chocolate ganache was so sweet on the tongue that I was gulping down water so I just ended up eating only the Chantilly cream which I thought was delicious.

Last but not least, I would like to thank Anthony Collet, Chef Patrick Kriss and all the staff at the Acadia Restaurant for this exclusive experience. The food tasted great, the wines were fabulous, the sunshine and warm breeze could not be more perfect for this amazing spring luncheon.

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ABOUT BEAUJOLAIS
The French wines of the Beaujolais region are made from handpicked Gamay grapes. The region is best known for its light red wines, which taste great chilled and offer a refreshing flavor profile. A small amount of French white wine and pink rosé is also made in the Beaujolais region. Try the best tasting light red wines this summer – any Beaujolais wine makes an ideal warm weather vintage! discoverbeaujolais.com/

ABOUT ACADIA RESTAURANT
acadiarestaurant.com

Photos: The Pants Off Party for Prostate Cancer

  • May 22, 2013
  • charity, party
  • Comments Off on Photos: The Pants Off Party for Prostate Cancer

This year’s 4th annual Pants off Party had the theme of Golf & Country Club with people looking stylish in their country club clothes and no pants. It took some adjusting to walk into the Berkeley Church where you’re the only one wearing pants at a pants-off party. So I found the coat check where they politely check in your pants. This is when supermodel Stacey McKenzie said hi to me. So I awkwardly took my pants off in front of her and handed them in for check-in (no looks of disgust at all!) and went on my way. Bright and colourful boxers and snazzy, argyle socks were available for sale at coat check. Such a great idea.
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The Curve Ball gala takes over the Rogers Centre for the Jays Care Foundation

Inside the Blue Jays locker room
  • May 20, 2013
  • charity, gala, sports
  • Comments Off on The Curve Ball gala takes over the Rogers Centre for the Jays Care Foundation
Jose Bautista with a fan

Jose Bautista with a fan

More than 1,000 VIP guests gathered for a gala right on the field of the Rogers Centre for the well-attended annual Curve Ball, up from 800 in the previous year. This year the theme was “denim and diamonds”. The large field had upscale silent auction items in glass displays as well as a baseball bat gallery with one-of-a-kind baseball bats signed by the corresponding Blue Jays players available for bidding as well. There was a lot of demand for customizing Blue Jays New Era baseball caps. The youth from the Toronto Community Housing Rookie Leaguers got to walk onto the field alongside the Toronto Blue Jays and also got their Blue Jays jerseys signed.

The evening was emceed by Sportsnet’s Evanka Osmak and Jamie Campbell. Entertainment was provided by Soular entertaining guests with top 40 hits. An Acura Home Run Draw featured a raffle prize of an SUV, a 2013 Acura RDX.

R.A. Dickey, Evanka Osmak Photo: Michelle Prata

R.A. Dickey, Evanka Osmak Photo: Michelle Prata

Brett Lawrie, John Tory Photo: Michelle Prata

Brett Lawrie, John Tory Photo: Michelle Prata

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Besides the Blue Jays, other notable guests included John Tory, Carrie-Lynn Neales (Seed TV), Tracy Moore (Cityline), and Randal Edwards (Package Deal star).

“It’s a tremendous fundraiser, one of our biggest events,” Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. “The Jays Care Foundation does a lot of great events, but as far as a night out, the players really enjoy it as well. They get to relax and interact with the fans at more of a laid-back pace and it’s done really, really well.”

Congrats for raising $950,000 in support of the Jays Care Foundation!

Some tweets from Curve Ball

Check out one of the bats featured at the Curve Ball created by Jon Shaw. The bat features imagery based on Blue Jays Melky Cabrera (#53)’s interests, signed by Cabrera himself and sold at the silent auction with funds raised going to the Jays Cares Foundation.

The decorated dining area at the Rogers Centre for the Curve Ball

The decorated dining area at the Rogers Centre for the Curve Ball

The customized Jays Care pitcher's mound at the Rogers Centre

The customized Jays Care pitcher’s mound at the Rogers Centre

ABOUT CURVE BALL AND THE JAYS CARE FOUNDATION
The Curve Ball is one of many charitable events the Blue Jays and Jays Care Foundation hold each year to pump money and resources back into communities across the country. Provincial-wide, underprivileged youth have been able to participate in baseball programs in properly equipped facilities and get instruction from their favourite Blue Jays players. The dedicated efforts of the Jays Care Foundation led to the Blue Jays being named the 2012 recipient of the MLB Commissioner’s Award for Philanthropic Excellence.

The Jays Care Foundation has invested more than $7.5 million in Canada’s children and communities.

For more information visit http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/community/

Also check out our coverage of the 100th Grey Cup gala which also took over the Rogers Centre. So if you love baseball and get the opportunity, you should definitely get tickets and join the annual Curve Ball gala.

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