ETHICAL GOURMET / Remind me to Tell You About the Time I Looked in the Heart of an Artichoke

A BRIEF GUIDE: WHERE TO DINE IN LONDON ONTARIO  BY BRYAN LAVERY A BRIEF GUIDE: WHERE TO DINE IN LONDON NOW BRYAN LAVERY The food media are necessary members of the culinary community. Like any thoughtful patron, I hope that I bring appreciation and sensibility to the table. But the food media’s mission goes beyond that. We must pass our unbiased impressions on to the readers, while alerting the dining public to the diversity of choice on the culinary scene. Are rating restaurants purely a question of taste? And within that there lies the matter of ingredients, innovation, style, consistency, service and much more. We place importance on other criterion such as, the wine list, the atmosphere, the setting, the service,  philosophy and obviously, the price. Good writing furnishes you with enough information and insight to enable you to make informed decisions, while helping to arbitrate the standards of dining out. If you don’t have a good,

Apple Pie Trail Blue Mountain and Beaver Valley Culinary Road Trip BY BRYAN LAVERY On an annual culinary road trip last week, a scenic drive through the towns and hamlets along the Georgian Bay coastline, through the remarkable Beaver Valley, and along the top of the Niagara Escarpment brought us past Georgian Hills Vineyard. Unknowingly, we had decided to follow a similar route to that of the Blue Mountain Apple Pie Trail. A year round culinary route, the trail winds through the apple and pear growing country from just east of Owen Sound to Collingwood offering a top-notch culinary adventure. Over the last six years, the trail has expanded by offering travellers a diverse complement of agricultural and culinary partners, tours, events and experiential adventures that focus on Ontario's apple orchard country. The trail connects 37 stops for local apple-inspired products and fare, including restaurants, orchards, food merchants, breweries and wineries. A winner of Prem

Quality, Craft and Discerning Taste at the River Room and Rhino Bakery at Museum London BY BRYAN LAVERY  North Moore Catering was born out of  a longing while owner Jess Jazey-Spoelstra was working at Walkers in Tribeca in Manhattan.   Disenchanted with the catering at her wedding,  Jazey-Spoelstra  had an epiphany and decided to launch a catering company instead of a restaurant. She and husband Harmen and g eneral manager, Sandra Doyle-Holden, set about building  North Moore’s status as one of the city’s foremost caterers almost entirely on word-of-mouth. Jazey-Spoelstra is a natural communicator with her finger on the culinary pulse.  Like any effective entrepreneur, she has a particular   charisma and an innate gift for training and mentoring skilled staff that can communicate her vision and deliver it with finesse. When  Jazey-Spolestra was offered the restaurant space at Museum London for the River Room, she and Harmen were initially reluctant. Ho

This is for archival purposes. Please read my updated blog post: Look What's Happening in the Stratford Restaurant Scene for 2015 Season  BY BRYAN LAVERY I recently attended the 7th Annual Savour Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival. It was an exceptional experience again this year. What draws me time and time again to Stratford — besides world class theatre and the fact that it is a great walking and biking town is the city’s vitality as an agriculture and culinary hub. Start you're walking tour of the downtown at the historic 12-sided red-brick City Hall built in 1899. Stroll the leafy streets and browse the charming shops as you explore the captivating town which exudes natural beauty. Stratford is full of stimulating and niche specialty shops situated on its heritage streetscapes or off the beaten path on side streets. The town has attractive outdoor gardens flanking the banks of the Avon River. Among the city’s culinary assets is the pr