Cuisine of Toronto

The cuisine of Toronto reflects Toronto's size and multicultural diversity.^[1][2] Different ethnic neighbourhoods throughout the city focus on specific cuisines,^[3] such as authentic Chinese and Vietnamese found in the city's six Chinatowns, Greek on The Danforth, Italian cuisine in Little Italy and Corso Italia, Indian in Little India. Numerous other world cuisines are available throughout the city, including Hungarian, Korean, Japanese, and Caribbean. Toronto's large Jewish population has also ensured a variety of Jewish restaurants and delis, with varying adherence to kosher rules.^[4][5] In addition to ethnic cuisines, Toronto is also home to many fine dining establishments^[6] and chain restaurants ranging from fast food to casual or upscale dining.

Neighbourhoods with prominent ethnic food

• Little Jamaica - Caribbean food
• Roncesvalles - Polish cuisine
• Chinatown - Chinese and Vietnamese food
• Kensington Market - Latin American and others
• Little Italy and Corso Italia - Italian
• Little India and Rexdale - Indian, Punjabi, Pakistani
• Koreatown - Korean
• Little Portugal/Rua Acores - Portuguese
• The Danforth - Greek
• The Annex - Hungarian

Chefs

Famous chefs from or based in Toronto:

• Susur Lee
• Jamie Kennedy
• Brad Long
• Pasquale Carpino
• Christine Cushing
• Greg Couillard
• David Adjey
• Mark McEwan
• Lynn Crawford
• Marc Thuet
• David Rocco

Food-related personalities

• Bonnie Stern
• Kevin Brauch
• Jamie Drummond

Restaurants

• See: Restaurants in Toronto

Culinary Festivals

• Summerlicious and Winterlicious
• Taste of the Danforth

Breweries and Wineries

Toronto has a long and rich tradition of beer brewing. Eugene O'Keefe, founder of O'Keefe Brewing Company, grew up in Toronto, to which his family had emigrated from Ireland in 1832. He was the first to produce lager beer in Canada along with the traditional ale and porter. See also: Canadian beer.

The Toronto Beer Festival celebrates Canada’s rich brewing history.

There are several breweries in the city:

• Amsterdam Brewing Company
• Great Lakes Brewery
• Magnotta Brewery Limited
• Mill Street Brewery
• Steam Whistle Brewing
• The Granite Brewery

Toronto's surrounding region features many wineries. The Sante Wine Festival is an annual festival which features vintages, famous winemakers and celebrity chefs.

Street food

Until 2009, hot dogs and pre-cooked sausages were the only kind of street food allowed by law.^[7] These types of hot dogs are often referred to as 'street meat' by locals, and are normally flame-grilled. The law sets extremely high requirements for street food vendors. However, there was an initiative to allow more varied and nutritious street food,^[8] which resulted in the introduction of Toronto a la Cart in 2009.^[9] There are chip wagons parked in front of Toronto City Hall that sell french fries, and food trucks on the University of Toronto campus that offer Chinese food. In the summer months, ice cream and popsicles are sold from vendors on bicycles while ice cream trucks ply the city streets. Toronto a la Cart also allows vendors to sell Halal foods such as Kebab, Falafel and Shawarma.

Peameal Bacon Sandwich

Perhaps one of the most iconic and distinct Toronto offerings, although one that is not fairly well known is the Peameal bacon Sandwich, normally on a Kaiser. The most famous offerings of the sandwich are Paddington's Pump, Sausage King, and Carousel Bakery, all coincidentally enough, are located at St. Lawrence Market.^[10]

Miscellaneous

• Pablum, a pre-cooked cereal for infants, was developed at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto in the 1930s.
• Food Network Canada is a Toronto-based Canadian cable television specialty channel which presents programming about food and cooking.
• Charlie's Burgers is a Toronto-based series of private dining events established in 2009.

See also

Food portal

• Culture in Toronto: Food
• Food Network Canada
• Cuisine of Canada
• Canadian Chinese cuisine

References

1. ^ "accessed October 30, 2006". Toronto.ca. 2000-10-23. http://www.toronto.ca/toronto_facts/diversity.htm. Retrieved 2011-09-29. 
2. ^ http://www.food.ca/restaurants_and_food_delivery/restaurants_in_ontario/cuisines_restaurants_toronto.html
3. ^ "Toronto | Toronto's Neighbourhoods". where.ca. http://www.where.ca/toronto/article_feature~listing_id~143.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-24. 
4. ^ "List of Toronto kosher restaurants". Beth Tzedec. http://www.beth-tzedec.org/kosher_restaurants.html. Retrieved 2010-08-24. 
5. ^ Canada. "Cultivating a devout following - The Globe and Mail". Reportonbusiness.com. http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070510.wsb-kosherdeli/BNStory/specialSmallBusiness/home. Retrieved 2010-08-24. 
6. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
7. ^ "Food Safety - Toronto Public Health". City.toronto.on.ca. http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/health/he/hd_index.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-24. 
8. ^ "accessed July 22, 2007" (PDF). http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2007/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-2820.pdf. Retrieved 2011-09-29. 
9. ^ accessed August 17, 2009^{[dead link]}
10. ^ "Eat & Drink". blogTO. http://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2007/07/comparison_shopper_st_lawrence_market_peameal_bacon_sandwiches. Retrieved 2010-08-24. 

External links

• The Dominion Home Cookbook - A recipe book published in Toronto in 1868. Pages are available in PDF format.
• Toronto's Key Industry Clusters: Food & Beverage
• Taste T.O. - a website covering Toronto's food & drink scene.