For those that saw that picture yesterday that was indeed Food Network’s Rob Rainford, of Licence To Grill fame. The event was the Feast for the Palate, an annual charity function at the Royal Ambassador to support Hospice Caledon. It worked much like a Taste of Toronto festival with vendors offering food, drink, snacks, crafts, and arts, an an environment with live music and demonstrations. $100 a person, but I was there to assist my brother-in-law who was representing his restaurant, The Angry Tomato. Got to wear the chef jacket and everything. We did blackened chicken caesar wraps, wrapped in a romaine crown rather than a tortilla, and they went over very well. Lots of great food was available as I took the opportunity to visit and sample as much as possible. Torrential wind storms made holding lettuce wraps down hard, and said winds were harsh enough to lift just about everything that wasn’t nailed down.
My highlight might have been being located right behind King Brewery, who have put a solid reputation together as a high-end craft brewer with a Czech-style pilsner and an amazing dark lager. Philip DiFonzo, the brewmaster and President, is a great guy with a true passion for making beer. He’s got an attention to detail I envy, and I truly enjoyed the chance to sit back and talk beer with him for some time.
As for Rob Rainford, I’ve had a little politically incorrect joke with friends and family that he’s the “whitest” chef on television. Anyone who’s watched his show knows precisely what I’m talking about. I’m happy to report that he’s a decent actor, in real life he’s much different, but no less personable. He was joking, pleasant, and as you’ve seen, more than willing to pose for a picture with Jeff and I. I even picked up an autographed cookbook, although his dirty little secret is that he doesn’t come up with the recipes from his show himself, they’re done behind the scenes. Oh well, he still made a decent chicken skewer with thai peanut sauce.
Today’s Random Links
How fast can you type your ABCs? (I got 3.703)
Dubya sings “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
Really odd Flash golf game.
The House: A Flash “Game”