Taste - A Celebration of Regional Cuisine - Picton, Ontario

This past September over 2000 people attended TASTE! This one day annual event held at the Crystal Palace at the Picton Fairgrounds, showcases the best regional cuisine and wine that Prince Edward County has to offer. Admission was at 11 a.m and as you can see from the below photo, people were anxious to get in.

Local artists, chefs, wineries, breweries, outside and inside the Historic Crystal Palace (below) are preparing for the festivities to begin!

New for 2011 was the addition of the Farm and Artisan market held in the Prince Edward County Curling Club building at the fairgrounds. (below)

Donations from local farmers supplied Harvesting the County farm booth with home grown produce. Peter Fleming and Diane Rheaume (pictured above), of Slowfood Prince Edward County, organized the booth with proceeds going to the local food bank.

Old fashioned style jams and baking is something Judy Zeleny (pictured above) of Loyalist Jams is proud of.

Vicki's Veggies in Milford is always a popular stop for visitors to Prince Edward County. (below photo)

Throughout the grounds of Crystal Palace, there were blankets available, if you wanted to relax, picnic style which enjoying the bounty on this nice fall day.

The peoples choice favorite savory dish AND also their overall favorite was the Braised Oxtail Poutine with 5 year old Black River Cheddar being prepared below. Is sure was my favorite.

Theres no doubt it was the favorite, the people lined up all day long.

The lines never stopped for a taste of that famous poutine, and who was the mastermind of this yummy favorite?

None other than Chef Jamie Kennedy of Jamie Kennedy Kitchens in Toronto.
(pictured below)

Yours truly (pictured below) was also at Taste, representing The Great Canadian Cheese Festival sharing a booth with Invest in Cheese.

In the kitchen demonstrations were held in the Fruit Growers Building all day long. (below photo)

If you didn't make it last year, be sure not to miss out this year on the amazing tastes of 

Prince Edward County!

TASTE community grown will be held on Saturday, September 29, 2012 from 11am - 4pm at the historic Crystal Palace, Picton, Ontario.

For more information go to www.tastecelebration.ca

SEE YOU THERE!

Upper Canada Cheese Company - Jordan, Ontario

If you love cheese and are looking for a nice day trip, visit Upper Canada Cheese Company, in the charming town of Jordan Station. Located 30 minutes from Niagara Falls and 1-hour from Toronto or Buffalo, you will find a bounty of things to see and explore in the heart of Twenty Valleys exceptional wine country.

The gourmet food retail store, pictured above is open all year round and all cheeses sold are available for sampling.

You can watch first-hand through a viewing window the actual cheese-making process.

Some of my favorites shown above, Cottage Gold, Niagara Gold, Comfort Cream, Guernsey Girl and I was lucky enough to score some Guernsey curds. Some of Upper Canada Cheese Companys' unique cheeses are produced from the milk of a rare local Niagara herd of 100 Guernsey Cows. There are only a half dozen Guernsey herds in Canada.

Guernsey Cows Fine Art Print - David Simons

fineartamerica.com

What gives cheese made from Guernsey Cows its rich golden colour is due to an exceptionally high content of beta carotene. The milk also has a high butterfat and protein content.

Upper Canada Cheese Company also seeks out and stocks exceptional artisanal cheeses produced by others. (Below photo) At the time I visited in February, I purchased some incredible 9-year old aged cheddar from Quebec.


Upper Canada Cheese Company
4159 Jordan Road
Jordan Station, ON L0R 1S0
Telephone: 905 562 9730

Accommodations in Jordan:

Inn on the Twenty
Best Western on Lake Ontario

* all photos, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted ©DayTrippingOntario.com