This just in: The Great Nutella Hiest of 2013.

In the small German town of Bad Hersfeld, thieves made off with $21 000 (CAD) worth of Nutella.  For those keeping score thats about 6 875 large jars or 27 000 000 calories worth. With climbing food costs, large scale food theft has been on the rise. There have been many high profile incidents, including $18 million dollars …

For the love of cupcakes

Ever had a dire need to devour a cupcake in the middle of the night and felt way too lazy to bake your own?! Well in a few select cities in the world, you could just go around the corner to your nearest Cupcake ATM and quench that craving. Sprinkles Cupcakes, founded in Beverly Hills, …

Soupstock Toronto

In an effort to protest the limestone Mega-Quarry proposed for the agricultural land of Melancthon Township (100km northwest of Toronto), the Canadian Chef’s congress and the David Suzuki Foundation are organising Soupstock. This major effort will go down on October 21st, 2012 in Woodbine Park (Coxwell and Lakeshore) from 11am until 4pm. If this is …

Sugar, part 3

From a culinary perspective, sugar is a very important ingredient so understanding how it reacts while being heated, melted, dissolved, etc is very crucial. One of the most integral parts of this is an understanding of what happens in a simple sugar and water solution. In this case, the sugar molecules have a tendency to …

Sugar week, Part 1

I thought it would be neat to explore a new topic every week and learn something new, so this week we’re going to talk about sugar. We’ll get into history, uses, the nature of sugars and its varieties. Sugar is the generalised term used for a class of sweet flavoured substances composed of carbon, hydrogen …

The Grizzly Project, Barcelona

This is a very interesting clip on the design and making of a chocolate grizzly bear by the Barcelona Pastry Guild School for the World Chocolate Masters competition this year. Enjoy!    

New Loblaws – Queen and Portland, Toronto

I must say that, in my opinion, Loblaws really tops all the other grocery stores in Toronto for the quality of products offered and their variety. Although it may be pricier than others, freshness is always guatanteed and the customer service is definitely admirable. I had the pleasure to inaugurate their new location in the …

Beautiful custom knives in Brooklyn

It  is pretty much fact that cooks love knives. Of all the gear in kitchens, we love knives the most.  We covet them, baby them and cut stuff up with them.  I am no exception. I am constantly on the prowl for new knives, innovative knives; knives that speak to me.  Thats when I came across this …

Sugar flowers

Since baking in general is not dangerous enough, I’ve taken on a new challenge…. sugar pulling. For those not familiar with this concept, well, it’s pretty much what it sounds like, hot sugar being shaped and pulled into diverse “artistic” shapes. The sugar is warmed, dyed (any colour of the rainbow) and once it’s the …

Apple vs. Apple

In my other life, outside of cooking, I am a huge geek.  I love tech and I am a bit of a Mac nerd.  While I love both worlds, there are few cases where the two meet.  For example, while I am typing this, my left index finger is unusable and pretty tender as I …

Some More On Rome

Its a beautiful morning here in Florence.  The sun is shining and the air is crisp; a little Joan Jett playing in the background.   A far cry from the hustle and bustle of the ginorma-city, Rome.  WIth a little time for reflection, Ive got some thoughts about Rome. It is a wonderful city.  There …