In June, Canadian Food Focus, Farm & Food Care’s national consumer brand, partnered with the Canadian Culinary Federation at their 60th Anniversary Conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Our objectives were to make connections with these food influencers, to raise awareness of Canadian Food Focus as a resource for information on Canadian-grown foods, and to introduce chefs to farmers through a one-day farm tour.
The conference helped our staff gain a better understanding of broad issues for chefs and the foodservice industry, such as labour shortages, managing food waste and recycling, and ensuring more inclusiveness on all levels. It also showcased some incredible culinary talent across this country through several chef competitions and presentations.
Canadian Food Focus hosted an exhibit during the conference tradeshow which highlighted the collection of videos, articles, podcasts and other information available on canadianfoodfocus.org. Many conference attendees, especially culinary instructors, were amazed to find such a repository of resources on Canadian-grown ingredients and how they are grown.
A sold-out bus tour offered over 50 chefs, culinary teachers and food industry communicators the chance to visit a dairy, a vineyard and farm that grows asparagus, pears, peaches and other produce. Attendees were fascinated by Summit Station Dairy & Creamery, a family-run, on-farm dairy near Hamilton that milks about 480 cows. Ben and Jennifer Loewith and Ben’s uncle Dave Loewith, toured the group through the milking parlour, barn and processing facility. The group got up close and personal with the cows and calves and asked lots of questions about life on the dairy farm and the family’s plan to bottle their own milk and make ice cream, yogurt and cheese curds for local customers and tourists.
We also stopped at the beautiful Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery for an amazing outdoor luncheon, complete with wine and produce from their fifth-generation family farm. We met the farm’s horticulturist and chef and enjoyed views of the 34-acre vineyard.
The tour also visited Thwaites Farms, a family farm that has been operating in the Norfolk County area of Ontario since 1946. Owner John Thwaites and his son and manager of the asparagus farm, Nelson Thwaites, toured the group through their state-of-the-art packaging facility. Because we were in the heart of asparagus season, the Thwaites had just filled a huge order that morning. Then we visited the orchard where the family produces two types of pears, traditionally-shaped pears as well as Asian pears. The Thwaites family is the largest pear producer in Canada.
“I loved learning directly from the farmers about their operations and the story behind what consumers see in the grocery store,” said one attendee. Another observed “I was amazed to find out how each cow is monitored for a variety of concerns!”
Canadian Food Focus was very pleased to partner with the Canadian Culinary Federation for their conference and engage with culinarians about food and farming in this country.