Food Day Canada - Celebrating Canadian Food

Park Grocery Deli & Bar, Guelph, Ontario

Park Grocery opened in 1890 on what was then the northern extremities of the City of Guelph on the southern edge of Wellington County. Located on the main road north towards Owen Sound (now Highway 6), the wise merchants, Abraham and Emma Waters, had a ready market for their wares. Over the century that ensued, the building was home to a variety of butcher stores, a tremendous small bakery and now the reincarnated grocery which doubles as a neighbourhood restaurant and takeout. Chef Geoff Clarkson, a veteran of the Miijidaa kitchen, has developed a great menu with the same dedication to sustainability and a tiny environmental footprint. The entire company, Neighourhood Group, is a fully-certified B Corp member and the tightly organized menu reflects it. The beef is from YU Ranch (Read about it when you have an extra moment!) and turns up as a smoked beef brisket. Guelph’s Grain Revolution supplies the bread and buns that form the foundation for the pulled oyster mushroom sandwich and there’s a fabulous pork belly. Piri piri chicken is marinated for 3 days before roasting. You can buy it as a take out or eat in. The side dishes are equally interesting…smoked beet coleslaw and Elora lentil salad are two. When the liquor license comes through, there’ll be locally-brewed Harvest Ale and Lager along with Vineland-vinified Neighbourhood house wines! And yes, there’s a grocery with products from Barrie’s Asparagus, Rootham’s Preserves and Organic Ocean’s fish. It’s a corner store with a real difference. Contact Park Grocery at the number below to reserve a Food Day Canada table. Contactez Park Grocery directement, au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre Journée des terroirs réservation. Park Grocery Deli & Bar 294 Woolwich Street Guelph, Ontario N1H 3W3 T:...

Flying Apron Inn & Cookery, Summerville, Nova Scotia

The award-winning Flying Apron Inn & Cookery is a true family enterprise serving up honest, local, seasonal fare in the heart of Nova Scotia’s farming country. Chef Chris (Uwe) Velden and his wife, Melissa, say: “Our mission is to showcase Nova Scotia Foods and the Farmers that grow them through unique Culinary Education events and Locally Sourced, Honest Food offerings.” Their motto is “WE DO LOCAL”. And are they ever doing it! 90% of their food ingredients locally, even in the winter! The menu changes weekly to feature the freshest local, sustainable ingredients with a curated drink menu showcasing Nova Scotia’s best wine, cider and craft beer. Chef Velden is strident in his belief of featuring sustainably managed Nova Scotia fish and seafood, including (but definitely not limited to) weir-caught fish, land-based farmed fish from Sustainable Blue, hook and line caught haddock and Nova Scotian lobster. The house-made desserts – check out the strudel – are not to be missed. With a beautiful patio overlooking the resident chickens, bee hives. and gorgeous edibles, The Flying Apron is a culinary destination where you’ll glimpse (and taste) the incredible depth of Nova Scotia’s bounty. Though the year The Flying Apron hosts many special events including brunch buffets, authentically-awesome Oktoberfest celebrations and Meet Your Farmer Dinners – after all they are deeply involved in Slow Food Nova Scotia. But the most recognized of the Flying Apron events is Dining On the Ocean Floor where guests pull up seats on the location of the world’s...

Les Jardins de Métis, Grand Métis, Quebec

Les Jardins de Métis is a magical place and a testament to a dream that has spanned generations of the Reford family. In the summer of 1926, Elsie Reford began transforming her fishing camp on the Metis River into a garden. Located 220 miles north-east of Quebec City, at 48.51º N. latitude, the gardens she created over the next thirty years were the northernmost in the eastern half of North America. Known to some as Les...

Fauna, Ottawa

One of the characteristics that set Food Day Canada chefs aside is how they are open to recommend others in the same city. Several of our Food Day chefs insisted that we check out Fauna. And we found a great new FDC restaurant. “Fauna is about the things we love: eating and drinking with friends and family in a fun space.” It’s very much a collaboration between three talented guys…Chef /Owner Jon Svazas, Chef de Cuisine/...

Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa, Cambridge, Ontario

Few hoteliers have had such an impact on the Canadian hospitality industry as Bill Bennett and Mary Beaton. Bill is an architect with a passion for old Ontario structures and between them they completed the first renovation of The Millcroft Inn in the small mill town of Alton on the Credit River. The renovation was so fine that he won a National Award of Honour for Heritage Preservation. While they were operating the inn...

Timber, Vancouver

A sister restaurant to Forage – Timber is solidifying the West End as one of Vancouver’s most dynamic foodie neighbourhoods. The menu reads like a roadmap of Canadian comfort food. Home of the bison burger and deep-fried cheese curds, other daily features include pea meal bacon chops, bannock, elk tourtiere, and fish & chips. Add a brown butter tart for dessert and you’ve had yourself some fine Canadian home cooking. The design of the room...