Category: Press Release

Canada’s Best 100 Restaurants 2019

Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants announced this week the 2019 ranking of Canada’s best restaurants as voted by 98 food critics, leading chefs, top-notch restaurateurs, elite diners and food fanatics from coast-to-coast.

The definitive guide to Canada’s finest restaurants was released tonight at an awards gala held at The St. Regis Hotel in Toronto. Hosted by Jacob Richler, Editor-in-Chief, Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants, and chef Ivana Raca – partner at all female-run Ufficio restaurant – the evening saw the nation’s most renowned and respected chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers and food lovers gather to celebrate the country’s vibrant culinary scene.  Setting a new record, Toronto’s Alo was named the best restaurant in Canada for the third year in a row. Alo’s chef and owner, Patrick Kriss – who also owns two other restaurants on this year’s list, Aloette (35) and Alobar (65), took home the title of Canada’s Most Outstanding Chef.

This year, 24 restaurants in the list were not part of the list last year, and 16 of those, are new restaurants. Toronto tops the ranking with 26 restaurants landing on the prestigious roundup, followed by Montréal and Vancouver, with 25 and 14 inclusions, respectively. East Coast restaurants saw a stronger-than-ever representation with eight restaurant inclusions.

“We are celebrating Canada’s 100 Best Restaurant’s fifth anniversary with a meatier and juicier list than ever,” said Jacob Richler, Editor-in-Chief, Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants. “For the past five years we have promoted remarkable and incredibly talented chefs and restaurant teams from every corner of this country – and that’s evident with the number of new restaurants that have been included on the list. We look forward to continue recognizing the finest in food and drink for many years to come.”

Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants named the following Top 10 restaurants for 2019

Alo – Toronto

Joe Beef – Montreal

Toqué – Montreal

Langdon Hall – Cambridge

St. Lawrence – Vancouver

Le Mousso – Montreal

Buca Osteria & Bar – Toronto

Montreal Plaza – Montreal

Giulietta – Toronto

Edulis – Toronto

Other Awards

Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants also recognizes excellence in the industry:

Best Sommelier – Christopher Sealy; Alo

Best in Business Leadership – Nick DiDonato; Liberty Entertainment Group

Most Innovative Chef – Antonin Mousseau-Rivard; Le Mousso

Most Eco-Friendly Restaurant – Sal Howell of River Café; Calgary

Best Farm to Table Restaurant – Nightingale; Vancouver BC

Best Pastry Chef – Celeste Mah- Raymonds; St. John’s Nfld

One to Watch Young Chef – Massimo Piedimonte; Le Mousso

Best New Restaurant – Giulietta; Toronto

Outstanding Chef – Patrick Kriss; Alo

Best Restaurant Design – Partisans; Quetzal Restaurant

Lifetime Achievement Award – Normand Laprise; Toqué!

Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants will donate on behalf  of Chef Ivana Ranca to Open Kitchen Toronto   (OKTO) – a dinner series that puts female chefs front and centre – to raise funds for a scholarship for female-identified students at George Brown College’s Culinary Arts program.

Showcasing excellence in the industry, Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list is tabulated by professional services firm KPMG in Canada – the official adjudicator of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants – providing voting and data verification services to help ensure the ranking remains independent and accurate. The annual list is renowned for being an unbiased metric of restaurant quality in Canada and represents the consensus of the diverse, knowledgeable opinions of 98 judges including Canada’s top chefs, restaurateurs, journalists, and food industry insiders.

CHAMPAGNE LANSON PARTNERS WITH LONDON’S ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

Champagne Lanson has just announced that they are the new official Champagne of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).

The Royal Shakespeare has over one million visitors each year and they will now be pouring Champagne Lanson’s exclusive Père et Fils as well as its Vintage Gold Label 2008, its Extra Age Brut NV and its popular Lanson Rose Label Brut Rosé NV in all of its bars and restaurants.

The company operates three theatres in the market town – The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, The Swan Theatre and The Other Place – as well as four bars and restaurants including Rooftop Restaurant, Susie’s Café Bar, Riverside Café and Swan Café.

Vicki Fleming, head of catering, Royal Shakespeare Company, commented: “We are delighted to announce that Champagne Lanson, one of the oldest holders of the Royal Warrant has become our new official Champagne partner. Producing some of the world’s finest Champagnes since 1760, Lanson is the perfect fit for us. The brand epitomizes quality, style and celebration so is perfect for our audiences.”

“Sold by the glass in every theatre bar, the delicious Lanson Père et Fils Brut NV is the perfect aperitif to complement a theatre visit, while a bottle of Lanson Gold Label Vintage 2008 goes wonderfully with a special event at our award-winning Rooftop Restaurant. Lanson Brut Rosé NV, Lanson Extra Age Brut NV and Lanson Gold Label Vintage 2008 will all feature on the Rooftop wine list”.

Paul Beavis, managing director of Champagne Lanson, added: “We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with the Royal Shakespeare Company. It not only allows us to showcase our multi award-winning range of Champagne to its members; but we are also convinced that Lanson’s renowned freshness and added weight from extended aging ensures that our style of Champagne is also food-friendly.

“We are delighted that the Royal Shakespeare Company is able to showcase our range to its members and guests.”

World wine production reached a record of 292.3 mhl in 2018

World wine production reached a Record high in 2018 in a clear departure from the historically low production of 2017, but consumption stabilized, according to  Pau Roca, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) Director General in his presentation April 11, 2019

Global wine output for 2018 rose 17% to 292.3 million hectoliters (mhl) which was close to the exceptionally high level of 2004, driven by Italy, France, and Spain.  These three countries recording output at least 13% above their five-year averages states Roca.

Top performers:

Italy confirmed its position as the world’s largest producer with 54.8mhl, followed by France with 49.1mhl and Spain, which produced 44.4mhl.

In the US, wine production in 2018 increased by more than 0.5mhl compared with 2017, with production in Argentina growing 2.7mhl to reach 14.5mhl.

Chile recorded a 3.4mhl increase to reach 12.9mhl.

Declining:

Brazil saw its production fall to 3.1mhl in 2018.

South Africa produced 9.5mhl in 2018 – a 1.4mhl decrease compared with 2017 due to the impact of the drought.

Britain recorded a 3.1% drop in consumption to 12.3mhl, while mainland China recorded the biggest decrease in consumption among the world’s top 20 largest wine consumers, down 6.6% to 18mhl.

The slight decrease could be due to extreme weather in Europe, including drought and storms.

Stability:

Australian production remained stable, with 12.9mhl vinified. New Zealand produced 3.0mhl, an increase of 0.2mhl since 2017.

In terms of global consumption, 246mhl was consumed in 2018 compared with 246.7mhl in 2017, the OIV estimated, adding estimates were tentative due to limited data.

Global trade in 2018 increased slightly in terms of volume, with 108mhl traded; it also rose by 1.2% in terms of value, reaching €31.3 billion.

Wine exports in 2018 continued to be largely dominated by Spain, Italy, and France, which together accounted for more than 50% of the global market by volume, equating to 54.8mhl.

Spain continued to be the biggest exporter by volume with 20.9mhl, representing 19.4% of the global market. France was the biggest world exporter by value, with €9.3 billion exported in 2018.

Bottled wines made up 70% of the total value of wines exported in 2018. By value, sparkling wines accounted for 20% of the global market, despite representing just 9% of the total volume exported.

The OIV the total world area under vines at 7.4mha, which is almost equivalent to that of 2017.

Further Details
http://www.oiv.int/fr/vie-de-loiv/2923-millions-dhectolitres-la-production-mondiale-de-vin-atteint-un-record-en-2018

The Consulate General of France – Toronto announces the first annual female culinary competition

The Consulate General of France – Toronto is organizing the first female culinary competition entitled: “Elles sont Food, and You?” In partnership with Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Ryerson University, the contest is open to all Ontario-based female chefs, sous-chefs, pastry chefs, cooks and entrepreneurs in the gastronomy sector.

The competitors will compete to make the best “cocktail party” finger foods in creative and audacious ways. “Elles sont Food, and You?” competition gives the competitors an occasion to showcase the best Ontario and/or French ingredients.

Each dish is judged by a panel of culinary experts and industry professionals on taste and presentation.

Timelines

  • April 21st, 2019 – Deadline for Registration
  • May 28th, 2019 – Jury Tasting
  • June 11th, 2019 – Awards Ceremony and cocktail partySix winners will be awarded: exclusive radio/press/digital media coverage in specialized magazines, free memberships to different culinary associations, and participation to master classes organized by our prestigious partners. This list of awards is non-exhaustive.

    Applications will be reviewed by the organizing committee who will select up to six applicants in each of the six finger food categories. These creations will be tasted and rated on May 28th by the jury who will select the best one per category. The winning finger foods will be served at the cocktail party on June 11th which follows the awards ceremony.

    Chef Donna Dooher, Mildred’s Temple Kitchen, and Mr. Marc Trouyet, Consul General of France – Toronto are the patrons of the 2019 edition of this competition.

    The 2019 jury includes eight recognized professionals and personalities from the world of gastronomy:

     Cheryl Appleton, Founder & President – Canadian Women in Food;

     Renée Bellefeuille, Executive Chef – Art Gallery of Ontario;

     Jonathan Bouchard, Food Columnist – CBC Radio-Canada;

     Rosanna Caira, Editor and Publisher of Kostuch Media’s Foodservice and Hospitality, and Hotelier magazines;

     Stephanie Duong, Chef & Owner – Roselle Desserts;

     Pascal Geoffroy, Chef & Owner – Batifole Restaurant;

     Shanna Munro, President & CEO of Restaurants Canada; and

     Michelle Tham, Head of Beer Education at Labatt Breweries of Canada.

    For further details & registration at: https://ellessontfoodandyou.ca.

    Véronique Blanchard
    Communication & Partnership
    1-416- 847-1891
    Veronique.blanchard@diplomatie.gouv.fr

    Françoise Briet
    Registrations
    1-416-888-1396
    françoise.briet@gmail.com

 

IronGate.Wine becomes the first online wine retailer to accept cryptocurrency

IronGate.Wine, a leading online retailer of private, rare wine collections, has announced that they have completed testing and will immediately begin accepting Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) as payment methods for their online inventory of vintage wine. Utilizing the processing system provided by BitPay, IronGate.Wine will allow buyers from all over the world to shop for vintage wine from the cellars of private collectors using this form of currency.

“We are very excited to be the first online retailer of our kind to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment for the incredible wines that we have available,” said IronGate.Wine President, Warren Porter. “Our research has shown that the adoption of cryptocurrency is on the rise and we want our customers to be able to use whatever payment form they prefer. We view Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash as a currency, not unlike the Dollar or Euro and know that our customers would like the option of spending it on this luxury item.”

Porter continued, “aside from convenience, the fraud-proof nature of crypto compared to credit cards will completely eliminate fraudulent transactions. In addition, accepting crypto payments greatly decreases our processing fees compared to credit cards. IronGate.Wine is consistently one of the lowest-priced providers in the United States of fine and rare wine, but we can be even more competitive by further reducing our processing costs by several percentage points.”

“Bitcoin is a global currency and will allow international buyers to purchase wine cheaper and more quickly than credit cards and bank wires,” said Sonny Singh, Chief Commercial Officer at BitPay. “One of the biggest headaches merchants have today is chargebacks, and for online merchants this headache is compounded with the added risks of identity theft and fraud. BitPay leverages the promise cryptocurrency provides with transactional transparency. It is impossible to use cryptocurrency for fraud as every transaction is verified, recorded and stored on the blockchain. Further, as a push transaction, similar to taking cash out of a wallet, the user sends the exact amount of Bitcoin needed to pay the bill. This eliminates traditional credit card fraud and identity theft risks associated with credit cards. As a result, there are no chargebacks.”

In addition to Bitcoin, IronGate.Wine accepts all major credit cards, ACH and wire transactions, and will soon be expanding to accept AliPay, WeChat Pay and Apple Pay to round out the most comprehensive array of payment options in the industry.

Based in upstate New York and shipping worldwide, IronGate.Wine is an online retailer of vintage wines meticulously sourced from private collectors throughout the United States and Canada. Currently, there are over 2,500  unique wines available for purchase through the website, which will grow to over 4,000 in the next four weeks.