Canada's insider blog

If I told my dad, who happens to be a potato farmer, that I’m hob-nobbing with elite chefs Jamie Kennedy and Michael Smith at a big culinary event in Toronto, ON, he’d likely say: tell those guys to use more spuds. Little does dad know: farmers are the new stars of culinary tourism.

Dad’s farm is too far away from the restaurants and markets these guys are talking about. The focus at the Ontario Culinary Summit Nov. 1 at MaRS Centre in downtown Toronto is local, local, local. Event organizer Rebecca LeHeup is passionate about the planet she’ll leave behind for her kids. She’s channeling that passion into helping Ontario’s small farmers and producers figure out how to better connect with chefs and others who want to eat their amazing, local, and increasingly organic foods.

Chef Smith gave a moving keynote (despite the fact that he’s actually the food ambassador for another province, Prince Edward Island), reminding the room full of food producers, chefs and food lovers that travellers want to reconnect with food and the land—one farmer in PEI even charges tourists to pull her weeds! Crazy, but true.

It’s a food event, so we gotta eat: everyone here—including passers-by and building tenants—was treated to a “locavores cafeteria” with top chefs from around Ontario showcasing small bites of the province’s bounty. My favourite tastes of the day? Check them out at www.5faves.com/TasteOntario.