A new event on the Toronto Food scene snuck past many last summer – a small one-day event focused on creating a single table that would sit 500 people (it was very long) and brought the best chefs in Toronto together to provide $5 samples for the public.
Luminato is a festival that greets Torontonians in early June and has taken the city by storms. Music, art, dance, food, theatre and other art fill the streets and building across our city. Many events are free or suitably economic and the Festival is quickly becoming a world-class celebration that represents the right of spring and summer to our city. The 600-foot table was a wonderful part of the festival and a welcome addition to the T.O. foodscape.
The event took place on Mill Street (outsid of the Distillery) and 3 of us feasted for $60 and were full. The food was exceptional and the chefs friendly and excited to be there. Most of the samples were split two or three ways and the value per dollar was unmatched. I recall my father being given a second sample from a kind chef who he complimented – a sandwich made of artisan bread, homemade charcuterie and pickles they made by hand. The food was plentiful even though the crowds were thick.
This years edition has some changes – the length has been lengthened to two days, moved west to the Harbourfront and has a new name (Presidents Choice 1,000 Tastes of Torontois the official moniker). The feast is on June 13 and 14. I recommend arriving early and hungry – food events at Harbourfront can be challenging with the sheer numbers that show up and the sleeper hit of last summer is bound to wake people from their slumber this year!
Well Preserved 