Six students from Niagara College’s culinary program have been selected to participate in Huntsville’s inaugural Flavours of Ontario event, where they will be preparing a high-end dinner using artisan ingredients from around the province.
“We have a wonderful range of international students at Niagara College so I tried to represent the broad ethnicity of our class: three Brazilian, one Vietnamese, one Indian and one Canadian,” said Peter Blakeman, the students’ professor. “They have never experienced our northern Ontario resort region so it should be quite and experience for them.”
The event is a partnership between the Chamber of Commerce and local chef Jeff Suddaby, owner of 3 Guys and a Stove.
“Colleges were asked to participate in the event to provide them with a valuable on the job learning experience and on behalf of the Canadian Food and Wine Institute, I was more than happy to accept,” said Blakeman. “Jeff and I go back a long way; we first met in Louisiana on a month-long southern cuisine course with a team of Canadian chefs for the Southern United States Trade Association and continue to work on culinary opportunities. Huntsville is the perfect location to host such an event.”
The Chamber also hopes it will showcase this area as a great place to establish a career.
“We are using it also as an opportunity to highlight our area as a place to work for students who come out of culinary college,” Kelly Haywood, Executive Director of the Huntsville Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce, told Doppler previously. “It’s a bit of a workforce development opportunity as well.”
Some of the Ontario products that will be included in the Flavours of Ontario meal are white shrimp from Planet Shrimp, Ontario greens from Eat Local Muskoka, chicken breast from Yorkshire Valley Farms, Georgian Bay whitefish from Pervis Fisheries, beef tenderloin from Artisan Beef Farms, cherries from Cherry Lane in Niagara, and honey flower ice cream from Whimsical Bakery.
The event will have many food stations so people can choose which samples they would like to try before the sit-down meal.
The tables will be decorated and staged by Sandhill Nursery.
“I’m looking forward to providing the students with a valuable educational experience,” said Blakeman. “It is quite inspiring for me to work with students on special projects away from the classroom. It provides them with a sense of pride, confidence and accomplishment.”
After dinner is served, attendees are invited to an additional event hosted by the Huntsville Festival of the Arts. Dancing on the Docks offers guests the opportunity to dance on Town Dock to music from a 10-piece band fronted by Neil Barlow.
Flavours of Ontario will be held on Thursday, August 8 from 6 -11 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at huntsvilleadventures.com or by calling the Chamber at 705-789-4771.
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