Masterclasses offer in-depth explorations of food topics, presented by experts and accompanied by demonstrations and tastings.
What does it taste like to live in Ontario? This is a tricky question to answer for two reasons. Firstly, although we grow a lot of things, most of what is cultivated here is not native to Ontario. The vast majority of food crops are essentially an invasive species that that been introduced and have taken over our local ecosystems. Secondly, most of the food plants that are indigenous to Ontario are not grown commercially nor available for purchase in stores. The only products actually native to Ontario one is likely to find in a supermarket might be maple syrup, blueberries and wild rice. So we find ourselves deeply disconnected from our terroir, seasons and natural environment, as well as sustainable First Nations food traditions that reach back thousands of years. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Ontario is abundant with all manner of edible plants, mushrooms, herbs, nuts, fruits and vegetables, if you only know what to look for.
For this Masterclass, Seth Goering from Forbes Wild Foods will be walking guests through a multi-course tasting session designed to showcase the unique flavours of a wide range of native foods, from teas, berries, and nuts to mushrooms, herbs, and seaweeds. These remarkable ingredients are available in variety of forms, from pickles and jams to powders and teas, making them available year-round. Seth will speak to some of the overall considerations of Canadian foraging as well as sharing fascinating botanical, historical, nutritional and medicinal details of particular species.
Spring Edition:
Plants: Ramps (aka wild leeks), Fiddleheads (aka ostrich fern tips)
Mushrooms: Fresh Morels
Preserves: Milkweed Pods, Ox-Eye Daisy Capers
Berries: Saskatoon Berry, Elderberry
Seaweed: Salicornia (aka sea asparagus)
Trees & Syrups: Birch, Haskap, Balsam, Spruce, Cedar
(Exact items will depend on availability)
In addition to being able to sample and learn about these unique local ingredients, a delicious tasting menu has been prepared by Chef Taylor Parker, the man behind the Dep’s popular Indigenous Food Lab dinner series. This offers a fabulous opportunity to experience the versatility of these rare flavours — a real connection to our Canadian landscape. There will also be a selection of wild food products for sale at the end of the event, so you can take home some of the amazing new flavours you have discovered.
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For more than two decades Forbes Wild Foods has been striving to make wild foraged native foodstuffs available to a broader Canadian audience. Working with specialized teams of foragers — rural Indigenous people, women, youth, retirees, farmers, and professional pickers — they carefully and sustainably harvest abundant wild foods, and help propagate rare plants by reintroducing them to lands that need remedial attention, such as overgrazed woodlots and pastures.
@forbeswildfoods
Seth Goering is a city kid who went into the woods one day and never fully left. He has been lucky enough to work with Jonathon Forbes and the other fantastic members of the Forbes Wild Foods team for over 22 years. Foraging the woods and wilds of southern Ontario has offered the opportunity to try a wide range of hyper-local foraged delicacies, and the network of foragers means he has been lucky enough to taste wild treats from the far edges of Canada and many places in between. Between time spent learning to identify, sustainably harvest and prepare a variety of unusual wild crafted delicacies he has also become a fixture on the local Farmer’s Market scene.
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The Depanneur is where Interesting Food Things happen. For more than a decade The Dep has been showcasing Toronto’s remarkable culinary diversity by hosting unique food events.
@thedepanneur
