The Yum Yum Factor

Wynona on Gerrard St East in Toronto This was a fabulous Week in Yum, at long last! Lots of great food, birthday boots, a couple new pieces from me online and a trip to Montreal starts today so I am pretty sure next week, there will be even more deliciousness to share. First up, the Kid is now a grown ass man of 19 years and 11 months and the fruits of my labour are ready to harvest. He has been introducing me to new restaurants, new imbibements (HELLO SORTILAGE) and this week, the restaurant was The  Eat Live Film Cafe in Kensington Market. I have walked by this place a thousand times, since I work at least a couple days a week two blocks away and I have been curious but have never stopped by. Teriyaki Chicken Don, Gyoza and Japanese Curry Poutine It seems the Kid eats here with his student friends for delicious, reasonably priced for huge portions of Japanese food. He had his regular, the Japanese Curry Poutine, Shack had Teriyaki Chicken Don and we shared the ...

Ziggy's Beach Club Tulum has changed so much since I started going there almost 30 years ago. Back then, we rented a palapa on the beach for a couple bucks, slung our hammocks and just hung out on the beach, eating cheap tacos and fried fish to the sound of hippies playing bongos in the sand. Soap was optional. The beaches of Tulum are pristine and are not as badly plagued with seaweed as the more northern beaches closer to Cancun and Playa del Carmen Now, Tulum has become this laid back, boho chic beach community that is chock full of eco friendly beach clubs, boutique hotels, shops selling carefully curated and very stylish lounge wear. Even acclaimed Danish chef, Rene Redzepi, opened a pop up restaurant there in 2017. There are still some affordable places to eat and sleep scattered about Tulum but most of those are in town. The places that line the prime beach front tend to be a bit more on the upscale side, all instagram ready and full of beautiful people,...

First of all, I have my new lap top so I can post again, with captions and photos and everything! So, this week was my first week back to work at Sublime, the catering company I have worked at for the last year or so. I took January off and that turned into taking February off and that sort of leaked over into March but here we are, mid March and I am back in the kitchen. After the first 9 hr day back ( I put 13km on my pedometer and never left the kitchen) and I came home and cried. My back was all seized up and I just wanted to curl up into a ball but I am happy to report, day two went much better and I even managed an afternoon event. Look at this tasty endive filled with roasted cauliflower/brussels sprouts, goat cheese vinaigrette and puffed wild rice Spicy Pork Ramen from Kinton on Baldwin I fit in a couple ramen stops, one at Kinton on Baldwin and another at Nakayoshi Izakaya on the Danforth. Ramen season is going to end soon, for me at least, so I need to cr...

Aguadito de Pollo, our main course at The Dep Apart from a busy Saturday night at the Dep, it was a slow, boring week in Yum people. It’s a good thing because I only have an iPad until my new laptop arrives and it’s impossoble to post anything much longer than this on it.  The week started out with a bang. On Saturday night, I hosted a sold out Supper Club at The Deppaneur where diners feasted on some of my favourite Peruvian inspired dishes like Aguadito de Pollo, Butter Poached Shrimp with Aji Verde and a Pisco Tres Leches cake. Supper Club nights are among my favourite things. Unlike pop ups with all the the stress of a hectic dinner service, supper clubs have the relaxed pace of a big dinner party. I find the day of shopping and cooking a huge meal very relaxing and by the end of the night, I feel like I have just fed my 24 new best friends. My beast for a week Not much happened in food after that BUT I did have the honour of pooch sitting ...

Forlini's on Baxter It feels like all I have done is travel this year - two mini trips to Mexico City, a week in Playa del Carmen with my sister and now, last week, Shack and I took off to NYC for a few days of fun before he starts his next block of work that looks like it might take him straight through to Christmas. For now, I am staying put and jumping right back into work with a supper club for 25 tomorrow night at the Deppaneur. The good, the bad and the ugly of last week's getaway: We booked through Travelocity because we had to book it the same day and Expedia, my usual go to for flight/hotel deals, doesn't do same day travel. Are we weird because we sometimes decide to go away at 8am and want to leave before supper that same day? all I will say is: DO NOT STAY AT THE NIGHT HOTEL - THERE ARE TWO RIGHT NEAR TIMES SQUARE AND I CAN ONLY ASSUME THE OTHER ONE WAS JUST AS TERRIBLE AS THE ONE WE WERE BOOKED INTO. What Shack looked kind of co...

Tulum Ruins Hello there, my peoples! Just want to check in to let anyone who is paying attention that I am alive and well and am home after, what feels like, non stop travelling since the New Year. I have soooo much more to share about my two trips to Mexico City and my recent week near Playa del Carmen - yes, I have been to Mexico three times so far this year. Yes, I love Mexico. In the meantime, my upcoming Peruvian supper club at the Depanneur has sold out but  There are still spots left for my next Instant Pot Class  so if you are in the Toronto area, click that link and grab one before it sells out. These daytime classes are a bit of a new addition to the Depanneur and they are proving to be quite popular. So, I had to let my Friday roundup feature, The Week in Yum, lapse for the last couple of years because I was insanely busy cooking. I was working with the Kingston Social for their first 6 months, I was teaching regularly, doing recipe features for Vita...