Rota, who was recently nominated for a James Beard Award for excellence in culinary journalism and also makes regular appearances on La Femme Nikita, travels the country with The Great Canadian Food Show to experience the wealth of ethnic and regional cooking available in Canada.
At the Edgewater Rota tried the venison, which comes from the Edgewater’s own fallow deer ranch.
Look for the Edgewater epsiode on The Food Network in the spring.
Learn about taste, smell…
The Whistler Cooking School and Platinum Palate Wine Educators, in association with the International Sommelier Guild, are presenting a series of three wine appreciation courses. The courses, which are prerequisites for the Sommelier Diploma, are being offered in Whistler starting Jan. 14, 2002.
There are only 20 seats available for the first 10-week course.
Apply online at www.internationalsommelier.com or for more information call Daniel Liddy at 604-938-1404
Boston Pizza open again
Boston Pizza, which has been undergoing extensive renovations for the past few months, has re-opened.
Hot dog
Canada is the world’s largest producer of mustard, according to BC Stats Infoline.
Mustard production averaged 225,530 tonnes a year during the last decade, but plummeted to 89,300 tonnes this year because of drought on the prairies.
To your health
More than 18,000 people in 35 countries around the world sat down to Night of a Thousand Dinners recently, as part of the Canadian Landmine Foundation’s efforts to rid the world of anti-personnel landmines.
Each individual who participated in one of the dinners held on or around Nov. 30 has pledged a contribution toward ridding the world of "one of the most insidious weapons of terror of the last century." Among the diners were Queen Noor of Jordan, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, Paul McCartney and numerous Canadian senators, federal ministers and MPs.
"What started out as a concept designed to build grassroots awareness and support for mine action has been embraced beyond all expectations," said Frank O’Dea, president and CEO of The Canadian Landmine Foundation and the creator of the Night of a Thousand Dinners concept.
More than $1.4 million CDN has been pledged to date, although the final total from Night of a Thousand Dinners won’t be tabulated until the new year.
‘bucks ducks bucks
Last week Starbucks coffee introduced prepaid cashless coffee cards that their customers can use for greater convenience – faster service, shorter lineups, and no more fiddling to find the correct change when your hands and fingers begin to twitch as a result of your caffeine withdrawal.
The cards work like prepaid phone cards. You buy a card in any denomination, from $5 to $500, and swipe it every time you pick up your Frappuccino. The amount will be deducted from the total and when your card is down to zero you can put more money on it.
For Starbucks, the cards will help to promote customer loyalty while reducing staff. They will also increase equity. From the time you buy the card to the time you emptied it, Starbucks will be earning interest on your cash.
Canadian women short on vitamin D
At last, the answer to the age old question "what do women want?" According to researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, it’s more vitamin D.
They discovered that one in five women who took the daily recommended limit of vitamin D were still deficient.
Vitamin D is necessary to help your body absorb Calcium, which prevents bones from weakening. Sunshine is the main source of the vitamin, followed by fortified milk products and supplements.
The Osteoporosis Society of Canada says women (and men) should try to get at least 15 minutes of sunlight every day. Alternatives include eggs, chicken livers, sardines, herring, fish oils and mackerel.
The lack of sunlight in northern countries makes diet far more important.
No end to snoring
A consumer study on products marketed to snorers has found that many of the products are ineffective. Health Which?, a U.K. health magazine, looked at eight popular products, evaluating the research and testing the product.
Not only did they find a lack of evidence that these cures work, they criticized the research and methods used to back the manufacturer’s claims.
According to Statistics Canada, more than two million Canadians have sleep disorders, from insomnia to snoring. One in three men and one in four women snore.
The main causes are excess weight, alcohol consumption, collapsed airways, or blocked nasal passages. While a snoring product can clear phlegm or open your passages, they won’t shed your weight or sober you up.
