Friday, December 31, 2010

We have a winner! And the Inniskillin prize pack goes to...

Friday, December 31, 2010
Today's the day we give away an Inniskillin prize pack to a lucky winner!

We've done the draw and we have a winner - and the winner is...

ERIN!

Erin told us that her favourite treat is "a dark chocolate truffle, with a glass of ice wine at the end of a long day." Mmm, now THAT'S the kind of indulgence we could all use at the end of a long day, especially during the holiday time! Thanks for sharing, Erin!

We'll be emailing you, Erin, at the address you left us to arrange delivery of your prize pack.

Happy new year to you all, thank you all for entering the contest and sharing your favourite holiday treat with us!
Yours in food,
-Stacey

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

CONTEST ALERT: Happy Holidays from Inniskillin and Tasting Toronto!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Inniskillin and Tasting Toronto want to wish you a happy holiday!

We're giving away an Inniskillin prize pack to one lucky Tasting Toronto reader - You have a chance to win an Inniskillin VIP Tasting Card for their Niagara-on-the-Lake winery, an awesome book all about icewine, Kozlik's triple-crunch mustard (YUM!), and a nice thick winter scarf - all great things to make your winter that much warmer!

To enter, either comment on this post or tweet to us @TastingToronto telling us what your favourite holiday treat is! If leaving a comment, please make sure you leave a way for us to get in touch with you!

Best of luck!
Yours in food,
-Stacey

Contest closes December 31, 2010. Open to residents of Ontario 19 years or older. Entry: Either comment on this post or tweet to us @TastingToronto telling us what your favourite holiday treat is (and if commenting on the blog, please be sure to leave us a way to get in touch with you!). Prizes to win: An Inniskillin prize pack valued at approximately $85. One entry per person. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Mathematical skill-testing question to be correctly answered to win. No purchase necessary. Full rules below.


Tasting Toronto / Inniskillin “Favourite Holiday Treat” Contest

The Tasting Toronto / Inniskillin “Favourite Holiday Treat” Contest (the “Contest”) is open to residents of Ontario who are 19 years or older. The Contest Period starts on December 22, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. and ends December 31, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. No purchase necessary. All times are Eastern Times.

HOW TO ENTER – Either comment on this post or tweet to us @TastingToronto telling us what your favourite holiday treat is. If commenting on the blog, please be sure to leave us a way to get in touch with you.

PRIZE – Entrants are eligible to win one (1) Inniskillin prize pack valued at approximately $85.

FINAL DRAW – The names of all eligible entrants will be entered into a random draw. The random draw by a representative of Tasting Toronto will be made December 31, 2010. The name of the winner will be posted December 31, 2010 via a Tasting Toronto blog post and via @TastingToronto on Twitter. The winning entrant is responsible to verify if he/she has been selected. Selected entrants must make themselves known by 7:00 p.m. on January 7, 2010 by either tweeting to us or contacting tastingtoronto@hotmail.com.

If a selected entrant fails to make him/herself known by 7:00 p.m. on January 7, 2010 or to claim the prize as instructed, incorrectly answers the skill-testing question, declines the prize, fails to sign a Release of Liability as may be specified by Tasting Toronto or fails to present valid ID, entrant will have forfeited the opportunity to claim the prize and Tasting Toronto reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to select another entrant or to cancel the prize.

Prize must be accepted as awarded and is not transferable, redeemable, refundable or exchangeable for cash. Tasting Toronto reserves the right to substitute a prize of at least equal value in the event of the unavailability, for whatever reason, of the advertised prize.

To be declared a winner, selected entrants must first correctly answer, unaided, a time-limited, mathematical skill-testing question at the time of claiming the prize and may need to sign a Release. Contest judges' rulings are final and without appeal in all matters related to the promotion and the awarding of prizes.

By entering this Contest and/or accepting a prize, entrants consent to the use of their entry and name for publicity, advertising or informational purposes carried out by Tasting Toronto in any medium or format without further notice or compensation.

The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations.

Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries. All entries that are incomplete, illegible, damaged, irregular, do contain offensive material or inappropriate content, have been submitted through illicit means, using any robotic, automatic programmed method that artificially increases the odds of winning or do not conform to or satisfy any condition of the rules may be disqualified by Tasting Toronto. Tasting Toronto takes no responsibility for lost, stolen, delayed, damaged, misdirected, late or destroyed entries, or for typographical or other production errors. Tasting Toronto is not responsible for any errors or omissions in printing or advertising this Contest. All entries become the property of Tasting Toronto.

Tasting Toronto is collecting personal data about entrants for the purpose of administering this Contest. No further informational or marketing communications will be received by entrants.

By entering this Contest, entrants release and hold harmless the Contest Sponsor (the “Releasee”) from any liability in connection with this Contest or, if declared a finalist or a winner, the prize.

This Contest will be run in accordance with these rules, subject to amendment by Tasting Toronto. Entrants must comply with these rules, and will be deemed to have received and understood the rules by participating in the Contest.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Gourmet Food & Wine Expo: quick highlights and pics

Sunday, December 12, 2010
Hi folks - We wanted to share some quick highlights from the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo with you.

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As a bit of an intro for those who haven't been before, the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo is held in November each year at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It has over 1,500 wines, spirits and beers from around the world to sample. You basically buy your entry pass, then are handed a wine sampling glass (don't break it or misplace it, or else be prepared to pay $3 for an extra - but they are so darn cute I almost wanted to buy an extra!). Then once inside, you buy a block of tickets you can use toward food and drink and you get little "sample sizes" to try for a few tickets each from whichever booths you deem interesting. We bought 20 tickets this year.

We hadn't been to GFWE in a couple years, but noticed there was a lot more wine than last time so if you're a wine lover, you'll really be enjoying yourself there!

Speaking of wine, we tried a Georgian red wine that was extremely spicy (when you smelled it, it was like black pepper up your nostrils, but I'm kind of a pepper lover - Mark liked it less than I did). It was certainly interesting, and I think it was the most memorable wine I've ever had for its sheer uniqueness.



In terms of ticketed food items, there were some options, but it seemed like less than last time we were there. Everything we did eat was good - we had a yummy vegetarian samosa from Magic Oven with a delicious spicy chutney drizzled over it. But of course I got drawn to DESSERT almost immediately! There was fudge on a stick dipped in chocolate from Northern Confections - what an awesome idea! It was delicious. I was sold at first glance. We also geeked out over the extensive variety of macarons from Ruelo Patisserie. Such unique flavour combinations - wasabi grapefruit, black truffle (no seriously - it was made with real black truffles! It cost more tickets than the others!) Very creative and very delicious.

It's a great night out, if you live in the GTA and haven't yet been to GFWE I'd say be sure to catch it next year because it really is a fun night out, we really enjoyed ourselves.

Yours in food,
-Stacey