Taste! awards Peoples’ Choice winners

More than 2,000 people sampled and sipped their way around the grounds of the historic Crystal Palace in what is being hailed as the best TASTE! event thus far. They voted on their favourites in a variety of categories to become Peoples’ Choice winners.
The 10th annual TASTE! celebration of regional cuisine winners are:
Favourite Savoury Dish
1st JK Kitchens – Braised Oxtail Poutine with 5 year old Black River Cheddar
2nd Angelines Restaurant & Inn- Willi’s Lamb Ravioli; Vader’s Lamb with Eggplant on a bed of Lentils and Fifth Town Goats Cheese
3rd (TIE)    Waring House Gourmet with Honey Wagon Farm’s Vegetarian Butternut Squash Soup with cinnamon AND
East & Main Bistro’s Highland Beef Sliders with 2 year old cheddar and corn relish

Favourite Sweet Dish
1st (TIE) Merrill Inn –  Chef Michael Sullivan’s Opera Cake AND
William’s Family Diner –  Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake Spring Rolls
2nd Devonshire Inn – Challah French toast with homemade blueberry jam and local maple syrup
3rd (TIE)    Miss Lily’s Café – Tripple ginger molasses cookie AND
Milford Bistro’s Fifth Town Chevre cheese Cake Pops dipped in Dark Chocolate

Favourite White Wine
1st  Huff Estates 2010 Riesling Medium Dry VQA
2nd (TIE)    Sandbanks Estates Winery 2010 Dunes VQA AND
Sandbanks Estates Winery 2010 Shoreline White VQA
3rd Karlo Estates Winery 2010 Riesling VQA PEC

Favourite Red Wine
1st   Sandbanks Estates Winery 2010 Baco Noir VQA
2nd (TIE)    Waupoos Estates Winery 2009 Baco Noir VQA Ontario AND
Sandbanks Estates Winery 2009 Mouton Noir VQA
3rd (TIE)    Closson Chase 2009 Pinot Noir VQA PEC AND
Karlo Estates 2010 Fifth Element VQA Ontario AND
The Grange of Prince Edward 2008 Cabernet Franc VQA PEC

Favourite Beer/Cider
1st  County Cider Company– Waupoos Draft Cider
2nd Barley Days Brewery – Loyalist Lager
3rd Church Key Brewery –  Holy Smoke Scotch Ale

Best Dressed Booth
1st The Merrill Inn
2nd Miss Lily’s Cafe
3rd Buddha Dog

Best Food Presentation
1st (TIE) Angeline’s Restaurant & Inn  – Willi’s Lamb Ravioli AND
Amelia’s at the Waring House Restaurant & Inn  – Chef Luis de Sousa Roasted beet and Asian pear salad with feta crumble
2nd  Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company – Cheese tray and charcuterie
3rd  Buddha Dog – Buddha Pulled Soo-ee! Handmade Ted Aman Pulled Pork Buddha Dog of Blaine Way’s Tamworth Pork on a special Apple Jalapeno Cornbread Bun from Peter Grendel’s Pastry House. Topped w Back 40 Veg Kick-Ass County Slaw and a few shakes of Vicki’s Veggies Hot Sauce.

People’s Choice Overall Favourite
1st  JK Kitchens – Braised Oxtail Poutine with 5 year old Black River Cheddar
2nd Amelia’s at the Waring House –Roasted beet (Hagerman Farms) and Asian pear (Kendelson Orchards) salad with feta crumble (Fifth Town), candied pecans and maple (Vader’s) balsamic cinnamon dressing, on organic greens.
3rd Buddha Dog’s – Buddha Pulled Soo-ee! – Ted Aman Pulled Pork Buddha Dog of Blaine Way’s Tamworth Pork on an apple Jalapeno Cornbread Bun from Peter Grendel’s Pastry House. Topped with Back 40 Veg Kick-Ass County Slaw and a few shakes of Vicki’s Veggies hot Sauce. Soo-ee-t!

The Picton United Church County Food Bank received  $565.20 in sales generated from produce donated by local farms: Blake & Sandy Vader, Creasy’s Apple Dabble Farm, Cherryvale Organic Farm, Everdean Farms, Fosterholm Farms, Hagerman Farms, Honey Wagon Farms, Lakeshore Farms Market, Laundry Farms, Royal Garlic, Stonehouse Farms, Thyme Again Gardens, Vicki’s Veggies. All left-over produce was donated to the Food Bank for local distribution. TASTE! also thanks to Farm Credit Canada for sponsorship of the booth and to Slow Food Prince Edward County for the coordination and management of the farm stand.

Congratulations to Marilynn Dumitru, of Hamilton, who won a round-trip ticket for two to anywhere within the Windsor/Quebec Corridor sponsored by VIA Rail Canada.