The Courvoisier Collective:  Culinary Masterpieces aims to inspire and provide exposure for culinary students and at home chefs.  Courvoisier cognacs have rich aromas and complex flavours that are perfect to inspire culinary artists to create recipes, food pairings and unforgettable gastronomic experience with a cognac-infused flair.

Become a member by submitting your Courvoisier Culinary Masterpiece today!

Look through the submissions on the Courvoisier Collective website (http://www.courvoisiercollective.com/) or join the Courvoisier Collective by submissing your own Courvoisier inspired recipe.  Six members (3 student chefs and 3 at home chefs) will be selected for a trip to Toronto to have their recipe featured at an exclusive tasting event where two finalists will be awarded a cash prize of $1,000

Important dates and Details for your submission:

·         Submission dates: July 3^rd to August 24^th – Users can submit recipes and vote for their favourites

·         August 24^th – September 7^th: The chef judging panel (you can learn more about them on the site) review each recipe.

·         September 7^th: 6 finalists are contacted and invited to attend an exclusive tasting event in October where their dish will be recreated and sampled!

Try out the Quiznos Chicken Milano today with these coupons off of your large or regular sized subs

Print out the coupons and bring them in today

Visit the Quiznos webpage for more details – CLICK HERE

Another great recipe from our friends at Reunion Island Coffee and this time it’s “Double Chocolate Mint Milano” to brighten your afternoons.

For more information on Reunion Island Coffee please visit them at – http://www.reunionislandcoffee.com/

Double Chocolate Mint Milano

Ingredients:

·         2 shots Reunion Island Cannonball espresso

(Optional: Substitute espresso for 4 oz brewed Reunion Island Guatemala La Soledad)

·         1 oz. Torani Chocolate Milano syrup

·         ½ oz. Torani Chocolate Mint syrup

·         8 oz. steamed or warmed milk

Directions:
Prepare espresso and pour into serving mug. Add sauce, syrup and steamed milk and stir until combined. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

To kick off the new Day-End Doughnation partnership between Panera Bread and Covenant House, Panera is hosting a Food Drive to help stock Covenant House’s internal Food Bank. Donations to the Food Drive must include non-perishable items that are not past their expiry dates.

As well, the two partners will host a Bread Homage ceremony to “break bread” together with local dignitaries; Covenant House youth, staff and supporters; and passersby, to bring attention to the needs of downtown Toronto’s homeless and hungry youth.

As a Day-End Doughnation partner, Covenant House will receive fresh, unsold Panera bakery products at the end of the day. Annually, system-wide, Panera Bread donates over $100 million dollars worth of day-end bread & baked goods to charitable organizations helping to address the need for food distribution in local communities.

When:           Wednesday, May 16, 2012

9am – 8pm  Food Drive

12:15 – 12:30pm  Bread Homage

Where:         Yonge-Dundas Square – South-East corner of Yonge St. and Dundas St. Toronto

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About Covenant House

Covenant House is Canada’s largest shelter for homeless youth offering the widest range of services under one roof to some 4,000 youth annually.

About Panera Bread

Panera Bread Company owns and franchises 1,562 bakery-cafes under the Panera Bread®, Saint Louis Bread Co.®, and Paradise Bakery & Café® names. We feature high quality, reasonably priced food in a warm, inviting, and comfortable environment. With our identity rooted in handcrafted, fresh-baked, artisan bread, we are committed to providing great tasting, quality food that people can trust. Nearly all of our bakery-cafes have a menu highlighted by antibiotic-free chicken, whole grain bread, and select organic and all-natural ingredients, with zero grams of artificial trans fat per serving, which provide flavorful, wholesome offerings. Our menu includes a wide variety of year-round favorites complemented by new items introduced seasonally with the goal of creating new standards in everyday food choices. In neighborhoods across the United States and in Ontario, Canada, our customers enjoy our warm and welcoming environment featuring comfortable gathering areas, relaxing decor, and free Internet access. Our bakery-cafes routinely donate bread and baked goods to community organizations in need. Additional information is available on our website, http://www.panerabread.com

Bring in your own mug/tubler/beverage holder to your nearest Starbucks today and get FREE coffee or iced coffee or hot tea in honour of Earth Day.

Visit the Starbucks website for more information or to find the nearest location close to you – www.starbucks.ca

Everything you love about the Original with twice the patty!  Top it off with 100% Real Canadian Cheddar and Naturally-Smoked Bacon for the ultimate burger experience!
Get a FREE upgrade to Fringes with the purchase of a Double Bacon Cheddar Combo from now till April 1, 2012

Print out the coupon and take it in today!

Visit the Harvey’s website for a full menu and restaurant locations — >  www.harveys.ca

All the hype surrounding The Works is real and the tasty burgers, milkshakes, and lineups are clearly proof of a new player in the race for gourmet burger supremacy.

The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro is an Ottawa based burger giant that has exploded onto the Canadian national scene with agressive expansion  throughout Eastern Ontario in places like, Toronto, London, Guelph, and Waterloo.

We had the pleasure of visiting The Works’  Oakville location for this burger adventure and they did not disappoint, well not entirely.

The waiting area here was packed with anxious burger fans including myself  while we  waited for about an hour to get a seat but the worst and only real complaint of the entire visit was that we were all staring into the restaurant at empty tables!  There was no presence of mind from the staff to clear some tables and seat the increasingly frustrated patrons into the dining area.

Again, seen here are the empty tables and the poor people waiting in line to get into the restaurant.  There were 5 tables surrounding us either empty or waiting to be cleaned up.  Our visit started off on a bad note but this was quickly changed when the food arrived.

Now that the worst part has been taken care of, let’s get down to the finer details of the visit.  Seen here is the rustic exposed brick decor giving The Works a unique sense of style and character.  This location was deceivingly larger from the inside which, wouldn’t be too evident while looking at the store front.

Creative salt and pepper shakers shaped like light bulbs.  I had to pick them up and expect them myself to make sure they weren’t the real thing.  Style points all around with some unique details including the measuring cups used as soft drink/milkshake mugs.

The measuring cups were a great addition seen here with the coke and chocolate milkshake.   I guess you could really count your calorie consumption with the millilitres readings on the side.  The milkshake was something else,  tasted great with DQ Blizzard like consistency which was amazing – Highly recommend.

Some more photos of the six seater booths and walkway inside The Works.

In terms of menu choices, you’re going to have to do some homework before you head over to The Works because you’ll have a ton delicious custom choices to read through.   The first thing you have to do is choose your type of gourmet burger patty – Pure Ground Beef, Whole Chicken Breast, Ground Turkey, Veggie Burger, Portobello Mushroom Cap, or Domestic elk.    Next thing you have to do is rifle through over 40 topping combinations with almost every topping available including some notable mentions like,  avocado, eggplant, brie and blue cheese, Montreal smoked meat, walnuts, smoky brisket, pineapple, and much much more.

The moment of truth – an elk burger (yes, elk) with “SNAP-taculour” toppings made up of gouda cheese, crispy bacon and avocado – “Oh Snap!”and sweet potato fries.  The elk comes with a price upgrade of $3.39 but is definitely worth trying at least once.

The burger was simply fantastic, cooked perfectly and still juicy with every bite.  The elk had not hint of game meat flavour which is a huge turn off for many of us and the best part of it was it wasn’t greasy like any other burger out there.   Highly recommend this choice of patty with great taste and a health upswing along the lines of Bison.

Metal trays seem to be the growing trend and are used here to hold the massive burgers and the side fixings.

The fries were great, tasty and crisp and were a great addition to the meal.

We liked it so much that we had to take an elk burger to go but this time with regular fries.  As you can see here the portions are more than generous.

If you don’t want fries you can have a choice of mashed potatoes, spicy die cut chips, and in this photo above, “Bold Slaw” which has jalapeno pepper juice, and white pepper!

Overall great experience at The Works minus the waiting in line debacle, the burgers clearly speak for themselves in taste and the shakes are to die for.  Next visit will be to taste out the “HIGH OCTANE” Poutines and onion rings but we’ll have to wait and try out the new Toronto location opening up on the Danforth.

For more information please visit The Works website at – http://worksburger.sitebenefits.com/

So what would you really expect from a restaurant named “The Heart Attack Grill” other than people eating outrageously artery killing burgers – A customer at the restaurant while eating a 6,000 calorie “Triple Bypass” burger actually suffered from a heart attack.

Jon Basso, owner of the Heart Attack Grill, told CBS News, “We throw slogans at you like, ‘Taste worth dying for.’”

It’s ironic how Basso calls himself a “doctor” and how the waitresses are all dressed up like nurses but they are all dishing out unhealthy foods that would surely lead you to visit a real hospital.

“I am nowhere near a nurse,” Chamberlin said. “I just play one when I come to work”

This would have been a great publicity stunt but unfortunately this one is real and that’s all she wrote so far – Check out the menu below:

Reunion Island Coffee Introduces Organic Flores Green Dragon!

Oakville, Ontario – February 1, 2012 – For their latest new coffee launch, Reunion Island Coffee sourced beans from the emerging new coffee origin of Flores in Indonesia. With its tropical climate and rich volcanic soil, Flores shares similar growing conditions with its sister islands of Sumatra and Java.

While the island itself is still under-developed, the coffee shows remarkable clarity and maturity, the signs of a well-grown crop.  Reunion Island’s director of coffee development Adam Pesce explains why this coffee appealed to him: “It’s clean, balanced and sweet, yet still has that distinctive heaviness we’ve come to expect from Indonesian coffees.”

Organic Flores Green Dragon is named after one of the island’s most famous inhabitants — the Komodo dragon. By sourcing the coffee from a Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farm, we are proud to support efforts to maintain a healthy environment for the dragons and other protected species.

Reunion Island is roasting Flores Green Dragon to a medium dark Viennese color to develop its dried fruit and sweet chocolate notes along with a slightly floral aroma.

“We are delighted with Reunion Island’s continued committed to sustainability,” said Tensie Whelan, president of the Rainforest Alliance. “By sourcing coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, Reunion Island is helping to support responsibly managed farms that protect the environment and support their local communities.”

Reunion Island’s Flores Green Dragon is available in single-cup coffee pods, portion packages and whole bean. For more information about Reunion Island, their products and sustainability programs, please visit ReunionIslandCoffee.com or call 905-829-8520.