Weekly Tips: February 20
As the month of August delivers the best of Ontario food, the month of February is seasonally the most challenging. Nevertheless, Executive Chef Lorenzo Loseto continues to turn up in the dark, weekly, at the Ontario Food Terminal. He reports this week that there are still a few Ontario farmers present in their heated trailers, offering good Ontario root vegetables as well as a few excellent Ontario hothouse items such as cucumbers and tomatoes. He bought Ontario leeks and Ontario butternut squash, which he recommends.
On the import side of the Terminal, Chef reports that, except for a shortage of Brussels sprouts, there is pretty much everything available from the US at good prices. He found US lettuce in short supply and wet, meaning that it would not hold for more than a day or two.
What is different this year is the absence of European produce. For example, Spanish pomegranates, European cactus pears and Italian blood oranges are not to be found. They are replaced this year by more produce from Mexico and South America, which Chef assumes is pricing the European produce out of the Canadian market.
Chef was able to buy Italian kiwis, which he likes to use at this time of year. He noted that Mexican and South American berries of all kinds were plentiful, as well as asparagus, but he rejected them as unseasonal. Instead, he bought mangoes, pineapples and tropical fruits to feature in his winter dessert recipes.
Chef continues to receive excellent Canadian fish from all three coasts. At GEORGE, he is serving roasted cod with an olive sauce, Nova Scotia scallops with rice cakes and turbot from Nunavut.
New meat offerings include duck confit and chicken croquettes.
For those of you who did not make our special romantic Valentine’s Dinner, we are continuing the theme this month with Love Letters from GEORGE. This four-course tasting menu showcases what GEORGE Restaurant was built on — our passion for food. Priced at $99++, it highlights seasonal ingredients from the market and the quiet creativity behind each dish.
Chef has scheduled a special Italian Dinner on March 5th highlighting his Italian heritage. This five-course experience is priced at $120++ and will begin at 6:30 pm. All guests will be welcomed with a complimentary glass of Prosecco along with hors d’oeuvres. Everyone will then sit down together for dinner, which will feature food from Chef’s home province, Puglia.