Taste buds (c/o Wikipedia): "They are located around the small structures on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, upper esophagus and epiglottis, which are called papillae. Via small openings in the tongue epithelium, called taste pores, parts of the food dissolved in saliva come into contact with taste receptors."
So many pores; such hardworking papillae. The ROM. In and out. Sunday. Last. Toronto Taste, the blockbuster chef-a-palooza held, year after year, in aide of Second Harvest. While gluttons galore scoured the high-end food fair, mouths partaking the salty, the sour, the bitter, the sweet and the oh-yes umami -umami being the La Toya Jackson of this particular Five -two things occurred to me.
One: the nagging idea, as I got around and caught the fine conga-line of chefs -cue the thought bubble -"Shinan, perhaps you really should eat at home one of these days." Seeing all these face-giving chefs in one place -60 of them, thereabouts, from restaurants ranging from Buca to Cava, Chiado to Scarpetta -gave me shivers of a This Is Your Life quality, me being the precise kind of trained professional whose eating is out more often than not.
Two: this being "the year of the burger," as some put it -but, hey, when isn't it? -all these umpteen takes on bun-meat may not have been ideal for the well-paced grazing that this capital-E Event demands. First-rate foodie James Chatto, who fretted likewise about filling up on dough at the taste-fest, instructed this way in his blog later, "Finding ways to present finger that doesn't involve bread is a useful lesson to any young chef."
Amen to that? (Although, p.s.: neither Chatto, nor I, were all that against filling up on David Lee's brisket burger topped with kimchi, with the man from Nota Bene topping many people's "best of" lists on this particular night out!)
Not saving the rest of the best for last? That'd be a deceptively delicious asparagus dish from Woodlot, a Bieber fever-esque-causing polenta from an in-the-flesh Scott Conant, sassy salt cod fritters via Enoteca Sociale, Roger Mooking's non-waspy Chicken lollies with hot mayo, crazy-good cannolis from L'Unita, and if-you-don'tmind-I-will offerings of fish tacos from C5's Ted Corrado (working the home turf advantage, indeed!).
Making my way through the pulsing,hungry, gut-expanding, losing-their-mind mobs, it was a formidable chance, indeed, to chef-watch.
"Look at Anthony Walsh! He's in skinny jeans," an accomplice noted admiringly, taking in Auberge du Pommier's handsome dasher. "What lies behind Dustin Gallagher's Cheshire grin?" That was I, taking in the tireless beam of the Grace stove-keeper, out enjoying the fame-bump that's come from being one of those still standing on Top Chef Canada. The no-stranger Mark McEwan, the man in charge of the aforementioned reality series, was fully in our midst too, holding court -in a shorter, more boyish, somewhat cowlicked hair do, we noticed.
McEwan, here bearing OMG fried smelts, revealed -scoop! hold the presses! -that the new do was courtesy of a new cutter, and that he's been "cheating," indeed, on his regular hairdresser.
Staying true, true, true, meanwhile, to his ne'er-dowell personal brand? That was Marc Thuet, who in a one-off move, and to the chagrin of some, was there handing out beaver meat! Served on a slice of fresh pumpernickel, with just the delectable hint of jam. But, alas, the bad boy chef wasn't just talking rodents this day. Bulls, too, were on his mind.
One, um, in particular. "Eight hundred pounds," Mr. Conviction Kitchen revealed to me about the bull he's gearing up to cook, live, at the Power Ball, that annual arty party set to go down later this week in Toronto. The bull was on his way to the city, as we spoke, in fact -direct from Alberta. "He's coming first class," he went on, and some "strong Serbs" had been expertly recruited to help move the beast at the Ball.
Well, OK, then. You know what's not bull, no, not at all? That's Toronto Taste, a tent-pole fundraiser, which in helping to bring together fine food with compassion, helps deliver meals to those who need it most. Fact: the funds raised from this one night alone will allow Second Harvest to feed 500,000 people.
And if that's irony, yup, we'll take it.
sgovani@nationalpost.com
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