The Royal Tree Beaver had an absolute blast hawking butter chicken & waffles at Steam Whistle’s Toronto Blue Jays Home Opener Party on Tuesday.  Three thoughts on our night:

1. The Steam Whistle team is awesome and we want to offer our shared thanks to Josh.  It might be because we were feeding your staff butter chicken and waffles, but before your crew even knew our food was good, we couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome.  Congratulations. Custom service is a rare commodity in Toronto and you guys really nail it.  

2. Steam Whistle would serve as a great first venue for aspiring pop-up food artists.  You won’t make a tonne of money, but you also won’t lose much if your food doesn’t sell.  The Royal Tree Beaver was next to SmashCake Desserts, and Fidel Gastro was outside.  All we had to do to take part was ask.  And have we told you how amazing it is to work with their staff?

3. Nothing the Royal Tree Beaver does happens without the support, love, and let’s be honest, hard work, of generous people like Shivaan De Silva, Janada Hawthorne and Sandra Poczobut.  We just want to say thank you for going to bat so tenaciously for Canadian-Canadian cuisine.

The next official Royal Tree Beaver event is in an alleyway just off of Bathurst St. in June.         

1 month ago
The Royal Tree Beaver is pumped to be joining Fidel Gastro and SmashCake Desserts at Steam Whistle Brewery`s Home Opener Party to cheer on the Toronto Blue Jays this Tuesday, April 2nd. We`ll be officially going by 2 p.m. with some butter chicken & waffles.  It`s the best place to take in Opening Day next to the dome.  Come for the game if you don`t have tickets; come before the game if you do. There`s also this awesomeness according to Steam Whistle: - Book Launch with author Steve Clarke in attendance: 100 Things Blue Jays Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die - A baseball-themed art show will be on exhibit for Home Opener in the brewery gallery, and will remain on display for the month of April. “Season Opener” will showcase customized baseball bats (from Garrison Creek Bat Co.) and art from over 30 different artists, illustrators and craftspeople. Click here for more information. EVENT DETAILS Date: Tuesday, April 02, 2013 Event Type: Party Location: Steam Whistle Brewing  Time: 12:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Ticket: free! 

The Royal Tree Beaver is pumped to be joining Fidel Gastro and SmashCake Desserts at Steam Whistle Brewery`s Home Opener Party to cheer on the Toronto Blue Jays this Tuesday, April 2nd.

We`ll be officially going by 2 p.m. with some butter chicken & waffles.  It`s the best place to take in Opening Day next to the dome.  Come for the game if you don`t have tickets; come before the game if you do.

There`s also this awesomeness according to Steam Whistle:

- Book Launch with author Steve Clarke in attendance: 100 Things Blue Jays Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die

- A baseball-themed art show will be on exhibit for Home Opener in the brewery gallery, and will remain on display for the month of April. “Season Opener” will showcase customized baseball bats (from Garrison Creek Bat Co.) and art from over 30 different artists, illustrators and craftspeople. Click here for more information.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Event Type: Party

Location: Steam Whistle Brewing 

Time: 12:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Ticket: free! 

1 month ago

BBQ Nation - SAVEUR - Issue 39

My gal Sandra and I didn’t make it into the SAVEUR print edition celebrating American BBQ, but we were featured online at SAVEUR.com last year.  Check us out at Scott’s Bar-B-Que in Stucky, SC, at the 58 seconds remaining mark.  

6 months ago

Competition Backyard BBQ raises more than $2,500 for charity

Lemon & Allspice, a social purpose business owned and operated by adults with developmental disabilities, finished first in the Desserts Division of the second annual Competition Backyard BBQ.

The 2012 Intergalactic Championships raised more than $2,500 for Common Ground, the charity that provides business support to Lemon and Allspice and four other Toronto small purpose enterprises.

More than 80 friends, family and random strangers joined together in an Annex backyard and feasted on food that showcased the incredible skills of more than a dozen home chefs.

Common Ground is a Toronto based non-profit that both trains and provides ongoing support and counsel to adults with developmental disabilities in the field of small business ownership. 

Meats Division 1st Place – Shiv de Silva – jerk pulled pork tacos

Meats Division Runner Up – Mogg & Jones – short rib stew

Sides Division 1st Place – Jer Holmes & Dianne Despot – butternut squash ale soup with aged cheddar and crispy pancetta

Sides Division Runner Up – Erin Stein – world’s greatest cheeseball

Desserts Division 1st Place – Lemon & Allspice - pumpkin cheesecake squares

Desserts Division Runner Up – Sandra Poczobut – mini apple harvest cheesecakes

Photos - Rick Weiss

7 months ago

What goes into a Thanksgiving Puck? Matthew Harris of Foodea has your answer in this video from September’s Toronto Underground Market.  Foodea.com - “a social food platform that allows people to create, find and share their favourite food ideas!” 

7 months ago

TORONTO UNDERGROUND MARKET - 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY STYLE

I want to give a hearty fist bump to all those folks who have helped bring the Royal Tree Beaver to life.  Canadian-Canadian cuisine would not be possible without your love. Thanks for helping a kid out.  

I also want to wish the Toronto Underground Market a Happy Birthday. You’re going to be the coolest two year old ever.  

7 months ago
”

Our citizenship is based on an idea of sharing, of the acceptance and accommodation of difference, and of trying to diminish antagonisms…. Our citizenship is not a buffet table. Our citizenship is a fixed menu.

Adrienne Clarkson, governal general, address at a citizenship ceremony, Calgary, March 2003, in Christoper Guly, “Class Act at Rideau Hall,” Forever Young, July 2003. The Penguin Dictionary of Popular Canadian Quotations - edited by John Robert Colombo, 2006.
7 months ago
”

In exactly one month, in my Annex backyard, kitchen gladiators will once again battle for the prestigious title of Intergalactic Champion at the 2nd Annual Competition Backyard BBQ.

This feat of food in three delicious acts - meats, sides and desserts - raises more than $2,500 for Common Ground - a charity that helps adults with developmental disabilities enjoy the dignity of meaningful employment.

I want you to Compete, Eat or both. And remember, even if you can’t participate, you can still donate. 25 bones. Get ‘er done.

www.CBBBQ.com
8 months ago
The 2nd Annual Competition Backyard BBQ is a feat of food in three acts – meats, sides and desserts – taking place in an Annex Backyard Saturday, October 13th.  As many as 30 home chefs will compete for the coveted title of 2012 Intergalactic Champion while also raising money for an impactful local charity. There are no tickets for the event.  Instead, anyone interested in taking part is asked to make a donation of $25 to Common Ground Co-opeartive at CBBBQ.com. EVENT | Competition Backyard BBQ THEME | 2012 Intergalactic Championships DATE |Saturday, October 13th, 2012 TIME | 14h00 to 18h00 LOCATION | Dupont Station – the exact backyard will be posted event day      FACEBOOK | Updates are posted here PHOTOS | Available for viewing here COST | $25 for 18 plus; free for 17 and under. Donate at CBBBQ.com COMPETITORS | Still needed.  Send an email to Eat@RoyalTreeBeaver.ca to get involved and see the competition particulars below JUDGES | Still needed.  Donate at CBBBQ.com.   SUPPORTING | Common Ground Co-operative TO COMPETE | Send an email to Eat@RoyalTreeBeaver.ca with the name of your dish and a complete list of ingredients.  Each competitor is required to make 50 small portions, bring all necessary cooking, display, and serving supplies, as well as purchase one event ticket.  You can compete in one, two or all three categories - Meats, Sides and Desserts.   ABOUT COMMON GROUND | CGC is an award-winning non-profit that helps adults with developmental disabilities run their own small businesses.  CGC supports 65 entrepreneurs at five social good businesses throughout Toronto.  Each year, CGC delivers over 6,000 hours of business coaching to the Partners it serves and offers targeted business instruction in conjunction with Frontier College, George Brown College and the University of Toronto.  CommonGroundCo-op.ca.

The 2nd Annual Competition Backyard BBQ is a feat of food in three acts – meats, sides and desserts – taking place in an Annex Backyard Saturday, October 13th.  As many as 30 home chefs will compete for the coveted title of 2012 Intergalactic Champion while also raising money for an impactful local charity. There are no tickets for the event.  Instead, anyone interested in taking part is asked to make a donation of $25 to Common Ground Co-opeartive at CBBBQ.com.

EVENT | Competition Backyard BBQ

THEME | 2012 Intergalactic Championships

DATE |Saturday, October 13th, 2012

TIME | 14h00 to 18h00

LOCATION | Dupont Station – the exact backyard will be posted event day     

FACEBOOK | Updates are posted here

PHOTOS | Available for viewing here

COST | $25 for 18 plus; free for 17 and under. Donate at CBBBQ.com

COMPETITORS | Still needed.  Send an email to Eat@RoyalTreeBeaver.ca to get involved and see the competition particulars below

JUDGES | Still needed.  Donate at CBBBQ.com.  

SUPPORTING | Common Ground Co-operative

TO COMPETE | Send an email to Eat@RoyalTreeBeaver.ca with the name of your dish and a complete list of ingredients.  Each competitor is required to make 50 small portions, bring all necessary cooking, display, and serving supplies, as well as purchase one event ticket.  You can compete in one, two or all three categories - Meats, Sides and Desserts.  

ABOUT COMMON GROUND | CGC is an award-winning non-profit that helps adults with developmental disabilities run their own small businesses.  CGC supports 65 entrepreneurs at five social good businesses throughout Toronto.  Each year, CGC delivers over 6,000 hours of business coaching to the Partners it serves and offers targeted business instruction in conjunction with Frontier College, George Brown College and the University of Toronto.  CommonGroundCo-op.ca.

9 months ago
The Foodies  - How pop-up chefs became the new indie rockers Broken Pencil - Issue 56 - By Ryan Bigge “Paul Jenkins, meanwhile, is an indie foodster who likes to add a pinch of social commentary to the food he serves at TUM.  He works under the name The Royal Tree Beaver, creating meals that comment on Canadian identity, such as butter chicken on waffles.  He calls this Canadian-Canadian food, a concept that is about a “strange and unorthidox fusion of cultures as much as the food itself.”

The Foodies  - How pop-up chefs became the new indie rockers

Broken Pencil - Issue 56 - By Ryan Bigge

“Paul Jenkins, meanwhile, is an indie foodster who likes to add a pinch of social commentary to the food he serves at TUM.  He works under the name The Royal Tree Beaver, creating meals that comment on Canadian identity, such as butter chicken on waffles.  He calls this Canadian-Canadian food, a concept that is about a “strange and unorthidox fusion of cultures as much as the food itself.”

9 months ago