Pop On Over to Moxie’s Hard Lemonade Pop-Up Patio

Sunshine + Hard Lemonade = the best adult summer day ever.

I grew up drinking lemonade during summer time, as it was my fave refresher in the scorching sun. What’s even better now that I’m older is that I still drink lemonade – I just add liquor to it!

Moxie's Grill & Bar is doing what they do best by creating their own House-Made Hard Lemonade for you to enjoy this summer. And what's even better than that? Moxie's custom designed a patio that will be popping up at select events in the GTA from now until July 15th. I got to attend the debut of this portable patio earlier this June at the Wine & Spirit Festival, and I have to say - I stayed there for so long that I didn’t really get a chance to visit the rest of the festival! Oops. Sorry, not sorry!

In addition to serving a thirst quenching hard lemonade, there was also a DJ to play some beats, comfy patio furniture for you to lounge in, and also games such as giant jenga for you to play. I got my hard lemonade and instantly sat down under one of the bright yellow umbrellas. With the DJ playing, my friends and I lost track of time without even realizing it.

If you love spending time out on the patio during summer (real talk – who doesn't) and love lemonade... Moxie's got you covered! Here are some upcoming events where Moxie's Lemonade Pop-Up Patio will be present:

• June 24th: Port Credit Yacht Club as part of the Toronto Area Hospice Regatta from 2pm - 6pm. The event is put on by the port credit yacht club to raising funds for a great cause.
• July 9th: Wayne Simmons Ball Hockey Tournament 2017 from 12pm - 5pm
• July 15th: GWN sports Regatta at Marylin Bell Park from 11am -6pm 

Hope to see you there – cheers!

Baking Essentials

Silicon Cups - https://amzn.to/2JubqMw
Measuring Spoons - https://amzn.to/2JvDPls

Bento Sushi Champion Competition 2017

Fact: When you get an opportunity to eat sushi, it would be a crime to say no.

After attending the Bento Sushi Champion Competition last year, I got invited to attend the event again this year and be one of the judges! With the main responsibility of eating and judging sushi, who was I to say no?

For the 6th year in a row, Bento Sushi hosts a Sushi Champion Competition for all Bento Sushi chefs in Canada to compete in. They battle roll into battle with their most innovative ideas yet, and hope to be the winner to win a $5,000 cheque. Out of all of the competing chefes, 6 are then chosen to come to the final round in Toronto. This year, Bento Sushi hosted their Sushi Champion Competition at The Chefs' House, operated by students from George Brown.

The event started with everyone enjoying the delicious platters of sushi from Bento Sushi & a couple glasses of wine. The contestants were introduced and then they were quickly sent into the open concept kitchen. The Chefs' House was a great venue, as we were able to see all the chefs in action as they prepared their sushi rolls for us!

1 Hour Later - Time's Up!!

I was 1 of the 5 judges this year and the other judges consisted of other's in the industry including: the President & CEO of Bento Sushi, Glenn Brown, GBC's Director & Corporate Chef, John Higgins, Product Development Manager at High Liner Culinary, Karen Gold, and Senior Director of Merch & Commercial Programs, Richard Allardyce. Along side these other 4 judges, I sat at the judging table as each contestant presented their sushi roll to us.

I had so much fun discussing each roll with the other judges, while eating (of course). I honestly loved each and every one of the rolls. They were super unique and innovative. You can really tell that the sushi chefs put a lot of thought into how they would use their secret ingredient into their sushi rolls. Keep scrolling to see more pictures from the event, and also the winners!

↑ 3rd Place Winner: Eight Treasures Rooster Roll, by Jie Xu

↑ 2nd Place Winner + People's Choice: Cupcake Roll, by Haruo Oikawa (also the 1st place winner from last year)

↑ Top 6: Spicy Strawberry Roll, by King Yeung

↑ Top 6: Chasu Bankudan Roll, by Qing Feng Tan

↑ Top 6: Jiong Roll, by Tony Wang

↑ 1st Place Winner: Sakura Roll, by Kelly Lim

What a fun event!!! Thanks to Bento Sushi for inviting me again and for giving me the opportunity to be a judge!

Toronto Taste 2017

One of my favourite kinds of events are those where I am able to eat & drink while also raising money for a good cause. Toronto Taste is a charity event hosted every year by Second Harvest, the largest food rescue program in Canada. Second Harvest has been picking up donated / surplus food and delivering it to community agencies in Toronto since 1985. In just the past 12 months, Second Harvest delivered over 9.5 million pounds of food to those in needs!! It's amazing the kind of service Second Harvest provides to those that would have otherwise gone hungry.

I attended Toronto Taste last year, where $850,000 was raised. But get this - this year, we raised a total of $925,000 for Second Harvest!! How amazing is that?! It is going to allow Second Harvest deliver 1.8 million meals for people facing hunger across Toronto, and I am so happy to have been able to be a part of that.

Keep scrolling to see some highlights from the event, plus all the food we got to enjoy!!