Gallery: This year’s Recipe for Change raised over $50,000 for FoodShare—and served up some impressive plates

By Caroline Aksich | March 5, 2012

By Caroline Aksich | 03/05/2012

Café Belong’s Brad Long, Torito’s Luis Valenzuela and Frank’s Jeff Dueck all came out to support FoodShare (Image: Caroline Aksich)

Last Thursday, 400 Torontonians gathered at St. Lawrence Market for Recipe for Change, the annual FoodShare fundraiser, which raised over $50,000 in support of its Field to Table Schools initiative. The innovative program funds education projects that teach kids there’s more to food than McDonald’s and Loblaws. The event featured 44 food and drink stations representing an impressive array of Toronto chefs, including Mark Cutrara of Cowbell, Michael Smith of the Gladstone Hotel, Aaron Joseph Bear Robe of Keriwa Café and Rocco Agostino of Pizzeria Libretto. There was also a healthy showing of the region’s wineries and breweries, including Blackoak, Frogpond, Henry of Pelham and Rosewood Estates. Each of the chefs prepared dishes that focused on local, seasonal produce, and most recommended a winery with an appropriate quaff for pairing. Ticket holders hoping to send a little more cash FoodShare’s way also had the opportunity to get in on a silent auction. Slow-food movement advocate and York professor Deborah Barndt won the GE Café professional dual-fuel stove for $3,000, while the four Linus bikes sold for well above their value, at $6,000 each. Despite post-gluttony sloth, two of the bike winners mounted their new steeds and rode them out of the building.