FreshFest is Toronto’s first chef-led and chef-curated Asian food festival, which took place this year in conjunction with the Chinese Canadian Youth Athletics Association (CCYAA) Celebrity Classic.
Some of the city’s most renowned Asian chefs, including Chef Trevor Lui (Baobird), Chef Nuit Regular (PAI Northern Thai Kitchen), Chef Eva Chin (The Soy Luck Club), Chef Colin Li (Hong Shing), Chef Rick Matharu (Ricks Good Eats), and Chef Wallace Wong (A-Sha), came together to celebrate and share their culinary traditions and the diverse flavours of the Asian diaspora.
Culinary powerhouse Lui helped with this year’s vendor curation.
Amplifying Asian talent in Toronto’s culinary scene
“The people you see on this concourse are the best the country has,” says Lui. His hope is for this event to help elevate Asian voices more in the culinary scene.
FreshFest started last year at Superfresh, a popular Asian food hall in the Annex, a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto. Superfresh was built on amplifying Asian-owned small businesses in Downtown Toronto and creating a space for the community. However, Superfresh announced its permanent closure at the end of June, with hopes that its story and foundation continue to live within their beloved communities.
“The fact that when we talk about culinary, food, and chefs, a lot of times, our community is left out… that’s something we want to celebrate that we don’t talk enough about,” says Lui.
Lui is the author of The Double Happiness Cookbook, a Chinese cookbook featuring 88 mouthwatering recipes and compelling stories celebrating heritage, community, and identity.
See also: Best books about food and identity by Asian authors
Celebrating the diverse flavours of the Asian diaspora
The community celebrated diverse flavours of the Asian diaspora, from Chef Eva Chin’s unique take on the traditional Chinese soft tofu dessert, to Chef Rick Matharu’s Punjabi…
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