Toronto is gearing up to host the 2015 Pan Am Games and while the spectacle is first and foremost about sports, it just so happens that a Pan American themed food festival is also taking place this summer.
Not officially tied to the 2015 games, the annual Pan American food festival is back for the third year with a record five days of programming over the August Civic Holiday long weekend. It takes place at the Daniels Spectrum Centre between the Pan Am and Parapan Am games. This year organizers have put together an impressive lineup of local and international chefs, offering the perfect complement to the 2015 games.
“We are excited to present the best flavours and cultures of the Pan American region at the height of Pan Am fever in Toronto,” says Daniel Garcia-Herreros, Festival Director and Founder. “We are returning to Daniels Spectrum this year with our biggest festival to date—filled with more delicious food experiences, cultural events and performances than ever before.”
This year’s festival also features a photography exhibit titled ‘10×10 Pan American Faces’, works from ten local photographers will be on view at the Spectrum Centre when the festival kicks off on July 30th.
The festival will include a vendors market, kids’ area and a demonstration stage. The main draw to the festival of course is the food, with a selection of cuisines that is rarely matched in the city’s event landscape. Returning Toronto chefs include Rossy Earle (Ryerson), Carlos Fuenmayor (Sabrosito), Elia Herrera (Los Colibris), Luis Valenzuela (Carmen) and they’ll be joined by a number of international chefs that will be visiting Toronto and representing their countries. One of the featured celebrity chefs is Master Chef Colombia winner Federico Martinez. Cuban chef Pedro Quintanilla will host a live demo on August 2. Representing Venezuela will be chef Lenis Ascanio and for Ecuador chef Kevin Vera. All in all over 25 chefs will be participating at the show this year.
If you love empanadas then you’ll want to be there Saturday evening (August 1) when six chefs battle to create the best empanada. (Tickets are $10 and include a six-empanadas tasting).
Also new this year is a Pan American themed music festival, to feature the music and dance of Mexico.
Pan Am Food Festival, July 30 – August 3
