OrilliaMatters received the following letter from Trish McCracken, a retired former registered home economist. The letter is response to a news release from the City of Orillia published Tuesday, titled, 'Contest calls on foodies to unite to support Orillia, area eateries.'
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One municipal councillor in Orillia thinks being a "foodie" is going to restaurants and entertaining with you own cooking to show it off. He is proud of the number of restaurants in Orillia, and he does emphasize Orillia, not the surrounding area of Orillia.
Orillia and area have the potential to be a tourist attraction for real foodies.
A real foodie goes to a restaurant knowing what’s in the food, how it is cooked, how it should be served and whether it is worth the cost.
While some restaurants have trained chefs in the gourmet mode, others just take things out of the freezer and heat them or throw a pre-made item on the grill. A real foodie is not a cheese addict and not a restaurant judge; they tell you about the food, details of the food, not just their judgment of the food.
But Orillia is more than its restaurants. Being a foodie-focused city or having a food destination goal means that Orillia council should take some unifying action. Perhaps a flyer that welcomes foodies and gives a full range of how their needs can be met.
As a foodie, I try to find things in certain stores that sell that type of item and if I don’t find it, I order it on Amazon because it will come relatively quickly. When I bought my wooden Maamoul moulds for Middle Eastern filled cookies I went to Amazon. When I bought my sushi press for rice, I went to Amazon. When my husband bought me a wooden Corzetti mould, we had to order from Italy. These are all made of wood so local wood carvers could make money making and selling these cooking tools.
When I needed Mahlep and Mrouzia for Middle Eastern recipes I had to order on Amazon. But other spices I can get from Gaudaur’s and local grocery stores. If recipe cards were developed to post near spices, then people might decide to try something unique as a foodie would. I also have to go to Amazon for Kona coffee.
When I needed a Yogurt Cheese Maker, I went to Bradley’s, now called Hudson’s Kitchen in downtown Orillia. This store also has interesting cookbooks on display and does not limit one to order cookbooks and wait four to six weeks to get them.
As a foodie, I’m a cookbook addict and belong to several Facebook Groups of like-minded people, so I have over 1,000 cookbooks and probably a million clippings. People have called me a Recipe Raconteur.
The passion is in the food – choosing recipes, shopping for the ingredients, cooking, serving, and enjoying the food yourself or with others.
People like beverages with meals and the LCBO has a different collection in each location. People who experiment to serve interesting cocktails at home and mock cocktails at home, need their ingredients to be available or they must drive to Barrie or Toronto, or order on-line and wait, to get what they need. It would be nice to have this here.
A foodie destination program is going to require more than just restaurant services. It’s going to require a comprehensive approach and one that does not just advertise restaurants.
The real gourmet chefs should be celebrated, and their signature dishes commended.
Orillia and district should be focused. We have Quayles (for local beer in cooking), Nicolyn for amazing meat choices, and Hewitt’s for local corn, a bookstore that sells cookbooks in Severn Township and No Frills at the mall. The district should be part of the project.
Get on board Orillia and district, celebrate skill and creativity, attract the residents and visitors to the area, using a comprehensive foodie focus. Maybe put foodie crosswords and surveys and articles into the paper to get people interested in expanding their food interests and for foodies who like to be involved.
Patricia (Trish) Loraine McCracken
Orillia
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