Marion Kane: Food Sleuth®

Restaurant

20 years on, I’m Still a Fan of Charming Chef Jamie Oliver

The Naked Chef - Jamie Oliver

This appeared as a longer feature article in the Toronto Star food section on January 26, 2000, after I discovered Jamie Oliver’s fledgling show “The Naked Chef” on TVO. I spoke to Jamie in the flesh a few months later when he was consulting at a London restaurant – the Toronto Star article appears below this one. Twenty years later, he’s had his ups and downs, and I am still a fan. 

Jamie Oliver must have supernatural powers. He can make a person leap out of her comfy chair, run downstairs, fling open the freezer and act on an overpowering urge to roast a leg of lamb. I should know. It happened to me. Under slightly different circumstances, it also happened to Jody Read, acquisitions programmer for TVO. Read more…

Terrific Cookbook “Bread is Gold” by Massimo Bottura and Friends is Pure Gold

Massimo Bottura & Friends - Bread is Gold cookbook

“Bread is Gold” is the result of the “refettorio” launched at Milan’s Expo in 2015. Top-notch recipes from famous international chefs creatively use discarded food. The caramelized bananas with balsamic drizzle from the book are delicious! Read more…

I Discovered Brilliant Anthony Bourdain Many Years Ago

In Memoriam: Anthony Bourdain – an inspiration to me and the huge number of devotees who followed his ground-breaking, intrepid and wondrous work – committed suicide while filming an episode of Parts Unknown in France on June 8, 2018. He was one of a kind. RIP dear friend. Read more…

New York Vegetable Restaurant “Dirt Candy” is a Sweet Success

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Grilled zucchini with the Dirt Candy cookbook’s Yellow Tomato Coconut Curry Sauce

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Amanda Cohen was born and raised in Canada. Some years ago, she went to study in New York and has made that city her home ever since. These days, she has good reason to stay; her famous Dirt Candy eatery – what she calls a “vegetable restaurant” – located on the Lower East Side, is a huge hit. Read more…

I Net the News on Fish and Chips from Humble to Haute, from London To Toronto

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My love of fish and chips dates back to formative years growing up in London, U.K., the historical home of this popular, populist, down-home dish.

In my early teens, I recall joining Girl Guides where we lived in the North London suburb of Finchley – then a white-collar, white-bread enclave where my Jewish family stood out like a sore thumb. Read more…

Delectable Butter Tarts from Wilkie’s in Cottage Country

Orillia’s Famous Butter Tart Bakery

I’ve been meaning to make the trip to Orillia – a place you can’t miss about an hour’s drive north of Toronto en route to Muskoka’s cottage country – for many years.

The reason, of course, is food – in this case, one of my absolute favourites: butter tarts. Read more…

I Interview British Restaurant Writer Joe Warwick, Editor of “Where Chefs Eat”

Joe Warwick and his book: Where Chefs Eat

Joe Warwick and his book: “Where Chefs Eat”

Scanning the line-up of panelists for this year’s Terroir Symposium, held recently in downtown Toronto,  Irish-raised Londoner Joe Warwick’s photo and bio stood out among the roster of famous chefs, well-known restaurant critics and culinary academics. Read more…

Marion Kane, Food Sleuth®

Marion Kane has been a leader in the world of food journalism for a few decades. She is an intrepid populist whose work combines social commentary with a consuming passion for all things culinary. For 18 years, she was food editor/columnist for Canada's largest newspaper: the Toronto Star. She lives in Toronto's colourful Kensington Market and is currently a free-wheeling freelance food sleuth®, podcaster, writer and cook.

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