Taste Local! Taste Fresh! This Sunday!

Every time this year, my taste buds get pretty excited.

Mid-September means harvest time and time for Foodlink’s Taste Local! Taste Fresh! event. It’s always delicious.

A not-for-profit organization, Foodlink promotes local food, supports and connects farms and food businesses, and provides local food education and outreach in our community.

It also works closely with the Region’s farmers’ markets, community shared agriculture programs, food cooperatives and a growing number of retail outlets.

The Taste Local! Taste Fresh! event is a sweet and savoury food affair. Local restaurants are paired with the Region’s great producers – and you eat!

Here’s just a sampling of what it will look like for 2011: Sole Restaurant will be cooking with Stevanus Family Farm, while Uptown 21 will be rustling something up with Charles Quality Meats.

Nick Benninger, left, and Dale Stevanus

The Bauer Kitchen will be teaming up with Oakridge Acres. And Whole-Lota-Gelata will be preparing a treat with the help of Martin’s Family Fruit Farm. I’ll bet that will mean some terrific apples.

There are many more pairings, but they all add up to a great afternoon of food-fun and flavours.

Benninger prepares a flatbread with Stevanus produce at TL!TF! 2010.

Taste Local! Taste Fresh! takes place this Sunday — September 18 — in St. Jacobs – on the banks of the Conestoga River.

Tickets for your Passport to Flavourtown are going fast, so visit Foodlink for more information…but hurry.

There's some swag too ...