LCBO Food and Drink Holiday 2015

TREND SPOTTING BY KAT TANCOCK  •  PHOTOGRAPHY BY VINCE NOGUCHI

WHAT OUR EXPERTS ARE EATING, DRINKING AND BUYING THIS SEASON.

PREMIUM COCOA When recipe developer Eric Vellend wants to make chocolate desserts that truly impress, he heads to Toronto chocolatier Soma for its premium cocoa powder, available either in-store or online ($12 for 250 g, somachocolate.com).“It’s almost like a different recipe,” he says. “You get a richer red colour, and the flavour is more complex.” Eric particularly likes to use the product in brownie and chocolate cake recipes with a high cocoa content, or as a coating for homemade chocolate truffles—and notes that the attractive jar it’s packaged in makes it extremely giftable.“It’s worth every penny of the splurge,” he says.“The difference is insane.” THE ICEWINE GELÉE on Eric’s Pork Rillettes recipe (page 19) was chosen to showcase the flavours of the quintessential Canadian beverage. “Cooking with icewine is tricky because it’s so expensive,” he says. “It has to be front and centre.”

PORTRAIT BY STACEY BRANDFORD

FOOD & DRI NK HOLIDAY 2015 29