Yesterday, after surprisingly little prodding, I managed to successfully coerce the Everyman into joining me for an afternoon at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

As far as I can recall I don’t think I’ve ever visited “The Royal” before, but if I did, it was probably during some grade school field trip or something nearly 20 years ago.  I can vividly recount visits to the Winnipeg version of The Royal, if for no other reason than the presence of Bonhomme (du neige).  Bonhomme is the mascot of the Quebec winter carnival, but there’s a surprisingly large French population in Winnipeg, so for some reason he makes an appearance there, too.  The toboggan slaloms were pretty awesome as well, which unfortunately isn’t something we’d ever see in Ontario, I imagine.

Up until a few weeks ago I really had no yearning to go to the Ontario Royal.  But, when I met my editor Sheryl at Pantry for lunch a few weeks ago (aside from having an utterly scrumptious mushroom and oxtail tart) she made an off-the-cuff remark that made me wonder how much of a foodie destination The Royal might be.

I’d intended to visit last weekend, but was too bagged from my disastrous week at work to do anything more than what little I did.  Earlier this week I almost changed my mind about going altogether, due again to more exhausting work conditions.  But, after an invigorating jaunt around Kensington market yesterday morning to procure supplies for dinner and finish up some Christmas shopping, I made the decision that I absolutely had to go.

It must be said that while The Royal is oodles and oodles of fun, it’s also decidedly hardcore.  This is not a carnival/festival/fair/tradeshow for wussies.  It’s big.  It’s intimidating.  And it makes for an afternoon filled with an awful lot of crowded shuffling around.  But, it really is an untapped food lover’s paradise, as well as a field of dreams (as the Everyman put it) for cow lovers like me.  And despite the slow crawl that we kept up during all of our laps, we both had a really good time sampling food at many of the booths, checking out various kinds of booze and strolling gaily through the cow paddock.

After close to 3 hours inside, we amassed quite a load of comestibles.  As is the case with any food-related show, the Everyman leaned heavily on the meats, while I stuck to the majority of cheeses, with some condiments sprinkled in for good measure.  The surprise of the day was that I also managed to find my dad’s Christmas gift, but will not be revealing it here, just in case.

Of the meaty mediums, we came home with;

• 2 bags of Carmichaels regular pepperettes
• 2 bags of Carmichaels Cajun alligator pepperettes
• 1 bag of Carmichaels Kangaroo pepperettes
• 2 chunks of European Quality Meats prosciuttini
• 2 large spicy European Quality Meats proscuitto-like sausages
• 2 mystery European Quality Meats sausages that they put in the bag for free

I should note that every time we go to some sort of convention, the Everyman always seeks out the Carmichaels booth.  He stocked up when we went to the Home Show back in September, but didn’t want to run out any time soon, hence the need for 50 more pepperettes.

I (on the other hand) was on a mission for cheese.  I’d perused the exhibitors list before leaving the house, and knew that there were at least 2 dairies whose booths I wanted to stop by.  Along the way though, I ended up finding a few more.

Here is my inventory of dairy goodness;

• 2 chubs of Woolwich fig goat chevre
• 1 tub of Woolwich blueberry and pomegranate chevre
• 1 wedge of Monforte toscano
• 1 wedge of Upper Canada Cheese Niagara Gold
• 1/2 lb of Traditions of Thornloe unsalted butter
• 1 wedge of Traditions of Thornloe Evanturel
• 1 wedge of Traditions of Thornloe St George

It’s certainly more cheese than we necessarily needed, but once I got started I couldn’t really help myself.  There were only 2 things that I tried that I didn’t end up buying, and that was the Casey Blue from Traditions of Thornloe and the Comfort Cream from Upper Canada; both of which I found much too assertive.

Adding to the pile, I also stopped at several booths filled with condiments, though I thought I managed to restrain myself quite well.  The only thing I regret not getting was the birch syrup, but the line was so long I just couldn’t wait for it.

What I did manage to procure;

• Pristine Gourmet blueberry baco noir wine vinegar
• Kernal Ontario-grown peanut butter
• From These Roots strawberry lilac jam
• From These Roots black currant violet jam
• From These Roots pear pansy jam
• From These Roots blueberry lavender jam

As a general rule I try not to ever buy jam at these kinds of shows since I already have a whole bookshelf-ful at home, but also because as much as I love jam (and I love jam), I don’t eat enough of it to justify buying more.  I pacified my lapse in judgment by telling myself that they’re only the mini jars of jam that you normally get at hotel restaurants, but even still.  I know once I crack open a bottle, I’m going to be hooked (like I am with Rootham’s) and I really don’t need any more jam habits.

Lastly, to round out all of the food, we stopped at the LCBO booth to grab the Everyman some Beau’s Natural Beer and some Southbrook Framboise wine for me.  I really quite enjoy fruit wines, and am dismayed that they aren’t nearly as prevalent as they were when we went to Quebec City.  And though I’m not a beer drinker by any stretch, even I was seduced by the clever ceramic packaging employed by the boys at Beau’s.

So, after what seemed like an eternity walking up and down row upon row of tchotchkes, farm exhibits and food, we finally decided to grab a quick poutine, cop a squat on the floor to eat it, and then head for home; our bags overflowing with delectable edibles.

It seems I’ve found another food-related tradeshow to add to the must attend list for next year.  I’d encourage you to do the same.

Until next time…