I went to Toronto for two days last week to research stories for my blog, to attend a social media event and to meet people. One thing on my list was having a formal tea service. When I saw that Windsor Arms starts serving their tea service at 1 pm, I jumped at the occasion. Some people find it old-fashioned but I like the luxurious feeling of sitting in a classical tea room. For me, the more formal style is part of the pleasure.

I went with Ian Barr and Brenna Flynn of Rocket XL, the firm that planned the Pillsbury Baking Challenge for which I am a judge. Since we only communicated by email or on Twitter before that day, I wanted to actually meet them. The tea service experience was enhanced by our lively conversation.

What comes with the Full Tea Menu at Windsor Arms?

We each chose a tea blend. I opted for the Earl Grey tea with blue flowers. The lavender adds an exquisite touch to the classic Earl Grey blend. Brenna enjoyed her Earl Grey tea with roses. Since they had to go back to the office after, they ordered the Full Tea menu. I indulged by ordering the Complete Tea menu, which added a sparkling wine (or a sherry) to the full tea menu.

We started with elegant sandwich rolls. They look so much more elegant than basic triangles. They served us three delicious sandwiches:

• Smoked Salmon and Salmon Caviar with an Oven-Roasted Tomato Cream Cheese
• Baby Greens with Asparagus, Cucumber Salsa and Chive Cream Cheese
• Grilled Chicken with Citrus Essence

The smoked salmon sandwich and the asparagus one were my favorite. The scone with raisins pleased me. I did not try the plain scone. Besides the sandwiches, the scones and the sweet desserts that I captured on photos, they served us a goat cheese and caramelized shallot tart. The finale was a small bowl of strawberries with whipped cream. As you can see there was a lot of food. Overall, I am pleased with my tea service at the Windsor Arms.

For almost any tea service, you need to make a reservation 24 hours in advance. I knew it but I didn’t reserve! Still, they have accommodated us by sitting us at a nice table.

Business and Pleasures

A while ago, I read an interview where Martha Stewart mentioned that she booked her meetings around her daily activities. For me, it a pleasant way to talk business. When I asked Ian to join me for lunch at a place that I was researching for a blog post, I made him laughed by making this reference to Martha Stewart.

+ Tea Menu at Windsor Arms

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When Juanita Koo saw on Twitter that I was going to Toronto, she decided to give me a sweet treat. She sent me 6 cupcakes that she decorated with the 2 logos of the KimVallee.com brand. It is fun to arrive after a day of meetings to your hotel room and see those waiting for you.

I tasted her chocolate sour cream and her strawberry vanilla cakes. Both were excellent. I was pleased that they taste as good as they look. The size are her cupcakes is just perfect; not too small, not too big. Plus, she does not put too much icing and her icing is not too sweet.

I like the tiny potholders and oven mitts she crafted for the Calphalon Culinary Center in Toronto.

If you are in the Toronto area, do not hesitate to contact Juanita of Sweet Things. She does cakes and cupcakes. I am glad that her business since to be doing fine.  For more inspirations, you can have a peek at her adorable baby cakes.

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In case you missed it, the November 2009 issue of Wallpaper showcased forty of the best things from ten of their favorite global destinations. You will find the best from USA, Canada, UK, Scandinavia, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Brazil and Japan.

From Canada, I discover a few names that I did not know. On the architecture front, I love the work by Süperkul in Toronto. I am fond of the cottage they designed on an island in Georgian Bay. This is my type of cottage by the lake.

The best of the SHIFT cottage by Süperkul?

The SHIFT cottage has a must have feature for a summer place. It is a bridge to link the private and public areas. One volume contains the living spaces while a second section is dedicated to sleeping and washing areas. This allows you to have friends over for the weekend but keep your privacy when you feel like it.

Another good luxury is the wood deck terraces that fold into the island on three sides. Who would not want to read a book in this living room?

I am sure that I will present you more fabulous designers from their listing over the next few weeks.

MORE:
+ SHIFT cottage by süperkul architect
+ Fab 40: Canada on Wallpaper

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Earlier this year, I told you about Maman, Bébé et Café, a coffee shop in Montreal that was more a community center for parents than a typical coffee shop. (October 4th, 2009 update: A friend told me that Maman, Bébé et Café has closed their door.)

It seems that Toronto are catching up with two new kid-friendly cafes opening in trendy neighborhoods with a good concentration of strollers. Lil’ Bean N’ Green opens this week in Leslieville with a fun play area for kids. You can read on BlogTO that Leonor Filipe opened the Gingerbread House Family Café in the Junction three months ago with a similar goal of providing not only food, but a social service for parents at loose ends.

I like the idea that moms and dads have spaces where they can hanged out with their babies and toddles while meeting other parents. I think we will see more of these places once they figured out a viable business model.

About the Play Fee at Lil Bean N’ Green

Some people complained on BlogTO about the fact that the play area is not free at Lil Bean N’ Green. As an entrepreneur, I see why they are doing it. The store owner pays to set up the area. They have to pay the rent on for a retail space in the city. They have a business to run and they can not survive on having moms with kids hanging there for hours while buying one coffee. After all, maintaining a playroom costs more than supplying Wi-Fi. Finding the right price to charge is the challenge.

I invite you to read the post on BlogTO to learn more about these 2 family-style cafes.

MORE:
+ BlogTO’s review of Gingerbread House Family Café
+ Images via BlogTo

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The October 2009 issue of Canadian House and Home let us see a glimpse of David Rocco’s house in Toronto. The decor translates a rustic, comfortable feeling. It seems that Nina and him listened to my advice on how to create a welcoming front door.

What I found most interesting is how David described his laid-back entertaining philosophy. He believes that you do not have to stress about entertaining. It’s true the host and the guests need to be flexible to have fun. He typical cooks the main course while his guests gathered in the kitchen. They mingled with appetizers and a glass of wine. That resembles many of my dinner parties.

For the cold weather that is coming our way, nothing beats a hearty soup recipe like a Tuscan Ribollita (meaning leftover soup). Besides the typical vegetables that form a soup base, prosciutto rinds, potatoes, cabbages, borlotti beans, tomato purée and bread give flavor and consistency to the soup. You can make this soup thick as you like. David likes to eat this soup with a fork at slightly warmer than room temperature. Naturally, do not forget a good drizzle of your premium extra-virgin olive oil.

As I mentioned before, the fourth season of David Rocco’s Dolce Vita premieres September 14th, 2009.

MORE:
+ Canadian House and Home October 2009 – photography by Angus Fergusson
+ David Rocco

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Canada is the premier producer of maple syrup. Although the number of producers is impressive, if there is a constant is the packaging. In fact, neither the producers or the distributors make an effort to distinguish their product through packaging.

The maple leaf is used as much as possible. Some have even developed complex bottle like a glass bottle in the shape of a maple leaf. Let’s face it. It lacks good design and elegance. This is where the founders of Studio Innova in Toronto come to play. Their intent with Ninutik is to present maple syrup through the lens of design, art and sugar-making.

The Collection in a Glimpse

They experiment with maple syrup to create new way to shape traditional maple syrup food like sweet maple sugar. They shaped the maple sugar as a perfect cube, lollipops, and round and square treat of the finest maple sugar.

After a meal, serve Marvel 35 as a mignardise with an espresso, tea, or cognac. The lollies of Bouquet 10 can be enjoyed alone, dipped in chocolate, or swirled in coffee or tea. For a special event, ask about the wood platter on which you plant the lollies.

Get an easy to use, refillable and recyclable vessel for serving the maple syrup with Squeeze 250. They add a cute black cap to the most popular bottle in Chef kitchens. The bottle holds 250 ml certified organic Canada No. 1 Light pure maple syrup.

For a unique wedding gift or birthday gift, go with Vitrum 100. Artists Alissa Coe and Carly Waito hand crafted a limited-edition porcelain bowl. This gift set includes a square bowl, lid and spoon displayed in a pinstripe box. Once the 100g of Ninutik’s granulated maple sugar is finished, the bowl can be used as a refined sugar bowl. Or the happy couple can order a refill of pure granulated maple sugar online.

The online store of Ninutik ships in Canada and the United States. Stock a few since all Ninutik products make ideal gift for the hostess or any occasion.

SOURCING:
+ Marvel 35 $16 for 8 treats: 4 round and 4 square
+ Squeeze 250 $15 CAD for
+ Bouquet 10 $16 CAD for 6 lollies
+ Vitrum 100 $100 CAD

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Did you know that an hotel chain is fighting against the shortage of bees? In June 2008, the Royal York in Toronto installed three hives as a natural extension of their decade old rooftop herb garden. The rooftop apiary was established in partnership with the Toronto Beekeepers Cooperative and FoodShare. Both initiatives deliver fresh local product in a sustainable way to hotel guests.

Since then, three more Fairmont hotels established their apiary. The first US hotel to join that initiative is The Fairmont Washington, D.C.. They expect their 105,000 Italian honey bees will produce 300 pounds of honey within the first year. Other sites are at The Fairmont Algonquin in St. Andrews, New Brunswick and The Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Honey harvested from the Fairmont’s Bee Hives are used in soups, salad dressings, pastries, ice cream and other culinary delights in the hotel restaurants. They are also used to make cocktails at the bars.

I applauded this initiative. Bees are important to the ecosystem as they play a determinant role in pollination. The next time I will go to any of these hotels, I would like to have a tour of the installation.

+ Fairmont Hotels

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Decorator and stylist Lisa Canning from Toronto sent me a tweet about the adorable and original cake they did for her in-law’s 30th wedding anniversary. The cake acts as a retrospective of the couple life.

The first tier was dedicated to the couple; the second depicted them and their kids. The final third row displays their kids as adults with kids. It is unique and personal way to bring back nice memories.

Putting all the pictures in black and white is the best way to unite old and new photos in a cohesive look. After scanning and sizing the pictures with Photoshop, the photos were printed on long strips of cardstock. Icing glued the pictures to the fondant exterior.

You could borrow this cake decorating idea for all types of events: graduation, sportive clubs, and birthdays.

+ image courtosy of It’s our Life in a Cake by Lisa Canning
+ follow me on twitter

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If you are a Greater Toronto resident, you can enter the $10,000 Dressing Room Makeover on Canadian House and Home. For the rest of us, we can take clues on how to organize our closet by exploring the different displayed elements. This is an installation made by California Closets.

+ Enter via Canadian House and House

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I introduced last April this exquisite Champagne cooler. I got the chance to see many in person at the Interior Design Show of Toronto. Do not look in the exhibit; it was only accessible to VIP guests.

I have the chance to be a good friend of Harry Wakefield, the founding editor of MoCo Loco. If you recalled, Harry was one of the 3 bloggers invited on a Design Trends by the Minute panel at the show.

Not only did I drink a superb rose Champagne (pink) but I got the complete demonstration on how works the coolest cooler on Earth. This unique piece of technology is an avant-garde interpretation of the French candelabra. This explains why the cooler illuminates thanks to rechargeable battery.

Globalight retails for about $800 if I am not mistaken. But do not rush to the store; the Globalight cooler is only available in Europe.

In the shadow (bottom picture), you see a guy taken a picture. This is Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of Apartment Therapy. Look at some of his pictures on Maxwell’s highlights of IDS 2009.

Go see more pictures of the VIP lounge and bar on a photo album of AHWKV’s page on Facebook.

+ Globalight for Veuve Clicquot

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+ The Modernist Temple New York apartment of this Indian affluent couple with kids is striking. Ms. Luthra’s grandfather was an engineer who helped build Chandigarh, a planned city in northern India partially designed by Le Corbusier in the 1950s. I love their space. You can admire the details of the apartment on the New York Times.

+ The pewter Daisy Cut Lids embellish the Mason jars. The center hole is big enough to insert a straw. It is adorable for a girl birthday party, a family barbecue or a garden bridal shower. About 31 cents each lid at Candle Soylutions. Via Hostess with the Mostess and Brides.com

+ Torontonians can learn how to cook in a sleek modern kitchen filled with Miele appliances. The Market Kitchen is located at the St. Lawrence Market. The place is only 3 months old. You will be glad to know that the cooking classes are more affordable than at similar venues. The space is available for events. Via Food for Thought

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We met at the show and sit together at the Design Blogger Panels with Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of Apartment Therapy, Harry Wakefield of MoCo Loco and Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge.

Her video is great! I am to warm you Lara, I will borrow some of your video techniques. You will see that Lara was also impressed by Luminoso, that I introduced two posts ago. You will probably grasp a better understanding of this innovative product by watching the video.

+ Via Ready2Spark

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