First, an update: Andrea came through with a $134.99 post-Blogathon donation to push our collection to an even $2500. We made our revised fundraising goal – hooray!

The Tiny Bites Top Donor Prize

For donating a cool $180 to be this year’s top individual donor, Victor won a unique progressive dinner experience for 2 at the Vancouver restaurants of the Top Table family. Here’s what he and his +1 might experience that night:

Amuses bouches and appetizers at Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar

Mains and more at West

Dessert and petit fours at CinCin

I am green with envy that Victor gets to sample these stellar restaurants in a single evening of chef collaboration. I hope he is willing to indulge us all in a recap of his dinner with Top Table. Having recently crafted a fantasy progressive dinner for Tourism Vancouver, I’d certainly be curious to see how a real progressive dinner plays out.

The Tiny Bites Grand Prize

Our Gold, Silver, and Bronze sponsors have contributed to this amazing prize package worth $450 $500. Jason, you’re a lucky son of a gun.

Alpha Global Sushi & Bar: bottle of Dan Dan shochu

My favourite izakaya called shortly after Blogathon to belatedly confirm their contribution to the Tiny Bites Grand Prize. I’ve discussed their bar menu in last year’s Blogathon and am so pleased that they were able to participate as a sponsor this year. 

Artisan Sakemaker: bottles of Osake junmai nama and Artisan Kasu products

I had the privilege of trying local sakemaker Masa Shiroki’s new line of sakekasu a few months past. If you’re not already a fan of Artisan Sakemaker’s sake, perhaps the new citrus dressing and hot sauce – along with Masa’s suggested recipes - will give you cause to try them this year.

ChristaHoops: custom-fit rainbow hoop

ChristaHoops will custom fit Jason (or his friend of choice) with a beautiful rainbow hoop. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it – it’s a fun and energetic workout!

Farmstead Wines: bottle of Renato Fenocchio extra virgin olive oil

You may have already tried the beautiful artisan wines that Farmstead Wines imports to our fair city…but have you tried Renato Fenocchio’s exquisite olive oil yet?

Qoola Yogurt + Fruit: $100 gift card for Qoola 

This gift card is the equivalent of 20 Qoolalas with 2 toppings or however else you’d like to spend the $100 credit. If you get addicted like I have, it can be reloaded to continue enjoying Qoola till your tummy is done with frozen yogurt.

Rouxbe: 1 year premium membership to Rouxbe’s Online Cooking School

Jason is already a loyal Rouxbe Lifetime member ($199) so he asked me to raffle away the $99 Annual Membership that was in his Grand Prize package (which George F. wound up winning).

Sebastian & Co: $35 butcher shop credit

Jason met me in West Vancouver to pick up 6 different types of artisan sausage plus a smoked applewood cheddar with his Sebastian & Co store credit. I think I’ll be inviting myself over to his house for dinner soon…

Social Bites: 10% off discount passes to future Social Bites dinner excursions

I’ve already said my piece about how fun Social Bites is, both as dinner guest and Hobby Chef. Jason has yet to experience it in either capacity so I hope he takes this opportunity to do so.

Tiny Bites Consulting: Winnipeg Folk Fest cookies

These are the cookies I had with me at The Workspace for fellow Blogathoners to satiate hunger pangs at 3am. Chock full of flax, oats, sunflower seeds, coconut with a little chocolate chip and brown sugar thrown in. Here’s the recipe.

Uva Wine Bar: bottle of 2006 Speri Valipolicella Ripasso

Below are Uva General Manager and sommelier Sebastien Le Goff’s tasting notes on this Venetian wine:

Rich, spicy, black cherry, brooding.

Intense, elegant style, pure and persistent. Fine acidity, balanced. Good length. Drink from 2010.

Speri uses only grapes from the Valpolicella zone to make its wines. In addition to the three traditional grape varieties, Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, small quantities of other lesser known but long-standing varieties are used like Oseleta, Rossanella, Pelara, and Cabrosina.

The Corvina is considered the most important vine variety due to its tannin content and pigments. It imparts fruity aromas, particularly when it is cultivated on the hills. 

The Rondinella is able to adapt to many types of terrain, to withstand drought and lends itself quite well to drying. It is vigorous and very prolific.
The Molinara is mainly used for the distinctive flavour and crispness it gives the wine.

Bigger than a Valpolicella but smaller than an Amarone, the ’06 Speri “ripasso” has been re-fermented over the spent skins of Amarone. There’s a floral earthy scorched earth nose with bits of red fruit and spice and a warm, acidic, alcoholic finish. Best with a piece of Reggiano or Manchego cheese. The fruit comes off family-owned sites in the heart of Valpolicella Classico.

Why am I taunting those of you aren’t getting these prizes? Because I hope that you realize that Tiny Bites will be participating in Blogathon next year, and we certainly plan on rewarding you with prizes like these in 2010!

So mark your calendars and earmark some of your dollars for the last weekend of July for Blogathon 2010.

I’m marking the occasion with a topic that has caught my attention over the past year — GMOs — and what some people in Vancouver are doing about it.

What’s a GMO, you ask?

It’s any living thing that has been exposed to genetic modification. I’m not talking Mendel here. More like Mutant X.

If you’re thinking, like I once did, that there was no way I was going to let shady organisms like that into my diet…well, sorry folks.  It’s already in your diet…unless you have abstained from soy, corn, canola, vegetable oil, and honey in the past decade, which few people can say for sure.

When I first met Nigel Tunnacliffe of GE-Free Solutions at EPIC 2008, finding out that I was already eating GMO foods scared the living daylights out of me.  However, the skeptic in me required further research, so for the following 2 months, I read up on the issue, from Monsanto’s point of view to the non-GMO extremists.  My verdict? Crap, I wish I knew which foods were untainted, to be safe!

Unfortunately for North America, there isn’t a regulated infrastructure of labelling foodstuffs as genetically modified (in Europe, this practice is widespread).  This is what organizations like GE-Free Solutions and GE-Free BC have been attempting to improve. Both are actively working to raise consumer awareness about the suspect stuff we’ve been ingesting and approaching government and business to be forthcoming.

An Ocean Wise for GMOs

Nigel has enlisted 7 restaurants in the Lower Mainland to participate in a pilot program for genetic engineering (GE) verification, which is similar in concept to Ocean Wise.

By participating in the GE-Free pilot, these restaurants are required to develop at least five verified non-GE items on their menu by working with local, organic suppliers.  

“We all have the right to know what’s in our food,” said Nigel at the launch of the pilot program at Great Bear Pub.  And with genetically engineered ingredients present in more than 70% of processed food, the push for a change in the way we eat is starting to gain legs.

Below, you’ll find an intro to each of the participating restaurants, whose GE-Free menu items will be featured for the next 3 months. On each successive menu launch, participants will contribute up to 25% of their GE-Free menu sales to a charity dear to them.

GE-Free Pilot Program Participants

Agro Café
1207 Hamilton Street, Yaletown
1363 Railspur Alley, Granville Island

Agro Café grows and roasts their own beans and offer their fair trade, certified organic coffee in their Yaletown and Granville Island locations. It’s my go-to place for roast beef paninis and Cloverized brew, as I have mentioned before.

Launch day TBA.

babyeats 
143-1233 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver

Babyeats offers delicious breakfast, lunch and dessert for you to enjoy while they take care of your kids. 

On their launch day on April 10th, babyeats donated 25% of sales to the Make a Wish Foundation.

Current Coffee 
4737 Victory Street, Burnaby

Current Coffee works to provide the best coffee in conjunction with 49th Parallel Roasters while choosing environmental friendly methods for their coffee deliveries. Current Coffee offers barista training, coffee catering as well as weekly coffee delivery service to your office.

Launch day TBA.

The Great Bear Pub 
175-5665 Kingsway, Burnaby

The Great Bear Pub offers West Coast style pub food and entertainment and they aim to be the “greenest pub” in BC. Great Bear Pub is also the only Ocean Wise pub in Greater Vancouver.

Launch Day: April 26th

During their new GE-Free menu launch, Great Bear Pub will donate 25% of their sales to the Ride to Conquer Cancer, which benefits the BC Cancer Foundation.

Nature’s Garden Organic Deli 
8969 University High Street, Burnaby

Located in the SFU campus, Nature’s Garden is committed to providing local and organic produce to the customers.
All of their items have been verified – way to go!

On their launch date on April 9th, Nature’s Garden  donated a portion of their sales to the Union Gospel Mission.

Peake of Catering
4501 Main Street, Vancouver

Peake of Catering is dedicated to using locally sourced products and sustaining a green environment in Vancouver.  They’re working with GE-Free Solutions to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner menu to suit your next catering needs.

Launch day TBA.

Qoola Yogurt and Fruit 
1116 Denman Street, West End

Qoola is a new “fresh frozen” yogurt shop in the West End that also serves wholegrain waffles and crepes, both made from scratch. I’ve written about them before.

On their launch day on April 20th, Qoola donated 25% of its sales from GE-Free verified items to the Ride to Conquer Cancer as well.

More GE-Free pilot coverage to come

Tiny Bites will take a closer look at each of these restaurants throughout the pilot period, so for now, take note of who is taking action and check them out if you can.

* Thanks again to Jessica Funk for assisting in the research and roundup.