by Lauren Wilson for Viva Tastings, a ‘Certified Good Food Fighter

Last week we talked about how to host your very own drop-in holiday shindig.  Now we want to extend an invitation to all our wonderful customers and the readers of Good Food Revolution to join us Sunday, December 18th from 1pm-4pm for Viva Tastings’ annual holiday open house.

It’s a fun and casual affair with festive drinks and fare, but most importantly it’s a way for us to show our customers how much we appreciate them! Come chat seasonal cooking for the holidays with Chef Karen Viva-Haynes and Anne Hynes while noshing on the newest additions to our hors d’oeuvres line up, like Mini Meat Loaf Cupcakes Topped With Leek Bread Pudding and Roast Chicken Croquettes, with a nice hot mug of mulled apple cider.

And if you have any last minute shopping to do Viva offers something for everyone, hand-made with love right from our kitchen: preserves, cookies, candies, flavoured nuts and seeds – all making lovely hostess gifts, yummy stocking stuffers, or great little gestures for teachers, your neighbourhood butcher or your favourite farmer down at the market!  We can put together lovely gift baskets filled with any or all of these treats.

We also have two lovely new signature seasonal items: our Figgy Salami, a sweet log made from dried fig and other fruit, nuts, and ginger.  It works beautifully sliced and served on a festive cheese platter.  Or perhaps our Chocolate Salami – a scrumptious chocolate cookie log that is sliced as needed and pairs wonderfully with a tall glass of cold milk (even better with ice cream!) that Santa would be thrilled to find waiting for him.  Both sweet ‘salami’ logs are smartly wrapped in butcher paper  and would make visually gorgeous additions to any holiday table.

For the serious food lovers in your life, why not give the gift of cooking classes or a special night out at one of Viva’s popular 6 Degrees Underground supper club events? And for any friends or family with hectic work schedules or kids in tow, a week of chef-prepared meals might be just the thing.  We offer a wide variety of gift certificates.

So please join us on Sunday December 18th from 1pm-4pm at the Viva Tastings Catering Kitchen (52 Henry St., Toronto) to ring in the season with some excellent holiday noshing and merrymaking.  We hope to see you there!

Lauren Wilson is a jack-of-all-food-trades.  After cooking with Karen and Anne at Viva Tastings and eating up all the good bits of Toronto, she followed a trail of crumbs to Brooklyn where she is cooking, writing, and eating happily.