by Alison Kent

Where else can you visit 60 of Ontario’s best restaurants and top chefs, sip and sample from an abundance of wineries and breweries, and enjoy lively entertainment and auctions – all in one evening?

Mark your calendars for June 12th, 2011, and join the other 1,399 guests to experience just that, as Toronto Taste prepares for its 21st charitable culinary event held indoors and out, in and around the Royal Ontario Museum for the benefit of Second Harvest.

Pairing cuisine with compassion, lovers of great food, sponsors, donors, volunteers, and the local restaurant community will again band together to raise much-needed funds for Second Harvest – a charitable organization that has rescued and delivered fresh food to those in need for over 25 years. Donated perishable food that would otherwise go to waste is picked up and delivered to hundreds of social service agencies in the Toronto area. [See GFR0114 and GFR0305 – Ed]

Tickets are $250, with a tax receipt issued for $125. Each ticket to Toronto Taste provides 250 meals to those in need. Since 1991 Toronto Taste has enabled Second Harvest to provide enough fresh food for over 8 million meals for those who are hungry in Toronto.

During the event, guests will sip and stroll outdoors under tents, and indoors around museum artifacts, sampling an unforgettable array of savoury and sweet bites and refreshing libations created and served by local vintners, beverage purveyors, and chefs, including Chris McDonald, Dufflet Rosenberg, Brad Long, JP Challet and Anne Yarymowich, to name but a few.

Along with live entertainment and an intriguing array of items up for bid in both silent and live auctions, there will also be the opportunity to interact with such Food Network chef personalities as Michael Smith (Chef at Home, Chef at Large, Chef Abroad and The Inn Chef), Roger Mooking (Everyday Exotic) and Laura Calder (French Food at Home), while Bob Blumer (Glutton for Punishment, Surreal Gourmet) will play host to the event.

It’s uplifting and inspirational to see so many people come together in an effort to raise funds for such a worthy cause. To order tickets, lend your support or to learn more, visit www.torontotaste.ca — and let’s help make hunger a thing of the past.

Alison Kent is a food & travel writer, recipe developer and Cookbook author. Follow Alison at twitter.com/alicatchef.