Méli-Mélo is an edible hodgepodge to help you stay on top of the hits and happenings. Get the latest — from the this-just-opened and give-backs, to new bites and libations and don’t-miss events.
A Slice of Niagara Tradition
For more than two centuries, the Moyer family have been among a regular cast of characters in Niagara’s agricultural story.
Their chapter began in 1799 with a grandfather walking behind an ox and a plow, and now has become a legacy that wraps crisp Ontario apples in glossy caramel and luscious chocolate for the holidays.
The Moyers’ journey from breaking the land centuries ago to fruit deliveries in the 1920s and pick-your-own orchards in the 1960s eventually led to Paul Moyer’s appearance on CBC’s Dragon’s Den in 2008. His hand-dipped chocolate and caramel-coated apples took the national TV spotlight and financial backing that set the value-added endeavour for the farm on a toothsome trajectory. Today, Moyer’s Caramel Apples are still handmade — from the dipping and rolling to decorating — in Jordan Station. An important footnote: They’re also enjoyed across North America.
“The appeal of a really good caramel apple over the holidays likely comes from the fact that it’s something different, special and unexpected,” says Adrian Dominguez, Moyer’s general manager. “It’s not your traditional cake or pie. It’s a shareable — or not — treat that makes for a unique centrepiece.”
For the festive season, Moyer’s turns its confections into edible holiday classics. Apples are dressed as Santas, elves, penguins and snowmen or finished to look like ornaments. Each one is crafted using premium ingredients and packaged to be as giftable as they are indulgent.
Moyer’s caramel apples can be found at Loblaws, Metro and select Sobeys stores across Ontario.
Moyers Farm
4150 Jordan Rd., Jordan Station
moyersfarm.com | @moyersfarm
The Holidays are Baked In
There’s no need for cloaks of fondant or bright food dyes to signal celebration at de la terre Bakery in St. Catharines. Owner Jan Campbell-Luxton and his team prefer to let craft and flavour rule instead.
“Those kinds of pastries are showy, but don’t have much in the way of flavour,” he says.
Take the bakery’s mince tarts and pies, which embody the joy of the holidays and conjure a simpler time rooted in comfort and tradition.
Each tart starts with spelt pastry. It’s a nod to Campbell-Luxton’s long-time use of the ancient grain for its digestibility. Fluted shells are filled with a rich mix of house-candied orange peel, currants, raisins, dried cranberries, grated apple and brown sugar. The fragrant filling is left to macerate before being baked into its handmade base and topped with pastry stars that glitter with a dusting of sugar.
“It smells like Christmas to my nose, and people love it,”
Campbell-Luxton says. “It is what it is, but it matches or exceeds expectations with flavour.”
That focus on honest ingredients and traditional techniques runs through everything de la terre makes.
The bakery sources grains from the Canadian Prairies and Quebec, and avoids synthetic additives altogether. Campbell-Luxton calls his approach “flour forward,” shaping naturally fermented breads at an affordable price point and pastries that reflect both place, the creativity and passion of their makers, and a purpose to feed the people.
“I do feel quality bread should be available to the people,”Campbell-Luxton says about his MO. “Sourdough bread is easier on the body, it’s better for you and people should have access to it. There’s merit as a bakery to be the daily bread for people.”
De La Terre Bakery + Café
600 Ontario St., St. Catharines
delaterre.ca | @delaterrebakery
Kennsington’s Pâté en Croûte
In Paris, you can pick up a pâté en croûte at the corner store whenever a craving or impromptu dinner party strikes. In Toronto, though, this French staple has only started to find its footing, thanks to advocates like Peter Sanagan of Sanagan’s Meat Locker, and his shop’s pâté en croûte Richelieu.
“It was an eye-opening experience to see how common it is in France,” says Sanagan, who travelled to Paris with members of his team, including chef and charcutier Scott Draper, to study traditional charcuterie. “You can go to Paris’s version of 7-Eleven and find a long pâté en croûte you can buy and slice up and serve to guests. It’s fun to see that and replicate it here.”
Sanagan, a former chef with a background in French and Italian cuisine, launched the charcuterie program at his Kensington Market butcher shop in 2012, alongside an equally passionate Draper. The idea was to turn cuts that are a hard sell on a good day — think liver, pork heads and cheeks — into something both delicious and approachable.
Enter pâté en croûte Richelieu, which has since become a signature item in Sanagan’s charcuterie program. Layers of pork pâté, duck liver mousse, smoked duck breast and figs set in aspic are enrobed in an all-butter pastry that, once sliced into, reveal a creation that’s both stunningly beautiful and hearty. It’s also a coveted favourite among Sanagan’s charcuterie-loving loyals.
“We wanted to focus on foods we like to eat that, for one reason or another, you don’t see much of in other grocers or butcher shops.”
Pâté en croûte Richelieu steals the show, whether served as a first course at a holiday meal alongside a fresh and bright salad or gently introduced to the uninitiated on a charcuterie board, Sanagan says. This edible art is readily available year-round, but it’s in high demand for the holidays, so he encourages ordering ahead.
“Once people try it, they’re hooked,” he says. “It’s something that differentiates us, and I’m proud of it.”
Sanagan’s Meat Locker
sanagansmeatlocker.com | @sanagansmeatlocker
Cheese Ballers
You could say a cheese ball made with cream cheese from Gordon’s Goat Dairy is divine. It could be due to the simple, hopeful message, God Bless, printed on every package made by the Edgar family at their Howick Township goat farm and dairy. Or maybe it’s the rich, high-protein milk from their herd that gives hosts a heavenly base for a savoury or sweet holiday centrepiece. Mixed with herbs, dried fruit or nuts, it’s a crowd- pleaser that won’t last long on any festive table.
“It’s really easy to do,” says Bethany Edgar, who makes cheese with her husband, Gordon, using milk from their goat herd. “You take the plain cream cheese, you can mix anything in that you want and make your own cheese ball.”
Edgar also suggests blending goat cream cheese and yogurt for the filling in smooth fruit tarts, or using the cream cheese in festive cheesecake. It’s her secret for a richer pumpkin pie filling, high in protein and with less sugar than the usual recipe.
For those who like it spicy, chilli gouda adds “a little bite” on a holiday cheeseboard, she notes. Feta brightens salads, balancing out any indulgences.
The Edgars began making cheese in the late aughts. Faced with the prospect of having to find jobs off the farm to sustain their pastoral passion, the couple opted to expand their herd and start a cheese facility. Today, their son Jeremy manages their Saanen, Alpine and Lamancha goats with help from Butch, the family’s four-legged herder, while Bethany and Gordon focus on turning their whole milk into 15 styles of cheese.
Now found in more than 80 stores throughout Southern Ontario and available through the Howick Community Farms collective, Gordon’s Goat Dairy remains true to its roots: sustainable, full of heart and a blessing on every holiday table.
Gordon’s Goat Dairy
gordonsgoatdairy.ca | @gordonsgoatdairyfarm
The Man, the Myth, the Holiday Mule Mixer
He’s the mystery man everyone wants to clink glasses with at the holiday party that no one really wants to attend. That guy with the pipe, beard, and confident glint of someone who knows he’s the life of the party is Gord, the enigmatic figure adorning labels of Gord’s Ginger Beer, a Toronto-born brew that blends vintage charm with modern versatility.
The story behind Gord is just as unconventional. What began as a pandemic lark among three friends quickly turned into a small-batch success with help from George Brown College’s Food Innovation and Research Studio, which refined the recipe and helped get it into specialty stores.
“It turned into something we needed to focus our time on because no one else was really doing it,” says co-founder Gordon Rafferty, who, by losing a friendly bet, lent his name but not his likeness to the brand.
Available in sentimental stubby bottles or more modern slender cans, Gord’s Ginger Beer is that bridge between nostalgic and new. It’s found its way into golf course shandies, and into restaurants and festive home bars alike, where it’s just as comfortable blended into a boozy cocktail or served as a sophisticated non-alcoholic offering.
“Many products don’t do that. They’re so niche,” Rafferty says. “Most mocktails appeal to a specific crowd, whereas we appeal to a wide array of customers.”
Mix it into a mule played straight or given a festive twist with a splash of pomegranate, spike it with rum for a dark and stormy, or pour it over ice on its own.
Gord — whoever he is — just has a way of bringing everyone together, Rafferty says. “Everyone wonders who he is and what he stands for. We try to be as neutral as possible and be a ginger beer as much as possible. But in a time of peril, why not bond over something as silly as ginger beer?”
Gord’s Ginger Beer
gordsgingerbeer.com | @gordsgingerbeer
