Thousands head to Picklefest in Toronto to enjoy pickle-inspired food and drinks

Picklefest returned to Toronto last weekend in a big way. The second annual edition of the event took place at Henderson Brewing on Sterling Road and took the crown as Canada’s largest celebration of all things pickled.

The two-day event featured more than fifty vendors offering specialty brined, canned, pickled, salted, sour, or fermented foods and beverages.

To pickle lovers everywhere, it was a kind of big dill.

The indoor-outdoor space was filled with friends, family and hungry furry companions. Many dressed up for the occasion, sporting the coveted Picklefest merchandise and everything from green fangs to full pickle costumes.

The food and drink festival also featured live music, pickle-inspired games and photo ops.

I stopped at several vendors eager to sample their offerings, from tangy pickled sauces to tangy kimchi to unique pickle-infused drinks.

Here’s everything I tried.

Tullamore Dew, the event’s official spirit partner, kicked off the day by mixing a Canadian Caesar with an Irish twist ($12). It included Matt + Steve’s spicy cocktail, mix and pickled beans.

The Pickleback ($10) was a shot and chaser combo, where award-winning whiskey was paired with Pickled Canadian pickle brine.

Whether you prefer your pickles in a jar or served on a stick, Pickled Canadian has you covered. The brand started 4 years ago, in 2020, and is now available in 200 retail stores.

The Canadian-grown and made brand offered a taste of its sweet and sour garlic dill pickles for $2.

After spotting a number of people walking around with a pickle on a stick, I was eager to give it a try. Crunchy and juicy, the pickle had the perfect balance of sour and salty.

Pickled Canadian was also featured in the official Picklefest beer ($9).

Henderson Original Pickle Lager was created with fifteen pitchers of all-natural pickle brine. It had a crisp dill flavor, perfect for the sunny, warm October weather we experienced last weekend.

Local restaurant Island Oysters offered two PEI oysters (4 for $11.50) with all the usual accompaniments like lemon, horseradish, apple and shallot mignonette, cocktail sauce and a special Picklefest item, a marinated chanterelle mignonette.

The Island Emerald was a larger, full-bodied oyster with a smoky brine and a rich finish. The Conway Pearl, my favorite of the two, was a smaller cocktail oyster, bright, crisp and perfectly salty.

You can’t attend an event like Picklefest without trying something a little out of the ordinary. At Dipped Donuts, they came up with the Tickle My Pickle Donut ($3.50).

This donut is unlike anything I have ever tried before. Hot and served chilled, it featured pickle glaze, chamoy drizzle, piping hot Cheetos, and a dehydrated pickle topping.

Chef Sang Kim from Toronto served containers of his homemade Kickass Kimchi ($10) and messy but very delicious Kimchi Grilled Cheese Sandwiches ($15).

Kickass Kimchi comes from a recipe passed down from his mother’s side for 270 years.

Chef Kim explained that traditional pogi kimchi is made from whole cabbage that undergoes a long fermentation and in Korea it is traditionally prepared in large quantities to withstand the cold months. This great preparation and sharing of food with the community is called Kim Jang.

For the grilled cheese, Chef Kim used a fast-fermenting kimchi pureed to achieve an almost sauce-like consistency.

The result was grilled cheese that was golden and crisp on the outside and soft and cheesy on the inside. The kimchi added the right amount of oomph to the sandwich and took a classic grilled cheese to a whole new level.

At Romi’s Bakery, I had one of my favorite bites of the day, the Schnitzel Pita ($10). Served in their house-made cloud pita, the crispy panko-crusted fried chicken cutlets were accompanied by pickle aioli, sliced ​​dill pickles and shredded lettuce.

Chef and owner Tomer Markovitz explained to me what was in the aioli: Moroccan paprika, schug (garlic and herbs), and shifka pepper to increase the heat, among a few other secret ingredients.

To finish my pickle crawl, I stopped at Purple Tongue Hot Sauce to sample the Dill Bomb ($15), which owner Michael Corvese developed for this year’s event.

The Dill Bomb includes two hot peppers: Haunted Dollhouse and Yellow Pot 7. It has a medium hot intensity with a touch of horseradish, and like many of Purple Tongue’s hot sauces, Corvese doesn’t play around when it comes down to it. spicy.

“I make hot sauce for heat seekers,” he told me. He started his business 4 years ago with 4 flavors and has since expanded to 15 different sauces.

Picklefest Toronto attracted over 7,000 attendees over the two-day festival. Every day was completely sold out. Expect him to return to Toronto next year.