Joe Thottungal

This year’s Feast of Fields event was a sold-out success, and a return to the event’s roots, bringing chefs, farmers and foodies together for a night of delicious bites.

Joe Thottungal, owner and founder of local restaurants Coconut Lagoon and Thali has been at the forefront of the city’s food industry for nearly two decades. His generosity and philanthropy recently earned him Algonquin College’s top honour.

Before we banish the last year and a half to the dark recesses of our memories, let’s offer thanks to those in our Ottawa food and beverage industry who shone brighter during adversity. Whether through actions small or large, these are some of the sector’s MVPs.

Food for Thought (FFT) is an organization that provides free meals to those on low incomes and for whom preparing meals is a challenge. A former entrepreneur and executive, FFT’s founder and president Sylvain de Margerie has been volunteering for more than five years to put food on the table for those unable to do so themselves.

This weeks highlights: Indian food from Thali and a brand new Peruvian takeout kitchen at City Centre.

Some people like to cook. Some people like to eat. Some like to do both!

Ottawa is known among major Canadian cities for having a very tight-knit restaurant community. Everybody seems to know everybody else and there’s a real sense of respect and admiration between restaurants. The warring camps that other cities have are nowhere present here. Acting as a spokesperson for this community is chef Adam Vettorel. He’s already well known as chef-owner of North & Navy, as well as the brand-new Cantina Gia. But did you know he has his own podcast?

“I think it was a Sunday,” says Adam Vettorel, looking back at the day everything changed. “We’d been watching the news that morning, and I went in to assess the situation. We knew we’d have to close soon. But that day, within 12 hours, it went from having to close soon to ‘we’re closed now.’”

Joe Thottungal’s new book, named for the restaurant, is a joyous celebration of the cuisine of Kerala, the state in India where he grew up.

Great Canadian Theatre Company has partnered with six chefs to present a pop-up restaurant for one night in the run of each play this season.

Six celebrity chefs are volunteering their time to train a team to cook their high quality dish under competition pressure.