Andrew Coppolino's 6 fall food festivals you shouldn't miss

September signals a return to regular routines after the holiday months. It similarly cues local agricultural fairs and food celebrations that showcase the late-summer and fall harvest and build community connections.

Over the next several weeks, there are several events that revolve around partnerships between chefs and farmers thatpromote local food industry stakeholders and businesses such as restaurants and caterers as well as farmers and producers. The events are also very often fundraisers for non-profit organizations which assist the vulnerable in our communities and folks in need.

Waterloo Region's Foodlink is an organization dedicated to education and giving the community access to local food producers, according to Foodlink manager Anna Contini. Their "Taste Local Taste Fresh" (TLTF) event, now in its 13th year, is Sunday, September 11 at Kitchener's Steckle Heritage Farm.

"Taste Local Taste Fresh is a showcase for all the great local food we have here in Waterloo Region, not only the fall harvest which is pretty much at its peak in September when we generally have the Taste Local event, but also to highlight all the great local food restaurants, particularly those that make use of our local harvests year round," Contini said.

Part of Foodlink's mandate is not only to promote and provide access to locally produced food but engage in local food education and outreach in the community as well, added Contini. "Taste Local Taste Fresh participants will have the opportunity to chat with the farmers and the chefs about how the local food was grown and prepared."

A few of the scheduled pairings for the afternoon event are:

• Curried lamb-meatball sliders on focaccia with arugula aioli from Sol Restaurant and Wine Bar, Circle R Livestock and Green Hart Farm.
• Vanilla-scented tempeh ice cream in a lemon-basil waffle cone prepared by Boutique Catering, Colour Paradise and Henry's Tempeh.
• Black kale with Blackview Farm Peking duck and Toscano cheese created by The Berlin and The Working Centre Market Garden.

Along with the 20 or so food pairings, the education component of TLTF includes a honey tasting and demonstrations such as the embryological task of "egg candling" using a bright light to check growth and development inside the egg, the name of which comes from a bygone era when candles were used.

• Taste Local Taste Fresh

"Taste Local Taste Fresh is a nice way for farmers and chefs to get connected," said Contini. "There are new partnerships being formed and in other cases its teams who have worked together in the past."

Coming right up

In the next few weeks, there are several more events in Waterloo Region and Wellington County which foreground the farm-to-table philosophy and the alliances between restaurants and farmers and other food producers:

September 11: Cambridge Rotary and Cambridge Memorial Hospital team up to present "Best Bites" which raises money for equipment and programming that is no longer funded by government monies. This year's proceeds go to mental health services.

• Best Bites

September 24: Wellington County's Taste Real "Fall Rural Romp" supports and promotes healthy eating and local farm and agricultural businesses.

• FallRural Romp

September 29: "Grape Escape" is a food fundraiser for Monica Place, an organization which assists pregnant and parenting youth.

• Grape Escape

October 22: The Cambridge Mayor's "Souper Sampler" is an annual event in downtown Cambridge (Galt) that helps raise money for Community Support Connections Meals on Wheels and More.

• Cambridge mayor's Souper Sampler

October 24: Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce "100 Mile Feast" raises money and awareness for the Chamber's important physician recruitment initiative for the local health care system.

• 100 Mile Feast

Read more CBC Kitchener-Waterloofood columns from Andrew Coppolino