MONDAY, MARCH 7TH, 2005

 Anita Stewart
 Facilitator and Symposium MC
 
Ontario's resident Culinary Activist and Gastronomer will be our "Sage on the Stage and Guide on the Side" throughout the Symposium. "Culinary Tourism holds enormous potential, not only for traditional tourism operators but also for a myriad of other Ontarians, from agriculturalists to publishers; from research scientists to manufacturers; from students to travel writers. If there is one word that defines the phrase best, it is simply "possibilities". We are limited only by our imaginations and our ability to communicate our dreams and our challenges openly.

PANELISTS

 John Pye, President, Delta Hotels

John Pye is an accomplished industry veteran with more than 35 years of extensive experience in Canada and the United States. Mr. Pye began his career in the mid-1960s as a bellman at the first Delta hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. Presently, Mr. Pye is president of the Toronto-based Delta Hotels, Canada's leading first-class hotel management company with more than 35 hotels and resorts, coast to coast. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

 Chef Michael Stadtlander from Eigensinn Farm
 
Gastronomey and Chef Michael Stadtlander was born in Lubeck, Schleswig-Holstein, West-Germany and is one of the Honourary Chairs of the Culinary-Tourism Symposium. In his impressive career, Michael has owned and operated catering companies and has been the executive chef at such establishments as Sooke Harbour House Inn in British Columbia and Nekah Restaurant and Le Resto Palmerston in Toronto. In 1993 Michael moved to Singhampton, Ontario and created Eigensinn Farm and Eigensinn Productions Inc.

 Donald Ziraldo President and Co-founder, Inniskillin Wines 
 
Ziraldo is a relentless promoter of Canadian wine and is to Canadian wine what Robert Mondavi has been to California wine. Viewed as the industry's leading ambassador into foreign markets, he has had a consistent focus on raising the quality of Canadian wines, not just those produced by Inniskillin, and selling them to markets around the world. As an entrepreneur he entered into the wine business in 1975 and carved out the beginnings of the premium wine industry in Ontario, which is now thriving including a strong agri-tourism component.

 Dr. Tanya MacLaurin, Sensory Scientist, University of Guelph 
 
Tanya currently teaches courses on Cultural Aspects of Foods, Economics of Food Usage, Hospitality Business Management and Casino Operations Management at the University of Guelph. "Here is your opportunity to take an interactive and entertaining test drive as you get on board the sensory train for an enjoyable and educational ride toward the ultimate destination: the exciting world of Culinary Tourism. Along the way you will experience creative examples of potential sources and uses of the five human senses and how to capitalize on their stimulation and motivational powers as a culinary tourism development strategy."

 Guess Who's Coming to Your Business for Dinner?
 Elena Ignatov, University of Waterloo 
 
Elena Ignatov graduated from the Recreation and Leisure Studies Master's program at the University of Waterloo. Her thesis focused on examining culinary tourism in Canada and more specifically, on the profile of the Canadian culinary tourists. Her research found differences between tourists engaging in food- and in wine-related activities.

 
 Dr. Steve Smith, University of Waterloo

"Culinary tourism isn't just about food and beverages - it is also about the people that consume them, that visit festivals, go to consumer shows, sign up for cooking classes or tasting classes. Understanding who culinary tourists are is important for designing new products that meet market demands. To effectively reach culinary tourists and to get your message across, you need to know where they get information on tourism products, what motivates their travel, what other activities they like to engage in, when they like to travel, where they like to travel.

 Dave Nourse
 
Dave Nourse is a group account director at TBWA\TORONTO. Building brands is Dave's passion. While recently working to develop the master destination brand for the City of Toronto, Dave has worked with numerous branded entities including Petro-Canada, Nortel Networks, Pitney Bowes, Sprint, Canadian Cancer Society, ScotiaBank, Verizon, Direct Energy, Sprott Securities, and FPL FiberNet.

 J. Charles Grieco
 Organizing Chair, Culinary-Tourism Symposium
   
J. Charles Grieco is the Chair and President of the Ontario Hostelry Institute, an industry-based organization that focuses on qualityand innovations in post-secondary institutions that attracts and provides professional education for the industry. Charles is also the Organizing Chair of the Culinary-Tourism Symposium and a member of the provincially mandated consortium currently examining culinary tourism in Ontario.

 Branding - does it matter?
 Dr. Gabor Forgacs 
 
Dr. Gabor Forgacs from Ryerson University, has twenty years work experience in the hotel industry on two continents including a management position at a Four Seasons hotel in Toronto and the position of president and general manager of a first class hotel in Budapest, Hungary. Dr. Forgacs joined the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Ryerson University in January 1997. He is also a member of the Special Graduate Faculty of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Guelph.

 Caryn Colman, Smoothwater Outfitters
  
When Francis Boyes and Caryn Colman Smoothwater Outfitters and Ecolodge, a year-round wilderness retreat located in the heart of Temagami, in northeastern Ontario. Three times daily guests are treated to organic and regional cuisine, designed as much for taste as for visual appeal. But Colman goes further, believing that food should also enhance the tourism experience. "It is all about advancing your creative spirit, and improving your craft. But in the end you'll also know a lot about Temagami's culture, geography and history. I can't think of a more satisfying tourism experience. It makes me feel like I've done a good thing for Ontario. "
 

 Michael Olson, Chef/Professor Niagara Culinary Institute
 
Michael Olson joined Niagara College as a Chef-Professor in 2001 after seven successful years as Executive Chef of Inn On The Twenty, the Niagara Region's first Winery Restaurant where he earned the prestigious Ontario Hostelry Institute Gold Award. Over the years, Michael has built a strong reputation as one of Canada's finest young chefs and is known for his innovative use of local and artisanal ngredients. He is a graduate of the Culinary Management program at George Brown College. Over the course of his career, Michael has won recognition on both the national and international culinary stages.

 

 Marie Cheesman, Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership
 
Marie Cheesman has worked in the tourism industry for the past 15 years, and as a Partnership Coordinator with the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership for the past five, facilitating the creation and development of product alliances whose focus is the delivery of quality, buyable tourism experiences. Her work with Savour Ontario, Ontario's new culinary vacations alliance, has provided the opportunity to work with a variety of key tourism partners across the province for whom great food and drink experiences are a key part of their positioning and assist in identifying strategies and tactics for positioning Ontario as a great culinary tourism destination.

FEDNOR PANEL

 Tom Reid
 
Tom Reid will be assisting at the Culinary Tourism Symposium as one of the most influential figures in food and art in Northern Ontario. Tom has produced a line of totally natural, additive and preservative free food from Northern Ontario. Tom owns and operates the Nickel Chef Café, and is a regular contributor to the CBC and MCTV on culinary matters. He leads the North into the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair on an annual basis, producing gourmet meals from the ingredients provided by over thirty exhibitors from the North.

 Tim Mathews

As one of seven certified Chef de Cuisines in Northwestern Ontario, Tim Mathews has been past president of the Thunder Bay Chef's Association, a member of Britain's Chefs and cooks Circle and the Canadian Federation of Chefs and Cooks. Tim has a weekly cooking show on CBC radio and has written over 200 articles on food preparation and cooking. In his career he has won 13 gold medals and a number of challenge trophies for his outstanding food exhibits in Germany, Ireland, the U.S. and Canada.

Pierre Bélanger, La Foire Gourmande Organizer
 
Pierre Bélanger is a Northern Ontario business man with retail and tourism experience. Mr. Bélanger is also a long time bison rancher and bison meat producer. He has extensive public experience in regional economic development and serves on the organizing committee for La Foire Gourmande an annual joint Québec Ontario regional products food fair extravaganza with a strong tourism component.

 Jane Hawtin
 Grown In Ontario - A Feast of our Land
 Master of Ceremonies 
 
Jane Hawtin's career in broadcasting began 28 years ago at CKLC radio in Kingston, Ontario. In 1995, Jane made the jump to television as host/executive producer of Jane Hawtin Live. Jane used her television savvy to develop and produce a series of successful television programs including Doctor on Call, Linehan, Caregiving with June Callwood, Prime Business with Deirdre McMurdy, Teen Tribute TV, Liquid Soapz and Road Scholars. Jane is now president of Road Scholars Productions Inc. and is currently working on Road Scholars Inuit Adventure Africa, which will be a one hour special for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Jane also fills in on a number of CBC radio shows including Metro Morning Toronto.

TUESDAY, MARCH 8TH, 2005

 Fiona Lucas 
 
Fiona Lucas has worked as a food historian within the Museums of the City of Toronto for almost eighteen years. Currently, she is Programme Officer (Foodways) at Spadina Museum: Historic House and Gardens. She is co-founder and current Past President of Culinary Historians of Ontario, the first such foodways group in Canada. She has written food history articles and columns for a number of magazines and newsletters, and she speaks on Ontario's culinary heritage and living history programmes to interested groups.

 Elizabeth Nelson-Raffaele
 
Elizabeth Nelson-Raffaele is the Curator of Gibson House and Historic Zion Schoolhouse - two museums operated by the City of Toronto Culture Division. She specializes in Museum Education and Interpretation as well as the integration of foodways into museum programming. She is also on the Board of the Culinary Historians of Ontario.

 Elizabeth Driver 
 
Elizabeth Driver is an Interpreter at Montgomery's Inn Museum and President of the Culinary Historians of Ontario. She is the author of Culinary Landmarks: A Bibliography of Canadian Cookbooks, 1825-1949 (forthcoming, University of Toronto Press) and A Bibliography of Cookery Books Published in Britain, 1875-1914. She collaborates with Whitecap Books on the Classic Canadian Cookbooks Series.

 Sinclair Philip, Sooke Harbour House 
 
Sinclair Philip owns and operates Sooke Harbour House in British Columbia with his wife Frederique. Many consider Mr. Philip as the god-father of Pacific Northwest cuisine "If it can't be grown on the Sooke Harbour House grounds, it can't be used in the kitchen" says Sinlcair about his 30-room luxury hotel that features over 500 varieties of edibles including a wide variety of organic greens and wild mushrooms that are cultivated on the grounds. Chefs from around the country refer to this kitchen as the place to learn innovative cuisine. The Sooke Harbour House consistently rates in the top 10 restaurants of Canada.

 Liam Dolan creator of the PEI Shellfish Festival 
 
In 1976, Liam Edward Dolon graduated from the Culinary Chef's School in Ireland and two years later moved to Prince Edward Island to assume the Executive Chef position with the Charlottetown Hotel. Liam is on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Food & Restaurant Association and the Tourism Industry Assoc. of Prince Edward Island and Founder of the PEI International Shellfish Festival which takes place annually at Confederation Landing Park next to Charlottetown's Waterfront.

 Richard Wade, Ryerson University 
 
Richard Wade's qualifications include a diploma from Ryerson's Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Management Program, a B.A. in Economics and a M.B.A. in Marketing from York University. Professor Wade is a third generation hospitality professional who has gained more than twenty-five years' experience in the planning, development, marketing and management of lodging and foodservice facilities. Richard continues his active participation in the lodging and foodservice industries through his lodging and foodservice management consulting company.

 Rebecca LeHeup-Bucknell, Taste The County 
 
Rebecca LeHeup-Bucknell is the Executive Director of Taste the County™ which is a marketing and quality enhancement organization that was established in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada in 1999. Taste the County™, an incorporated not-for-profit organization with the mandate to stimulate agricultural and tourism economic growth through sustainable event marketing and project management in Prince Edward County.

 Jane Langdon

 
A long time "foodie", Jane Langdon splits her time between operating Canada's only winery cooking school and a communications agency. She is currently chair of the working group to establish a Niagara Culinary Alliance to help further culinary tourism in the region.

Susan Benson - Project Coordinator, SAVOUR Muskoka

Susan Benson comes from a farming background and has extensive experience in the area of tourism product development and marketing. Through her company CRANDELLA she has worked with progressive organisations across North America and Europe.

 Lucy Long
 
Lucy Long is an assistant professor in the Department of Popular Culture at Bowling Green State University. She received an MA in Ethnomusicology from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania.

Her areas of research have included Korean ethnicity and food, Asian ethnic restaurants, Midwestern, Appalachian, Irish, and Spanish food traditions, food as regional symbol, food festivals, family foodways, holiday meals, and culinary tourism as well as topics in traditional music and dance.

Recent publications include a documentary video, Stirring up the Past: The Grand Rapids Apple Butter Fest, a website and cd-Rom, "Images of the U.S. in Spanish Food Packaging," and a book, Culinary Tourism (U Press of KY, 2004).