Molson in the Community

From Left: Bob Jenkins, James DiFore, Court Bethune

Yesterday was the day we crowned the first ever Rickard’s Griller of Glory at Dundas Square in Toronto. It was where beer met the grill –barbecuing with Rickard’s White and Red.

Three challengers, a.k.a ‘the Grillers of Glory’ entered into a competition where they were asked to BBQ their best recipes using both Rickard’s Red and White beers. The challengers, James DiFore, Bob Jenkins and Court Bethune, were given 30 minutes, ingredients (steak, shrimp, spices, veggies, etc), and a whole lotta beer in order to create the tastiest and more inventive recipes possible.

From Left: Mirella Amato, Alexa Clark, Kyle Rae, Phil Nyman

Once the 30 min were up, our expert panel of judges scrutinized and tasted the BBQ plates and decided on the winner. Our judges:

• Phil Nyman: BBQ Chef and Owner, Phil’s Original BBQ restaurant
• Mirella Amato: Proprietor of Beerology.ca and Certified Beer Judge
• Alexa Clark: Editor and Publisher, CheapEats Toronto
• Kyle Rae: Toronto City Councillor, Ward 27, Toronto Centre-Rosedale

This year’s Griller of Glory was griller #2 (below), Bob Jenkins, an accountant from Toronto — Way to go Bob! The lovely Rickard’s ladies presented Bob with a massive trophy and his own Napoleon BBQ.

There was also a second, special cook-off to benefit the Ontario Food Bank Association. Three Toronto firefighters battled it out on the grill for the glory of their fire stations! Again, the competitors had 30 min and were then judged immediately after. Captain Paul Beams took the top spot and was crowned Griller of Glory. Congrats to Paul, and thanks to Jim Morache and Damien Walsh for taking the time to BBQ for a great cause.

We also had a guest firefighter judge the boys…Peter Cooper from Station 134.

It was a great day of grilling despite a few rain drops, and a very entertaining day with many thanks to our fabulous emcee and chef, Michael Clive (below).

Some clips of the grillers, judges and Michael in action!

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Adam Spence (below left) Executive Director, Ontario Association of Food Banks joined in the fun and accepted a donation of $1000.

As a final note, I’ll post some of Phil Nyman’s Rickard’s Red and White BBQing recipes soon. I plan to try a few out this weekend….would love to hear about your fav. Rickard’s recipes!

Check out more Rickard’s Griller of Glory info and pics:

Neighbourhood knowledge blog

Alexa Clark, Cheap Eats Toronto

Rannie Turrigan Photography

Flickr Photos

Have a safe and happy long weekend. Cheers!

Last night was Molson’s first ever Brew 2.0 event!!!

About 20 or so 2.0-savvy folks joined Molson and the Brew 2.0 team at the ACC in the Lord Stanley’s Mug for few hours of minglin’, food and beer tasting, and a little brew education.  With a killer line-up of different foods paired with different beers — Molson Canadian, Coors Light, Corona, Rickard’s White, Rickard’s Red and Creemore – the guests were given a little history about the beer and why it was paired with certain foods.  Me, the vegetarian, watched from a far….man those mini burgers looked good

Brew masters Ian Douglass and Bryan Eagan led ‘brewing and beer school’ while Draught Prophets’ pro, Steve Reilley, gave a great presentation – draught education.  Who knew a clean glass was so important?

The evening ended with some innovative products, featuring Heineken’s 5L Draught Keg, the Coors Light Cold Certified Bottle, AND a sneak preview of upcoming Kasteel Cru, a champagne-yeast, lager.

Thanks to all who came out — and a special thanks to Joey deVilla, a.k.a. accordionguy who serenaded the group! 

Curious to know — which food + beer pair was your fav.?  

More photos along with some video coming next week!

Happy long weekend everyone