Italian Wine Grandi Marchi 2015

l’Istituto del vino Italiano di Qualità
Grandi Marchi

April 21, 2015

The Institute of Fine Italian Wines or l’Istituto del vino Italiano di Qualità - Grandi Marchi as it is called in Italian, has held a fine wine tasting for professionals in Montreal today. The event took place at the Marché Bonsecure.

14 Italian wine producers participated at this event: Masi, Tasca d'Almerita, Carpene Malvolti, Ambrogio e Giovanni Falonari Tenute, Jermann, Rivera, Alois Lageder, Antinori, Donnafugata, Argiolas, Lungarotti, Umani Ronchi, Michele Chiarlo, Mastroberardino.

An impressive number of the Montreal wine professionals were in attendance. They asked many questions and were eager to get acquainted with the wines presented by the producers.

Italian food and cheese tasting was also offered to the participants and was much appreciated by everybody. This event by the Institute of Fine Italian Wines was a great success, as Italian wine has many fans in Montreal, Quebec and Canada.

For more information, visit the website of the l’Istituto del vino Italiano di Qualità - Grandi Marchi.

MKT Restaurant

Official Opening: MKT Restaurant

Chef Marino Tavares' New Project

Monday, April 20, 2015

The opening of a new MKT Restaurant in the heart of Montréal's downtown and business district, marks the return of market cuisine to the forefront. 

Drawing on 25 years of experience, master chef Marino Tavares, native of Azores, Portugal, intends to offer the best of Italian and Mediterranean cuisine within an urban setting where tradition intersects with modernism. For this project, Marino has teamed up with true restaurant business enthusiasts: Manager Parry Kyriakodis, who brings a decade of experience in the field, and Joao Pereira from Restaurant Globe. Together, their mission is getting back to basics: the love of cooking and its traditions.

MKT is a tribute to the market and all its freshly supplied food, from vegetables to fish and seafood. MKT provides the opportunity to celebrate the market's best within the downtown core, a neighbourhood Marino loves and believes in. "This time, it's the table that does the talking," he says.

Marino is a leading authority in the Montréal restaurant industry, having been elected Chef of the Year at the Société des chefs cuisiniers in 2001 and star of the Chef's Gala in 2008. Above all, he loves working with family recipes, giving them a contemporary twist: slow cooking, fresh fish and marinades. The menu includes, for instance, Toscana risotto (duck leg confit, mushrooms), ostriche (oysters), and other fine meats and fine wines. MKT is an inviting and friendly restaurant.

The new MKT is an Italian and Mediterranean food restaurant. It is located at the 2044 Metcalfe Avenue, in downtown Montreal.

Expo Manger Santé et Vivre Vert 2015

Expo Manger Santé et Vivre Vert

March 20 - 22, 2015

This is the 18th edition of the Expo Manger Santé et Vivre Vert, one of the most popular annual shows in Montreal which attracts big crowds. The visitors are genuinely interested in keeping healthy and discovering new products, new ways of preparing healthy meals. They also want to learn about cosmetics that instead of petrochemical products have natural plant ingredients that are organic and grown without pesticides.

The largest floor area at the Show is occupied by food. As always, Monsieur Basilic has a prominent booth display that attracts the visitors. They even offer a Basil Lemonade. 

Raw vegan food also attracts a lot of attention. The Crudessance products are very popular, especially since one has a chance to taste a delicious salad and a raw cheese cake (photo below on the left). Containers to grow sprouts are also being offered by Passion Santé (photo below on the right).

The probiotics are still in great demand and are presented by Bio-K. In addition, at the entry to the Expo you get a complementary shopping bag offered to all the visitors by Bio-K. Nevertheless, the greatest crowds gather by the cooking demonstration podium.

There are two cooking tools being offered at the show that facilitate greatly the food preparation: the Thermomix and the Vitamix. The Vitamix has an ongoing demo and degustation - tasting presentation at their booth.

And if you get tired walking around and eating too much at the show, you can always take a break and have a relaxing and rejuvenating foot massage.

Do not hesitate and visit the Show. Right at the entrance, to the right, you will see prominently displayed all the  Vedette - Star Products.

As in the past, the Expo is being held at the Montreal's Palais des Congres Centre. To find out more about the opening hours, visit the Expo Manger Santé et Vivre Vert 2015 website.

Click on images to enlarge them.

Montreal Home Show 2015

The Montreal National Home Show 2015 
36th Edition

 March 6 - 15, 2015

This year, the Montreal National Home Show, presented by RE/MAX in collaboration with National Bank, offer many new features and attractions. 
This show is very popular with the montrealers, not only because it offer ideas how to decorate one's home, but because it also acquaints the visitors with the new products available both for the home renovation and construction.

To help the visitors with their personal home decoration needs and with choosing of the appropriate items at the show that would fit perfectly into their projects, the Home Show this year offers Espace Design France Arcand. Presented by Smart Réno in collaboration with HomeByMe, Espace Design France Arcand will enable to renovate a room in one's house virtually, using an advanced software application from HomeByMe. One can call on the support of three designers, general handyman and contractor on site, and enjoy a free 20-minute consultation, leaving with an estimate for one's project. It is possible to download the application from the National Home Show website, preparing for your visit ahead of time.

The always popular Maison Éthier is back again this year, being allotted an additional space. There are more appliances, more furniture, more styles and more ideas. The highlight is the new Benchmark collection from Bosch with its wall oven and side-opening door, steam oven, and built-in induction cooktop.

Mason Ethier also presents a new design of a washing machine which has two laundry compartments. The one on the top is for the regular load, the one in the bottom for a very small load. Both washing machines (two in one) can be used separately or at the same time. (See the picture just below to the left.) On the photo to the right is a unique drier that recycles the heat and uses 60% less electricity, thus representing considerable energy saving as well as lower electrical bills.

Mason Ethier also features retro appliances, the colour of which attracts one's eye and make them stand out in contrast to the standard contemporary metal items.

The highlight of the show is the Maison Enfant Soleil by Bonneville, built with the assistance of partners that include Les Gardes-Robes Gagnon and Centre Design Réalité. The result is a highly innovative urban home that emphasizes family life and offers a host of special and quite attractive features like, for example, a metal decking and an exposed structure of the ceiling in the kitchen and dining room. Visitors are invited to take part in the Bonneville Maison Enfant Soleil raffle, whose lucky winner will be drawn on July 16. Tickets can be bought at the Show.

The Home Show also features and artist's alley consisting of works by Quebec artists. In the photo below, a local Montreal artist Natasha Turovsky displays her paintings.

For more information about various activities, opening hours and tickets,  visit The National Home Show's website.

Click on images to enlarge them.

Montreal Motorcycle Show 2015

Annual Motorcycle Show
Montreal

February 27 - March 1, 2015


This is the only Motorcycle annual show in Montreal that brings together about 150 exhibitors. The majority are the world’s major motorcycle manufacturers, who exhibit all of their latest models. There are also a number of industry experts. The Montreal Motorcycle Show, presented by La Capitale General Insurance, features many attractions making it the must attend event for motorcycle aficionados.

Project LiveWire Experience is now in Montreal.The visitors have a unique opportunity to "test-drive" the first electric motorcycle from Harley-Davidson, installed on the JUMPSTART demonstrator. They can experience first hand the fast acceleration and the specific sounds of a Harley-Davidson, and can conclude that the electrically juices motorbike remains truly powerful. The bike on display is only prototype, with no date of production yet in view.

For the first time at the Show, and in collaboration with Spydertv.net, a display of customized Can-Am Spyders includes seven Quebec bikes as well as those that came from New York and New Jersey. The owners are on hand to answer visitors’ questions. The design of these three-wheelers by Can-Am BRP proves to be increasingly popular.

The traditional She Rides Nite return to the Show on Friday, February 27, 2015. Starting at 5 p.m., women pay just half the regular admission price. This celebration of the feminine side of riding will include surprises for visitors, including draws for a Ninja EX300 ABS Special EDT courtesy of Kawasaki and Sport Collette, and two motorcycle outfits compliments of TruCulture Motorcycle Clothing. 

In addition, visitors have the chance to view the Women’s Motorcycle Exhibit, a travelling display of 30 photos by renowned photographer Lanakila MacNaughton (see an example of her exhibited work just below).  Inspired by the new wave of modern female motorcyclists, MacNaughton’s exhibit reveals the brave and exuberant women who live to ride, expressing their personality, freedom, and independence. 

Here are additional pictures from the show.

To find out more about the Montreal Motorcycle Show, visit the show's website.