The Day Toronto Ate 5000 lbs. of Chicken Wings
18 vendors, 2000 people, 2 live bands, Food Channel celebrity Chef Bob Blumer, Steam Whistle beer, and more than 5000 lbs of wings consumed…welcome to the Toronto Wing Festival. This was Toronto’s 3rd Wing Festival hosted by the Rotary Club of Toronto and our first year as a proud media sponsor. Chicken wing lovers and aficionados filled Daniel’s Spectrum on May 4 to join in the religious experience that is chowing down on chicken wings.
Having attended many food events around Toronto, as well as hosting several of our own, we have to give a big shout out to the organizers. The event was one of most well run and organized events we attended. No running out of food, lines that moved as quick as the food could be made, and, a great use of space to keep the crowd moving. They took advantage of the open concept space at Daniels’ Spectrum by incorporating live music and projection screens showing game 7 of the Raptors-Nets series. The energy was palpable as the crowd divulged wings in one hand while the other hand pumped in the air in anticipation as we watched a nail-biting loss, missing a basket in the last 6.2 seconds. Nothing heals a broken heart like a saucy, tantalizing chicken wing, and there were plenty to be had.
Initially, we decided to pace ourselves… but once we saw the competition we couldn’t resist getting our hands messy. Each vendor brought something different to the table. There was no lack of innovative and creative flavors. Several pounds of chicken wings, and a few beers later, we took our sticky fingers and sauce covered mouths to our meeting room (a patio with more beers of course), and crowned our favourite wings. Here’s how we tasted it:
Our top picks:
1. Hooters, Dayonta BBQ Wing; 2. Pour House, Classic Buffalo Wing; 3. Sandoozles, Dry Rub Wing
Seems our tastebuds did not align with the judges, but, you know what they say, taste is relative. We will stay optimistic for our seat at the judges table next year.
Speaking of the esteemed judges, the competitors’ wings were judged based on their taste, originality, complexity and appearance. The wing experts judging the tasty morsels were: Bob Blumer, Food Channel Celebrity Chef; Nobu Adilman, TV Personality and Food Blogger; Gregory Macdonald, Sloan Keyboardist and Chef; Halla Rafati, PR Director for Four Seasons Hotel Toronto (we still do not know how you downed all those wings); Nicki Laborie, Founder & Director of View the Vibe; Valarie Wafer, District Governor, Rotary Club District 7070; Raina Douris, Music Director & Afternoon Drive Host for Indie88; Tony Glitz, Two-Time Toronto Wing Festival Champion and Owner of Speducci Fine Foods; and Dave Sidhu, Owner of Playa Cabana empire.
Here is a complete list of categories and the winners:
Classic:
1. Tara Inn, 2. Shark Club, 3. The Pour House
BBQ:
1. Aft Kitchen and Bar, 2. Hurricanes, 3. Hard Rock Café
Dry:
1. Sandoozles, 2. Aft Kitchen and Bar, 3. Lou Dawgs
Exotic:
1. Pogue Mahone, 2. The Pilot, 3. The Office Pub
Sweet:
1. Pogue Mahone, 2. Drums N Flats, 3. The Office Pub
People’s Choice for Best Wing:
1. Hurricanes, 2. The Pilot, 3. The Office Pub
Proceeds of the day were donated to local charities including Fort York Food Bank, and Regent Park Community Center. Kevin Quan, Chair of the 2014 Toronto WingFest, summarized the day best: “Eating good wings and doing good things.” We could definitely think of worse ways to spend a day.
If you missed out on the action, be sure to follow the Toronto Wing Festival on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for the 2015 date and ticket sales. Note the date that tickets go on sale on your calendar and be ready to purchase your tickets as they sell out fast!
As we waddled home, all we could think of was coming back in 2015 to see who’s wing will be king…wait, we also thought that we should wear more comfortable pants next year.