The Holiday Inn Peterborough Waterfront’s Gazebo bar wrapped up another very successful season for itself and for local farmers. The Kawartha Choice Challenge VII involved 12 different local farms (McIntosh Beef Farm, Traynor Beef Farm, Evergreen Farm (pork), Ptbo Buffalo Farm, Sugar Valley Farm (beef), Miller Farm  (chicken), Heritage Hills Farm (lamb), French’s Beef Farm, Golden Fleece Farms (lamb) & Ashburnham Farm & Gaelic Garlic (beef), Cows & Cranio Inc (beef) & Merrylynd Organic (beef)) in which the Gazebo each week featured one of the farms foods in a special recipe created by Executive Chef Martin Vanden Anker and his team cuisine. The farm bounty included a variety of proteins from local farms as well as goat cheese from Crosswind Farm, various Ontario cheeses from Chasing the Cheese and fresh buns from East City Bake Shop. Gazebo patio guests ordering the Kawartha Choice burger were asked to rate the feature on a scale of 1-5. The best average score that was calculated would be declared the winner. The Gazebo was proud to announce the winner of this annual event as Golden Fleece Farms from Bailieboro, owned and operated by Ruco Braat, who’s burger’s 87.36% average rating was the cream of the crop.  Golden Fleece also sell wool blankets along with their lamb from their farm and their product can also be found at Peterborough Farmers’ Market, Rural Routes, Craftworks, The Country Corner & Maggie’s Meat Market. The winning recipe was The Moroccan Fleece Burger. There is still plenty of time to fire up your BBQ and try it out for yourself at home with the below recipe….or better yet head on down to the Riverside Grill and try it there as the annual Kawartha’s Choice farm also wins a spot on their lunch menu for the next year. “It is a great feeling to see the continued growth of the Kawartha Choice program in the area, not only at our restaurant and patio but in other local restaurants and catering companies as well” says Grant Zwarych who started the program at the Holiday Inn 7 years ago. “North America continues to produce more locavores who enjoy supporting local farms and the great products that they have to offer as well as helping reduce our carbon footprints. We saw a 39.29% increase in Kawartha Choice burger sales this year over previous year which is just amazing! Thank you for everyone that visited the Gazebo that chose to buy local.”  This year’s challenge saw 1601 Kawartha Choice burgers purchased along with 195 Gazebo Maple Sausages (made for the Gazebo by Franz’s Butcher Shop).  “We are proud to support our local farmers and know that our annual Gazebo challenge helps raise awareness in the buy local campaign that we have been a part of since the inception of Kawartha Choice. There are many great options out there for people to purchase local at the Farmers’ Market or thru farm gate sales. www.kawarthachoice.com. When you buy from our local farmers, you know you are getting quality product and I would highly recommend those that have never done so, to give one of our local farms a try. We look forward to another great Kawartha Choice Challenge next summer”. The Riverside Grill is listed in this month’s LCBO Food & Drink magazine, participating in the goLOCAL campaign offering a great three course local menu option until October 8th featuring more great Kawartha Choice selections. They invite everyone to come down and try this delectable menu and complement it with one of the fantastic VQA Ontario wines on their wine list. The Riverside Grill will be featuring Kawartha Choice Prime Rib Thursday’s starting Oct 6th to coincide with the beginning of Peterborough Petes hockey season. Make sure you stop in before the game. Prime Rib, Pints/Pinot Noir, Petes, Pucks….Perfect! The Holiday Inn continues to grow their local offerings with Kawartha Choice menu options in their banquet facilities and have sold several functions with this option. Contact Lisa Smith at 705-740-6581 to arrange your local banquet function today. If you ate today…thank a farmer.   To see the full recipe...visit our recipe section under "Find local Products"

Enjoy a Self-Guided Weekend Driving Tour of Farms and Rural Attractions in Kawartha Lakes   Oct. 1 & 2, 2011 10am-4pm daily Visit working farms during this open house weekend. See a working dairy farm, beef farm and check out some chickens. Get your pumpkins and vegetables fresh from the field. Learn about organic and permaculture vegetable production. Take a horse drawn wagon ride and enjoy the fall colours. Learn about farming, have your picture taken with a farm animal, or stop in at one of our countryside attractions. Be sure to taste the bounty of the Kawarthas along the way at one of our local restaurants or retail shops. Adult Admission  $5.00    Kids FREE!   Admission Stickers available at all Libraries & Service Centres in advance of the event, and at all host sites during the weekend event. For full site descriptions and trip planning ideas: www.kawarthafarmfest.com OR by calling :  705-324-9411 ext. 1232

Monday August 8, 2011 This past weekend Montreal was host to the first ever in Canada “American Cheese Society” Conference. The conference included the North American cheese competition which included over 1675 cheeses entered. This event is considered by most in the trade to be one of the most prestigious competitions. It has been quoted as the “Academy Awards” of the cheese business. Canada placed very well this year.  However it was Mariposa Dairy who surprised the crowd for their achievements with the following awards. Best In Show(the category for the Top Prize)

• Second place tied for “Best in Show” cheese  “Lindsay Bandaged Goat Cheddar”

Cheddar Wrapped in Cloth, linen, aged over 12 months

• First place for “Lindsay Bandaged Goat Cheddar”

Fresh Goat Milk Cheese Flavour Added (Pepper/Spice)

• Celebrity International Chevre Pesto.

Fresh Goat’s Milk Cheese

• Celebrity International Goat Cheese Original

Mariposa Dairy is  a local success story out of Lindsay, Ontario. The cheese plant is owned by Bruce & Sharon VandenBerg who started the dairy in 1989. Their product is distributed across North America through Finica Food Specialties out of Mississauga, Ontario and the United States distribution is handled by the ATALANTA Corporation. Their fresh goat cheeses are sold under the “Celebrity International” brand.   Mariposa Dairy was recognized in 2006 for a “Premiers Award” being an Ontario agricultural success story.  They continue to show that they can compete with the best in North America. They have won two other first awards for their “Celebrity International” Cranberry & Cinnamon Goat cheese in 2009 and 2010 in the United States, plus numerous other ribbons for different cheeses.

July 20, 2011 - KAWARTHA LAKES -- As dozens of farmers and vendors watch the weather for prime growing conditions, local foodies are set to enjoy the plentiful bounty of Kawartha Lakes. Throughout the summer, local farmers will once again offer a wide selection of farm fresh vegetables, fruits, beef and lamb, sweet corn, flowers and shrubs, while local producers showcase their fresh baked goods, honey, homemade preserves, soaps and lotions, and handmade crafts. New for 2011, Kawartha Lakes shoppers will have an additional option when looking for local farm produce at weekly markets. Fenelon Falls Farmers’ Market provides the residents of the Fenelon Falls area with a market experience on Friday afternoons in the downtown area. Developed by a number of dedicated individuals and local businesses, their main objective is to bring local food to local consumers.  Friday afternoons, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. will be the time for locals and seasonal visitors alike to congregate at the market to get their weekly ‘fix’ of locally grown and produce foods.  The wide selection of local food, produce, baking and a variety of handmade crafts can be found at the Farmers’ Market located in the parking lot of Bert’s Appliance at 54 Colborne St., Fenelon Falls.  The Fenelon Falls Farmers’ Market is also looking for more vendors to help expand on their current selection of local produce, food and crafts.  For more information, please contact Jan at gjkent@hotmail.com Farmers' Markets across Kawartha Lakes KAWARTHA LAKES - There are at least four farmers' markets across Kawartha Lakes in 2011 and all are members of Kawartha Choice FarmFresh. More information and other places to find local farm produce can be found in the 2011 Kawartha Choice FarmFresh Map and Guide available by calling 1-866-397-6673 as well as at www.kawarthachoice.com. Bobcaygeon Farmers' Market, Bobcaygeon Fairgrounds, 47 Mansfield St., just south of King St., Bobcaygeon  www.bobcaygeonfarmersmarket.com

• Sat 8 -1, June 12th - Oct 8th

Fenelon Falls Farmers’ Market, Bert’s Appliances Parking Lot, 54 Colborne St

• Friday 2pm – 7pm, June 17th – Oct 7th.  For more information, please email gjkent@hotmail.com

Kinmount Farmers' Market, Austin Sawmill Heritage Park downtown, Kinmount www.kinmount.ca

• Sat 9 – 2, May 22nd - Oct 8th

Lindsay Farmers' Market, Victoria Ave. between Kent St. & Peel St., Lindsay 705-878-1392 www.lindsayfarmersmarket.ca

• Sat 7 -1, May 1st - Oct 31st

June 27, 2011 - Strawberry season has arrived. Fresh strawberries are available from several of our local farms as well as at Farmers’ Markets located across Kawartha Lakes and the Greater Peterborough Area.