The Gourmet Food & Wine Expo is in Toronto for this weekend from November 16-19 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The Gourmet Food &Wine Expo is just as it's name states and has long list of exhibitors  - think IMATS, but with food and alcohol instead.

How does it work? Buy an admission ticket (price varies depending on date/package) along with sampling tickets to issue to vendors for food and drink samples ($20/20 tickets). I was fortunate enough to attend as media this year and only paid for my sampling tickets.

Note: Since alcohol is served at this event, only those over 19 with valid ID may enter.

I spent my evening at the expo with Madeline (Classically Contemporary) and Jenny (JennyBeaned), and I'm pretty sure we did our best in seeing everything the expo had to offer. I was being quite frugal with my tickets as I only purchased 20 and wanted to keep within that budget. I found most vendors charged between 1-7 tickets for their samples - wine and alcohol ranged from 1-3 tickets and food ranged from 1-7. I would definitely recommend going around first to see what each booth has to offer before diving in. 

Notable Exhibitors:

Acadian Sturgeon - sample sturgeon pate for 2 tickets and sturgeon caviar for 3 tickets

Dare2Dream Farm - sample their Maple Floss, Maple Vinegar and Honey Vinegar - these products were also available to purchase and were quite the unique find

Switzerland Cheese Marketing Inc - this was by far the most popular booth at the event and it revolved around raclette as a rosette with jam or melted on toast.

Ungava Spirits Co - sample their spirits for 1-2 tickets each and receive a metal camping mug (in the photo above) to keep. This was definitely a big hit with the crowd as there was a constant line up and many people asked where we got the mug.

Food & Drinks:

Kinka Family - offered torched sushi, ramen, and a pork belly bun (5 tickets each)

Oyster Boy - 2 tickets for a freshly shucked oyster (or 10 tickets for 6 oysters)

Mott's Clamato Caesar - receive a small cup of caesar for 1 ticket 

Tito's Handmade Vodka - Purchase a drink a receive a mason jar mug to keep

The Pie Guyz - 3 tickets for a mini beef, chicken or veggie pie, or 7 tickets for a full sized one

Freebies:

Barilla Pasta - sample of their gluten free pasta

Dimpflmeier Bakery - samples of their various breads and pretzels

OLG The Big $pin - free The Big Spin lotto ticket & spin for a prize

OLG Slots at Woodbine - spin for $ towards the Slots at Woodbine

Whole Foods - $5 coupon towards a purchase in-store

Virginia Tourism - enter for a chance to win a trip to Virginia

Overall, I enjoyed my time at the expo but it could become quite pricey if you come with an empty stomach. It was a great experience though and I would definitely recommend attending if you haven't done so before, or if you're a food and wine enthusiast.