Getting Ready for the Holidays at La Natura Fine Foods - now available at Country Cheese Company!

While I can certainly do without the cold, I love this time of year.

It reminds of a lifetime of sharing good food, drink, and ideas.
It's the time when we all take a step back from our daily madness and reflect.

Those of you who know me, know that I love to share food, and I have been so lucky in this life that other love to share our food, as well.

All of our retailers are are passionate about La Natura Fine Foods - and it comes from the love that we put into it.

This week I received a call from the the finest purveyor of cheeses in Durham region - Tammy Miller of the Country Cheese Company. She and her team tasted our food at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival in Prince Edward County this past June and wanted it in her shop; well they got it this weekend.

I went to drop their first delivery yesterday … and I could barely get the boxes open before we sold a half-case of product; literally.

As soon as I was able to actually get into the shop, I was floored by their selection of cheeses.
My all time favourite, Zamorano, was prominently displayed.

As much as I enjoy dropping off deliveries to my customers … especially new ones, I also love purchasing quality food from them. And did I ever dig into their selection.

They have some seriously aged Goudas that look like Beemster, but since everyone else sells Beemster these days, Tammy brought in Goudas that are a notch above.

I picked up some Goat Feta from Crosswind Farm … Cindy Hope is a great cheese maker and La Natura friend and customer.

As well as some Mahon (from Menorca) and some local Sheep Gouda made by Gunn's Hill's own Shep Ysselstein.

And since I am going to visit a good friend tonight, I picked up some Evelyn's Crackers - another local food colleague that I met at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival in 2012. Ed's a great guy!

Country Cheese Company reminded me of another great local cheese shop, Nancy's Cheese, which is very close to my home. Nancy sells a very exclusive selection of cheese as well as other fine grocery items such as La Natura Fine Foods.

Walking into Country Cheese in Ajax reminded me of why I do what I do.

Make really good food for people to enjoy during the best of times.

We will be out sampling a a couple of more times before Christmas … maybe more, but right now we will be at McEwan Foods (The Shops of Don Mills - at Lawrence Ave. E.) on December 8 and 21 from noon until 5 p.m. both days.

All of our food is Vegan, Nut Free, and Gluten Free. 

The team at La Natura Fine Foods wishes all of you a very, very happy Christmas … Chanukah … and whatever else you love to celebrate … especially New Year!

You can find us at:
Our website - www.lanaturafinefoods.com
Facebook/lanaturafoods
Twitter/lanaturafoods
Blogger - blog.lanaturafinefoods.com

We send you off with a photo of the lovely team at Country Cheese Company, from left: Michelle, Tammy, and Alex.



The La Natura Fine Foods Team!

La Natura Fine Foods & Nossa Cucina Get Ready To Hit The Great Canadian Cheese Festival This Weekend!

Lovers of good food,

I am very happy to announce that I will be heading out to Prince Edward County this weekend with my good friends from Nossa Cucina to take part in The Great Canadian Cheese Festival.

Mike, Enzo, and I will be side by side at the Festival ... serving up delicious food ... sharing our passion and love for what is most important to us; quality, flavour, and and undying quest to make food better.

We will be very lucky to have two lovely ladies helping us; Carol Papa and Sarah Margolius!

We will be in Picton, at the Festival on June 1 and 2 between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. (both days).

Prince Edward County is a hot-bed for food and drink. I even heard that Fifth Town Cheese will be re-opening their doors just in advance of the Festival.

If you would love to have an awesome weekend away from the city, I encourage you to head out to Picton and indulge in the goodness of the Great Canadian Cheese Festival!

After the Festival, we are definitely going to take a good, well-deserved break for the summer and enjoy the weather, the sun, and great food and wine.

To your enjoyment.

Vikas ... on behalf of the La Natura and Nossa Cucina Teams!

Upcoming Fun At The National Home Show!

Hello La Natura Fine Food Foodies!

I know it's very short notice, however, I will be taking part in The National Home Show & Canada Blooms Idea Stage this week on Thursday, March 21st @ 6 p.m.

My friend Kevin Durkee, owner of CHEESEWERKS, was kind enough to offer his foodie colleagues a chance to take to the Idea Stage and show the folks at the Home Show how they can use our products at home to make great meals!

Kevin will be hosting a lot of great events on the stage himself throughout the show.

So, make your way down to the show ... it's at the Direct Energy at The Ex.

I will be featuring our Salsa Verde, Nathan's Hot Mango Salsa, and Jen's Pesto ... so, you know it's going to be super-tasty stuff!

If you can make it, I would love to see you in the crowd!


Best,


Vikas

Spring is coming ... and a Cheese Festival in PEC!

Well, my La Natura Fine Foodies!

I haven't written since the Holidays, as we take a bit of a break to gather ourselves back up after Christmas, make more food and start planning for the Spring.

One of our favourite times of year, as our friends and family are getting ready for Easter and Passover; the perfect time of year to entertain with La Natura Fine Food Goodness!

We have a couple of Tastings scheduled for the end of March:

• March 23, 2013 - 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. @ Mabel's Bakery & Specialty Foods (location to be confirmed ... either 323 Roncesvalles or 1156 Queen Street West) 

• March 30, 2013 - 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. @ McEwan Foods (Shops of Don Mills @ Lawrence)

There will be more scheduled for April, May and June!

Other cool news ... our very own Manager, Sampling & Sales, Abby Sawh recently started helping our friend Joanna Sable of Bumpercrop with her sampling initiatives in the GTA. We are so proud of the Bumpercrop folks as their product is for sale at Whole Foods Market!

We have also been working with our good friends at Nossa Cucina  on an exciting adventure out to Prince Edward County to take part in the Great Canadian Cheese Festival on June 1 and 2.

Nossa Cucina makes a couple of great products ... a spice Piri Piri sauce and my absolute favourite La Bomba Antipasto Italiano, made by hand, like La Natura Fine Foods, by Mike and Enzo.

We are also looking forward to seeing some other friends at the Great Canadian Cheese Festival this year ... Krista from From These Roots, as well as Jose from Mad Mexican.

We had a lot of fun at the Cheese Festival last year, and Prince Edward County is a great place to get away to if you want to come out and have a fun weekend away from the city.

We look forward to seeing you out and about, enjoying the Spring ... enjoying great food ... and sharing the happiness that great food brings.

And if you don't live in Toronto, or if you do, and just want to share the love with someone who isn't, you can order La Natura Fine Foods online at www.lanaturafinefoods.com ... we will ship it out for you, anywhere in Canada, in a jiffy!

Lots of love,


The La Natura Fine Foods Team

La Natura Fine Foods Makes A GREAT Holiday Gift

The team at La Natura Fine Foods is busy out in the field going to market and making the type of magic happen that can only happen during this special time of the year.

It's the time when people get together with Friends and Family ... when we take a moment ... while we are all rushing around this thing called Life.

Whether we share Good Time, Laughter, a cup of Good Cheer, Love, or some Delicious Food, it's a definitely a time for Sharing.

We love Sharing Good Food ... and we want you to do the same thing!

You can share the goodness of La Natura Fine Foods by ordering online at www.lanaturafinefoods.com and having your order shipped to anyone you wish in Canada.

Order by next Tuesday, December 18, and we will get it there for Christmas!

If you prefer to get out in the city, Abby and Natalie will be sampling La Natura Love at the following locations this month:

December 15 @ both Mabel's Bakery and Specialty Foods locations (323 Roncesvalles Ave. and 1156 Queen St. W) between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.

December 22 @ McEwan Foods (Shops of Don Mills @ Lawrence Ave. E) between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.

December 23 @ Culinarium  (705 Mt. Pleasant Road - south of Eglinton Ave. E) between 12 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

We look forward to helping you Share Good Food this Holiday, whether it be a thoughtful package that arrives by post to brighten someones day, or you feature our snacks as part of your Holiday Party, we know that we can be a Delicious part of your Holiday.

Sending lots of love from The La Natura Team for a Fabulous Holiday Season!




Abby, Natalie, Vicky, Sarah and Vikas

La Natura Fine Foods Unveils “Nathan’s Best Hot Mango Salsa” at the Toronto Gourmet Food and Wine Expo; Now Available at Summerhill Market

 LA NATURA FINE FOODS TEAMS UP WITH 8 YEAR OLD NORTH TORONTO GOURMAND TO RELEASE BEST NEW SPICY SALSA

Toronto Specialty Foods Purveyor Unveils “Nathan’s Best Hot Mango Salsa” at the Toronto Gourmet Food and Wine Expo; Now Available at Summerhill Market

For Immediate Release, November 14, 2012 –The world of gourmet food continues to evolve, as does Toronto’s tastes.  La Natura Fine Foods’ newest release, called Nathan’s Best Hot Mango Salsa after an 8 year-old North Toronto foodie collaborator, is a testament to flavor and an inter-generational passion for cooking.

“Food unites people, and that’s what La Natura Fine Foods is all about,” says Vikas Sharma, Proprietor and chief foodie. “It was great to have a passionate young kid in the kitchen, and the results are spectacular. This product is a natural addition to the La Natura family. It embodies sharing and having great food experiences.”

Nathan’s Hot Mango Salsa continues a company tradition of naming products after their original collaborators (Jen’s Pesto, Mama Rita’s Eggplant), and is named after the son of the company’s development manager. After watching Sharma experiment and test food ideas in his mom’s kitchen, the 8-year-old North Toronto gourmand tried his hand at making his own hot sauce. Impressed with the results, Sharma invited the youngster to collaborate and the “spicy” edition of La Natura’s best-selling Salsa Verde was born, albeit with a twist.  Habaneros and mango add a slightly sweet, lingering heat that is perfect on its own, with chips, avocado, rice, vegetables, chicken or fish.

La Natura Fine Foods is pleased to announce that products will now be available at Summerhill Market (446 Summerhill Avenue, Toronto). 

Vikas Sharma is available for interviews.  Visit the La Natura Fine Foods booth at the Toronto Gourmet Food and Wine Expo taking place November 15-18, 2012 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building, Downtown Toronto. Visit www.foodandwineexpo.com for hours and admission details.

La Natura Fine Foods was founded in 2007 and specializes in tasty, healthy, and easy food options that are perfect for entertaining and sharing with friends and family. Products are available at select gourmet retailers and are dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, vegetarian and are free of preservatives. They are handcrafted in Toronto.

For more information or to order online visit www.lanaturafinefoods.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

SARAH MARGOLIUS

Tel. 416-566-4189

smargolius@rogers.com

Facebook: /LaNaturaFoods Twitter: @LaNaturaFoods LinkedIn: /LaNaturaFineFoods

La Natura Fine Foods @ The Gourmet Food & Wine Expoi

La Natura Foodies,

I hope that you have been enjoying the autumn thus far.

The autumn is my favourite time of year because it reminds me of my favourite things in this life ... food and drink.

As many of you know, we will be celebrating this autumn season with you by taking part in the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo at The Toronto Convention Centre this week, staring with the VIP Event on Thursday evening (November 15) right up until Sunday (November 18).

We will be there to sample La Natura love ... including our newest kid on the block, Nathan's Hot Mango Salsa (see photo below), which got rave reviews this past weekend at Pusateri Fruit Market (Church and Wellesley) and Mabel's Bakery & Specialty Foods (Roncesvalles Village).

You will also have the opportunity to purchase La Natura goodness right there at the event.

Sales and Sampling Manager, Abby Sawh, as well as our new Business Development and Marketing Manager, Sarah Margolius, will be there with me to ensure our success by making us the stand-out food operation at the Expo.

How will we do it?

By offering you the very best ... through our first-hand knowledge and experience of our product; we make it by hand ... we know it.

Great food goes with great wine ... and we can chat about how to entertain this Holiday season by using  La Natura Fine Foods Salsas, Tapenades, and Antipasti to treat your friends and family to great snacks.

We are revolutionizing the world of Social Snack Food ... and we want to share it with you.

We hope to see you this weekend at the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo.


Vikas and the La Natura Fine Foods Team!