15th Annual Kitchener Christkindl Market

There’s something special in the air when the Christkindl Market comes to town. For four days at the beginning of December, Kitchener City Hall is transformed into an authentic German Christmas Market, attracting over 40,000 visitors. The scents of cinnamon and grilled sausages, the sights of glittering lights, handcrafted gifts, and baked specialties combine with the sounds of Christmas carols and brass bands to create a magical time for families and friends.

So what is a German Christmas Market? Originally, around 1310 in Munich, it was a meeting place in front of a church where people came together to buy produce and wares from farmers. Traditionally held at the beginning of Advent, the Christkindl (Christ Child) was welcomed by the townspeople. Over the centuries the popularity of Christmas Markets has grown all over the world.

Kitchener’s Christkindl Market was founded the same year I moved here with my family 15 years ago from Germany. I was overjoyed as it brought back fond memories of the Christmas Markets we visited in Heilbronn and Brackenheim. Kitchener’s Christkindl Market gives people a chance to experience another culture without having to go through jet lag! A few years ago a good friend of mine from Montreal came to visit while the Christkindl Market was on. Within about an hour of meeting her at the airport in Toronto, we were at Kitchener City Hall under the huge Christmas tree eating Bratwurst (sausage) with sauerkraut on a bun and sipping hot Glühwein (mulled wine). She really felt as though she had landed in Germany!

At the heart of the Kitchener Christkindl Market is a dedicated group of volunteers led by Astrid Braun, an excellent role model for every event planner. Her calm voice, quick thinking, and ability to roll with whatever comes her way have helped the Christkindl Market to become one of the best community events ever! With 40,000 visitors and several hundred volunteers including organizers, entertainers, and helpers in various areas of the event, as well as many supportive sponsors, the details and logistics are endless.

A Few of my Favourite Christkindl Moments:

• Singing with the Grand Philharmonic at the Clock Tower in Victoria Park before the Candlelight Procession and Opening Ceremonies at City Hall.

• Seeing Tony Bergmeier receive thanks and recognition from Mayor Carl Zehr in front of a huge audience on opening night for having the vision and tenacity to follow through with his dream to create the Kitchener Christkindl Market 15 years ago.
• Meeting so many friends and acquaintances I may see only once a year, all brought together by this wonderful community event.
• Eating German sausage on a bun with sauerkraut, German potato pancakes, apple fritters and drinking Glühwein!
• Hearing the German Language School Concordia Choir, directed by Angelika Werner, who has been bringing her German School choir to the Market for 14 years!

 

• Seeing children, their parents and grandparents smiling and enjoying performances by the Transylvania Hofbrau Band, the KW Shuhplattlers and Folk dancers, and the Schwaben Jugend Gruppen.
• Learning about the centuries-old traditions of blacksmithing, and delicate woodworking.

• Above all, taking time out from a busy life to spend an hour or two in a gentle and peaceful place to celebrate the season and appreciate the simple things that bring family and friends together.

Photo Source: Kitchener Christkindl Market

What's Brewing at the Hacienda Sarria?

Coffee in the Hacienda Roasting Company Cafe!

Fantastico! Every time I visit Kitchener-Waterloo's best-kept secret, I am overwhelmed by the creativity that just keeps happening! Last week I attended an Open House at the Hacienda Sarria,   http://www.haciendasarria.com/ ,  a Spanish-style castle  tucked away in an out-of-the-way industrial corner of Kitchener, where Union Street meets the expressway. Some very lucky brides and grooms, their families and friends, and other fortunate groups in our community are already aware of this exquisite venue for weddings, concerts, corporate events, and photo shoots. And though I have been there a few times now, I am always awestruck when I return!

Brand new is the "ballroom" with intricately-patterned hardwood floors and a high exposed beam ceiling in what was just a dusty old factory storage barn on my last visit. The focal points of the room are the imposing fireplace on one side and the rustic arched Spanish doors lining the opposite wall.

Also new is the Hacienda Roasting Company Cafe, open to the public Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Great for a visit and a chance to see the Hacienda, and available to rent for private gatherings, corporate or social. Beautifully designed with warm hues and Spanish tiles, a long solid- wood bar, vintage style brass and copper coffee machines, and the enticing aroma of fresh-brewed coffee.

At the other end of the dance hall/banquet room is a brand new commercial grade kitchen. Appliances were being installed as we toured, in preparation for the many future events which can now be catered in-house by the Hacienda's exclusive list of professional caterers.

Photo: Taylor Jackson

Our gracious host, Nadine Day, guided us through the Moorish style courtyard to the "house" part of the Hacienda, where renovations were underway in the existing kitchen to convert it to a bar area. We climbed the stairway, itself a work of art, with its undulating,  smooth white plaster walls. Once upstairs , we stepped through a large doorway from the master bedroom onto a "romantico" balcony to view the classic Mediterranean courtyard gardens and pathways below. After touring the other magnificent bedrooms and looking down onto the interior courtyard from the second floor balcony, we descended the stairway to the magnificent foyer. While wandering in the gardens, we saw an innovative use of transport containers repurposed as luxury restrooms for guests at outdoor events on the Hacienda grounds. And the rooftops are green!  What ingenuity!

On the other side of the Hacienda, we came to the inspiration for this ambitious project, the  "Camino de Santiago" trail, artistically recreated on the terrace, circling the reflecting pool. As I slowly stepped along the path, reading the names of each town and village, I was once again struck by the way the Hacienda has captured the wonder of Spain. The detail, care, thought and master workmanship by the artisans and owners of the Hacienda are truly inspiring.

And in just a short drive, I can get my fix of Spain!

Update: Iron Chef Finale

Chefs from Langdon Hall and Bijou of Stratford will compete Wednesday, June 1st in the Waterloo Iron Chef Finale! $5 at the door, advance tickets are sold out. At Nick and Nat's 21 King Street North, Waterloo. Start time is 9:30 p.m. Proceeds to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region! Good luck to all competitors!

Waterloo Iron Chef Competition Creates more than Great Food!

What could be more inspiring than food? And good healthy local food prepared by local chefs to raise funds for the local food bank?

Hats off to Nick and Nat for setting the stage to let us learn more about Foodlink Waterloo Region and the abundance of great locally grown food. And for giving local novice and experienced chefs the chance to show us what they're made of!

Last Wednesday I saw chefs from Langdon Hall and Woodstock's Six Thirty-Nine in action at Nick and Nat’s Uptown 21 in Uptown Waterloo. Only 15 minutes for menu and recipe planning, and then speedy preparation and cooking based on the local secret ingredient of the night, added up to an entertaining evening. And the secret ingredient? Goat! From local goat farmers. Now, think about it - how would you incorporate goat into dessert? Somehow the chefs pulled it off!  And all artistically presented! Four courses were prepared by each team under extreme pressure and heat in a narrow and chaotic kitchen space they had never seen before let alone cooked in!

The judging panel was highly complimentary, even though one judge claimed she did not ever eat goat! And the goat farmers who supplied the goat were impressed with the originality of the recipes, giving the chefs many thumbs up! 

Supporters sporting cowboy hats showed their pleasure and pride with loud cheers and applause over the adrenaline-pumping music, which created an atmosphere of complete pandemonium.

All in all it was a superb evening, with close to $2000 raised to date for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.

The series has been running since April 13th. The week before last I had the pleasure of seeing students from Conestoga College (where I taught Event Marketing), compete against the Stratford Chef School. There was a lot of cheering from supporters in the standing room only crowd, and I saw a few profs from the Hospitality department at Conestoga College who had come out in support of their students. I was proud to see the students give it their all! The secret ingredient: apples form Martins Apple Farm. 

The Iron Chef events have been incredibly inspiring and entertaining. They show how a community working together can make a big difference. Also impressive were the students from Eastwood Collegiate Institute who provided technical and filming services for closed-circuit viewing of the kitchen activities. The Iron Chef events are being livestreamed on Ustream. Search Uptown Waterloo Iron Chef.
And it's not over yet!  Be there tonight, May 25th for a culinary competition between Bhimas Warung of Waterloo and Chef Shawn Hartwell of Simple Fish & Chips, Stratford.

And don't miss the finale on June 1st!

 http://www.uptown21.ca/PDA/index.html