Winter 2017 Newsletter
Only two chocolates left on the advent calendar! Christmas is almost here! I think this will be the last year for Santa Claus in our house. The girls are finding it all far-fetched. They're still reeling from learning the truth about the tooth fairy so we're trying to keep the magic alive for a little while longer. Personally, I will be glad to retire that darned Elf on the Shelf.
My apologies for falling behind with our newsletters. This first year at the helm has been incredibly busy as we try to juggle work, family and travel. Thank you for your patience. As we come to the close of our centennial year, I'd like to finish the story of Pasquale Brothers.
After completing her BA in geography at the University of Toronto in 1972, my mother, Anna Marie Kalcevich (née Madott) decided to join her father, Henry at the store. My father, John Kalcevich, came on board a year later. My grandfather moved to part-time hours, leaving work everyday at 2pm to visit with his grandchildren. My mom soon became the third generation of the Pasquale family to run the business.
As Canadians began to travel more, my parents attended international trade shows to keep up with global trends. As the business expanded, they moved to 217 King Street East in 1981, the red brick building that so many of you remember. It's the current home to the George Brown College Chef's House. My siblings and I spent every Saturday working in that building, along with many of our friends and neighbours. Here are a few pictures of the old store. Left is a tiny Richard Kalcevich standing by shelves with oil and tomatoes. Middle is a family picture taken at the five year anniversary at 217 King. Right is outside the red brick store front with the hand-painted signs in the windows.
A few years ago, my mother was ready for more time to spend with her grandchildren and leisure activities. My wonderful husband, Tony Burt, deserves special recognition for supporting my desire to take over the family business. It takes a brave man to sign on to work with both his wife and mother-in-law. I'm pleased to report we are all still on speaking terms and my mom is able to enjoy some much deserved time away from work. Here she is taking her grand-girls out to a Christmas play.
It is an honour to be fourth generation of the family to run Pasquale Brothers. Thank you for your support.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
June Newsletter
A great perk of having your own business is choosing the organizations that we can support. This summer we are sponsoring two community soccer teams. Here are our daughters after opening night. Our apologies to the coaches and parents who were confused about the two Pasquale Brothers teams in the same division. One of the hazards of having twins…
We were excited to be part of Cuisine and Cuvee again this year as over 1,100 guests helped to raise $250,000 in support of Providence Healthcare. We sampled: buttery St. Andre, a triple cream from France, tangy Roquefort, a crumbly blue cheese also from France, piquant Manchego, aged 12 months from Spain and velvety Blyth’s Eweda from Ontario’s own Blyth Farm Cheese.
Guests liked being able to pair the cheese with a variety of fruit accompaniments that we had set out: quince paste from Spain, mulberry jam from Sicily, and orange and plum mostardas from Lombardy, Italy.
Upcoming Event: World Tapas Day
We will be back at George Brown College for World Tapas Day Culinary Market on Thursday, June 15th from 6:30-8:30pm. https://www.universe.com/events/world-tapas-day-culinary-market-tickets-RYWQK8
Can Bech’s Just for Cheese
We have just received in a new shipment of a favourite product, Can Bech’s Just for Cheese line. Can Bech is a family run company from Catalonia, Spain. They have a created a line of fruit spreads that they are a cross between a jam and sauce. Their five flavours, Golden Apple, Raspberry, Black Fig, Peach/Apricot and Black Grape, all pair beautifully with cheese.
Strawberries were in season while I was in Spain in late April meeting with the folks from Can Bech. I love that unmistakable smell of ripe strawberries and the switch from cool weather stews to bright spring salads – a harbinger of the warm months ahead. Here are some ideas for a spring salad that incorporates so many of my favourite tastes and textures.
Spring Salad with Strawberries, Marcona Almonds and Aged Chevre
Whisk up a simple vinaigrette with extra virgin olive oil, preferably a light and fruity one, like a Ligurian oil, champagne vinegar and wildflower honey.
Make your salad with ripe, sliced strawberries, baby spinach leaves and buttery marcona almonds.
Toss the salad with dressing and then use a vegetable slicer to add ribbons of an aged goat cheese, like Chevre Noir. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!
May Newsletter
Greetings from Spain!
It has been a busy week here at the Salon De Gourmets food show in Madrid. I have had the wonderful opportunity to reconnect with many of our Spanish suppliers and meet an interesting group of international buyers. I was delighted to learn that Rosalie Hassan from Bottega Rotolo was part of the group. While it was my first time meeting Rosalie, I know her shop in Adelaide, Australia as it is just a few minutes from where my husband Tony grew up. Rosalie and I run similar businesses on opposite sides of the world and are both importers of the wonderful O-MED oils and vinegars from Spain. A small world indeed!
This month I would like to send birthday wishes to my grandmother, the Pasquale Matriarch, Georgina Madott as her 91st birthday is fast approaching on May 17th. Last week my Aunt Bertha took this photo of my grandmother texting on her iPhone using a stylus.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!
There was an article in the Toronto Star this past week about the diverse population of the former St. John's Ward neighbourhood in Toronto. A brief write up about my great-grandparents, Edward and Donna Pasquale, is included. You can read it here:
In preparation for my trip, I made myself a fast and easy Spain-inspired snack with asparagus and Serrano Ham. Was this snack ever appropriate as there were "Jamon" hoofs to be found in every aisle at the fair. In this photo you can see Jamon being carved in the traditional way.
Asparagus with Serrano Ham
Ingredients:
bunch of asparagus
12 slices of Serrano Ham
extra virgin olive oil
salt flakes
Warm barbeque to medium heat. Steam the asparagus for about 2 minutes until they turn bright green.
Wrap the ham slices around the steamed asparagus and gently place them on the barbeque. They only need a few minutes, even put them on top rack so you don't need to worry about them burning.
Stack the wrapped asparagus on your serving plate, drizzle with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil. Opt for a spicier oil, like a Picual. Sprinkle with a few sea salt flakes. Enjoy!
UPCOMING EVENTS
PASQUALE BROS. OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, May 13th 10am-3pm
Please join us as we continue to celebrate 100 years with retail shopping and food sampling in our warehouse. Paul Van Dorp from Blyth Farm will be with us to sample his hand-crafted and award winning cheese.
THE WARD: Our Living History
Saturday, May 20th 1-3pm, City Hall
The Toronto Ward Museum and Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam are organizing an event honouring Toronto's immigration stories. Check the Ward Museum website for more information: www.wardmuseum.ca
CUISINE & CUVÉE
Friday, May 26th 6:30pm-12am, Rebel
We will be a food station donor at this fundraiser in support of Providence Healthcare. For more information: www.providence.on.ca/foundation/events/cuisine-cuvee
April Newsletter
This week we were at the Viva Italia culinary market at George Brown College, in partnership with the Italian Trade Commission. We showcased a few of our unique Italian imports including our quince, orange and green tomato mostardas from Mantova.
I will be travelling to food shows in Spain and Italy in the coming weeks to meet up with many of our suppliers and make some new connections. Please write or call us with any products you would like sourced at: Salón de Gourmets and TUTTOFOOD (And please send Tony calm thoughts as he is left to fend for himself with our 8 year old girls while I'm away.)
Now moving along to the next generation in the Pasquale Brothers story… Henry Madott was born in 1917 and started working at the store as a truck driver in 1936. My grandmother describes him as a "man's man" but adds that the women were crazy about him too. They married in 1947 at the Royal York Hotel. They worked side by side for many years. Henry became the heart and soul of the store on King Street and set up the first cheese counter in the 1960s. In the words of my grandmother: "It was a busy Saturday before Easter and he served customers until 3 p.m. He went to the 5 p.m. Mass, ate dinner, watched the hockey game and was gone as soon as the game ended! (April 1, 1979) Henry had a short life but covered a lot of ground and leaves behind many memories." Below, from the left: on his wedding day with my grandmother Georgina (1947), with my aunt Bertha and mother Anna Marie (1952) and with me (1978).
Taleggio
I travelled to the Lombardy region of Italy last October. I was part of an international group of buyers that were paired up with regional producers looking to expand into international markets. There I was able to sample locally made Taleggio, a soft cow's milk cheese named after the Val Taleggio in Bergamo. Taleggio carries the DOP denomination (Denominazion di Origine Protetta) which translates to Protected Designation of Origin. This denomination dictates the area in which a product can be made and the method of production. Taleggio is great for eating on its own however I like it best when melted over pizza or scrambled eggs.
Scrambled Eggs with Taleggio and Truffle Oil
Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
5 eggs
1/4 c whole milk
100 g Taleggio DOP, broken into small pieces
sea salt, pepper to taste
small drizzle of truffle oil (either white or black)
Melt butter over low/medium heat in a heavy bottomed pan. Crack eggs into a bowl, season with salt and pepper and whisk with milk. Pour eggs into the pan and move around gently until they are mostly set and still a little runny. Remove from heat. Break Taleggio into little pieces and scatter over eggs. Stir in gently. Drizzle with truffle oil and additional salt and pepper. Enjoy!
Spring Open House
Saturday April 8th 10am - 3pm
Please join us to celebrate 100 years of good food with food sampling in our warehouse.
March Newsletter
Thank you to all who visited us at the Restaurants Canada Show last week. We loved getting to meet with so many of you in person rather than our usual conservations over the phone or email. Thank you!
And continuing with the Pasquale’s Brothers story… My great-grandmother was Edward Pasquale’s first employee in 1917. Donna was born in 1902, in the Abruzzo region of Italy, on St. Patrick’s Day. She came to Canada when she was four. She always wore a four-leaf clover around her neck, so it seems appropriate to write about her in the March newsletter of our centennial year.
Donna worked in the store and kept the books. During the Second World War she helped with filling orders for the training camps, like Camp Borden and Royal Canadian Air Force Trenton.
Here she is at age 20 in 1922, holding my great-uncle Ted at his Christening. Below on the left, we have Nonie (as we referred to her) holding her three of her great-grandchildren in 1979. On the right, at age 80, she went on a trip to Jerusalem and was first in line to ride a camel.
One of my fondest memories of Nonie was when we visited her to say goodbye before leaving the next day for a family vacation to Prince Edward Island. She thought the trip sounded like fun and wanted to come along. So she did. In her mid-eighties, she spent weeks in the car driving from Toronto to PEI and back with her grand-daughter and four great-grandchildren.
Carnaroli Rice from Principato Di Lucedio
A favourite supplier of ours has similar pluck. Countess Rosetta Clara oversees the rice production at Principato Di Lucedio and attends trade shows across Europe.
The Abbey of Lucedio, located along the Via Francigena, was founded in 1123 by the Cistercian Monks. They started growing rice on the property in the 15th century. Several noble Italian families fought for the possession of Lucedio until it was annexed to the properties of Napoleon in the 19th century. The Abbey eventually became the property of the Marquis Giovanni Gozani di San Giorgio, the ancestor of the present owner, Countess Rosetta Clara Cavalli d’Olivola Salvadori di Wiesenhoff. Her rice makes an exquisite risotto.
Ingredients:
1 ¾ c Principato di Lucedio Carnaroli rice
2 zucchini, sliced in rounds
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ c dry white wine
1+1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch salt
5 cups stock, preferably homemade
1 tbsp butter
2+2 tbsp grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Heat broth and set aside. In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat oil over low-medium heat. Saute zucchini for a few minutes and remove to a dish. Add another tbsp of olive oil, onion and salt. Sauté until translucent. Add a spoonful of broth and then add the rice. Stir gently for a few minutes. Add the wine. Once the wine is evaporated, keep adding broth to cover the rice and stirring gently every minute or so. The risotto should be soft and creamy, the rice should remain al dente. Add back the zucchini. When fully cooked, stir in the butter and 2 tbsp cheese. Serve with additional grated cheese.
February Newsletter
We have enjoyed hearing about your experiences over the past decades with our store. Please keep sharing them with us.
As we celebrate our 100th year, we will continue with the story of Pasquale Brothers in our newsletters. My great-grandparents, Edward and Donna Pasquale, had 5 children with 3 of them surviving into adulthood. The children helped out at their parents store. My grandmother, Georgina Madott, recalls her father bringing home count sheets and doling them out to his children so they could calculate the store's inventory. Pictured here are Edward and his children, in the 1930's.
Digging through the archives, we found a price list from 1938. The location at this time was 111 King Street East. (Next to the Toronto Sculpture Garden, just east of Church Street.) While we still stock many of the items on the list: beans, peas, rice, lentils and anchovies, we are not able to match the pricing.
We have been spending our Sunday mornings skating at our neighbourhood skate path with family. The cousins love getting time together. Meanwhile the adults plan out our apres-skate meals. One of our favourite meals has been raclette.
RACLETTE
400g Raclette
Boiled baby potatoes
Charcuterie meats
Gherkins
Pickled onions
Raclette is shockingly easy and fast to make if you have a raclette grill and have prepped in advance. Melt slices of raclette on the grill then pour the melted cheese over the individual plates. It only takes a few minutes.
Some of the kids found the taste of the raclette cheese to be too strong, so we also melted some Canadian cheddar in the individual trays. Happy eating!
January Newsletter
We would like to start our 100th year by expressing our sincerest gratitude to all of you: our customers, our suppliers, our colleagues past and present, our family and our friends. We could not have made it to 100 years without you. THANK YOU!
A special thank you to Nicholas Keung, from the Toronto Star, for the wonderful article he wrote about Pasquale Brothers in December. You can read it here:
Edward Pasquale (photo taken of in 1917)
It seems appropriate to start our 100th year with a note about the founder of Pasquale Brothers, my great-grandfather, Edward C. Pasquale. He was born in Abruzzo, Italy in 1897. He was an illiterate shepherd in the mountains who had never worn shoes, until he came to Canada, at age 14, with his two older brothers. His first job in Canada was rolling cigars in a cigar factory, where he met his wife, my great-grandmother, Donna.
Edward, and his older brother Panfilo, started Pasquale Brothers in 1917 with the intention of supplying fellow Italian immigrants with familiar foods.
While the brothers had little formal education, Donna had attended school in Toronto until she was 13 and took care of the book-keeping. Panfilo headed back to Italy after a few years, leaving Donna and Edward on their own to the run the business. Donna worked in the store while Edward was out calling on customers. Deliveries were made by streetcar until they could afford a car. Donna and Edward founded the Unico brand and began to manufacture their own products.
The history of Pasquale Brothers will continue to be told in our newsletters this year. We would love to hear your memories about Pasquale Brothers. You can share them with us on our Facebook page, or by emailing us at: goodfood@pasqualebros.com
Lentils for Goodluck
Italians have traditionally eaten lentils for New Year's Day with the hopes that this would bring them good luck in the year ahead. Lentils, with their resemblance to Roman coins, were believed to represent luck and prosperity. Superstition aside, warm lentils are one of my favourite comfort foods and can be made from ingredients found in your pantry.
Warm Lentils
300g Italian lentils (or other small lentils)
3 cups stock
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
2+2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
Rinse lentils, then add them to a pot with your stock, and the crushed garlic and bay leaves. (I always have frozen homemade stock on hand, but water can easily be substituted.) Cover and cook on low heat, for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté the onions, carrots and celery until softened. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove the garlic and bay leaves from your lentils, and drain any excess liquid. Add lentils and 1 tbsp butter to the softened vegetables, and mix together.
In a bowl, make a vinaigrette by whisking 2 tbsp olive oil with the mustard and the vinegar of your choice. (Balsamic, sherry and red wine vinegar all work well.) Off the heat, add the vinaigrette to the lentil mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy with a warm baguette.
With wishes for your health and happiness in the year ahead!
To download or print a copy of this newsletter CLICK HERE
December newsletter
I need to start with a recap of the fantastic night we had at our warehouse this past Saturday. We hosted a "Dishing Up Toronto" event for the Toronto Ward Museum. On the eve of our 100th anniversary, over 100 people joined us for food and drinks, while my mom and grandmother told stories about the history of Pasquale Brothers. We had four generations of our family in attendance. A truly magical evening! Thanks to the many organizers, sponsors, volunteers, family members and guests who came out to celebrate with us.
HOLIDAY FAVOURITES:
Confetti, Panettone, Panforte & Turron
It's not a coincidence that many of our holiday favourites come from longstanding family companies. Our Italian Confetti come from Pellino, the oldest candy factory in Sulmona, Italy, started in 1783. The sugar coated, almond candies are still made by hand, over 4 days, using the same 300 year old recipe.
Our Bonci Panbriacone are made by the third generation of the Bonci family at the Pasticceria Bonci in Montevarchi, a Tuscan town in Italy. Panbriacone roughly translates to drunken bread. It is a panettone that has been soaked in alcohol - a wickedly delicious cake.
Our Panforte come from Masoni, a bakery that was started in 1885 and is run by descendants of the original family. Panforte are a Christmas treat made in Siena, Italy. The traditional variety is made with almonds and honey.
We import Spanish Turron and chocolates from Manuel Segura, one of the oldest bakeries in Spain. When it was started in 1874, Manuel Segura would make his sweets on the second floor of his shop, while his wife would sell them downstairs on the ground floor. In the afternoon, he would sell his sweets in nearby villages, with the help of a donkey. The company is now run by the sixth generation of the original family: all pastry chefs, and all named Manuel Segura.
BASKETS, BASKETS & MORE BASKETS
We are literally knee deep in baskets this week. With our Ward Museum event behind us, we've quickly filled our warehouse with pre-ordered gift baskets. We have a selection of ready-made baskets in the store or if you call ahead, we're happy to make a basket or gift bag to suit your taste.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Please join us for our open houses in our warehouse on the next two Saturdays in December (10th & 17th) from 10 am to 4pm. We will be sampling a variety of products, including some of our holiday specialties.
Happy Holidays, from our family to yours!
