It was an amazing celebration on November 29 of The Accidental Chef book at Cafe Belong at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto! I loved every moment, well not the clean up so much afterwards, but whether you host a small or large party it’s the dishes and clean up afterwards that is not as much fun isn’t it?

I am touched by the friendship of Chef Brad Long.  When I first met him I was pleasantly surprised by how much we were like than different. He is a warm, principled and loving person who believes deeply about supporting local and voting with our forks, and endeavours to live his life and business that way. I am inspired by how much he has achieved, all his accolades, and what he takes care on a daily basis at Cafe Belong with his fantastic crew and at home with his wife Sheryl, who also works in the kitchen at the cafe, and five children. But most of all I appreciate how humble and down-to-earth he is.

Because of all this, I thought for a long time that Café Belong at Evergreen Brick Works would be the perfect locale and fit to launch my new book. I was right!

Sometimes you find kindred spirits in the places you imagine and never imagined, and that’s’ what I love about life and creating things from the heart.

Speaking of love, there is my dear friend Barb who is also my coach, mentor and life preserver when things are going rough for me and I can’t seem to remember how to breath, how to see the destination and shoreline. She is solid, she is beautiful, she is the most wonderful person I am fortunate to call a friend. She gets me, accolades, faults and all, just as I am and I love her dearly. And again she was there to help me launch our book in Toronto style.

Since this is a love letter of sorts, I must also thank Caecilia who helped with the production of the book, took photographs at the launch event, and continues to nourish me with her positive, kind and talented spirit.

Then there is the Ginny who is a hardworking cook from the ZenKitchen days who helped me enormously with the prep,  in particular the desserts, which is her specialty. There is a lot of work when you are making 12-14 different hors d’oeuvres for some 75 people over three hours, just saying. We worked in Ottawa and Toronto, we worked for days, and I can’t thank her enough for her support, talents and patience with me and the process.

Last but not least, there is the people that came from near and far. Farthest was my good friend Mike from Bangkok who came with his mom from the Soo!

There have been numerous people in and out of Toronto who helped me and cheered for me as I sent out the book into the world. Those who helped me produce the book, those who supported the crowd funding campaign, those who sheltered and nourished me while producing and launching the book, those who came into the kitchen to help me create food for the launches, and those who came to be nourished and inspired by my bites and words. I am deeply grateful.

We can do almost everything if we have people by our side, it’s the connections and community that matter in the end. Add good food and this is a recipe for success to me.

The book launch in Toronto was another demonstration of the power of love. That’s why it’s I call the book a labour of love from start to finish. Thank you brilliant friends for shining your light on me and my book. Love you, Caroline xoxoxox