VIVA Tastings for the Holidays
Toronto's Newest Foodie Destination
Here’s a likely holiday scenario: you’ve got ten people coming over for dinner and drinks and you're time strapped and frazzled. Between shopping, prepping, slicing and dicing, you wonder, “just what the heck was I thinking?” when you sent out the holiday siren call of good food and drink to your family and friends. If it’s any small comfort, you’re not alone, which is why those who enjoy full-flavoured food prepared with an eye for the visually beautiful turn to Karen Viva-Haynes and her latest creation, VIVA Tastings, for a helping hand.
Cordon-Bleu trained Karen, left the corporate and art world (yes, the woman has successfully worn a few fedoras) to start her own catering company over five years ago in Toronto (voted as one of the best caterers in Toronto by a local magazine). The long hours spent toiling over a hot stove didn’t bother Karen who says, “There’s too much passion there” to make those facts mere inconveniences. She realized she was happiest putting together memorable dinner parties- the planning, prep work and lead up to the party were all a part of the fun. After this realization, a switch to catering seemed natural and seamless.
Today, Karen’s intensely flavoured “tastings”- small courses or bites of carefully prepared and presented gourmet goodies, are her signature calling card. As she says, her forte is tasting-menu dinner parties and cocktail parties where dishes give eaters an initial jolt of sensory satisfaction. From her refreshing (and addictive) VIVAcious Guacamole made with avocado, grapes, pear, pomegranate seeds, red onion and lime juice to her lovingly layered Terrines (the asparagus and roasted shiitake looked sublime), Karen’s food is in fact, edible art. Spiced pecans, Chai cashews with coconut, and mushrooms stuffed with sage and pesto are just some of Karen’s inventive, bursting with flavour offerings that are as good to eat as they are to admire.
VIVA Tastings is the latest addition to Karen’s already existing catering operation, cooking classes and corporate team-building initiatives. She calls it a “Foodie Destination,” a retail space where food lovers can gather to buy artisan prepared foods made with fresh, all natural ingredients (Karen uses organic and fair trade products whenever possible and only healthy oils in her cooking). Shoppers can also speak to local cheese makers or bakers whose products Karen sources for her store; learn a thing or two about what's on offer , and sample their way to food enlightenment. The shop also sells Karen’s prepared foods, so if you’re on the way home from work and want to place an order before heading to an empty fridge, one of the VIVA Tastings staff will package your order, and run it out to your car. How’s that for service with a smile? Oh yes, and her daughter Kali (of Kali’s Crepes fame) is helping mum out with the operations too- and making her tasty crepes for appreciative crowds who thought she’d left the crepe-making world forever.
Mapping out a Strategy
Smart dinner party hosts also know they can count on Karen to provide them with some of their evening’s delightful treats. She’ll sit with clients and help them map out a strategy that might include some of the host’s home-cooked specialties, augmented by Karen’s tastings for a well-rounded meal. Others prefer she cater the whole event, which she can gladly do as well.
I met Karen at her new sleek retail space on College Street recently where she shared some of her tried and true party hosting tips:
- Before you throw a dinner party, sit down and ask yourself what you like to eat, what your guests might like to eat and shop for ingredients before the big day so you’re not shopping and prepping all in one busy shot.
- You can help yourself out by preparing some things as early as 2 weeks before hand- such as sautéing onions or mushrooms ahead of time and freezing them until you need them for your recipes.
- If you’re hosting a cocktail party- that doesn’t mean people have to go hungry. Karen says about 12 pieces of food should feed your guests well, accompanied by a “grazing table” stocked with a fine selection of dips, crudités, tureens, breads and cheeses.
- Save some items to “refresh” the table within one hour or so of your guests arriving so that you don’t overcrowd the grazing table (the key is grazing not smorgasbord). That way, your lovely spread stays neat and avoids turning into a trough (we’ve all had some experience with this or at least I have).
- If you’re having a lot of people over (over 10 to give you a guideline), hiring a server to come in, help with drinks, appetizers, dinner service, and clean up is money well spent. It means you get to mingle with your guests a lot more and not spend the whole night working in the kitchen. For about $120 CDN, Karen suggests this outlay of cash enables you to get out and enjoy your own party and not be exhausted the next day. VIVA Tastings offers servers for hire should you choose to go that route.
Last but certainly not least, relax and enjoy- it’s your party after all.
LOCATION DETAILS:
409 College Street
Toronto, ON
M5T 1T1
416.506.0054
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