RISE & SHINE TO GLOBAL TASTES – Wake Up to Worldly Flavours
No one would ever think to skip breakfast in the morning if it meant having an opportunity to jolt your senses awake with alluring aromas and tantalizing tastes. It’s time to ditch the buttered toast and think outside the cereal box. At McCormick, we always strive to innovate the culinary sphere to help everyone get excited for each and every mealtime. It means leaving the coffee and bagel routine behind and instead, diving head-first into a cornucopia of otherworldly tastes and textures.
Tinkering and inventiveness in the kitchen doesn’t begin with lunch and dinner rather it all starts with breakfast. RISE & SHINE TO GLOBAL TASTES is a popular trend where we can crack into anything from North African Shakshuka to Iranian Pache. The possibilities are endless. Enlightened from travels and tasty tales abroad, we offer hearty ancients grains to potent spices from the Middle East in restaurants. We take diners on a whirlwind-tastebud tour; and it’s not only to help kick-start their morning, but power them merrily through the day.
Say “good morning!” to these 5 restaurants who offer the best global breakfasts:
- iQ Food Co – Founder Alan Bekerman considers iQ Food Co as a lifestyle and aspirational brand. It’s a seasonal kitchen that offers sustainable food at its core. More than half of all the ingredients are sourced within < 100 km of Toronto – where all six locations call home. The menu is plant-forward and the item you’ll want to kick-start your morning is the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chia Pudding. It is a fancy and healthy version of everyone's guilty pleasure, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. The pudding features organic peanut butter, organic almond milk (unsweetened), chia, raw wildflower honey, organic cacao, vanilla and mountain salt. Not to mention it’s topped with fresh fruit, shaved coconut, and organic cacao nibs.
- Breakfast Table – Chef George Koay opened Breakfast Table in 2016 to offer something different to Vancouverites. In his research, he discovered that “it was difficult to find brunch menu items that diverged with traditional bacon and egg scripts”. Koay is Malaysian Chinese and moved to Vancouver in the late 80s. Alongside his Korean Canadian wife at his Vancouver restaurant, he offers Asian-influenced brunch dishes that go beyond the dim sum fare you can readily find here. His Chicken Karaage Hash puts the regular variety to shame with its tempura batter-fried chicken, two soft poached eggs, green onion, sesame seeds, and “Korean Sweet Ass Chili sauce”.
- Blue Star Diner – Avenue Calgary claims the brunch spot is “an instant hit” with local Calgarians. Rob Eden, managing partner of Blue Star Diner in Calgary ensures that the menu offers updated classics, gluten-free and vegan options, along with tasty substitutions. For instance, the Smoothie Bowl is a merry mélange of healthy and delicious. Bles-Wold coconut yogurt provides the creamy base and added to it is mixed berry puree and coconut granola. The bowl is topped with fresh berries, chia, raw honey and hemp hearts.
- The Belgard Kitchen – Vancouver Sun says that “Belgard offers a great all-round experience”. Run and co-owned by Chef Reuben Major, the restaurant is a blend of cabin-comfort meets industrial-loft eatery. It serves small and creative local plates that highlight its Vancouver location. For brunch, wake up to their Health Nut Breakfast Bowl that features a hearty and colourful blend of quinoa, avocado, goat cheese, arugula, toasted nuts, and topped with poached eggs. Lemon Okanagan Falls honey vinaigrette is drizzled over and the dish is finished with, smoky onion and parmesan cream.
- Le Melbourne Café – Current hot spot Le Melbourne Café is described by the Montreal Gazette as “bright, laid-back and friendly” and it is located in Montreal’s Mile End neighbourhood. The eatery brings ozzie charm and culture to Montrealers and also happens to be owned and operated by Australians Angus Castran and Xavier Martinelli. For brunch, you not only can taste classic down-under fare such as Jaffle (an Australian toasted sandwich) but there’s opportunities to try flavours from around the world. For instance, the Smoothie Bowl will make others green with envy: mango and lime lassi is given a textural oomph with hemp granola. The bowl is laced with berries, seeds, desiccated coconut and drizzled with toasted sesame oil.
Set your alarm clock and wake-up to exploratory eats that revive your senses and are bursting at the seams with worldly charm and character. RISE & SHINE TO GLOBAL TASTES is an opportunity to transform breakfast into an adventure brimming with unexpected and delicious combinations. Push the boundaries with the unconventional and impress your palate.
Don’t miss the launch of our McCormick Flavour Forecast® on December 5.
