Well over 250 people attended the County of Brant Chamber of Commerce’s Brant Eats food and drink expo at the Gaukel Memorial Community Centre on Thursday, November 7, 2024.
The event, supported by the County of Brant, St. George Business Association, Hamilton Halton Brant Regional Tourism Association and the Brant County Federation of Agriculture, was held as a way to highlight and promote local restaurants, breweries and wineries from both the County and the City.
“We really designed this event as a way to shine a spotlight on our local businesses so they could get their products out there and show the residents what they’re all about,” said Sherri Barna, President of the County of Brant Chamber of Commerce. “After Christmas, things tend to slow down and people aren’t really going out to restaurants as often so we really wanted to give those hardworking business owners a boost while we can.”
During the event, over 25 vendors, including Steel Wheel Brewery, Paris Pub, Mercasa Little Eatery, Blue Gables Acres, Kristi’s Market Kitchen, and the Arlington Hotel, handed out hundreds of food and beverage samples to attendees.
From tacos to sliders, gourmet pizza, jerk chicken with rice and peas, and plenty of sweet treats, there were plenty of samples to satisfy the taste buds.
Cambridge residents, Debbie and Stephen Scott, said they often like to try new restaurants and after hearing about the event through social media, the two decided to make the trip into St. George for a date night.
“It’s been great so far! We like to take little road trips to try new things and this was just something different that caught my eye,” said Debbie.
The two said that with unlimited samples included in the ticket price, it made it easy to try all the available options.
“There’s a really great variety of tastings here which is nice,” exclaimed Debbie. “The strawberry Fruli beer was just delicious, the cookies from Roylene’s Sweet Treats were fantastic, and we really liked the burgers from Paris Pub, as well as the jerk chicken from Moore-ish.”
Heading out with not one, but three gift card wins, when asked if they would make another trip for any of the restaurants they sampled, the two said “oh, absolutely… quite a few of them.”
As the night went on, attendees were all smiles as they made their way around the room, eating, drinking, grabbing seconds, picking up raffle prizes and dancing to live music from Sometimes Acoustic, Barna’s band with her sisters.
Overall, Andrea Levy-Moore, owner of Moore-ish Caribbean Cookhouse, said that from a business standpoint, the event was “just amazing.”
“We’ve been serving some of our staples like our jerk chicken with rice and peas, as well as our three bean Moore-ish medley for the vegetarians, and people have been coming back for seconds and even thirds,” she laughed. “You know, I didn’t know what to expect from tonight but it’s an amazing event… I can’t get over how many people are here and I’ve gotten so many compliments on the food that it’s bringing tears to my eyes. I’m just honoured to be one of 25-plus vendors here tonight and I already can’t wait for next year.”
Barna said for those who enjoyed the event, they should keep a look out on social media and the Chamber website to see when Brant Eats 2025 will take place.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
