Mac ‘N Cheese Festival Coming to Mississauga
Published January 17, 2017 at 6:37 pm
If you’ve always wanted more urban food festivals in the city, your wish is about to come true–the annual Toronto Mac ‘N Cheese Festival is making its way to Mississauga this summer.
The three-day event is being organized by Philip Suos, the festival director behind TO’s Mac ‘N Cheese event and the recently formed Junk Food Festival. The celebration of the supremely decadent comfort food will hit Port Credit in July and the event will truly be the first of its kind in Mississauga.
“This [event appeals to people of all] ages,” says Suos. “Everyone loves the Canadian classic.”
Although the event is a few months off, well-known vendors (who can’t be announced just yet) have already been tapped to create adventurous mac ‘n cheese concoctions that pair noodles and cheese with everything from chorizo sausage to brisket to Jolly Rancher candy (yes, you read that right, Jolly Ranchers).
We might also get to enjoy fun mac ‘n cheese wraps (pictured below).
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As far as location goes, the festival will take place in Port Credit Memorial Park and will run from July 28-30.
Organizers are anticipating about 40,000-60,000 visitors over the course of the weekend and are planning to entertain the hungry masses with eating competitions, live bands and performances, beer and cheese pairings, Canadian cheese sampling areas, carnival games and rides, special guest speakers (including some yet-to-be-announced celebrities) and an on-site artisanal market specializing in cheese-related products.
“People can experience all the mac and cheese vendors competing to win a cash prize,” says Suos. “Vendors can win $2,500 for the People’s Choice Award, $1,500 for the Judge’s Choice Award and $1,000 for the Creative Choice Award.
Last year, the festival raised $25,000 for charity at its annual Toronto event and organizers are planning to select a local Mississauga charity to support at this year’s celebration.
This year also won’t just mark the first year Mississauga gets to enjoy a distinctly urban festival–it’ll be the first year the relatively new event hits four cities. Prior to coming to Port Credit, the festival will hit Ontario Place in TO. After our weekend, Mac ‘N Cheese lovers in Waterloo and Brampton will get to enjoy a few days of decadent comfort food.
Admission will be free and attendees will be able to purchase food tokens.
“A lot of people are excited about the opportunity to taste the dishes and it gets chefs thinking [about what kind of dishes to prepare],” says Suos.
Stay tuned to insauga.com for more details on vendors, participating local restaurants and dishes!
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