Unveiling: Restaurant Day
Posted: February 12, 2018
Categories: GoodFoodBites / Growing Good Food Ideas / Opportunities
Have you heard about Restaurant Day??
Well, if you’re reading this from somewhere in Ontario, no, chances are you might not know about it. In one short sentence, here’s what we can tell you about it: we need to bring it to Ontario.
So far, we have only seen this food event make it to the Canadian scene in Montreal, and we can’t get enough of it.
But what even is ‘Restaurant Day’?
Restaurant Day is essentially a worldwide food carnival and a movement, that allows anyone to set up their very own restaurant, café, bar, or pop up stand for the day at anytime, anywhere. You can convert your home, office, garden, empty parking lots, vacant courts, the park, the beach, a street corner (just to name a few!) It started on May 21, 2011 in Finland, and has since grown to cater to over 3 million customers in over 75 countries!
Restaurant Day is celebrated four times a year, in February, May, August, and November, and is the world’s largest food carnival. It is also a movement for showcasing cultural foods of the city’s people. A new way to connect to others through food.
From the thousands of people organizing and visiting the restaurants worldwide, the idea is to foster community, fun, and share new food experiences with those living in common environments together. Setting up your restaurant is completely free, although some hold a special events license in Montreal as food is being sold. And, food safety is founded on trust for your local neighbourhood dwellers. The restaurants can be listed and registered online, and displayed in map format for people scouting out some amazing local eats.
It’s a great way to meet new people, try new foods, and connect to others while having a new experience! Some have described the overall ambiance as ‘euphoric’ because everyone is having so much fun!
You can listen to some radio podcasts here .
Or watch some brief news clips about it here & here if you want to learn more!
So if Montreal can do it, why can’t we? Check out the website if you want to learn more, or think your city should jump on the hosting bandwagon!