Page 82 - Sharp November 2024

ALL IN
THE FAMILY
SAGRA DI TORONTO FOOD FESTIVAL BRINGS ITALIAN FAMILY VALUES AND COOKING TO THE CITY’S STREETS
By Peter Alexandropoulos
O NE OF THE MOST EXPLORED, IMITATED, AND CRITIQUED
food cultures in North America is that of Italy. Home cooks, those well-travelled, and the culturally apt can all agree that Italian cuisine is one of the most well-known — due in part to the fact that we are lucky enough to live somewhere that not only has a wealth of Italian restaurants, but regionally specific Italian neighbourhoods and communities. Yet, with such a rich culinary tradition, some things might not have made their way here. Not yet at least.
After sitting down with Michael Mercanti (Major League Catering), Leo Baldassarre (Famiglia Baldassarre), and Conor Joerin (Sugo) — founders of the Sagra di Toronto food festival, a fundraiser
supporting youth programs in Toronto — I was, like the many people who have attended the festival over the years, educated on an Italian tradition which they share with their Toronto community, and hopefully, one day, can be shared across North America.
How did Sagra di Toronto start and how is it similar to a traditional sagra?
Baldassarre: I met Michael [Mercanti] at a cottage in 2019, and after talking about a recent trip to Italy, I asked him if he had ever been to a sagra, which turned into “Well, if we were to do it here in Toronto, what would it look like?” That just kind of snowballed into a real event — it was going faster than both of us. A sagra is all about volunteers, and getting people together, and in our case, those people are in the food community. In Italy, it's generally a small- town thing in the country, where the Pro Loco, which is a group of volunteers that exist generationally, put on events and festivals for the community. In a small town, this is easy, but in Toronto, it's impossible because of its size — so this is kind of like a Pro Loco for chefs and restaurant people.
Joerin: It’s essentially a community harvest festival — we’re going to pick up all the squash this weekend from my mom for the ravioli, and we’re putting in all the infrastructure in to raise ducks for the duck ragu next year. What it's really about is communities coming together to celebrate the harvest, Ontario ingredients, and Italian food. For us, food is our power, it's what we use to make change or do good. We’re just trying to use our skill set to help the community.
82 NOVEMBER 2024
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FOOD & DRINK