...and the winner is....

The winner is Cynthia R - from Toronto! Cynthia and her guest will spend a week in sunny Cancun at the Occidental Xcaret!  At this all-inclusive property all meals, drinks and entertainment are included.  Enjoy!

Trip for 2 was sponsored by Sunquest Vacations and Marlin Travel.

The End

Thanks to all the volunteers who made this event possible.

The Raffle

Second Harvest is the Charity of Choice for this year's Gourmet Food and Wine Expo.  We were able to raise over $1500 for Second Harvest. 

Jennifer from Second Harvest, Ryan from Marlin Travel Square One, and Mary Ogaki from TDC Head Office posed before the winning ballot was drawn.

Antigua and Barbuda

The ladies are all smiles as they served up some delish delicacies....the best hot sauce and yummy caribbean drinks. 

St Kitts, St Vincent and Grenada

They were all smiles as they served up some Caribbean rum cake....yummo (it was in fact the best rum cake I have ever had).

Club Med

One of the exibitors was Club Med, a familiar face.....Janet, serving up some fabulous chocolate bread....Club Med (if you've ever been) serves up the best food ever but best of all the bread is ABSOLUTELY F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!

Second Harvest - Charity of Choice

Second Harvest, the charity of choice for this year's Gourmet Food and Wine Expo.  Marlin Travel and Sunquest Vacations - sponsored a trip for 2 to Cancun Occidental Xcaret (all-inclusive).  Raffle tickets sold for $5 each with 100% or the proceeds being donated to support Second Harvest.  $5.00 equals 10 healthy meals for someone...we were able to raise over $1500 from the event.

Linda and Rob under the palm tree

Chef Rob Rainford was back at the Marlin Travel booth at the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo...autographing grill brushes...Linda was all smiles.

HELP - can someone help this lobster find his way?

If anyone can find this lobster a one-way ticket to Japan...it's Fiona!  He apparently expires in a day...Fiona to the rescue.

Fiona and Chef Ted Reader

Fiona's all smiles as she poses with grill master Ted Reader. 

Ice Sculpture

How beautiful is this ice sculpture?

Jumbo Shrimp

Jumbo shrimp with spicy hot cocktail sauce...delish!

Vini Portugal

Featured destination at this year's Gourmet Food and Wine Expo is Portugal.  Vini Portugal had no shortage of thirsty patrons as their booth took centre stage with endless bottles of wine.

Nutella Crepes

Exibitors cooked up a storm this weekend...here hungry patrons line up for the Nutella filled crepes.

Virgin Radio 99.9

Brad, Kristin and Chris worked the weekend promoting the South Africa Tour contest....sponsored by Marlin Travel and South African Airways.

Familiar Faces

Lindsay and her mom dropped by the Marlin booth after graduating from the Mott's mixology class!  They are fully prepared to make drinks for all...when's the party?

The Three Blondes

Do you recognize these three blondes?  They were so thrilled about meeting the Chef in person and the thought of being on tour with him, they left a deposit!  Pack your bags ladies...the bus is filling up! 

DonnaLea Working the Crowd

DonnaLea, our Godmother of the Seas managed crowd control by chatting up the anxious fans waiting their turn to meet Chef Rainford...they were so excited to hear about the South Africa tour and OMG to meet the Chef in person!  Who wouldn't want to spend 14 days with Chef Rainford...I dunno, seems like a no-brainer to me...like I said, this tour will sell out quick.

Celebrity Chef Rob Rainford

Can you say HOT?  That's one adjective to describe this grill master and top chef...the line-up started early as Chef Rainford met with hundreds of fans tonight at the Marlin Travel booth.  The chef autographed Napoleon grill brushes...chatted with fans...and flashed those pearly whites as photog frenzie fans got their pics taken with this Celebrity Chef.

Susan and Condon from King Street

What a great night!  Hustle hustle hustle is just what they did to sell ballots and qualify interested clients for the South Africa tour.  This tour should sell out pretty quick!  All Gourmet Food and Wine guests who pre-registered for the tour will be first-in-line to book the tour.  Cha-ching for these top agents!

DAY 2 - Friday November 20, 2009

Marlin Travel wine stoppers being tested by one of the exibitors.  Works fabulous!  Thumbs up on the wine stoppers...they were a hit!

Kevin Brauch - The Thirsty Traveller

Sorry the picture is so dark, the lighting was not on my side :(

High energy are two words to describe Kevin, as his charisma captivated the audience.  What a fabulous entertainer - he knows how to work the crowd...I was actually waiting for him to greet the crowd with 'kon ban wan ladies and gentlemen' as he does on the Iron Chef. 

Rodney - From Rodney's Oyster House

Rodney, the master of oysters delighted the crowd with stories of shucking.  Who knew that oysters could be a male one year then female the next year??

Chef Ted Reader's Team

All smiles as the team here prepares the most delicious pulled pork sandwiches served in a cone and topped with the most spectacular slaw.  Guests of the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo were entertained by Chef Ted Reader as he cooked up a storm.  Delish!  You need to check out Ted's line of Q-sauce...yummo!

Reday Set Cook

Here's Ryan, manager at Square One in Mississauga looking very official - cooking up the culinary tours being featured this weekend.  Nice apron Ryan....a nice touch for the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo.

The Booth

Set up day is always fun!  Here's our booth for the next 4 days.  Thursday night is the VIP night, had a good turnout despite all the rain.

VIP Night kicks-off the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo

Welcome to our BLOG!  We're so excited to be the exclusive travel retailer at this years Gourmet Food and Wine Expo.  The main event will be the special appearance by Celebrity Chef Rob Rainford! 

If you can't join us this weekend at the Expo, you can enjoy the events by following our blog.  Sign up as a follower and you will receive an automatic update notice when something new has been posted.

Enjoy!