The Smoked Festival will be making its debut in Vaughan this July, highlighting grilled food, music and more.
The three-day festival will feature different styles of live fire cooking from around the world, including Argentinian asado, Japanese yakitori, Southern brisket and more. Confirmed guest chefs include Patrick Murray, Rob Yu and Sylvia Nguyen, representing kitchens like Dark Side of the Grill, Prairie Reinhardt and Kumain Kitchen.
Proceeds from every meal sold will go towards Feed Ontario, which combats food insecurity throughout the province. There will also be vendors offering samples of craft beer, wine and spirits, as well as other food and drink.
There will also be live bands and DJs throughout the weekend. Headlining acts include Toronto-based hip-hop cover band Wing Night, discos and R&B band The Free Label and retro-minded DJ Floh Back. Each day of the festival will feature a general admission floor where visitors can purchase food and drink tokens, and a VIP Garden Party area with fresh oysters, roasted vegetables and more. Food festivals like this often use methods like poster printing and social media images to help entice visitors. The new event is hosted by the Nourish organization.
The inaugural Smoked Festival will take place from July 18 to 20 at Assembly Park in Vaughan. Admission is free to accompanied children 12 and under.
