Steadfast foodie and Online Community Manager Beverly Wooding is a definite character of Toronto’s foodie scene. She eats her way through Italian dishes, but only when she isn’t touring the concert world with OfficialCOMMUNITY, which reps the online realm for legends like Elton John, Keith Richards and George Michael. On behalf of OfficialCOMMUNITY, a Toronto-based industry leader in creation of commercialized online communities for global touring artists, she leads the social media circuit with ease as she spreads the word of harmony.
Let’s hear more about this music lovin’ food junkie…
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When and why did you start writing about food?
It actually started as an exercise in discipline. I find writing excruciating, but I could always talk about food.
What do you love most about food?
Besides how it tastes?! I like how food can be so connected to our emotional lives.
What do you do when you aren’t writing about or eating food?
My day job is in web/music.
Do you cook? If so, what’s your specialty? If not, why?
I do cook, but don’t really have a specialty. I like to play around in the kitchen; I really like to shake things up.
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What’s your favourite type of food(s) and where do you go to get it?
That’s a tough one. I like to shake it up with what I eat as much as what I cook. I guess my first culinary love though was Italian food. Haven’t really gone out for it in a long time though, however, in the past I’ve loved Italian food from places as varied as Enoteca Sociale to California Sandwiches.
What’s your favourite hidden gem?
Hmmm… maybe Pho Nho on a fairly deserted stretch of Dundas West, near Roncy. They’ve got a number of solid dishes, and my favourite coconut shake.
What’s your go-to restaurant?
Again, I’m not really a creature of habit when it comes to food, so don’t really have a go-to restaurant, though there are a few places I end up at often by virtue of their proximity to my house or work.
What’s the most memorable meal you’ve ever had?
This one’s easy. I was visiting my dad and stepmom-to-be in Punto Fijo in northern Venezuela. On the advice of some of his co-workers, my dad piled us in the car to find a particular seafood restaurant. The paved road gave out after 30 minutes. Another 30 minutes of dirt-road-driving, with wild goats on one side, cactus and crashing waves on the other, we came upon a solitary brick building. The dried and mounted manta ray at the entrance told us we were at the right place. Our ridiculously inexpensive pound of lobster each, accompanied by just butter and lemon, arrived just as the sun was setting over the Caribbean Sea. Simple and unforgettable.
What’s one restaurant you have to try before you die?
The French Laundry, duh!
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What’s your biggest restaurant pet peeve? (Play nice.)
Lackadaisical service. There’s just no reason for me to wait half an hour or more for someone to come by my table.
