Biting into trends at this year’s Ex
Part of what makes CNE so fun is the wacky, weird things to eat there
It all started with the deep-fried butter.
That was the first “real media craze” over new food at the Canadian National Exhibition, according to Michael Knott, who’s been concessions manager at the Ex since 2003.
The artery-clogging butter balls made headlines in 2010 — and CNE food has only grown wackier since.
Now, “everybody wants to know, what are we doing in the way of food? What’s going to be the latest craze?” said Knott, who has been working at the CNE since the 1970s.
From churro cheeseburgers to chocolate fried chicken, food at the CNE seems to get more outrageous, epic and extreme each year — with foodies and news outlets lapping it up.
Outrageous edibles are a relatively recent phenomenon at the Ex, Knott said.
Before the past decade or so, the CNE only really served the “staples”: hot ice cream waffles, Tiny Tom doughnuts and classic fair foods like corn dogs and cotton candy.
“I guess people’s attitudes toward food have changed. They want to try these different things,” said Knott, who added that skewered foods like “pizza on a stick” were another early edible sensation.
A flood of media attention also helps drive the food buzz, he said — the introduction of deep-fried butter was around the same time the CNE made food sampling a media event.
In 2011, hungry Ex-goers enjoyed doughnut burgers and deep-fried cola. Bacon-wrapped, deep-fried Mars Bars made a splash in 2012.
Last year, more adventurous patrons lined up for cricket hotdogs and beetle juice.
And who can forget the cronut burger — the cheeseburger-croissant-doughnut fusion behind an outbreak of food poisoning in 2013.
On Wednesday afternoon in the food building, Karen Qian breathes vapour out of her nose as her friend laughs and takes a video. She’s trying the Dragon’s Breath — an ice-cream-filled crepe dipped in liquid nitrogen. It’s one of the new CNE offerings this year, along with deep-fried chicken feet, black charcoal funnel cakes, pancake bacon tacos and deep-fried, cheese-stuffed Dorritos.
“We’ve seen it a lot on Instagram and everybody tries it, and we also wanted to try it!” said Qian, holding the remnants of her vapour-wafting treat.
Social-media appeal is a big part of CNE food buzz — Knott says everyone who gets a charcoal ice cream on the midway snaps a photo with it first.
When Krystal Soares opened Cake Shack for the first time at the Ex this year, she knew they needed a “standout item” to capture attention. Enter the “Sugar Mountain” — a CN Tower-inspired extravaganza, made of a brownie square and cheesecake base, which is holding up a sugar cone topped with a doughnut and cotton candy.
“It’s more of edible art than anything,” Soares said.
“Everybody wants it on their Snapchat, on their Instagram. I’m a millennial. I understand running for the cookie dough or the charcoal ice cream. So I’m just happy to be a part of that mix.”
Older, more established vendors are also adapting to the new food era, saying CNE patrons have come to expect wilder foods they can’t get anywhere else. When Ana Tome and her husband bought Maggie’s nine years ago, it only sold hotdogs and peameal bacon sandwiches.
But in the past few years, Tome said they’ve had to add new products to their menu to keep up with competition.
Last year, for instance, they introduced the Cartoon Dog: a deep-fried, bacon-wrapped hotdog with peanut butter, jam, sriracha mayo and Cap- tain Crunch cereal.
“We had to add more stuff. Because it just was not enough, hotdogs and bacon,” said Tome, who says she first noticed chocolate bacon and deepfried butter as some of the wilder food creations.
Knott said edible inventions are great for food sales, which have been increasing every year. But most fads don’t have longevity, he said, soon fading into a heartburn-infused memory.
“I’m a millennial. I understand running for the cookie dough or the charcoal ice cream.” KRYSTAL SOARES FOOD VENDOR
There are two types of CNE foods, he said: the “I’ve gotta try” treats and the “I’ve gotta have” staples — like Tiny Tom doughnuts, which has been a CNE tradition since 1960.
“Everything else changes, Tiny Tom doesn’t,” said owner Tom Brazier, as he stirred small dough rounds through oil. “It’s working for us.” Brazier said he noticed “extreme foods” starting about eight years ago and they just get crazier every season.
But Tiny Tom’s formula is tried and true for a reason — a long line of doughnut-lovers stretched from the counter Wednesday evening.
One woman waiting said the miniature doughnuts are an annual part of her CNE food “agenda” — she always gets the same things.
“If I’m going to put calories onto my body, I want to make sure it’s something I like.”