Summerlicious and Winterlicious facts for kids
Summerlicious and Winterlicious are two exciting food festivals that happen every year in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. These events are a great chance to try out some of Toronto's best restaurants!
Winterlicious usually takes place in the first two weeks of February. This time of year can be slow for restaurants. Summerlicious happens at the start of July, which can also be a quiet time for dining spots. During these festivals, many top restaurants across the city offer special set menus. These are called `prix fixe` (pronounced "pree feeks") menus, which means you pay one price for a full meal, often with a starter, main course, and dessert. The prices are usually lower than what you would normally pay.
When the festivals started, lunches cost $15, $20, or $25. Dinners were $25, $35, or $45. Today, the prices are a bit higher. For lunch, you might pay $23, $28, or $33. For dinner, prices are $33, $43, or $53. Remember, drinks and tips are extra!
How It All Started
The idea for these food festivals began in 2003. At first, only 35 restaurants took part. The goal was to help restaurants get more customers during slower times of the year. Similar events had worked well in other cities.
The festival also helped Toronto recover after the SARS outbreak in 2003. SARS made fewer tourists visit the city, which hurt businesses like restaurants. Summerlicious and Winterlicious helped bring people back out to eat. Since then, the events have become very popular. By 2009, about 150 restaurants were invited to join Winterlicious!
How Restaurants Join the Fun
The City of Toronto's special events department organizes Summerlicious and Winterlicious. They choose which restaurants can participate. There are a few important rules for restaurants to be included:
- They must meet certain price standards for their meals.
- They need to have a very clean health inspection record.
- They should have good reviews from well-known Toronto restaurant guides.
- Big restaurant chains are not allowed to join.
Many restaurants want to be part of these festivals. Even though they offer discounted prices, participating restaurants often see three or four times more customers! This extra business can really help them. Restaurants that don't join might see fewer customers during the festival times.
The city makes the final decision on which restaurants get invited. Some people have said that the city tends to pick the biggest and most famous restaurants. This can sometimes leave out smaller, local places. Because the city owns the official names "Summerlicious" and "Winterlicious," other restaurants that offer similar deals use different names to avoid any problems.
What People Say About the Festivals
Even though many people love Summerlicious and Winterlicious, there are some common complaints:
- Customers sometimes say that the food portions are smaller than usual. They might also feel that the quality of ingredients is not as high.
- Restaurant workers sometimes feel very busy and overworked. They might also have to serve many more customers than usual.
Despite these criticisms, the "licious" festivals are still very popular. They give restaurants a great chance to make money during times that would otherwise be slow. For example, during Winterlicious in 2009, people enjoyed 180,000 meals over two weeks! This brought about $12 million into Toronto's economy.
