2010 Hothouse Level Sponsors:
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Call 519-968-2612 today!
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Special thanks to our
Guest Judges from:
OMAFRA- from Harrow
Agri-Food Canada
Heinz Agricultural Dept.
Metro Grocery Store
Price Chopper
Real Canadian Superstore
Citrus Sam's
Windsor Star
Local Restaurants
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Not only did we have tremendously supportive sponsors, we had fantastic competitors and a dream venue. The general public attending the Leamington Fair on June 18-20 absolutely loved the Greenhouse Competitions. They loved being able to sample and discover the gorgeous produce we have right here in Ontario. We had 565 votes for the People's Choice Awards and approximately 1500 people who passed through our tent over the weekend – that's a 500 percent improvement on both fronts. We couldn't be happier!
We have world-class high quality produce and such an abundance of it. We were very proud to showcase all of Greenhouse entries! Everyone coming through felt honoured to be a part of voting and was surprised how difficult it was to choose one perfect looking commodity over another. Yet they were also fascinated by the significant difference in flavours from one entry to the next. People were most surprised by the cucumber competition... many people didn't believe there would be any flavour difference from one cucumber to another and were shocked to find there were very noticeable differences. For us volunteers, the most entertaining part of the weekend was watching the so-called "brave" ones taste-test the hot pepper category. Some were quite seasoned and not shocked by the heat of the peppers – and these ones typically egged on others who were less heat-tolerant to taste the hot peppers. Some found themselves gasping at the heat, scarfing down the provided crackers desperately seeking relief – many very funny reactions! It was all in good humour and extremely well received by all.
The 2010 Winners in the Greenhouse Capital of North America & the Tomato Capital of Canada are:
Perfect Pepper Competition:
Best Overall Pepper - Pure Hothouse Foods- Specialty Sweet Pepper, An Exclusive Pure Flavor Pepper – Entry # 8
People’s Choice - Mucci International / Mucci Pac - “Rustico” Specialty Sweet Pepper – Entry # 87
Best Green Bell Pepper - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® – Entry # 83
Best Red Bell Pepper - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® – Entry # 79
Best Yellow Bell Pepper - Mucci International / Mucci Pac – Entry # 80
Best Orange Bell Pepper - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® – Entry # 6
Best Specialty Sweet Pepper - Pure Hothouse Foods, An Exclusive Pure Flavor Pepper – Entry # 8
Best Specialty Hot Pepper - Westmorland/Topline Produce – Entry # 64
Coolest Cucumber Competition:
Best Overall Cucumber - Clifford Produce - Mini Seedless Cucumber – Entry # 32
People’s Choice - Westmorland/Topline Produce - English Seedless Cucumber – Entry # 42
Best English Seedless Cucumber - Mucci International / Mucci Pac – Entry # 16
Best Mini Seedless Cucumber - Clifford Produce – Entry # 32
Hottest Tomato Competition:
Best Overall Tomato - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® - “Zima” Specialty Tomato – Entry # 59
People’s Choice - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® - “Zima” Specialty Tomato – Entry # 59
Best Beefsteak Tomato - Fisherville Greehouses – Entry # 10
Best Roma Tomato - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® - “Romana” – Entry # 50
Best Cluster / T.O.V. Tomato - Amco Produce – Entry # 95
Best Cocktail Tomato - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® - “Campari” – Entry # 7
Best Bite-Size Tomato - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® - “Splendido” – Entry # 77
Best Specialty Tomato - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® - “Zima” Specialty Tomato – Entry # 59
Our judges this year were fantastic.
We have been very blessed to have the same loyal judges participate every year for the Hottest Tomato Competition and we welcomed several new judges this year to help with the expansion of the competitions. Every judge thoroughly enjoyed their role as judge and is looking forward to next year's competitions.
Our judges this year:
Shalin Khosla – Greenhouse Specialist, OMAFRA
Scott Makey – Research and Development, H.J. Heinz
Rob Butler – District Manager for No Frills West/Loblaws
Ted Whipp – Food Writer for the Windsor Star
Mike St.Pierre – Horticulture Department Head, Cardinal Carter High School
Tony Butineau – Owner of Price Chopper
Annette Diab – Deli Manager at Price Chopper
Rose Del Brocco – Real Canadian Superstore
Joe Colasanti – Owner of Colasanti's Tropical Gardens
Louise Morrison – Chef/Owner of Victorian Tea Room & Restaurant
Lucio Galeano – Co-Owner of Sale e Pepe Ristorante
Tim Mussio – Co-Owner of Sale e Pepe Ristorante
Sheila Sauve – Board Member of R.E.A.CH. International
Jim Sauve – Long time volunteer of R.E.A.CH. International
If it weren't for the sponsors...
A note to everyone, please please please take a close look at the list of corporate sponsors. These people really do believe in the value of these competitions and want to be a part of providing them for the greenhouse industry. If it weren't for these fine companies, there would be no Greenhouse Competitions. It really is that simple. You would be doing R.E.A.CH International a great honour if you would call up these companies and tell them that you are giving them your business because they have sponsored this event. Click here to see a list of the sponsors for the 2010 Greenhouse Competitions
The Farmers Market:
Huge thanks to all who donated produce for the Greenhouse Farmers Market! It was a big success for many reasons: the general public loved finding the produce they just voted for, we raised money for the victims of the tornado (I'll send an update on the amount soon), and our left-over produce went to the Salvation Army Food Bank! So many people were blessed by this event! You really are a very wonderful bunch of people! I am proud to say I know you! Thank you again!!!!
If you're curious about R.E.A.CH:
R.E.A.CH. is a small charity run entirely by local volunteers. We're all from the Leamington and Chatham area. We are a small but mighty group and we've raised several thousands of dollars to build schools & clinics, drill water wells, and sponsor and care for impoverished children in Uganda, Africa. Our program in St. Lucia, West Indies, was extremely successful. Even though we had a small presence in the country, our influence was great. Because of how we operate, the government of St. Lucia took notice and realized they needed to begin taking responsibility for their own poor. We initiated a Summit on Poverty and through that, the government changed their laws to allow all children to attend school without the expense of fees, making it accessible to all. Since then, most of the children we sponsored there have grown up and no longer need our help. Since education is available to all, we have moved our focus to Uganda, Africa.
We have a unique program that guarantees 100% of child-sponsorship dollars goes directly to help the children. We can guarantee this because we do separate fundraisers, such as this one, to raise money for operating expenses. Since we’re all volunteers, our expenses are very low. Whatever we raise beyond those expenses also goes to our projects. We make sure that REACH maintains a high integrity and that makes us passionate to continue helping precious children in impoverished places around the world. We are very grateful for your continued support and encouragement and we want to remind you that it is possible for a small group to make a big difference.
Again, we at R.E.A.CH. International, thank everyone who participated in the 2010 Greenhouse Competitions. We look forward to working with you all again in the near future.
We are always looking for corporate sponsors to help us with school building and clean water well-drilling projects. If you are interested in getting involved please email us and we can arrange to come and make a short presentation for your business. If you would like some information to become a volunteer with REACH, we would be eager to speak with you.
To get more information or to get involved, contact
Nicole Barron (519) 968-2612 or email nic.barron@gmail.com.
© Copyright 2007-2011 - R.E.A.CH. International Hottest Tomato Competition.
Which greenhouse grower will have the hottest greenhouse produce in the Greenhouse Capital of North America?
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