The SPOKE Daily » TV

Happy 10th, Food Network Canada!

Karen Lo — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:57:27 +0000

November 10, 2010 at 99 Sudbury, Food Network Canada celebrated their 10th Anniversary of culinary wonders in pushing Canadian cuisine beyond maple syrup and peameal bacon. With Mark McEwan, Bob Blumer, Lynn Crawford, Roger Mooking, and David Rocco, amongst others in attendance, the network honoured their celebrity chefs who helped build their wholesome empire with this red carpet event. VIP guests were treated to a sit-down dinner to savour the following dishes: Corbin Tomaszeski’s White Miso and Sake Glazed Black Cod with Shrimp and Daikon Sala Bob Blumer’s Chinese Chicken Snow Cones Mark McEwan’s Seared Yellow Perch with Sweet Creamed Corn ( My favorite!) Roger Mooking’s Cajun Blackened Steak with Sugar Snap Peas and Tofu Frites After dinner, guests carried their bellies back to the party room for an endless supply of Chocolate Blackout Cake and Grapefruit Pistachio Tarts by Anna Olson. Presidential Gourmet, who launched their rebranded website that day, were the official caterers and blessed our palates with their White Wine Gelée and Gingerbread Centerpieces (see our Great Gingerbread Heist on Flickr!) An electric performance by God Made Me Funky set the crowd on funky fire. Photos by George Pimentel, sourced from FoodNetwork.ca. For our exclusive photos, check out our Flickr.

Conan is Back

Inga Rumun — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 15:58:45 +0000

The fire crotch of a comedian is back with his new late night talk show simply named, Conan, on TBS. The show premiered this past Monday with a rock out session with no other then Jack White. Seth Rogen and Lea Michele were among other guest. If you weren’t one of the 4 million people that tuned in watch the performance above. We support you Conan.

THE MAGIC, THE MYSTERY, THE JUNO’S?

Rachel Noonan — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 19:27:19 +0000

As I sit here watching the insanity of a live music rehearsal taping, I think about what it takes to bring together the elements that equal that magic moment. The moment when you experience a live performance that gives you goose bumps, makes you smile and guarantees a place in Rolling Stone magazine’s best music moments ever. It’s day two of rehearsals for the Juno Awards. Due to a wicked storm and lots of fog, over half the artists slated to perform are sitting in airports. Their flights were cancelled, grounded and postponed until further notice. Scripts are being re-written, emergency calls are being made to friends. I heard Nikki Yanafosky’s dad has been called to use his private jet! From the stands I see over 60 people setting up lighting, cameras, staging, guitar equipment, stage sound, seating arrangements and food prep. Fifteen very patient volunteers wait to be a stand-in for one of the many “grounded” artists. Not viewable from the stands are dozens more laying wiring, connecting camera tracks, prepping talent rooms and more. It is an ever evolving matrix of people that adapt to changes, roll with the punches and bring their A game to make sure every artist can focus on one thing — their performance. Artists should walk on stage and know their guitar riffs are crisp, the piano is tuned and the vocal tracks are smooth. Once they feel confident their creation will be shared as imagined, they can concentrate on channeling their energy into the crowd. They move from stage left to stage right, drawing people in with each melodic chorus or bridge. A great example of a memorable performance is the Elton John and Eminem duo. The controversy, the merging cultures and amazing production set the stage for two dynamic artists to connect with the audience, each other and make a statement. Often times those statements can affect change by showing how people unite in spite of differences. They respect each other without total understanding of how or why they live how they do. And then the exquisite moment is captured on a live TV performance, online or mobile device. Beautiful, amazing and well worth the frazzled talent wranglers, the all night catering prep and the thousands of people who commit to following the dream from script to stage.

Words of Wisdom: Don Draper

Kai Exos — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:24:14 +0000

Such an interesting fella. This is our requisite Mad Men post. Watch at Gawker

Miss Jackson

Kai Exos — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:26:18 +0000

She’s a dancing machine. My God, you’ve gotta see this. (Nico from SYTYCD Canada is in this, too. We saw him at the Canadian Liver Foundation Gala earlier this year; sick dancer.)