Winnipegger earns Tony for leading role in Broadway production of Ragtime

Winnipeg’s Joshua Henry was on top of the musical theatre world Sunday at Radio City Music Hall, winning the Tony Award for best performance by an actor in a leading role for his performance in the Broadway revival of Ragtime.

Qatar fans hit Vancouver, their chartered flights and 5-star hotels paid for by king

VANCOUVER - They arrived in Vancouver on a free flight chartered by the Emir of Qatar and are staying at a five-star downtown hotel. 

Mohmoud Alban, 30, said his "king," Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, picked up the hotel tab too, for him and other Qatar supporters who flew into Vancouver this week.

"He's taking care of all of this," said Alban in an interview. "You know that's how Qatar takes care of their people."

They'll be outnumbered on Thursday, when Qatar plays Canada at BC Place Stadium, but the visiting fans are brimming with confidence after a 1-1 draw with Switzerland last weekend.

Beautiful sips for the beautiful game

Every four years, the world’s top soccer nations converge in pursuit of the beautiful game’s top trophy and eternal glory in the annals of sport history — it’s World Cup time.

Hosted by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, this year’s World Cup has undergone a massive expansion from 32 to 48 teams — and in the spirit of this month-plus long, sprawling tournament, Uncorked will delve into drinks from around the world for the next three weeks — wine from visiting countries today, beer from visiting countries on June 20 and a full roster of Canadian drinks on June 27 (right in time for Canada Day, no less).

Of the 48 visiting World Cup countries, about 10 would be considered significant players in the world of winemaking. Here are wines from six of the viticultural titans at the World Cup (Italy, of course, would have been included had it qualified).

Spain is well-known for a range of wines — Rioja reds, dry and sweet sherries and such — but its breakout star is the perfect wine for celebrating — bubbly.

Odd pairing of Kraft Dinner and cheesecake a hit for city bakery

It’s the food mashup that appears, at first glance, to be a match made in culinary purgatory.

Featuring a Canadian childhood staple baked into a New York-style cheesecake, the star of the show is the ubiquitous blue-and-yellow box lurking in nearly every pantry across the country.

It’s the ultimate time-saving saviour — firmly lodged in memories as a comforting dinner rapidly whipped up and just as swiftly snarfed down between after-school activities and homework.

But now Kraft Dinner is stepping boldly — some might even say wildly — out of its lane.

Single Canadians pay more for groceries than shared households: Interac survey

TORONTO - Many single Canadians are feeling the pinch of higher food prices as they foot grocery bills single-handedly, according to a new report.

An Interac survey found single Canadians spend about $102 a week on groceries, while couples in a shared household report paying about $80 per person per week. 

The report, published Tuesday, suggested nearly eight in 10 single Canadians say they can't seem to bring their bills down, no matter what they do. 

Many single-person households can't find savings by buying in bulk and struggle to find portions suited for one, the report found. And with no one to split portions with, 32 per cent said their food often spoils before they can use it all up.

Chef dads describe their dream meals for Father’s Day

Father’s Day is just around the bend, and there are decisions to be made. Some dads want to eat out, some want to eat in. Some want a big old meat-and-potatoes meal, some dream of a sushi omakase extravaganza.

But what do the dads who cook and feed people for a living want? The dad chefs and cooks who spend their working hours behind a stove (or a griddle or a hibachi) — what is their dream Father’s Day meal?

Three of them answer here. (Spoiler: All agree that being together is more important than the food.)

Barbecue crosses generations

Restaurant bridges Ethiopian-Eritrean divide at the dinner table

Riverine origins matter at Baro, an eatery just west of the Health Sciences Centre on Notre Dame Avenue, but don’t overlook the connective power of the hyphen on the street-facing sign at chef Tammy Fekadu’s Ethiopian-Eritrean cuisine.

A waterway that rolls for more than 300 kilometres in the Ethiopian highlands, serving as a major cultural and economic thoroughfare for the nearby Gambella region as well as the South Sudanese state to the west, the Baro River is a reminder of communal reliance on precious natural resources, says Fekadu’s eldest daughter, Samra Solomon.

The hyphen is a bridge spanning political divides for Winnipeggers whose homelands have been engaged in decades of ongoing territorial tensions and civil war.

“My mom almost hesitated to call it ‘Baro Ethiopian-Eritrean Cuisine,’ just because some people might not be happy with that politically and maybe even morally,” says the 26-year-old Solomon, who manages the restaurant on top of a full-time job in the insurance business.

Health experts tell Quebec politicians there are no benefits from energy drinks

Health experts told Quebec's legislature that there are no health benefits to consuming energy drinks as Health Minister Sonia Bélanger hopes to pass a bill banning the sale of the beverages to those under 16.

The Quebec government has until Friday to pass a slew of bills, including the energy drink ban, before the parliamentary session ends. It will be the last session before the general election scheduled for October.

Pharmacists, cardiologists, public health and lobby groups spoke to the elected officials in Quebec City on Tuesday after the Conservative Party requested special public consultations.

The health experts said they support a ban, adding that it must be accompanied with other measures like awareness campaigns and marketing regulation.

Small grocers embrace Ottawa’s national food security strategy

Independent grocers and industry stakeholders are welcoming the federal government's national food security strategy, aimed at boosting competition among grocers, growing local produce year-round and improving consumer affordability.

Ottawa says the strategy is backed by more than $3 billion in investments over 10 years. That includes $1 billion for infrastructure — including food terminals and hubs — to help independent grocers compete with large retailers by making it easier for them to buy from farmers and food processors.

Giancarlo Trimarchi, president of family-owned grocery chain Vince's Market in southern Ontario, says manufacturers don't often sell grocery essentials directly to smaller players like him. That means he has to buy items like milk and eggs from wholesalers, such as Sobeys and Loblaw, which come with a price markup.

"Independents and small grocers have lost the ability to buy direct from the producers," he said. "We have to go through a middle person."

Competition Bureau to examine food supply chain practices amid high grocery prices

OTTAWA - The Competition Bureau is looking to investigate how competition along the food supply chain affects grocery prices for consumers.

The bureau says it will look for potential issues in three key areas: production and processing, transportation and distribution, and retail pricing practices. 

That means tracking competition along the way, as seeds are sown at farms or livestock are raised at ranches, to getting them processed as raw input or ready-to-eat items and loading them onto trucks to reach wholesalers and distributors. 

The bureau will also investigate how these items are priced on store shelves and how consumers buy them using tools such as loyalty programs. The retail pricing investigation will include examining algorithmic pricing, shrinkflation, and skimpflation, which refers to reducing the quality for the same price.

Fairfax signs deal to buy Canadian wine producer Andrew Peller

GRIMSBY - Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. has signed a deal to buy Andrew Peller Ltd. in an offer that puts an enterprise value of $579 million on the Canadian wine producer.

Andrew Peller chief executive Paul Dubkowski called the deal "a compelling outcome" for shareholders that reflects the strength of Andrew Peller’s portfolio and market position.

Dubkowski and chief financial officer Renee Cauchi are expected to remain in their current roles once the deal is complete.

Under the offer, the company's class A non-voting shares will receive $8 in cash per share, while holders of the company's class B voting shares will receive $12 per share in cash.

Vancouver bars rush beer and staff to the front line of World Cup’s war on thirst

VANCOUVER - Vancouver's Tyler Broers said he's never seen anything like what unfolded on Saturday.

Australian World Cup fans filled his multi-level sports bar, Dublin Calling, before and after their team's match against Turkey, and nearly drank the bar dry.

"That never happens. That was the first time I've ever felt like I was actually going to run out of booze," Broers, the bar's manager, said Tuesday.

Now he and other Vancouver bar operators are bracing for Thursday's match at BC Place between Canada and Qatar, and the next five matches in Vancouver.

Why eat junk on a camping trip? Tips and recipes for nutritious food on the trail

Few things feel better than a long hike in the woods, exhausting yourself as you soak in the fresh air and tranquility. Then, back to camp, where you chip away at those health benefits with packaged hot dogs slapped into a white-bread bun with a slice of plasticky processed cheese food.

It doesn’t have to be that way, said Aaron Owens Mayhew, a dietitian and long-haul trekker in Orcutt, California.

“It always made me sad that people who train so hard, they exercise, they eat well at home, and then they go backpacking and pick up honey buns,” Owens Mayhew said.

Getting outside generally improves mental and physical health. But too often, campers and hikers resort to the convenience of processed foods high in saturated fat, salt and sugar.

Drinks to pair with Pride

Summer proper is almost here, and you may already be thinking about sneaking away to the lake or on that much-needed vacation.

Before you go, there are plenty of drinks-related events happening in Winnipeg and beyond.

June is Pride Month, and there are many ways (and places) to celebrate with local sips…

The Beer Can (1 Granite Way) is serving up a feature cocktail that includes Patent 5 Distillery’s Pride Purple Blossom Gin, with $1 from each cocktail sold going to Our Own Health Centre (2A-230 Osborne St.).

What you need to know about the federal government’s grocery and essentials rebate

OTTAWA - The federal government's new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit will see its first round of quarterly payments go out today.

The benefit was known previously as the GST/HST credit, so people who were eligible for that program likely will receive the new benefit.

Here's what you need to know about the program:

— The government estimates about 12 million Canadian are eligible.