Fiddleheads for Sick Kids. 

From left: Nick Secord, Amy Waddel, and Nina Secord from NorCliff Farms in Port Colborne, pose in front of what will, a few short weeks from now, be home to some of the farm’s 350,000 fiddleheads.

NorCliff Farms is in the midst of organizing its fifth annual fiddlehead culinary competition and this year funds raised from the competition will go towards Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. 

Get ready for some fun, food and fiddleheads.
On May 2, NorCliff Farms will be hosting its fifth annual fiddlehead culinary competition at the Sopra Upper Lounge in Toronto. NorCliff Inc., which has a 40-acre fiddlehead farm in Port Colborne, is using the competition to give back.
All proceeds raised at the event will be donated to Sick Kids Hospital.
“We’re really excited and very honoured,” said Nina Secord, director of marketing for NorCliff.“We felt like Sick Kids Hospital touched our hearts,” added husband Nick, president of NorCliff.
While the event has been a popular one, first in Niagara and then last year moving to Toronto, this is the first time proceeds raised will go to charity.
Nina said it was time to give back.“I think Sick Kids Hospital is here to stay.
We truly believe in their cause,” added Nick about the prospects of turning the event into a yearly fundraiser for Sick Kids.

The event will feature three gourmet chefs and seven judges.
The chefs will create their best and most unique recipes using fiddleheads.
The judges will then compare taste, appearance and creativity in each chef’s use of fiddleheads.In addition to the competition fiddler Anne Lederman will provide music, and Peller Estate Wines will provide wine for guests.
Sopra, the host of the event, is owned by Paolo Paolini and celebrity chef Massimo Capra, who will act as one of the guest judges.
And while Nick said fiddleheads can be as easy as boiling them and adding a little butter and garlic, the recipes on display at the competition will be much more complex and gourmet.“They’ll be a lot more complicated, with a lot of ingredients,” he said.
In the past, chefs have created fiddlehead paté, ravioli and even gone as far as turning fiddleheads into a smoothie drink, Nina added.
Nick, originally from New Brunswick, began growing fiddleheads almost by accident in the 1970s. He has since expanded and moved the headquarters to Port Colborne five years ago when he bought the property in the area to be closer to Nina’s hometown.

Though the event is in Toronto, the Secords are encouraging Niagara residents to buy tickets to both support Sick Kids and have an enjoyable trip to Toronto.
“Buy a ticket and make a day of it in Toronto,” Nina said.

There will be 70 tickets available, costing $100 apiece.

The event takes place on Wednesday, May 2, with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the event beginning at 7. There will also be a silent auction.For more information on the event or to inquire about tickets, call:
Nina Secord at 905-835-0808 or email nina@norcliff.com, or visit www.norcliff.com. Norcliff has also set up an account with TD Canada Trust. Donations can be made at any branch across Canada to transit #3824, and account #5217708.

http://www.niagarathisweek.com/community/food/article/1316264--fiddleheads-for-sick-kids