Every Friday we bring you our favourite foodie sights and sounds. Everything from food packaging and food inspired art, to recipes and reviews.
1. Know-How – Gluten Free Peeps
2. Sweets – Lemon Mini Bunt Cake
3. Little Bites – Mixed Antipesti
5. Atmosphere – Newspaper Reader
I’m really drawn to people who hold many talents. It might be that I see myself in them, but I think it’s mostly because it excites me to think of all the collaborations and conversations we could have, and the things that we can put out into the world. Chef-Turned-Artist, Kristina Groeger, has been a FGFS Fan Club member since Day One and was the first submission to roll in when we announced our gallery show, Fat In Public. If you live in or around Roncesvalles, or are an adventurer, you can see Kristina’s design work in the logo for Extra Butter, a nifty addition to the bourgeoning strip. I recently roped Kristina into answering a few burning questions about her work and life. 
FGFS: Who are you?
Kristina: Oh, hi hello. I’m Kristina Groeger.
FGFS: What do you do?
Kristina: I am a visual artist that lives in Toronto. I was a chef for a good number of years and decided to do a bit of a career change to focus more on making art and comics.
FGFS: What gets you excited about what you do?
Kristina: Half of my life ago (in high school), I can remember feeling really excited by creating a whole world with paint or pictures. I loved the idea of telling a story through something so simple. It’s exciting to watch a blob of paint or plate of food turn into a person with personality or a symphony of colour and taste.
FGFS: You’re like me in that your talents are varied. We do it all. Web, photography, art, cooking. I can’t imagine life being any other way. How about you? Is that just who you are, and how you function?
Kristina: I think this is definitely something I still explore and struggle with a bit. Without seeming like a “Jill of all trades, master of none” I like to think of myself more as an absent minded professor who is super close to a breakthrough. I’ve tried very hard to string together why I am such a “renaissance woman” (read: distracted aquarius). But, as far as web, photography, art, cooking? I see them all as forms of creation, story telling, or challenge and those are my favourite things to explore.
FGFS: What dish are you really, really good at making? Either you’re known for it, or just can just bang it out no problem and impress everyone.
Kristina: I would say that I am fairly known for my savoury or sweet pies. I really love working with pastry, also encompassing pasta and bread. I love kneading and sculpting the mixture of water, flour, and fat. It’s crazy how powder and liquid takes form into a delicious vehicle for flavour.
FGFS: Why is it that you create imagery and art that deals with food so prominently?
Kristina: Food for me has been an enormous part of my life for a really long time. I’ve been on a strict regime for the past six months to have more energy and start getting back into some sporty stuff I used to enjoy (skiing, swimming, baseball). When I was painting the donuts [paintings featured in Fat in Public], it was having an intense internal struggle about eating for pleasure vs. eating for body fuel. I also notice that everyone takes photos of their food the same way people would take photos of their family. The way we view food has shifted. When you see the way chefs like Michel Bras, Jason Bangerter, Daniel Humm, or Graham Elliott plate food you realize that this is art. They are using textures and viscosity to paint a beautiful landscape and story. I love exploring this in all types of mediums.
Ref: Chef Michel Bras Gargilou Source
FGFS: Anything else to add?
Kristine: This is one of my favourite videos of all time that shows the melding of food/art : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ_zMnxR9z8 
Kristina has generously given us some prints and stickers(!) of the donut paintings from her series, Round Food Makes You Round, that hung in out gallery show in February.
To be one of the lucky winners follow these steps: 1. Go follow Kristina on Twitter 2. Tweet using the hashtag #FGFSxRoundFood and let us know why you want to win!
For further exploration find Kristina at these hot online places: Tumblr: http://tumblr.kristinagroeger.com/ and Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KristinaGroegerArt
Portfolio: http://kristinagroeger.com/
FGFS friends Ron & Amarina of Ursa Major + getting into it.
#WeBrunch is a hashtag I use often on the FGFS Instagram account, because it’s true. The majority of our contributors live in the brunch capital of the world: Toronto. We love it. Not quite breakfast (so you can still sleep in), not quite lunch (so you can still eat one later); brunch really is the perfect meal. That’s partly why we love throwing our brunch series Bloggers Who Brunch. It’s a chance for us to sit down and relax over our favourite meal with some of our favourite people. It’s also chance for us to not only make connections with bloggers outside our food writers’ circle but also with the chefs, owners, and staff at some truly great restaurants in town.
March’s brunch took place at the Libertine where Chef Jordy made us up a spread of chicken and waffles (chicken lovingly supplied by Blue Goose Pure Foods), lobster quiche, mixed greens, bacon (like boxes of bacon), fresh fruit, and tofu scramble for those who veg. Plus, an amazing deconstructed lemon poppyseed cake to finish it off.
Some really rad people came out and even wrote up some pieces about the brunch. These things are supposed to be fun getaways from #bloglife, but I guess you can take the girl away from the blog but you can’t take the blogger out of the girl?
We’re happy to announce that the next Bloggers Who Brunch will be happening Saturday, May 17th, once again at the Libertine. Watch this space for more details to come!
Every Friday we bring you our favourite foodie sights and sounds. Everything from food packaging and food inspired art, to recipes and reviews.
1. Little Bits – Cauliflower Tots
Tots!
2. Big Bits – Cantaloupe & Brie Grilled Cheese
Come to me.
4. Sweets – Quinn Candy
Gorgeous!
5. Big Bits – Butternut Squash and Bacon Pizza Source
Every Friday we bring you our favourite foodie sights and sounds. Everything from food packaging and food inspired art, to recipes and reviews.
1. Food Words – NYT Magazine 15-Year-old Flynn McGarry
Must read!
Just lovely.
So simple!
4. Kitchen Envy – japanese cypress hinoki wood mug
5. Little Bites – Spinach Feta Pull Apart Bread
Every Friday we bring you our favourite foodie sights and sounds. Everything from food packaging and food inspired art, to recipes and reviews.
2. Sweets – Passionfruit & Cheesecake ice cream
3. Big Bites – Sea slat & Poppyseed Bagels
4. Atmosphere – Buddies In Bad Times
Every Friday we bring you our favourite foodie sights and sounds. Everything from food packaging and food inspired art, to recipes and reviews.
2. Sweets – Rock Candy Cupcakes
3. Little Bites – Adult Lunchables
4. Elsewhere – Holybelly, Paris
Here it is, friends. The menu for the long-awaited second helping of out Bloggers Who Brunch series. Plenty of noms to be had from the crew at The Libertine, who are supplying the waffles to Blue Goose Pure Food‘s hormone-free, organic chicken.
Don’t forget to grab your tickets to the Sunday, March 30th brunch!
Fat Girl Food Squad presents
Bloggers Who Brunch – a brunch for bloggers, writer, photographer, freelancers, and other new-media types!
Join us on Sunday March 30th at 11:30am for an informal gathering at
THE LIBERTINE (1307 DUNDAS ST WEST)
all-in $25 pre-fixe brunch including:
family-style served brunch, one mimosa, tea or coffee (other drinks available for purchase at the bar) – vegetarian option available.
psychic reader will be available – $25 cash per reading
TICKETS – https://www.uniiverse.com/BloggersWhoBrunch2
special thanks to food partners Blue Goose Pure Foods
Every Friday we bring you our favourite foodie sights and sounds. Everything from food packaging and food inspired art, to recipes and reviews.
1. Pretty Packaging – Bearded Brothers
Gluten-free energy bars from Austin, Texas.
2. Coffee – Ceramic coffee set launched by Luca Nichetto and Mjölk
Mjölk is probably my favourite place on the planet.
3. Food Art – Planters by Of a Kind + Chen Chen & Kai Williams
Fruit-shaped cement planters!
4. Sweets – Cacti Cupcakes
Perfection!
5. Little Bites – Lazer Cut Sushi
Next level beauty.
Fat Girl Food Squad 
