Kraft Dinner smoothies, nitrogen-infused Oreo treats and pickle-flavoured coffee are among the wild food offerings at the Canadian National Exhibition this year.
Media got a preview of the culinary standouts ahead of the annual end-of-summer Toronto fair's official opening on Friday.
Mark Holland, CEO of the fair, says Toronto’s food scene is legendary and the CNE tries to do it justice.
The former federal health minister says the butter chicken taquitos are his favourite this year.
The CNE will also include an Ontario Science Centre pop-up and carnival rides.
The Kraft Dinner smoothies were billed as a "refreshing" sweet and savoury treat, with cheesy KD Shaker dust blended with mango, pineapple juice and vanilla frozen yogurt.
Greekery Bakeshop brought other startling summer flavours: a smoky bacon and white chocolate iced mocha, and a dill pickle Greek iced coffee.
The frozen "Space Rocks" treat was a nod to this year's galactic theme — Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will answer questions about the Artemis II mission and life in space on the fair's opening day.
The Oreo treats were carefully doled out of a freezing cold bucket, and otherworldly clouds of nitrogen fog spilled out of the bowls.
Some of the offerings were bite-sized, such as edible spheres filled with blue raspberry dirty soda and strawberry cold foam. Others were more of a commitment, including the foot-long butter chicken taquito, which is stuffed with fragrant basmati rice and served with a creamy aioli.
Beach Hill Smokehouse served up warm, crispy waffle cones stuffed with sweet candied yams and topped with a hearty serving of house-made mac and cheese.
The fair starts on Friday and runs through Labour Day.
The city's public transit agency is planning to add service on bus and streetcar routes that serve Exhibition Place. The TTC will also run dedicated CNE shuttle buses providing service between the subway line at Dufferin Station and the Dufferin Loop near the exhibition grounds, it said.
