Don’t ask for Snakes on a Plate.
New Free TV Channel Is Celebrating Caribbean Restaurant Week In Toronto
By Stephen Weir
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| One Caribbean TV's Mr. Toronto Damian Sogren at Real Jerk |
I wasn’t at the Real Jerk looking
for stars, I was there for the Jamaican food and to talk to Damian Sogren the
host of One Caribbean TV’s first Toronto Caribbean Restaurant Week shorts. Their on-air
Toronto foodie coverage runs from July 17 to July 27th.
One Caribbean Television is a
new-to-cable television network about the Caribbean and its
people. Their food event celebrates the rich tradition of Caribbean
cuisine found in Toronto as well as providing interesting programming for the
network, which recently launched on Bell Fibre TV, Channel 2481.
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| Damian Sogren |
Throughout the campaign, One
Caribbean Television is profiling select restaurants in the Greater
Toronto Area and offering their patrons a chance to win a trip for two to a
carnival in the Caribbean in 2020.
“For the Restaurant Week I’ll be
doing some coverage and video features of a few of the participating
restaurants, showcasing all their unique cultural and culinary facets,” Sogren
told the Caribbean Camera. “Of course the Real Jerk is a must-have restaurant.”
Since One Caribbean Television is
currently free to watch on Bell Fibre, it doesn’t cost anything to take part.
“Toronto foodies can certainly vote for their favourite participating
restaurants by logging onto our website (www.onecaribbeantelevision.com/canada)
or going by to the restaurants and voting in person,” explained Sogren.
“I wouldn’t say Caribbean dishes
are under appreciated, the folks that are aware of the restaurants that serve
Caribbean love them and support the cuisine,” he continued. “I think we just
need to bring more awareness about the wonderful food offerings and the
benefits of the culture beyond our communities.
Sogren is quickly becoming the
face of the new channel. He hails from Trinidad but for the past five years he
and his wife have called Toronto home.
When not working for the Erie, Pennsylvania based network here in
Canada, he is an active as a professional MC for corporate, wedding and party
events and as a PR consultant.
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| Gerrard St East - The Real Jerk |
“I present and produce TV
segments for the network. I am passionate about showcasing the region’s
cultural festivals and tourism offerings. After the Restaurant Week I will go
straight into Toronto Caribbean Carnival coverage mode. “
During the first week in
August, One Caribbean Television will broadcast Carnival Week.
It will be seven days of coverage of the Caribbean carnivals occurring in
Antigua, Barbados and Toronto among other locations.
In the first few days the station
has already received enough votes for Toronto restaurants to come up with a top
five list. The Real Jerk is number one,
followed by Chubby’s Jamaica, The Avenue, Rasta Pasta and Delight Food
Caribbean Takeout.
Meanwhile since the Caribbean
Camera will never find out what Samuel Jackson ate last week at the Real Jerk,
we are left to
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