Watch out for Good Times weekly starting Dec. 22
India’s version of “Food Network” will showcase the best in Canadian food and wine starting Dec. 22.
Canadian food, drink, and tourism will be showcased to the world in New Delhi Television’s Good Times starting Dec. 22.
Good Times will air ten weekly English-language episodes, hosted by Indian celebrity chef Vicky Ratnani and filmed in Canada, about Canadian high-quality food and drinks, using some of the country’s most scenic locations as a backdrop.
“India is a very important market for Canadian farmers, particularly for our canola and pulse industries,” says Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. “This series of cooking shows is a fantastic way to promote some of our top-quality products directly to consumers in India and around the world.”
“This is just one more way our government is working to increase the demand for Canadian agriculture and food products and promote tourism, boosting the Canadian economy and creating more jobs,” adds Ritz.
The special series entitled “Vicky Goes Foreign-Canada Tadka” (“Tadka” is the Hindi word for seasoning or spices added to Indian dishes), was filmed in eight provinces across Canada in the summer and early fall of this year.
Good Times will be broadcast to over 39 million NDTV viewers in India alone, and to millions more internationally via satellite networks and the Internet.
The ten episodes feature a combination of cooking demonstrations by Canadian chefs and Chef Vicky, and visits to popular eateries and tourist attractions.
Canadian food and drinks featured in the Good Times series include canola oil, pulses (peas, beans, lentils, and chickpeas), barley, potatoes, fish and seafood, wild rice, hemp, honey, cheese, wine, icewine, and beer.
“I have used canola oil and pulses from Canada in the past and quite love them,” says Vicky. “The quality and the taste are amazing.”
“I’m always on the lookout for all things new and exciting in food, and Canada was a brand-new canvas for me as a chef,” adds Vicky. “It was a complete paradise, rich in fantastic produce, and I felt that it helped me in taking my creativity in cuisine to another level.”
The Good Times television series began in Atlantic Canada as a follow-up to a tour taken by Vicky to the region last year with a group of Indian food buyers and other chefs, organized by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
The four episodes taped in Atlantic Canada were produced with support from ACOA and the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
The other six episodes for Good Times were filmed in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, with support from these provinces and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Canada Brand initiative with in-kind support provided by the Canadian Tourism Commission.
Canada has an important trade relationship with India, as highlighted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s recent mission to India in November.
Exports of agriculture and agri-food products to India have grown substantially in the past five years, from $474 million to over $640 million in 2011.
Pulses are Canada’s most important agricultural export to this market, worth over $633 million in 2011; Saskatchewan alone exported around 88 per cent of Canada’s agricultural exports to India in the same year, most of which consisted of dried peas and lentils.