What Does Feast On® Certified Mean? Your Guide to Eating Local in Ontario

Feast On means there’s proof behind the promise

Across the Feast On® network, Ontario sourcing averages over 60%. Behind that figure, business are making everyday decisions to buy from Ontario farmers, growers and makers, bringing more of the province’s food and drink into the experiences you enjoy.

For restaurants and culinary experiences, certification starts with a requirement that at least 25% of their annual food purchasing dollars go toward food grown or raised in Ontario. Where applicable, businesses must also meet the same requirements for their beverage menus, including offering VQA red and white wines by the glass.

But that minimum is a starting point, not the ambition. Feast On® is creates opportunities to meet Ontario producers, discover suppliers and learn from other businesses finding creative ways to put local ingredients first. The aim is to make it easier for businesses to source more from Ontario over time, wherever they begin.

The important distinction? This is about actual purchasing practices, not just featuring an Ontario ingredient in a dish or describing a menu as farm-to-table.

Businesses submit information through a certification audit, done annually, which the Culinary Tourism Alliance verifies to maintain their certification. That gives you something concrete to look for beyond the word local: a commitment supported by documentation and reviewed year after year.

So, when a menu names a farm or a server introduces you to an Ontario cheesemaker’s work, that storytelling isn’t just a nice extra. It reflects a commitment to giving the people behind the food some well-deserved recognition.

Sometimes, the ingredients grow where you’re visiting

The connection between a place and what you’re tasting becomes especially tangible when you visit the people making it.

At GoodLot Farm & Farmstead Brewing in Caledon, hops grown right on the farm go into the brewery’s ales and lagers. With a barn tasting lounge and seasonal beer gardens, you can enjoy a drink at the very place where some of its ingredients began. That’s a compelling reason to put a farm brewery on your next countryside itinerary. 

Feast On® recognizes growers and producers through criteria suited to what they do. Their products must be produced in Ontario, with an Ontario-grown or -raised primary ingredient and predominantly Ontario-grown or -raised additional ingredients. These are independently owned, craft-focused businesses whose local content is central to what they make. 

For visitors, that opens up another way to explore: not only through the restaurants serving Ontario ingredients, but through the farms, shops and tasting experiences that bring you closer to their source.

And those connections matter beyond your visit. The Feast On® network represents $38 million in local food purchasing. Behind that number are orders placed with Ontario farms, ingredients bought from Ontario producers and relationships that connect the people growing and making our food with the businesses serving it.

When you choose a certified business, you’re supporting someone who makes those choices, too. Your stop for lunch or an afternoon tasting becomes part of a much bigger commitment to Ontario food and drink.

Eating local doesn’t have to mean choosing a particular cuisine.

At louf in Toronto, Chef Fadi Kattan draws on Palestinian culinary traditions while sourcing ingredients both locally and from Palestine. The restaurant’s suppliers include Ontario farms, dairies and food businesses, a reminder that a connection to Ontario ingredients can be expressed through many different food traditions. 

That’s an exciting part of exploring the province through food. The place where an ingredient grows and the knowledge someone brings to preparing it both contribute to what ends up on your plate.

It also helps explain what Feast On® does and doesn’t promise. Certification is not a guarantee that every ingredient comes from Ontario. It recognizes a meaningful, verified commitment to local sourcing, with defined standards behind it. 

There’s room for Ontario-grown ingredients and culinary traditions from around the world at the same table. At louf, that combination is part of the reason to book one.

Make the food part of the adventure

You don’t always have to leave the cooking to someone else.

At Maison Maitland Cooking School & Villas in the Brockville–1000 Islands region, you can spend a day cooking, learning and enjoying local food in a historic stone manor overlooking the St. Lawrence River. Its supplier network includes nearby farms and an Ontario creamery, bringing those local connections into the kitchen. With villas on the property, a cooking class can become the centrepiece of a getaway rather than something you fit between other plans. 

That’s a good way to approach your next food-focused trip: start with an experience that interests you and build from there. Book the class. Make the dinner reservation. Leave time to ask about an ingredient you’ve never tried, or bring something home that will remind you of the visit.