Northern Ontario is full of flavour, and for ten days this November it’s all under one roof at Exhibition Place. Forty-three producers from across the North—Algoma to Kenora, Manitoulin to Timiskaming—have made the trip south to The Royal with wild blueberry wine, squeaky cheese curds, small-batch hot sauce, spruce-tip everything, hand-spun alpaca wool and more. Tap any producer below to see who they are, where they’re from and what they’ve brought to the fair.
From the land. Wild blueberries that ripen on Algoma’s rocky highlands. Haskap and hawberries, spruce tips, wild rice and mushrooms foraged from the boreal edge. Maple syrup from bushes that have been tapped for generations. Northern producers work with what the Shield gives them—and what it gives them is unlike anything grown down south.
From the water. Northern Ontario has more freshwater coastline than almost anywhere on earth, and it eats like it. Cold-water whitefish, trout and pickerel from Lake Huron, Lake Superior and the inland lakes are the backbone of the North’s most famous meal: the shore lunch.
From the barn. Kapuskasing cheese ripened the old way. Sudbury cheese curds. Honey from bee yards in Nipissing and Parry Sound. Alpaca herds in Cochrane District turning out hats and mittens built for a real winter.
From the still and the brewhouse. Craft breweries in Kenora, Timmins, Manitoulin and Parry Sound. A distillery in Hearst. Ginger ale bottled with Temagami water. The North makes something worth raising a glass to in every district.
And the sweet stuff. Butter tarts, cookies, chocolate, granola, freeze-dried fruit—Northern bakers and makers have a way of turning a long winter into something you’d drive a long way for.
The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair runs November 6 to 15, 2026 at Exhibition Place, 100 Princes’ Boulevard, Toronto. Hours are 9 am to 8 pm Tuesday through Saturday and 9 am to 6 pm Sunday and Monday. Find these producers in the Northern Ontario pavilion—then, when you’ve had a taste, come north and try it at the source.
Ready to plan your trip? Start at northernontario.travel/where-to-eat.
