The perfect end to a long weekend; Dejeuner, the perfect inclusive brunch lime

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

What a weekend it has been; the sky was blue, the sun was shining, everyone had done wok up dem waist, and people were looking forward to having one more day off before they had to head back to work. GF Promo did it again by providing the community a fabulous way to wind down from their weekend; Dejeuner (which just means lunch in English) was on Sunday, August 4^th at The Birches, which is located close to Don Mills and Eglinton.

This is the first time that Toronto Caribbean Newspaper was invited to Dejeuner, so Trish Browning and myself opted to attend. We had been so impressed by Crave, that when Alain P. Arthur, C.E.O., and Executive Producer of Caribbean Vibrations, who happens to also be member of the GF Promo team let us know that there were tickets waiting for us, we found our cutest and most comfortable outfits and took the trek down to Scarborough.

The event started at 3:00 pm, but most people began to show up around 5:00 pm, which was about the time that Trish and I arrived. Finding parking was much easier this time, and I was curious to see how Dejeuner differed from Crave. The first observation that I made was that the venue was smaller, and had a more chill like feel to it then the Ascott Parc Event Centre. At the gate, we were given our wristbands and instructed to pick up the cups for our drinks in the building beside us. This led me to the second observation that unlike Crave (which was drink and food exclusive), at Dejeuner, you had to purchase drink tickets. This confused me a little until Trish reminded me of the price difference. “Remember Simone, tickets for Crave were starting at $15.00 and went up to $150.00. The tickets for Dejeuner are $60.00.” “Yea, it makes sense. You are absolutely right,” I responded thoughtfully.

Trish bought us a drink and headed over to the food line, which was starting to build. I noticed that slowly but surely, the venue was beginning to fill up. DJs: Freeze International, Sounds4Life, and the Freshmen started to drop the songs that make you can’t help but move your hips. As we stood there, we saw a friendly face, and friend to the paper, Linden King approaching us. It is not a foreign idea to see a few familiar community faces at a GF Promo party; it is nice because it does give you time to catch up with people on a relaxed vibe, instead of on our usual hurried vibes.

What Trish and I were both impressed with was the FOOD! Bake and Saltfish, Pumpkin, Pelau, Geera Pork, Vegetable Rice, Cassava Dumpling, Tofu, and Vegetable Rice, OMG! I saw it all and grabbed four plates: two for Trish and two for myself. I knew that one of their plates was not going to hold my food because I wanted everything. We sat and enjoyed our meals, and then went to enjoy the rest of our time. Overall, it was just what was needed to end the weekend. The crowd was mature, the drinks were flowing, the energy was right, and did I mention that the FOOD WAS GREAT!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend, and if you did not catch Dejeuner this year, at least now you know what to expect.