uniiverse

Abbey's Kitchen Stadium: Round 1!

Tue, 28 May 2013 18:10:00 -0400

Over the past weekend, Torontonians were invited to come down to Virgin’s Mod Club, to participate in an Iron Chef-esque food competition known as ‘Abbeys Kitchen Stadium.’ With 4 prominent chefs from Toronto’s food scene, paired with 4 food authorities as celebrity judges, participants were eager to dive into a new culinary experience. The proceeds of the event are donated to a local food initiative, My Food My Way; at $10/ticket.

The atmosphere was buzzing and vibrant as participants strolled around the venue, sampling eats & treats from local food establishments like Fidel Gastro’s, Rock Lobster Co., Pizzeria Libretto, and Woods Restaurant. Throughout the conversation and the competition, our host Abbey was sure to remind us of other unique attractions, such as the local Limonana crew supplying their new drink - or even which Forty Creek whiskey would go best with each dish.

A close up view of Rock Lobster Co.’s ‘Cowboy Corn’ – topped with potato chips!

As with every competition or contest, there had to be a surprise, and Abbey’s Kitchen was no different! Chefs had to use a secret ingredient with their recipe, no matter what it was. Keep in mind the food offerings here ranged from cowboy corn to Himalayan marrow mash - it was going to be difficult finding an ingredient that could work with all of these offerings! And if that wasn’t enough - Abbey revealed potato chips! The chefs had to include potato chips in their meals to be judged. Needless to say all the dishes were amazing, we were simply blown away by the chefs creativity and final execution.

Throughout the event, you could always find a lineup at the FG booth!

But possibly the greatest realization of the event came towards the end, when we learned that this was just the first of 4 Kitchen Stadiums to come! YUM. Overall, the food was delightful; the audience was engaging, and the experience unparalleled! We know the Uniiverse team is looking forward for Round 2!

The winner of Round 1 was Woods Restaurant, led by Chef Bruce Woods, they took the crowd by storm with their candied bacon & poached quail eggs. A fantastic victory for this up and coming restaurant, and a delectable treat for the rest of us!

*All photos of the event graciously provided to us by Angelina Earley @Anzi

Food-TrottingTO: A week of tastebud tourism in Toronto

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:59:51 -0400

Hey Toronto! Are your tastebuds in desperate need of a gastronomic getaway? Are you looking to meet new people who share your love of international foods? Join Uniiverse and Death Row Meals for Food-Trotting-T.O., a week of tastebud tourism from May 27 - 31. No passports necessary! Here’s where we’ll be traveling….

Monday: Italy

On Monday, we travel to Italy with Nick Manzone of Campagnolo and Jeremie Losier of Dolce Lucano, for evening of “Sunday lunch” style dishes – just like Nonna makes em. Book it here.

Tuesday: France

Next, we travel to France with Michelle Edgar of the Sweet Escapes Patisserie for some French baking that will leave participants glowing with that je ne sais quoi, and a very happy tummy. Book it here.

Wednesday: Latin America

On Wednesday, Rossy Earl from SupiCucu takes us down to the spicy south with Latinamerican dishes that are sure to put a salsa in your step. Mixes of sweet and savoury flavours are on the menu. Book it here.

Thursday: Thailand

Tired of always taking the Pad Thai route? Alan Tan of the soon-to-be-launched me.n.u food truck shows us his fresh take on Thai cooking with five dishes that are easy to replicate at home, adding exciting new flavours to your summer suppertimes (and happytimes.) Book it here.

Thursday: Second stop! Japan

Yakitori Bar’s Sang Kim provides drinks and snacks—Japan-style. Forget the 14-hour flight, Kim provides a variety of sake cocktails and Japanese appetizers that will undoubtedly satisfy. Book it here.

Friday: Belgium, England, Germany

Celebrate TGIF with a European beer tour ….in the heart of downtown Toronto. David Ort, author of “The Canadian Craft Beer Cookbook,” promises to bust myths about how beers taste in each country, as well as give us tips on food pairings with each beer. Book it here.

Love at First Bite: Food photo contest! nom.

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:54:00 -0400

To celebrate all of the amazing food events happening through Uniiverse, we wanted to give the foodies of the world a chance to win some dough (not the edible kind) with a photo contest!

Winning $50 could be a piece of cake by showcasing the yummy foods you’ve eaten.

How to enter:

Upload a photo you’ve taken of some delicious food to our Facebook Page contest tab
The photo with the most votes by May 25, 2013 wins $50!
Don’t forget to encourage your friends to vote for your photo to increase your chances!

We look forward to viewing your drool worthy entries. We’re getting hungry just thinking about it. Enter now by clicking here. Good luck and happy eating!

Contest Terms and Conditions available.

Contest also seen on:

http://www.cashnetsweeps.com/ http://www.contestcanada.net/

http://www.online-sweepstakes.com/ http://www.contesthound.ca/

Etsy & Uniiverse present: Week Long Craft-a-thon!!

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:39:00 -0500

Uniiverse has teamed up with our friends at Etsy, the world’s leading global marketplace for handmade goods, to offer a week’s worth of craft workshops taught by top notch Toronto Etsy Sellers.

From Monday, February 18, to Sunday, February 24, there will be five unique craft and “do-it-yourself” workshops in Toronto for anyone to sign up for and attend. It’s a great opportunity to learn something new and make wonderful things in the process!

All of the workshop details and how people sign up can be seen on the event home page here: www.uniiverse.com/etsycraftathon.

Schedule:

When: Monday, Feb 18, 6:30 - 8:30PM

What: Learn to Knit and Make a Headband

Cost: $25.00

Where: Uniiverse HQ

When: Tuesday, Feb 19, 6:30 - 8:30PM

What: 3 in 1 DIY Jewelry Workshop

Cost: $25.00

Where: Uniiverse HQ

When: Wednesday, Feb 20, 6:30 - 9:30PM

What: Linocut 101: Making your First Design and Print

Cost: $25.00

Where: Uniiverse HQ

When: Saturday, Feb 23, 12:00 - 2:00PM

What: Origami Crane and Necklace Workshop

Cost: $20.00

Where: Uniiverse HQ

When: Sunday, Feb 24, 12:00 - 2:00PM

What: Floral Headband Workshop

Cost: $25.00

Where: Uniiverse HQ

Check out the highlights from Rookie of the New Year! These...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:01:34 -0500

Check out the highlights from Rookie of the New Year! These unique opportunities for to discover something new in 2013 can be found on Uniiverse!

Video includes: Suspension yoga, 3D Printing Workshop, Silkscreening Workshop, and a Demo of Molecular Gastronomy! What a hoot!

What's Brewing: CaffeineTO Week!

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:11:12 -0500

CaffeineTO Week starts tonight and offers a fresh brew of unique caffeine infused events with some of Toronto’s finest baristas, chocolatiers, and tea experts. Check out the events listed below and buy your tickets here!

Monday, January 28, 2013, 7-9PM

Chocolate and Coffee Sommelier Tasting

Tuesday, January 29, 2013, 7-8PM

African Coffee Showcase with LIT Espresso Bar

Wednesday, January 30, 2013, 6:30-9:30PM

Coffee Cupping with Fahrenheit Coffee

Thursday, January 31, 2013, 6-8PM

Tea Blending Workshop at the Tea Emporium

Friday, February 1, 2013, 7:30-9PM

Tea Cocktails with Dan of Herbal Infusions

New Year's Resolution Contest

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:04:00 -0500

A new year is a chance to start fresh and commit to a resolution that can change your life. Here at Uniiverse, we believe in setting goals and pushing them to completion! To help keep you motivated, we want to see photographic proof that you’re working hard at achieving your 2013 resolutions.

Submit a photo of yourself getting one step closer to your goal for a chance to win $50!

How it works:

Upload a picture of yourself doing something to reach your 2013 resolution to our Facebook Page contest tab.
The photo with the most votes by March 10 wins $50!
A special prize will also be rewarded to the most unique photo, as chosen by the Uniiverse team.

We look forward to viewing your entries! Enter today by clicking here.

For full contest details please read the Terms and Conditions. Good luck!

Contest seen on:

http://www.sweepstakescrazy.com/

http://www.online-sweepstakes.com/

http://www.cashnetsweeps.com/

Rookie of the New Year 2013

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:05:00 -0500

Happy 2013!!! A new year is the perfect time to tackle new challenges and think about new ambitions: practice a new style of yoga, try 3D printing, master your new DSLR, learn to silkscreen, or become a scientist in the kitchen. You’re never too old to learn a new skill!

Rookie of the New Year is a series of five unique intro workshops to discover and learn something new this January. From Monday, January 14 to Friday, January 18, various Toronto-based experts will be teaching their skills to those willing to learn!

Not only are the workshops interesting, but also relevant to the time we are living in.

Rookie of the New Year workshops include:

Monday, January 14: Introduction to Suspension Yoga Class

Tuesday, January 15: 3D Printing for Total Beginners

Wednesday, January 16: Learn to use your DSLR

Thursday, January 17: Introduction to Silkscreening

Friday, January 18: An Evening of Molecular Gastronomy

To learn more and book your tickets to any of the above, check out: www.uniiverse.com/rookie2013

Win tickets to a pre-screening of Django Unchained

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:51:00 -0500

Picture this: It’s a cold wintery night on December 17th. You’re hungry and impatiently waiting for the release of Tarantino’s new film Django Unchained, which doesn’t come out in theatres until December 25th. Suddenly you realize that you have two tickets to the private screening tonight in Toronto, and a stash of free popchips! All of your problems are solved! How did you get so lucky? By entering the contest below, of course!

We’ve teamed up with our friends over at popchips to give 3 lucky winners a pair of tickets to the pre-screening of the highly anticipated Tarantino movie on December 17th.

Want to win one of the three pairs of tickets AND a popchips prize pack AND $25 in Uniiverse credits? Simply RT our initial tweet for your chance to be one the three lucky winners! Follow @uniiverseTO and @popchipsTO for brownie points.

Fine print:

• Contest is only open to those that live in Toronto

• Uniiverse will provide $25 Uniiverse Credits each for the top 3 winners

• Winner will be chosen on Thursday, December 13th

Movember Toronto Food Week: 5 nights, 5 food events, one cause

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:19:34 -0500

The first ever Movember Toronto Food Week (MOTOFO) will cook up 5 unique food events in the final week of November, guaranteeing fun, food, and full moustaches for everyone in attendance!

Organized by our team at Uniiverse and Joel Solish of Death Row Meals, MOTOFO will include one food event each evening, from Monday, November 26 to Friday, November 30, hosted by some of Toronto’s top food talent. A great cause, with great food. Who could ask for more?? Event proceeds will be donated to Movember.

MOTOFO Events:

Monday, November 26: Amanda Ford’s Fall Cooking Demo. City Girl Chef wants to teach us all a little bit about cooking for fall. Venison, cocktails, snacks, and a gorgeous woman - we can’t think of a better way to spend a chilly evening in Movember! There will also be an appearance from bee keeper Fred Davis of Fred D’s Bees. 7pm – 8:30 pm Cost: $40

Tuesday, November 27: Burgers n’ Beer at Burger Bar with Brock Shepherd. Taste a flight of all local craft beers, paired along side some great and inventive sliders from the crew at Burger Bar. 6pm – 8pm Cost: $25

Wednesday, November 28: Fermentation Workshop with David Ort of foodwithlegs.com. David will give a hands-on demonstration of the process that converts raw ingredients into some of the world’s most delicious foods. 7pm – 8:30 pm Cost: $5

Thursday, November 29: Fidel Gastro’s One-Year Anniversary: Matt Basille celebrates the elevation of street food and Fidel Gastro’s one-year anniversary with a Movember fuelled party. 7:30pm – 1:30 am Cost: $5

Friday, November 30: Uncorked Wine Tasting: Come and discover the world of local VQA wines with Allison Slute, the official sommelier at Death Row Meals and Pillitteri Estates Winery. Allison will present some great fall choices for buying local, and talk about these wines informally, but in depth. 7pm – 8:30pm Cost: $25

To attend any of the events and donate to the cause, book your tickets here: www.uniiverse.com/motofo

Are you a foodie? Post your own food events on Uniiverse! Learn more here: www.uniiverse.com/foodie

Show Your Passion

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 12:08:00 -0500

The Uniiverse team is full of passionate people with amazing hobbies. From spearfishing, to rock climbing, to producing music, there is a unique thirst for life in all of us. So if there’s one thing we care about at Uniiverse, it’s encouraging people to do what they love, and to share their happiness and experiences with others. That’s why we’re here.

To celebrate the passionate people of the world, we are holding a photo contest on our Facebook page.

How it works:

Upload a picture of yourself doing something you’re passionate about to our Facebook Page contest tab. The photo with the most votes by December 31st wins $50!

A special prize will also be rewarded to the most unique photo, as chosen by the Uniiverse team.

We look forward to viewing your entries! Enter today by clicking here.

For full contest details please read the Terms and Conditions.

This contest can be seen on:

www.Online-Sweepstakes.com

Sweepstakes Crazy

CashNet Sweepstakes

Cool Canucks

ContestCanada.net

The Uniiverse logo is growing some serious stache. Happy...

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 10:36:00 -0500

The Uniiverse logo is growing some serious stache. Happy Movember!

Halloween Costume Photo Contest

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:01:00 -0400

October is one of our favorite months of the year – why? Because Halloween is simply awesome. We wanted to celebrate the holiday in full force so we’re holding a Halloween costume photo contest on our Facebook page!

How it works:

Upload your most memorable Halloween photos to our Facebook page here for a chance to win $50. Creative, humorous, and embarrassing costume photos are key. The picture with the most likes by November 5th wins!

Examples:

Childhood photo of you in the most adorable or ridiculous Halloween costume ever. Thanks a lot Mom and Dad.
Your homemade costume creation – DIY for the win?
Your pets all dressed up for the occasion – cats and dogs wearing costumes? Yes please. Even a witch would melt at the sight. (terrible joke)
Your funniest Halloween party pic

3 Runners-up will also be hand picked by the Uniiverse team. You can share, tweet and send your photo to your friends to have them vote and support you.

We look forward to reviewing the entries! It’s going to be a hoot. Enter today by clicking here!

Don’t forget to celebrate Halloween with Uniiverse! Create and find parties, costume swaps (we’re planning 2!), pumpkin carving contests…and more!

For full contest details please read the Terms and Conditions.

As seen on:

Free Fitness Frenzy!

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 11:14:00 -0400

This Saturday, Uniiverse teamed up with some awesome Toronto fitness instructors from a variety of genres, and hosted a Free Fitness Frenzy in beautiful Trinity Bellwoods Park.

From 10am-12pm, the local instructors hosted a number of classes around the park at the same time, including Zumba, two styles of Yoga, Muscle Conditioning, and Caribbean Dance.

Everyone loved jumping around from class-to-class and experimenting with the various fitness styles. It was an amazing way to spend a sunny Saturday morning outdoors, meeting friendly new faces, and getting sweaty! Being fit has never been so fun. Who else was sore on Sunday?

Uniiverse aims to reconnect people in the real-world to share passions and discover new ones. At the Free Fitness Frenzy, we accomplished exactly that!

The turnout and feedback for this event was so amazing that we’ve decided to do it all over again! We’re excited to announce that the next Free Fitness Frenzy will take place on:

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Trinity Bellwoods Park

10 AM - 12 PM

Uniiverse aims to bring the best instructors in the city together and help people discover new ways to stay active. Toronto fitness instructors who are interested in participating in this event can contact: jaclyn.klein@uniiverse.com.

A huge thank you to the instructors who taught at our first Fitness Frenzy:

Conditioning: Robyn Henry

Kundalini Yoga: Bryan Es

Zumba: Janice

Hatha Flow Yoga: Romina

Dance Hall: Kay-Ann Ward

More event photos after the jump!

Twitter Contest: Win $100

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:51:00 -0400

Share your interests, skills and passions on Uniiverse and with your Twitter followers to win the #UContest draw!

Entering this Twitter contest is easy! Just create a listing on Uniiverse, then tweet the link using the hashtag #UContest.

Once you tweet about your listing with the hashtag, we put your name in a draw for one lucky person to win a $50 American Express gift card and a $50 Uniiverse credit! For each listing you create and tweet about with the #UContest hashtag during the contest period of 12:01 a.m. on August 13th and 11:59 p.m. on August 24th, you’ll get an additional entry to the contest.

There is no maximum number of entries so create as many listings as you can to increase your odds of winning the prize!

The winner will be announced on Monday, August 27th, and will be featured on Uniiverse’s Facebook page and Twitter account.

Please see the Rules and Regulations for full details.

Contests CashNet Sweepstakes

Photo

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:28:00 -0400

Surviving the Summer Sizzle with Uniiverse

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 16:16:00 -0400

Summer is upon us. For some, this is the best time of the year: school’s out, the snow has long been melted, the temperatures are high and it’s time to have fun fun fun until Daddy takes the T-Bird away. For others, the summer heat is a reason to squirrel away in air-conditioned bliss, comfortably watching those kids in that T-Bird muss their hair and sweat through their shirts. Whether you’re a sun baby or not, Uniiverse is a place to find the best ways to take advantage of the spirit of summer in your own personal way, with like-minded people.

It seems that no matter where you go, “summer” is synonymous with “beach.” So catch a wave and hang out near the ocean, lake, or whatever body of water is close by! We’re sure someone is looking for some friends to frolic with in the wet sand. Now, the San Francisco beaches may be cold, but that doesn’t mean you can’t light up a fire pit, grab some marshmallows and play volleyball until the sun goes down. Maybe you want to spend time on the water, but not IN the water? Alex wants to arrange a crabbing trip. Never been before? He’ll teach you. You’ll return to shore with stories of ship and sea to compliment your mild tan and (hopefully) a fresh batch of deadliest catch.

If the best body of water near you looks like this, we are sorry.

Cooling off in the water is a great way to enjoy the sun, but maybe you’d rather fully embrace the heat in all its sweaty glory? Ruby wants to host some hot yoga. After stretching out your toxins in one-hundred-degree, you’ll feel surprisingly refreshed stepping back out into the hot summer sun.

But you know what else is refreshing? Two words: Air. Conditioning. Headed to the arctic for the summer? Ok fine, that’s not likely. But the point is - if you’re out of town then please, seriously PLEASE let someone rent your AC unit before they waste money on a brand new one, or settle for melting away! Isn’t it great to have resourceful neighbors? That’s what the sharing economy is all about.

We hope Uniiverse helps you have the best summer yet. Get out there and make the most of it.

Share Your Story!

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 12:22:00 -0400

Do you have a great story about sharing to tell? Our friends at Shareable Magazine are holding a storytelling contest to celebrate the launch of their new book, Share or Die, about the importance of sharing and want to hear your story. Submit a story about sharing on Uniiverse for a chance to win a $1,000 Uniiverse credit (or you can donate winnings to your favorite nonprofit). For more information, see the guidelines and enter the contest here.

Submissions close on July 23 so get your stories in fast! Voting closes August 7.

You can submit a written story, or, if you feel like getting creative (who doesn’t?!) then you can record and submit a video explaining your story.

We look forward to reading some inspiring Uniiverse stories!

Lessons from Sesame Street always apply to the big picture....

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 12:14:00 -0400

Lessons from Sesame Street always apply to the big picture. Cookie Monster, we’re thinking what you’re thinking!! Share it maybe?

Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle Just Got Easier

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 11:08:00 -0400

You thought the 80’s was the fitness crazed decade? Think again Olivia Newton John, the oughties and tenties are getting physical in a whole new way. Today, more and more people are exploring new and exciting ways to eat well and exercise. Whether it be the latest work out craze (“do you Zumba?”), or the latest miracle food (“OMG I put kale in my blueberry smoothie today and it was amazing!”), there is always a new way to do better by your body and lucky for you, Uniiverse is a great way to find which “better” works best for you.

Play Classic Sports

All across the Uniiverse, people are looking for partners; Tennis partners, running partners, people to play basketball with, use Uniiverse to reignite your passion for some classic sports. For example, there are a bunch of jogging groups like Mandy’s. Maybe you were an excellent volleyball player in high school? James is looking to organize a pick-up beach volleyball game. Weekly activities like these will not only be good for your body, but you will also make new friends in the process.

Okay, this is not the tennis partner we had in mind…

Try Adventurous Sports

But maybe you’ve done the classic sports thing and you find it boring. Baseball? Been there, done that? Luckily, Uniiverse is full of adventure seekers like you. Get familiar with the lake and try wakeboarding or join Daphne who is seeking a skydiving buddy! Get that adrenaline rush you’ve been seeking, or challenge your body and your brain when you learn to boulder with Benjamin.

Get a Personal Trainer

Serious about getting fit? Maybe you need a personal trainer for some targeted one on one time. Mimi offers individual Pilates classes and Kelsey promises to get you fit. Former Biggest Loser contestant, Antoine Dove, offers free weekly bootcamp sessions! How much more motivating can it get? Find a personal trainer in your neighborhood using Uniiverse.

You Before using Uniiverse…. You After using Uniiverse

Find a Nutritionist

Physical activity, however, is just half the battle in the quest to be healthy. Food plays an important role and it can be a lot more complicated than simply five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Uniiverse offers a host of nutritionists who will get you on the right track to eating right.

So whether you just want to get out and play, or unleash your inner Adonis, Uniiverse is the place to go to maintain the healthy lifestyle you crave.