Foodies, CNE lovers, and summer date explorers, rejoice! The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is back August 16 – September 2, 2024 serving up an eclectic line-up of sugary confections, unexpected flavour combinations, and supersized portions of favourite fair foods.
Come hungry!
Spicy food lovers can rejoice in everything from wasabi ice cream to jalapeno lemonade, and there’s even a whole softshell crab-on-a-stick drizzled with ketchup, mayonnaise and of course…hot sauce.
Everything at the CNE is coming up rainbows with many colourful foods such as a bright red Kool-Aid
sauce chicken sandwich, a tzatziki cheesecake, ube street corn smothered in purple yam, and a ‘unicorn’ street corn covered in rainbow queso.
A giant foot-long samosa can only be outmatched at the CNE by a 15-inch diameter donut that is made for sharing (to eat) and for the ‘Gram.
Also, deep-fried creations have gone wild this year with a deep-fried butter chicken lasagna, butter chicken corn dog, deep-fried pickle oreos, deep-fried mozzarella stick hot dogs, and even a spiral-cut pickle on a stick that is deep-fried and tossed with flamin’ hot Cheetos, or with crushed dill pickle chips.
All the food vendors will be around the Exhibition Place grounds from the Food Building, Midway concession area, and Princes’ Blvd for the annual Food Truck Frenzy & Craft Beer Fest (Aug. 17-Sept. 2).
Here are the new 2024 CNE foods
Karaage Soft-Shell Crab on a Stick
Crunchy, saucy, whole crab on a stick! Japanese-style softshell crab coated with potato starch deep-fried and covered in ketchup, mayonnaise, and hot sauce.
Vendor: Farm to Fryer
Find them: in the Food Building
Foot-Long Giant Samosa
A heavy-weight champion in its own class: Introducing the Giant Samosa measuring 12 inches and stuffed with potatoes and peas.
Vendor: Bombay Spice Street
Find them: in the Food Building
Wasabi Ice Cream
On the heels of ice cream flavours that have gone viral at the CNE (ketchup & mustard) — a new condiment is bringing the heat. Wasabi-flavoured soft serve ice cream in a charcoal cone topped with orange sugar pearls and roasted seaweed.
Vendor: Caf-Eh T.O. by One Shot Canada
Find them: in the Food Building
15-Inch Diameter Donut
A supersized donut that measures approximately 15 inches in diameter and more than 2lbs. This family-sized donut is meant to share with the whole family and goes for $20.00.
Vendor: Pancho’s Bakery
Find them: in the Food Building
Banh Mi Tacos & SpICE Cream Chorizo Fries Supreme
Bright, zesty flavours of the Vietnamese Banh Mi combined with a Latin flair to create Banh Mi Tacos offered with a choice of Saigon Fried Chicken or Crispy Fish.
Spicy and Icy – fries tossed in LVT hot oil and seasoning topped with cheddar cheese sauce, chorizo sausage, vanilla ice cream, chipotle ketchup, pico de gallo, and crispy jalapeños.
Vendor: Los Vietnamita Food Truck
Find them: Food Truck Concession
Sweet or Spicy Mochi Funnel Cake
O-Mochi is coming to the CNE with an EX-clusive flavour that will only be available for 18-days during the fair. The classic funnel cake treat is reimagined with their signature mochi donut in a sweet or spicy flavour – that is a mystery in every batch.
Vendor: O-Mochi
Find them: in the Food Building
Kool-Aid Fried Chicken Sandwich
Perfectly battered deep-fried chicken filet topped with choice of Kool-Aid flavoured reduction sauce served in a hamburger bun with assorted toppings.
Vendor: Fried Chicken Sandwiches
Find them: in the Food Building
Crookie Sandwiches
The “C” in CNE this year is for Crookie: A hybrid pastry of cookie & croissant that is great on its own, or as part of a fried chicken sandwich.
Vendor: Fried Chicken Sandwiches
Find them: in the Food Building
Tzatziki Cheesecake
Made from scratch (and with love), this New York-style cheesecake is topped with tzatziki buttercream and pita chips. Opa!
Vendor: Greekery Bakeshop
Find them: Midway Concessions
Deep Fried Birria Taco Bomb
Famous Birria beef and cheese tacos are now bite-sized; stuffed into a corn tortilla ball and deep-fried golden brown and served with consommé.
Vendor: Deep Fried Co
Find them: in the Food Building
Fruity Cereal Chicken Tender (& Cocoa Pebbles, Cheez-Its, All-Dressed)
Have breakfast and nostalgic snacks with your chicken lunch… let us example. At Lucky Chicken, tenders are coated in crispy breading then rolled in either Fruity Pebbles cereal, Cocoa Pebble cereal, Cheez-Its, or All-Dressed chips and served with an inventive dipping sauce.
Vendor: Lucky Chicken – House of Funky Tenders
Find them: in the Food Building
Deep Fried Pickle Oreos
Oreos and pickles are the newest odd pairing to be deep fried together, individually opening up an Oreo and layering pickles inside before deep frying it in a dill batter, then topping it with fresh dill sprigs and a creamy sauce.
Vendor: Sam’s Grill
Find them: in the Food Building
The Super Fly Noodle
Be Super Fly while you slurp extra-large portions of “Floating” sauced instant noodles topped with your choice of protein and unlimited toppings.
Vendor: Super Noodle Co
Find them: in the Food Building
Footlong Deep Fried Mozzarella Stick
Mouth-melting 100% Canadian mozzarella cheese served in a hoagie hotdog bun drizzled with all kinds of toppings.
Vendor: Pizza Pizza
Find them: in the Food Building
Uni-corn
Freshly roasted corn covered with rainbow-coloured queso.
Vendor: Freshly Roasted
Find them: in the Food Building
Lavender Lemonade & Whipped Lemonade
Chill out with a unique mixture of lavender and lemonade garnished with a slice of lemon and fresh rosemary.
Topped with a citrusy cloud of lemon foam (made from lemonade blended with lemon ice cream) this drink is dessert and refreshment in one
Vendor: Real Fruit Splash
Find them: Midway Concessions
The Twisted Pickle
Pickle but with a twist! Spiral-cut dill pickle is deep fried ‘till crispy and covered in choices of Flamin’ Cheetos or homemade Dilly Ranch sauce with crushed dill chips.
Vendor: Twisted Pickles
Find them: Midway Concessions
Avocado Coconut Ice Cream
A tropical phenomenon of frozen dessert – avocado ice cream garnished with coconut shavings and a chocolate ball to reconstruct into the shape of an avocado and served in a coconut bowl.
Vendor: Soo Cute
Find them: Midway Concessions
Butter Chicken Corn Dog
A carnival staple reimagined. A chicken hot dog coated with masala batter and drizzled with butter chicken sauce.
Vendor: Sam’s Grill
Find them: Midway Concessions
Ube Sesame Street Corn
Take a bite of fire-roasted street corn coated with purple yam and sprinkled with cheese, sesame seeds, chilli flakes, and spring onions.
Vendor: Sam’s Grill
Find them: Midway Concessions
Crème Brûlée Chimney Cone
Consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar in a hand-rolled traditional Hungarian Pastry ‘Chimney Cone.’
Vendor: Eva’s Original Chimneys
Find them: in the Food Building
Jalapeño Lemonade
Refreshing lemonade with a spicy kick of jalapeño.
Vendor: Alijandro’s Kitchen
Find them: Midway Concessions
Deep Fried Butter Chicken Lasagna
Hearty and comforting butter chicken layered in every bite of lasagna, and deep-fried.
Vendor: Rick’s Good Eats Food Truck
Find them: Midway Concessions
Mac & Cheetos Popsicle
Fried mac and cheese conveniently served on a stick is livened up with a Cheetos coating.
Vendor: Farm to Fryer
Find them: in the Food Building
Spammy Tots
Crispy sushi rice “tots” topped w/ SPAM fries, Aloha Shoyu, nori flakes, furikake and spicy mayo!
Vendor: Get Your Own Taters
Find them: Food Truck Frenzy on Princes Gates’ Blvd in front of Enercare Centre
Cheeseburger Spring Rolls
One of our favourite bites from the media preview day, these are perfectly rolled snacks with a savoury, saucy punch. Ground beef, American cheese and dill pickles in a spring roll coating served with a burger dipping sauce akin to the iconic mac sauce.
Vendor: Smash City
Find them: in the Food Building
Deep Fried Cheese Curds (Taylor’s Version)
Swifties, this one’s for you! The Ex is in their Era’s Tour era and these golden, sweet, cheesy curds, have been dressed up with “Wildest Cream” icing, “Lavender Haze” crunch, “Lover” cotton candy and “Bejeweled” edible shimmer.
Vendor: The King of Curds
Find Them: Midway Concessions
We’ll be sharing end-of-summer dates and everything CNE all month long! Keep your eyes out here for more.