MARILYN CORNWELL: Marilyn's Photos - July 27 2026

Insider Reports. It seems to me to be a worrisome thing when it is stock trading - wondering what executives are buying and selling as they have made the decisions that will affect the stock price of the company they run.

But it is an entirely happy thing when it is the name of a grocery chain newsletter. The PC President's Choice Insiders Report was a very fun and interesting newsletter 40 years ago. Dave Nichol went far and wide in search of food to turn into grocery items that would entice us into the store. Dave Nichol described the Report as a cross between Mad Magazine and Consumer Reports. It combined "zaniness and food tips in a comic book format." It was launched in 1984 when I worked at Imperial Oil Limited at St. Clair and Yonge. That was the location of the corporate headquarters of Loblaw and Dave Nichol. That made for a very happy food time. They had a small grocery store located on the street level and it was packed with Dave's food finds. Along with things he wanted for his own home kitchen - great fish, meat and cheese. He named things "Memories of..." as he would find foods on his trips. Then he have the staff replicate the item and then name it after the place he visited, as in Memories of Szechwan Peanut Sauce & Dressing - which outsold ketchup in some stores. And there was his love of chocolate chip cookies and ice cream. Many good products there.

The Loblaw test kitchen was next door to his office. He would go into the test kitchen and taste test things and give the approval himself. He was it - all the consumer input you could get through focus groups or marketing surveys really came from Dave Nichol himself. We, the public, knew this. He was a retail food celebrity. Maybe Martha Stewart achieved a similar celebrity status. She had a broader lifestyle influence, bringing home decor, holiday and party planning into the cooking and food world. She too had a perfect chocolate chip cookie. This seems to be one of the most beloved foods (after pizza) as there are many celebrity chefs now with their special chocolate chip genius.

Doesn't the chocolate chip cookie explain some of the success of last year's Chocolate Tree at the Fantasy of Trees? I think so. The tree looked very yummy. Dave Nichol would have liked it.