The opening of The Food District at Mississauga’s Square One Shopping Centre is less than a month away and those in the city who love to eat are counting down the days.

Toni Holley, the mall’s marketing director, said The Food District is set to open on April 1 with the official grand opening happening on April 4.

On Thursday, March 7, Square One organized a sneak peek of what to expect from the district, which will be home to more than two-dozen eateries and shops that will offer a variety of sweet and savoury treats. Several of the stores — BRØD, Blackjack BBQ, Pier 87 Fish Market and Grill, Seed to Sausage and The Macaron Boutique, among others — had representatives on hand to give out samples of what they will be selling in a matter of weeks.

The preview took place in The District Kitchen — an interactive demonstration space that will offer cooking classes, dinner parties and other special events. It was also a chance to introduce its in-house chef Julian Pancer, who later led interested foodies in a demo on how to make potstickers.

“There’s a growing interest in food culture and The Food District is a place to meet, explore and share a love of food,” said Holley.

She went on to describe The Food District as something different but complementary to the mall’s existing food court, known as Food Central. While the district will be a place to grab a bite to eat, it will also have stores where shoppers can pick up ingredients to do their cooking at home, much like a market.

“This is a whole other experience than a food court,” she said.

Oxford Properties, which manages Square One, also runs Newmarket’s Upper Canada Mall. Holley said they opened up a similar concept there and it proved rather successful.

To bump up the wow factor, the mall brought in celebrity Jonathan Cheban, who’s better known as the Food God to his more than three million Instagram followers. He comes by his moniker honestly, telling the crowd that he “eats out 365 days a year.”