Our geography determines the foods that grow naturally and well in our area, what we eat, and who we are. So, it should not be surprising that Canadian Geographic magazine would publish a cookbook and this they did in 2002 called The Great Canadian Feast. It was a kind of Canadian community cookbook with contributions from readers across the country that resulted in 160 pages of 62 recipes each with the contributor’s story about the origin or significance of the recipe. https://archive.org/details/greatcanadianfea0000unse
The current editors of Canadian Geographic have seized on the food theme stating: “Our culinary traditions, and by extension our cultures, are inextricably connected to place and the ingredients harvested from land and sea for sustenance and pleasure” (145(5), 2025, p. 8). This autumn issue explored food-as-community for diasporas in Canada and included articles on wild rice and apples. The food theme is often picked up in the magazine revealing the intricacies of the links between history, geography, and food.
The food section in the autumn issue was titled “Food is Everything We Are” and tied together the stories of four diaspora groups and the way food sustains the ties to home: Winnipeg’s Filipino community, the Indian Chinese restaurants of Vancouver, the Haitian-Montrealers, and the “little Lebanon” enclave in north Edmonton. Primrose Madayag Knazan notes that “food is home” and comfort food is the food our mothers have cooked. Winnipeg has one of the largest Filipino populations in Canada and dozens of Filipino restaurants offer an array of food for the soul. Sharon Nadeem tells of the origins of Indo-Chinese or Hakka cuisine, a kind of fusion that occurred in the late 1700s when Chinese immigrants settled in Calcutta when it was the capital of the British empire in India. The blend of Indian spice from chilies, ginger and garlic melded with soy sauce and vinegar to create the unique flavours featured at restaurants like Green Lettuce and Indian Wok in Vancouver and area. JP Karwacki profiles Haitian chef Ralph Alerte Desamours and his restaurant Palme in Montreal, a place where he honours his Haitian heritage and shows what those traditions can grow into. Omar Mouallem gives a tour of little Lebanon in Edmonton, and notes that because most Lebanese families cook at home, the grocery stores are the real hubs of social and cultural life. We meet the Elsafadi Brothers, the grocery kings; the Sunbake Pita Bakery, Cedar Sweets, Paradiso Pastries, and Castle Bake where the flavours and smells are gathered for home and family food traditions.
On my next trip to Winnipeg, I want to find Ger Salakot to sample dishes such as dinakdakan, kare-kare, sinigang, and kutsinta. In Edmonton its worth searching out Little Lebanon for baklava, a knafeh sandwich, booza, man’eesh or fatayer. We are so lucky to have foods of the world on our doorsteps!
Many of the food related articles in past issues of Canadian Geographic are available online. https://canadiangeographic.ca Scroll to reach the “Food & Drink” section and find titles: “Film Food: World-class cuisine meets cinematic excellence in Wolfville, Nova Scotia,” “Canada’s non-alcoholic revolution,” “An appetite for life: A Greek immigrant’s journey of hearty food and hospitality,” and “Cooking with crickets: A sustainable food option packed with protein.”
The magazine editors are planning more food related articles in future issues and it’s worth keeping an eye out for where they go next. It’s often British Columbia but often some other part of Canada that we can learn about.
