As Canada celebrates the 20th anniversary of Food Day on Saturday, organizers are sharing some ways to get involved in the food story.
Suggestions include trying a new recipe, dining at your favourite restaurant or sharing your stories and pictures online by using #FoodDayCanada and tagging @FoodDayCanada.
Dorothy Long, managing director with Canadian Food Focus, says she loves trying new recipes. She adds since we are such a large diverse nation, then one might look regionally to decide on a new dish.
“So, looking in your region for what kind of ingredients are grown and raised there is a great way to start to think about what you might prepare. We are also diverse culturally and possibly thinking about that from your own culture or another culture – that would be a great way to think about what you could cook that day.”
Long says the roots of Food Day go back to the BSE crisis when borders were closed to Canadian Beef. She adds the late Anita Stewart, an icon of Canadian cuisine started what was called the world’s longest barbecue to support beef sales. That evolved into a celebration of Canada’s food and the people who produce it. Long says that over three decades, Stewart led the charge to define what exactly is Canadian cuisine.
Long says across the nation, there are many restaurants and chefs doing “farm to table” cuisine, all-year round in celebration of Canadian cooking.
“I know that lots of them will be featuring special items on their menu. You can use the website fooddaycanada.ca to see what’s going on in your area, and support a farm to table restaurant.”
As two decades of Food Day is being observed, officials note it is one of the nation’s largest and longest-running celebrations of the individuals who work to put food on the table.