Fusion is not new in the restaurant world. Even though Chef Edward Lee fears it has become a culinary gimmick, he knows the concept had profound meaning when it originated in a restaurant in Florida under the gaze of one of his heroes, Norman Van Aken. Real fusion is attuned to the everyday cooking of […]
Chicken Soup for the Soul selected another of my essays for their newest book released August 14, 2018. My first essay was about somone I love and this latest essay is about something I hate. Or more specifically, how I was able to temporarily overcome something I hate (roller coasters) to conquer a lifelong fear. […]
When it comes to using insects as food, a cry of “Bring on the delicacies” comes from certain cultures, whereas others need to be near-to-death starving before considering bugs for dinner. Two recent books, Edible: An Adventure into the World of Eating Insects and the Last Great Hope to Save the Planet by Daniella Martin […]
It is not surprising that romantic unions occur over a common love of certain food, as dictated by the adage that the way to one’s heart can be through the stomach. It is far less often you will see a couple bonding over a meal liked by one individual but not by the other, but […]
My wife and I met because of books. I had been working in a bookstore for over a year with no romantic prospects, but then a particular girl was hired to do the same job as me. We both vividly remember the first words I spoke to her, even though we had different interpretations of […]
Falling on the third Thursday in May, National Caesar Day kicks off the May 2-4 long weekend. For Canadians, this is the unofficial beginning of summer and the Caesar has become our most beloved and patriotic cocktail. Canadian restaurant manager Walter Chell is credited for inventing the Caesar at an Italian restaurant in Calgary in […]
If David Wondrich had not already won a James Beard Award for Wine & Spirits writing, his book could be nominated for a fake prize in the Longest Title category with its full title being Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to “Professor” Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the […]
If you found yourself, as I did with my wife and two boys, at the Downtown Chatham Centre on the Saturday before Family Day in February, you may have come across a lot of jigging, jumping, and jiving going on. In the mall’s food court, directly outside the entrance of Ella Minnow Pea toy store, […]
Some big name children’s entertainers came to Chatham’s Capitol Theatre in November. Big name, that is, if you’re like me and have spent way too much time with the Disney Junior channel on television (only between bouts of Treehouse, of course, while secretly wishing it was TSN or The Food Network). I’m happy to say […]
Picture an outdoor dinner party, surrounded by the fields of a local farm, featuring food that was grown or raised within relatively close proximity, or – as the farmers might say – within spitting distance. The local residents eating the meal can pinpoint on a map of their municipality where the food came from. During […]