A Love Letter to Canada’s Vast Culinary Landscape

It’s taken 25 years, and more distance than I imagined, to gather my thoughts on Canadian cuisine. For a long time, whenever I was asked by American or international friends what Canadian food is, I couldn't help becoming slightly defensive, which I attribute partially to my frustration at how little most people outside the country are taught about us and, with some reflection, how little I knew, too.

Like most young adults in search of themselves, I was focused solely on the future, with no thought to what I was leaving behind, when I moved from my Toronto home to New York City at age 23 to pursue a career in food. After countless return visits to Ontario and Quebec (where I spent much of my childhood and attended university), as well as to several provinces I never saw as a child, I have become somewhat of an evangelist for the flavors of Canada. My quick pitch is this: Canada is a microregional, ingredient-infatuated, joy-seeking, and respectfully rebellious teenager, on the brink of brilliance. 

Naturally, I can’t chronicle my homeland’s expansive food culture in a few short paragraphs. The sheer size of the country means there’s far too much ground to cover and too many stories to tell. I do know for certain that it begins with considering the immeasurable ways in which First Nations, Inuit, and Métis populations have informed our foodways. Likewise, it’s impossible to underestimate Canada’s relative youth as a united, fully independent nation, which I believe allows for fewer steadfast rules and perhaps more room for its diverse immigrant communities to experiment, innovate, and find their footing.

As a child, I often heard Canada described as a mosaic (in contrast to America’s melting pot) — a patchwork of food traditions and distinct identities, brought together by the common ingredients that Canada’s varied, at times extreme and inhospitable, landscapes offer. This certainly holds true for my own family, with one first-generation parent of Eastern European roots and the other an immigrant from South Africa. 

Sure, there will always be national pride in foods like poutine, maple sugar pie, Bloody Caesars, ketchup chips, and Beavertails. They’re cliches for a reason, and I consume them all (plus many more) with gusto whenever I’m there. But when I think about the true flavors of Canada and the dishes I hold most dear, I think mostly of specific ingredients and how they connect me to the vastness of Canada’s wilderness and the ingenuity of its people. 

But don’t just take my word for it. Instead, dive in here for a veritable celebration of Canada’s food scene at this moment. In the stories that follow, I’ve enlisted a dozen or so of Canada’s most insatiable writers, eaters, and chefs to take you from coast to coast to coast (yes, Canada borders three distinct oceans), introducing you to the characters, ingredients, and restaurants leading the country’s taste buds toward a distinctly delicious future.

Bianca Bujan visits Steveston, British Columbia, where spot prawn season is serious business, and Toronto food guru Ivy Knight reports how two Canadian chefs found themselves in charge of the most famous fermentation lab in the world. (We love our pickles.) Ilona Daniel discovers a bounty of wild berries and their vital role in Indigenous cooking, while famed chef, fisherman, and game expert Jeremy Charles shares his very personal connection to Atlantic Canada’s most sacred ingredients: moose and cod.

There’s plenty to inspire your next great adventure, too, including how to make the most of 48 hours in sparkling Quebec City, where to après-ski like a pro in Whistler, and the hot spots Olympic gold medalist and breaking legend Phil ‘Wizard' Kim visits for his daily pastry fix. Finally, we couldn't let you loose in our home and native land without a solid list of food souvenirs to make any Canuck proud. Don’t worry if you can’t grab them all on your next visit. Perhaps the greatest thing about Canada is just how easy it is to return again and again.