Yep, Signal Hill at 5 a.m. in the middle of the summer can be a foggy place.
But if you’re a Newfoundlander, it’s comes with the territory. And besides, it’s not laced with smog…it smells of salt and the ocean.
When Chef Roary MacPherson of the Sheraton Newfoundland fired off an email to me saying “We want to be first”, I had no idea just how deeply these dynamic, resilient people were ready to get involved. With Raymond’s Chef Jeremy Charles in tow, Roary hit the media and then started rounding up his chef buddies. They then headed to the place where Marconi made history but instead of electronic gear, they were armed with freshly baked scones and good rhubarb jam and coffee…and kitchen paraphernalia.
L - R Steven Hubbard, Patti Dooley, Keith Granter, Angie Ryan, Brian Piercey, Roary MacPherson, Matthew Lane, Jeremy Charles, Hanns Uebel, Steve Watson
One early riser was Chef Steve Watson who, when we first met, was the character-in-the-kitchen at the Canadian Pacific Hotel Newfoundland, the same hotel Roary now oversees. As both the Town Crier for Mount Pearl and the Chef for Farmers Dairy, a business that is now producing some terrific Newfoundland cheeses, Steve read from his script as Town Crier and officially welcomed Food Day Canada to, well, Canada!
What then ensued must have made a few people wonder what was happening, even if the fog muffled the noise because, for one minute, the chefs on Signal Hill banged and clanged their pots and pans with whisks before trooping back down to the Sheraton Newfoundland to prepare a very traditional breakfast in support of Food Sharing St. John’s, raising a thousand dollars and collecting over 250 lbs of food.
Tradition in Action! July 30, 2011
Food Day Canada 2011 Breakfast Menu
Fresh fruit
Purity Syrup elixir – (“Purity Syrup is a staple throughout Newfoundland, especially at Christmas “)
Crosby’s molasses ( “Growing up in Highlands, Newfoundland , we would consume this daily on breads that my mom would bake also adding our homemade butter that she would churn by hand”), homemade partridge berry jam, homemade Rhubarb jam ( “Two preserves that we would use daily.”)
Toutons (“In the old days, in Newfoundland, there weren’t any fast-food take-outs. Toutons filled the roll of a tasty, fried treat. With a topping of sweet molasses or syrup, they were the answer to many cravings.”)
Luke MacPherson (Roary's son) loves his Touton!
Scones with cream ( “Most homes use this as a sweet throughout the day, it was the same in our house.”)
Home fried potatoes with Mount Scio savoury and Organic Farm chives ( “All the items in this dish will come from the Organic farm in Portugal Cove”)
Farmers Dairy local cheese omelet’s made to order with farm fresh eggs (“The Cheese for this is made here in Mount Pearl, and the eggs come from a local farm as well.”)
Baked salt capelin (” Capelin is a classic staple for breakfast, lunch or dinner here in Newfoundland” )
Baked Salted Capelin
Roary’s Mom’s Baked beans (” This is a real taste of home as we would have baked beans at least once a week”)
Coffee and Tetley tea
