Well, Food Day got waylaid by a funeral, and a wedding. Not a bad way to spend the day, surrounded by family and friends. The menu, it really should be a daylong series of snapshots:
Morning – dashing along on the road, ‘bits and brew’ to appease the caffeine gods, and the munchkin in the back seat. Comfortable and universally Canadian.
Mid morning – Post-funeral Presbyterian church basement ham sandwiches, magnificent in their uniform, immaculately quartered state, accompanied by melt-in-mouth Empire biscuits and Red Rose, graciously served in fine styrofoam. Hugs, laughter, tears, and more Empire biscuits please!
Mid day – a wee bit of beer in the yard, various brews from various Ontario brewers big and small, chatting with the relations, reminiscing, laughing. Enough to relax, not enough to stop the action…
Late afternoon – A Chinese wedding, the groom one of Canada’s up and coming leaders in the processed food sector. The Canadian steamed bun, pina ham, lop cheong and longaniza king – the best of South and East Asian food, made in Toronto from Canadian ingredients. Dancing, karaoke, smiling for the photographers, and smiling just because. At his wedding dinner? Ravioli, antipasti, gamberetti… Who could have guessed?
Our food culture is complicated, but always marvelous. How many of the new generation have experienced the grace of a small town Church basement tea? How many of the old generation have enjoyed the marvels of hand made jiaozi or freshly made char siu bao, among a million other multicultural delights? Still, we come up with our universal traditions, a coffee and a doughnut, a beer in the backyard…
It’s the food, but it’s also the gathering of people, coming together to prepare, present and celebrate. Being together and having fun is what it’s all about.
