7 fantastic speakers from across Canada will discuss their favourite winter holiday foods & festivities and the traditions they celebrate.

About this event

Returning for a second year, this online event, taking place on subsequent Sundays in December, will surely get you feeling festive. Seven different speakers from across Canada will be discussing December food and holiday traditions and the importance of these festivities to them. Hosted by author and CHC member John Ota, these speakers will highlight some of their favourite foods, how they like to gather with loved ones, and the little ways they make the dark days of December special.

After hearing what they’re cooking up, maybe you’ll start a new holiday tradition of your own!

This event will be taking place on Zoom. Tickets for one show are $10 for CHC Members and $17.50 for non-members. Buy both dates together and save money on your ticket price: $17 for both events for CHC Members and $30 for non-members.

Episode 1: Sunday December 4, 1-2pm EST

Speakers include:

1) Writer Sheilah Roberts-Lukins from St. Philips, NFLD, writes about the food and food history of Canada’s eastern-most province. Her latest book, Bottoms-up: A History of Alcohol in Newfoundland and Labrador. was released in 2020.

2) Floyd P. Favel is the curator of the Chief Poundmaker Museum, located on the Poundmaker Reserve in Saskatchewan. He is also a theatre theorist, essayist and Director of the Poundmaker Indigenous Performance Festival. His book on Indigenous theatre methods, the first of its kind, has just been published in Poland.

3) Fogo Island Inn Executive Sous-Chef Timothy Charles of Newfoundland was a founding member of the Kitchen Team. He believes in tapping into our heritage to create a better future, and he loves working with the vast natural larder at the Inn’s doorstep.

Episode 2: Sunday December 11, 1-2pm EST

Speakers include:

1) Grace Cameron, is an editor, writer, communications professional, and creator of Jamaican Eats Magazine, a source for people interested in Caribbean food and culture. She has taught in Jamaica and produced many Caribbean-based food food events in the Toronto area.

2) Don Genova is a Victoria-based award-winning freelance writer and broadcaster specializing in food and travel. He has written two books about local food and food artisans from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands

3) One of Canada’s most respected food voices, Bonnie Stern is the founder of the Bonnie Stern School of Cooking in Toronto which she opened and operated from 1973 to 2011. She’ll be joined by her daughter, Anna Rupert, a speech-language pathologist, health and social care manager, researcher, and consultant in Toronto.

4) Chef Michael Smith, Inn at Bay Fortune, PEI, is a member of the Order of Canada, Prince Edward Island’s Food Ambassador, a best-selling cookbook author, innkeeper, educator, professional chef and home cook. Chef Michael is the host and judge of numerous cooking shows seen on Food Network Canada and in more than 100 other countries. His 11 cookbooks have all been best sellers and he regularly travels the globe hosting special culinary events.