Honouring the Full Plate of Canadian Food Culture—This Canada Day
As Canada Day approaches, many of us will gather around grills, picnic blankets, and kitchen tables to mark the day with food. But what does it really mean to eat Canadian, eh?
Canada’s food story isn’t found in a single dish. It’s written in the smoke of a wood fire, in beds of wild rice on northern lakes, and in the comforting crunch of a pakora. It’s a complicated, evolving menu shaped by the people who’ve called this land home the longest, and by those who came later, bringing their own flavours and ways of feeding a community.
Long before the arrival of settlers, Indigenous communities had already developed rich and regionally distinct foodways. From pemmican made by the Métis and Plains peoples—a portable, protein-packed mix of dried meat and berries—to the Inuit’s knowledge of harvesting Arctic char and turbot from northern waters, these were foods born of deep knowledge and care for the land. These traditions weren’t just about sustenance—they were about ceremony, relationship, and survival through generations.
The foods enjoyed in Canada today come from a wide range of cultural traditions, some that took root earlier, like French charcuterie and Ukrainian perogies, and others that continue to grow with the increasing diversity of cultures across the country. Those communities, such as those from South Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Africa have brought new spices, new techniques, and new energy to our food culture. The result today is something uniquely Canadian: a food culture that includes toum and tarts, pierogies and patties, elk and edamame.
Pakoras—those crispy, spiced fritters found at family gatherings, roadside stalls, and urban farmers’ markets—are a perfect example. Made from simple ingredients like chickpea flour, potatoes, onions, or greens, they represent what so many of us love about good food: it’s nourishing, flavourful, and best when shared. In many ways, they reflect what Canadian food has become: rooted in old traditions, adapted with care, and full of life.
At Graze & Gather, we believe food should reflect the full story of this place—its roots, its migrations, its contradictions. That means celebrating traditional Indigenous ingredients grown here for thousands of years, while also making space for the food traditions that newcomers have shared and adapted. It also means being honest about the ways our food systems have often ignored or erased Indigenous food sovereignty.
Supporting small, local producers today is one small way we can honour that legacy. It’s not about nostalgia—it’s about forging real relationships with the land and the people who grow our food now, and ensuring future generations have access to both the ingredients and the stories that nourish them.
This Canada Day, we're inviting you to celebrate with food as diverse as the people who call this land home. Trade hamburgers for bison burgers, supermarket fish sticks for sustainably caught arctic char. Upgrade your appetizers with pakoras and delight your guests with cream and fresh-pick strawberries. Choose food grown by people you can name, on land you can picture.
Let’s celebrate this country not just with fireworks—but with the flavours, hands, and histories that truly make it home.
