I began my career in food journalism by accident. Before that, I attained B.Ed. in French and English as a Second language. I taught New Canadians for several years and I was a social worker. In the late 1970s, my journalist friend assigned me a few restaurant reviews for Toronto Life. Next, I heard that the Toronto Sun was searching for a food editor – I spent the role from 1983 to 1989. In that year, a Life Editor for The Toronto Star reached out to me – I accepted the offer. I found my calling and my consuming passion – writing about chefs, home cooks and recipes. My role as a food editor/columnist at the Star lasted 18 years. I resigned in 2007 as a freelance Food Sleuth® creating podcasts and blogs on social media. This is a feature, illustrated by the above photo of me, from the Toronto Sun appeared in 1989. Read more…
Radio Waves Blast from the Past
Listen to CBC radio’s archival tapes by clicking on play buttons in the audio players below. Read more…
Appetite for Favourite Cookbooks
I will begin with a shocking fact: I have about 1,000 cookbooks.
When I moved into my narrow, tall townhouse in downtown Toronto about a decade ago, I organized them on shelves in my third-floor office — by ethnicity, subjects and reference books. Read more…
Holy Trinity Church Does God’s Work
Zachary Grant sits on the steps of the Church of the Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto
“loving justice in the heart of our city” – Quote from the Church of the Holy Trinity’s website
(Note: Zachary Grant has asked me to use the gender-neutral pronouns “they/them” and I have agreed.)
Zachary Grant gets the irony.
They are the community director of downtown Toronto’s the Church of the Holy Trinity just a few steps away from the massive, glitzy shopping mecca: the Eaton Centre. Read more…
A Thanksgiving Meal Means Pie
Wanda Beaver in front of her bakery-cum-café Wanda’s Pie in the Sky at the corner of Augusta Ave. and Oxford St. in Kensington Market
It’s a beautiful fall day 10 days before Thanksgiving.
The sun is streaming through the open windows at Wanda’s Pie in the Sky in downtown Toronto’s Kensington Market. I’m chatting with Wanda Beaver, the co-owner of the bakery with her husband David, sitting on a tall stool at a small, tall table. Read more…
In Memory of my Dear Mum: Eccles Cake and Bakewell Tart
Centre: Mum and me. Left and right: Two British pastries we sleuthed together
Several years ago, my mother and I were in the hallway at her small flat on Steeles Rd. in NW London (UK) about to go out for a bit of food shopping. I was visiting her, as I did once or twice a year, from my home in Toronto, Canada.
She was wearing a plain navy blue coat with a hood. I was wearing leopard. Read more…
Recipe for Success – or Failure
The Stuffed Carrot Cake I baked was obviously a failure but it was extremely tasty as a pudding
First, a little first-person backstory.
I quit my job as food editor and columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest newspaper, after 18 years in 2007. It was arguably the best job for a food journalist in Canada. Four years later, I re-invented myself as a freelance Food Sleuth. Meanwhile, I did a couple of community cookbooks with residents of Toronto public housing and for an advocacy non-profit group called FoodShare. Read more…
My Croqueta Quest in Miami
Croquetas are a breaded and fried snack food with various fillings that are extremely popular in Miami
Carlos Frias, the food editor at the Miami Herald, is my buddy and guide to all things delicious in his Florida home. Read more…
I’m a Convert to Mairlyn Smith’s Healthy Fibre Crusade
Decadent Chocolate Chunk Cookies from “Peace, Love & Fibre”
“Dear Canadians, Fibre not only keeps you regular, it lowers your chances of developing breast cancer and heart disease. Add a salad to your day, eat a handful of nuts, switch to whole grains, eat some beans! Signed Your Body” – Mairlyn Smith. Read more…
Fond Memories of my Mother and her Delicious Food
LONDON UK – It was about six years ago and my mother and I were about to leave her flat on Steeles Rd. in Primrose Hill. We were standing in the small hallway when she put on her new navy blue gabardine coat with a hood. Read more…