One’s first impression of Anita Stewart is of boundless energy and enthusiasm…she exudes a passion for life and particularly for her favourite subject – Canadian cuisine. She refers to herself as a Culinary Activist and is the founder of Cuisine Canada.

Anita is working on her Ph.D. and she shared her thoughts with me. She not only loves the tastes, aromas and sensual beauty of food, she also sees it as a philosophical and cultural experience…the following quotation is one of her favourites:

‘We are already one.
But we imagine that we are not
And what we have to recover is our original unity
What we have to be is what we are.’

She believes that food is at the heart of what we are as a culture and of how we express our culture.

Anita is considered one of Canada’s premier food writers and authors, and is the first recipient of the Founder’s Award from Cuisine Canada. It was presented to her with heartfelt affection and admiration at the organization’s bi-annual “Northern Bounty” gathering in Halifax, where its members —food writers and restauranteurs, among them -met to celebrate and advance the profile of Canadian food.

It was Anita who founded “Cuisine Canada”, and therefore it is a fitting award, and more than an obligatory show of appreciation from the organization that adopted her person-al credo of “actively promoting the growth and study of our distinctly different food culture” as its mission. The award recognizes Anita’s infectious passion for uniquely Canadian food, how she stimulates that passion in others and how she has taken it to a whole new level. In culinary circles her opinion counts. And she certainly has some opinions about Canadian cuisine. Consider the opening line from her book “The Flavours of Canada”.

…Canada overflows with magnificent flavours! Our ingredients, of the land and sea, link us with our past, our present and our future. As a culinary explorer, I have been one of the most privileged people in the nation. I have tasted my land–savoured it deeply.

As a food (and travel) writer, Anita has experienced Canadian cuisine from coast to coast. In doing so, she’s found a richness she believes few other cultures share. “We’re not a melting pot,” she says. “We’re a smorgasbord.” In some cases, the components of this smorgasbord are major parts of a meal in themselves. Describing some particularly delectable items, she can make your mouth water.

As a food (and travel) writer, Anita has experienced Canadian cuisine from coast to coast. In doing so, she’s found a richness she believes few other cultures share. “We’re not a melting pot,” she says. “We’re a smorgasbord.” In some cases, the components of this smorgasbord are major parts of a meal in themselves. Describing some particularly delectable items, she can make your mouth water.

“Consider these: purple-hinged rock scallops from the Strait of Juan de Fuca; line-caught Chinook salmon skewered and roasted on fire-hardened sea spray branches; platters of Mennonite smoked pork chops and home-made sauerkraut.” Yum (and I mean it)!

She points out other instances where it’s the bits and pieces going into our meals that distinguish us from other cultures: cold-pressed canola oil from Saskatchewan; near-priceless balsamic vinegar; Trappist cheese from southern Manitoba; the legendary maple syrup from Wellington, Waterloo, Woolwich Counties and beyond; and the shore-scattered iceberg from Newfoundland that fizzes in your drink.

This richness is nothing to be modest about, she says. By nature, Canadians aren’t loud, passionate or flamboyant about much of anything. But Stewart says that shyness must change, if indeed we’re to truly realize – as a country – what’s available here, and help it to flourish.

The evening I meet with Anita she was excited because she had just started organising a country wide barbeque … her vision to promote Canadian Beef by organising groups all across Canada to hold culinary feasts in celebration of Canadian beef …Last night she was interviewed on television …speaking with the same passion about the success of this endeavour.

Bringing Canadian Cuisine to the fore, exactly as Stewart suggests, is a progressive and creative way to help crystallize our national identity.

by Riki Weiland, Summer 2003

UPDATE – 2005

Dubbed the “Patron Saint of Canadian Cuisine”, Anita Stewart holds a Master of Arts (Gastronomy) from the University of Adelaide in South Australia and was recently awarded an honorary P.Ag. from the Ontario Institute of Agrologists for her outstanding contributions to Ontario agriculture.

The World’s Longest Barbecue, a cross-Canada celebration in support of the agricultural community was repeated on Canada Day in 2004 and 2005. The event has attracted the participation of thousands of Canadians.

In November 2004, Anita appeared in the Ontario Agricultural College public lecture series, and in March 2005, Anita was Facilitator and Symposium MC at the first Ontario Culinary Symposium Round Table, where producers, processors, chefs and culinary professionals are invited to start a provincial dialogue, network and build awareness between industries. Anita can frequently be heard on the CBC, enlightening us on the subtleties and qualities of Canadian grown food products. Her knowledge of the subject is encyclopedic.

www.anitastewart.ca