Adam Waxman is an award winning writer focusing on food,…
When Max Yasgur stepped onto the stage at Woodstock, fifty years ago, he greeted the half a million strong by saying, “I’m a farmer,” and received a more thunderous ovation than Jimi Hendrix drew the following day. Today, farmers are the rock stars.
Farmers do more than feed our cities; they cultivate our land. Chefs, the really good ones, are their interlocutors. From Europe to Japan to each coast of Canada and every province in between, local culinary traditions and farming practices are defining our cultures and our economies like never before. Today’s savvy restaurateurs are buying locally and sustainably. We care about where our food comes from; we care that it’s appropriate to the season. We want to know what to eat that distinguishes each destination when we travel. Fresh is in. Exotic is whatever grows in our own backyard. Regions across Ontario are brimming with authentic experiences true to our roots. We’ve discovered that not only do good things grow in Ontario; but also that acclaimed chefs have recognized “We’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.”
Regional tourism initiatives are exciting us to get on the road and discover. Oyster trails and ale trails, wine routes and food tours are reconnecting our understanding of local economies and environments directly to their sources. A younger generation of urban farmers is bypassing cost-prohibitive, machine-heavy, GMO-saturated agricultural practices, and innovating by returning to tradition-before-convention. They may just save the world. There is so much happening now, so much to explore and experience, to learn, taste and share. As my dear dad used to teach me, “The learning never stops. If your heart is in the right place, there’s always more.” And as my mom always says, “When we taste our neighbour’s food, we can better understand each other.”
Adam Waxman is an award winning writer focusing on food, wine, travel and wellness. As well as an actor in film and television, he is the Publisher of DINE magazine.