Terroir celebrates gastronomy in the Great White North

TORONTO — The 11th annual Terroir Symposium is turning its focus to its native gastronomy. 

The Canadian-focused seminars align with Canada’s sesquicentennial, a time when the country is focusing on its strengths, achievements and diversity. 

“We’ve toyed with it in the past, with the idea of [focusing of Canada],” said Terroir founder Arlene Stein. “I just didn’t know if we were ready for it; this year it feels like we are ready for it.” 

In creating the program, Stein and the team aimed to find interesting speakers who would create the same amount of excitement for delegates as the international culinary superstars it has hosted in the past, such as René Redzepi, Noma. 

“How do we still include that international element, but be authentic to ourselves in telling our Canadian story?” she said. “I think we have the most dynamic content we’ve ever had.” 

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The majority, about 80 per cent of speakers, live in Canada; the rest are connected to Canada in some way.

Located at the Art Gallery of Ontario on May 29, Terroir will begin with host and MC Matty Matheson paying tribute to Canada’s First Nations and their role in establishing the country’s culinary identity. 

“We have Anita Stewart, who of course, is the queen of Canadian culinary, who will open the actual symposium on our main stage talking about the breadth and diversity of who we are as a Canadian culture,” said Stein. 

The remainder of the day will be split into four concurrent streams made up of hour-long sessions. 

“The idea is to have them to be more intimate, and create more dialogue and conversation between the speaker and the audience,” Stein said. 

“Each of those sessions will delve a little bit deeper into a microcosm of Canadian culinary culture,” she added. “We’re going to talk about the seal hunt and how important it is to Eastern Canada and our northern communities, both as sustenance and also as a piece of economic development.”

With more than 60 speakers confirmed, Terroir will feature a breadth of panels and presenters, including Susan Musgrave, who will discuss Haida Gwaii, representatives of the Canadian canola and pulse industries, and Marianne Cane, who will discuss iconic Canadian foods.  

“We’re going to talk to a series of chefs about what it means to be an immigrant or a new Canadian and what the development of our ethnic diversity has led to our culture, both new and new,” added Stein. “On a more practical level, we’re going to talk about the advent of food, flavour and finance.”  

Capping off the symposium, a plenary session will tie discussions together with three core themes: the importance of Canada’s ethnic diversity, youth and mentorship in the industry and sustainable agriculture. 

“In going through this process, I’ve learned a ton about what it means both on a diversity level for our culinary culture, but also that we really need to think more regionally and celebrate those regional differences as opposed to having one completely cohesive idea of who we are on a gastronomic level,” said Stein. 

Acting as MC this year, Matheson has participated in Terroir for a number of years as a presenter, a chef preparing the lunch and last year, as a delegate. 

“I’m lucky that I’ve gotten to travel a lot and I’ve gone to a fair bit of food symposium type things around the world and I think that we can just make something kind of grand, something special, something unique and represent Canada,” he said. “I think that Canada and the chefs and the farmers are really coming together. 

“Every time I leave, it makes me more proud of the city, of the country I come from. I think Canada is an amazing country and it has a very strong culinary scene.”

That said, Matheson believes there is room for Canada’s dining culture to grow.  

“We don’t have those giant fine dining restaurants that big American cities or European cities have, but we’re building them,” he said. “There is still so much room for good restaurants.”  

While symposiums like Terroir help foster the growth of Canada’s foodservice and hospitality industry, Matheson looks forward to seeing chefs and hospitality professionals come together from across the country. 

“The biggest thing that I love about food symposiums is seeing everyone and that’s the community, that’s the industry. That is the underlying thing for me; that’s why I travel to go to things like this,” he said.