The Current Canada's food scene a story of immigration and community
Oct 21, 2025
Suresh Doss, a CBC food writer and host of Locals Welcome, dives into Canada's vibrant food scene shaped by immigration. He highlights how exploring diaspora restaurants reveals rich personal stories and strengthens community ties. Suresh shares memories of informal outdoor dining and discusses the unique culinary influences found in regions like Richmond, BC, and Montreal. He emphasizes food's power to unite diverse cultures and offers tips for exploring new neighborhoods through their flavors. A delicious conversation about heritage and community!
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Canada’s Food Is Layered Immigration
- Canada’s food culture is a multilayered product of many immigration waves across 200 years.
- Suresh Doss says this layering makes Canada possibly the most multicultural country in the world.
Childhood Hood-Top Meals
- Eating on the hood of a car recalls Suresh Doss's Sri Lankan childhood and street-food memories.
- He says that intimacy from shoulder-to-shoulder eating feels closer than dining across a table.
Restaurants As Social Equalizers
- Food spaces bring diverse strangers together regardless of political or socioeconomic differences.
- Doss argues that shared eating scenes illustrate a unifying thread in Canadian life.