What next after Food Day Canada?

Every year in Canada is full of special days, some of which are public holidays that have always been celebrated, such as Christmas or Thanksgiving. However, there are also some lesser-known ones, often quite obscure in nature. 

Many of these events are food-related, with July 7th being World Chocolate Day, while our neighbours in the US spent July 6th marking Fried Chicken Day. 

If the last of these was a quintessentially American celebration, August 4th is as Canadian as it gets. Food Day Canada is intended to be the perfect occasion to celebrate the best of this country's cuisine, whether in a top end restaurant, or indeed, in the home. 

Hopefully, everyone will have eaten well on the day, which fell last Saturday. If any reminder were needed what day it was, Justin Trudeau made sure the crowd gathered at a farmer's market he visited in British Columbia knew full well. 

Noting that everything for sale was produced in Canada, he said: "Just like this night market, we come together and we share, and celebrate, and bring our families to know that our differences make us stronger as individuals, as communities and as a country."

That might sound like a classic Trudeau political soundbite, but for many, there may be no better time for restauraters, chefs and their customers alike to appreciate the distinctive features of the Canadian culinary scene. 

Speaking before August 4th, Restaurants Canada president & chief executive Shanna Munro said: "With all the uncertainty surrounding international trade relations, this harvest season is an especially important time for all of us to come together in support of Canadian food.

"We are extremely proud of our partnership with Food Day Canada. The work they are doing to promote Canadian terroir is not only putting Canada on menus here at home and around the world, but is also putting our country on the map as a destination for culinary tourism.”

This sentiment was backed up by culinary writer Anita Stewart, a big supporter of the Restaurants Canada initiative. 

She noted that the day had arisen from the "World's Longest Barbecue" in 2003, at a time when there was a worldwide ban on Canadian beef exports. This vast beef-grilling exercise "helped put Canadian beef back on plates around the world". 

Restaurants Canada published its own list of domestically-produced ingredients patriotic folk could buy and Canadian recipes they could make with them. 

The key question now may be how effectively the restaurant sector can promote Canadian produce during the rest of the year. Of course, there will be plenty of people going for steaks and the seafood to be found in various coastal locations is rightly celebrated. Nonetheless, in a world where people enjoy plenty of variety when eating out, there will always be competition from imported foods and cuisines originating in every corner of the globe. 

Food Day Canada is an annual opportunity to remind people just what they can enjoy from their own country. What matters as much as this awareness, however, is for chefs to produce top-quality menus and dishes, while promotional efforts continue to highlight the best of Canada's food.