Have some munchies

I recently was contacted by Munchies, Vice Media's sister site, to do a bit of writing for them.  Karon Liu,  Munchies editor in Canada, and I had a great chat about some possible stories for the site, and here are the first two. 

The first is a story about that most hallowed of haligonian foods, the donair. I have to admit, when Karon mentioned writing about it, I was hesitant, but he asked me to discuss the dish in a different context - how the donair is part of Halifax's culture, from high to low brow.

The second started as a conversation about fish maw, that lovely delicacy found in chinese groceries.  I mentioned to Karon that up in St. John's, chef Todd Perrin was playing with cod sounds, the very same swim bladder that is so prized. I ended up talking to Perrin about not just cod sounds, but how important it is to prize food traditions, and the knowledge - epsecially sustainability - that is found therein. 

As well as working for Munchies, I was recently asked by Atlantic Books Today to write a few reviews of cookbooks for them.  It's a tasty job, and someone has to do it.

Also on the magazine tip, I teamed up with Saltscapes for a story about Ted Hutten from Hutten Family Farm in Lakeville, here in Nova Scotia. Hutten has made himself known amongst food lovers and chefs in Halifax and much of the Annapolis Valley for his amazing produce, especially his devotion to asian greens and herbs. The story appears in the March/April issue of the magazine, and is on newsstands now.