Beer and cheese, for one please.

I joked with a friend of mine the other day that less than two years ago, I knew next to nothing about beer. Now I find myself wanting to write about the most minute part of beer-making: the yeast.

A few months ago, I was told about a yeast lab in Ontario called Escarpment Labs. First of all, I didn't even know that there was such a thing as a yeast lab, let alone the role it could play in the lives of brewers. That little tip ended up being a story in The Globe and Mail's Food & Wine section, which you can read here.

Speaking of booze: The Coast, which is Halifax's alt-weekly, recently dedicated it's latest issue to all things wine. Wine and cheese are a perfect pairing, but the question is: what do you pair with what? I asked a few local winemakers for their thoughts. 

Jarry is a new publication that launched this month. The magazine "explores where food and gay culture intersect," according to its website. For the first issue I interviewed Frank Bruni, the New York Times' former food critic. Bruni is also the author of Born Round, a memoir about his life as a gay man and his sometimes tumultuous relationship with food. I was curious to know how Bruni views food today, now that he is no longer bound to a career as a professional eater.

Speaking of relationships and food, Halifax Magazine recently published a first person essay of mine on my own relationship with food, or rather, the cooking of food.  An excerpt:

If you were to come into my kitchen last night, you would have found a lone pot filled with potatoes on the stove. They’ll be for dinner tomorrow.

You see, these days, I am kind of like that pot: alone at the stove. It used to be that I was cooking for more than just myself. For years, I cooked for a significant other, who then became less-than-significant. Then, for about a year, I cooked for a couple of housemates. But about two months ago, my cooking ratios dwindled to focus on one.

You can read the rest, here. 

For the pleasure of the discovery

I recently had the opportunity to make a small confession in the pages of alt-weekly The Coast. 

I am a newbie when it comes to beer.

Although I am not a huge fan of starting a story with an "I", in this case, I thought it might fit, being as the story was about how to introduce people to the wonders of beer. And Halifax is a great town to drink beer in, considering the amount of craft brewers around.

In a later issue of The Coast, I asked a bunch of food loving folk about some of their favourite hidden treasures and ingredients found here in Halifax.  You never know what you can find around here...

*

And speaking of food, I was also recently asked to speak at the Festival de Clare-té. This was the first year for the arts and culture festival, and I was asked to deliver a presentation on the concept of culinary heritage.  The hour long talk focused on the foods and traditions of the area known as La Baie Sainte-Marie, or the French Shore of Southwestern Nova Scotia.  

Speaking at the Festival de Clare-té in Church Point, Nova Scotia. Photo via Le Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse.

It was a great experience to talk about a culture and a people that I love, and to combine that in a discussion around cultural and culinary heritage.  

News- October 22nd, 2013

This update of recent published stories is all about food. And like a nice snack, it's not too big, not too heavy, but still very tasty. 

*   *   *

Summer may be over, but that doesn't mean that the BBQ is put away. To get you in the mood, here is a story I did for East Coast Living's summer issue, all about steak. 

With the fall comes preserving, a topic I enjoy discussing and a practice I enjoy partaking in. Over at The Coast, I find I am not the only one.  

And while we're at it, how about a nice slice of pie? 

News - December 1st, 2012

I've been enjoying writing for East Coast Living for a couple years now.  Recently, I wrote a story about the joys of rediscovering old recipes, as well as the wonders of baking bread at home. 

I also had the great fortune to talk with a few mushroom hunters/foragers/amateur mycologists in a story for The Coast.

Over at Xtra, I wrote about how a group of local activists wanted to amend the Nova Scotia Human Rights Bill to include "gender expression" and "gender identity" in the act, therefore providing written legal protections for transgender individuals. A little over a month after that story appeared, things were already on their way to changing. The changes to the bill have now passed.

News - September 27th, 2012

I was asked by The Coast to write about the upcoming Canadian Chef's Congress, where chefs from all over the country would descend on Nova Scotia's Grand-Pré to talk, share and most importantly, eat.

I also recently had the chance to sit down and talk with Paul-Émile d'Entremont, the man behind Last Chance, a documentary released by the NFB about the lives of queer refugees living in Canada.

Regarding the Raymond Taavel case, it appears that there are delays in bringing his accused to trial.