Blog  January 6, 2012

Going “locally global” in the kitchen

As we gear up for our next GE Café Chefs Series workshop, we asked Mary Luz Mejia to offer some perspective on the "authenticity" of global food in a local context. In this article, she turns to Toronto's top food enthusiasts for their thoughts.

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By: Mary Luz Mejia

On January 10, the GE Café Chefs Series will take on a Mexican theme with Locally Global. The workshop will be sliced, diced and julienned by José Hadad, the Mexico City-born chef and proprietor of Frida Restaurant and Wine Bar (arguably Toronto’s best Mexican restaurant) and yours truly—a Colombian-born food and travel writer and magazine associate editor with a passion for Latin American cuisine.

Hadad endeavours to recreate here in Toronto the flavours he grew up with in Mexico, which invariably leads to the pesky question of “authenticity.” It’s a landmine of a term that makes some roll their eyes and others pound their fists in frustration. I decided to gauge the cultural and culinary thermometer on this by asking chefs, academics and home cooks about what it means to prepare dishes from abroad here in Canada, and what authenticity means to them.

Vivian Khouw, a food anthropology professor at York University (and excellent home cook) has a unique take on what authenticity means. “We tend to view the world as right or wrong, black or white, authentic or inauthentic,” she says. “People ‘know’ that sweet and sour chicken balls aren't authentic. But it begs the question of why they need to make the determination and why they feel they're the right people to make it. A lot of it can be linked to our need to find a sense of place and establish where we belong. The line between ‘us’ and ‘them’ can often be found in the food we eat because it fosters a sense of collectivity.”

I can see Khouw’s point. I might even be accused of drawing that “us” and “them” line in the pantry as well. For example, I get itchy when menus boasting “authentic Mexican” cuisine feature fajitas and nachos—both of which are Tex-Mex specialties. Does that make me a food snob? Possibly. But I’ve been to Mexico, taken cooking classes there and spent a great deal of time with local chefs and home cooks in their kitchens. I’ve also taken the time to read about culture and food in the country.

It’s this type of hands-on, in-depth knowledge that Toronto-based Belgian Chef Bruno Elsier believes is essential to truly understanding a cuisine. “You don't have to be Belgian to cook Belgian food,” he says. “But you have to use the original recipe as well as original ingredients. Having travelled or stayed in the country of origin will help you establish the right tastes and flavours. Even teaming up with a chef originally from the country is a really good idea.”

The original recipe might call for ingredients not available here. What then? Does that mean the recipe or dish will be less authentic? Substituting key ingredients simply not grown or available here, in Elsier’s opinion, renders the dish a “fusion” of two cultures, which is fine with him—it’s just not the exact replica of what a cook might have been trying to achieve.

Restaurateur, writer and cook Sang Kim looks to the Korean fascination with the chili as key to his argument on the topic of authenticity: “The chili originated in the Valleys of Mexico and Guatemala and plays a significant role in Korean cuisine, lending it the most characteristic aspect of its high-voltage cooking. …Is Korean cuisine that uses Mexican chilies, therefore, inauthentic?”

For Kim, it doesn’t really matter and we shouldn’t even care to answer. “It tastes great when done well and not always in Korea,” he says. “Like most people, I will choose cultivated deliciousness over authenticity any meal of the day.”

Kim’s opinion is shared by many in Toronto. This is a city that embraces local, white fish tacos with blueberry sauce after all—a true celebration of locally global. “It's okay to change/substitute ingredients when authentic ones are not available or costly,” writes food blogger Peter Minaki. “Many immigrant populations have survived by being pragmatic with their cuisines.”

This is very true. When I was a kid growing up in Hamilton in the 1970s, it was off to the only Jamaican grocery store in town for ripe plantains, cassava and other Colombian staples that my Dad desperately sought. What he couldn’t find, he’d substitute with an ingredient from another country or from his own yard. No fresh cilantro? He grew it in our front garden and, voilà, the fresh herb and coriander seeds made it into the family soup pot.

I think Khouw says it best when it comes to the evolution of cuisines: “Foods/dishes have never remained static over time. Without change and movement, some of the greatest dishes in the world might never have been created. Innovation and creativity are inherent in the act of cooking.”

And so it is with Chef Hadad’s cooking. He uses locally grown produce, meat and dairy in the preparation of his complex dishes. What he can’t get here, he buys from abroad. The good news is that as immigrant communities grow, savvy farmers and producers, such as Zephyr Organics and Vicki’s Veggies, are starting to offer a more diverse array of produce every year. If that supports the local economy and tastes uniquely delicious, then so be it.

Food enthusiast Mary Luz Mejia has produced hundreds of food articles, culinary profiles, food celebrity interviews and cultural explorations into the foods we eat and why we love them.