Two friends, 37,000 km and memorable eats

A culinary journey across all of Canada

The opportunity to take a culinary road trip across all 10 provinces and three territories is a dream many Canadians share. If you haven’t had the chance to hit the road yourself yet, following along on the adventures of two friends is the next best thing.

Originally from northern B.C. and Southern Ontario respectively, Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller embarked on a five- month road trip back in 2013. They documented their culinary discoveries on a blog — edibleroadtrip.com — for which they were awarded the title of “Best Culinary Travel Blog” by Saveur the following year.

Now, 37,000 kilometres later, the Vancouverites have shared their exploration of Canadian food culture in a cookbook, Feast (Appetite by Random House, 2017). A collection of stories and more than 110 recipes — 90 of which were provided by contributors from coast-to-coast — it’s intended to be a celebratory look at the cuisine rather than comprehensive.

Through t heir t ravels and reflections, they arrived at their own answer to the question: What is Canadian food? They ate haskap berries in the Yukon; pets de soeurs ( nuns’ farts) pastries in Quebec; muskox in Manitoba; sturgeon caviar in New Brunswick; jiggs dinner in St. John’s; perogies and chai at a Mennonite restaurant run by a Bangladeshi couple in small-town Saskatchewan. They are now believers that a thriving Canadian food culture exists, even where you least expect it.

“Essentially, if it’s food within Canada’s borders, it’s Canadian food,” Anderson says. “If it’s here, celebrate it.”

Excerpted from Feast: Recipes and Stories from a Canadian Road Trip by Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller:

PHOTOS: APPETITE BY RANDOM HOUSE At left, this cocktail is a play on the Moscow mule, traditionally served over ice in a copper mug, and on the right are bison sausage rolls with orange and fennel. From the cookbook Feast by Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller.