Flavourful Saskatoon, February 4, 2019

Global Malnutrition, Feb. 7 
The College of Pharmacy & Nutrition is hosting a World Pulses Day roundtable on addressing malnutrition from 4-7 pm, Feb. 7.

Best of . . . Chocolate and Desserts
Indulge your sweet tooth with a look at the best chocolate shops across Canada and the best restaurants and cafés for desserts in Saskatoon.

Food for Thought
The Nature of Things with David Suzuki is hosting a series of programs about dietary science and our relationship with food that looks really interesting.

When Is a Food Court more than a Food Court?
Two trendy new food halls are opening in heritage buildings in Edmonton. “Food halls are the newest concept in the restaurant industry. Prominent in big cities such as Toronto, London and New York, food halls bring together top chefs who collaborate on a complementary eateries in the same space. Distinct from food courts (which tend to favour fast foods for people with some place else to go), food halls are a destination for diners, featuring artisanal cocktails, trendy menus and a warm communal space. Food halls have more of a local flavour, and more local, independent restaurants and chefs,” said Beljan. “When you’re thinking of a night out or somewhere to go before or after the game, that’s where food halls come in.” I have to confess they sound like fancied-up food courts to me – is that really the environment you want when you’re spending big bucks on a fancy meal?

Fourth-Wave Coffee
An Edmonton coffee shop owner believes that there is a fourth wave of coffee which returns to an emphasis on community and customer service.

The Plant Milk Craze
Plant milks – from soya to almonds to oats – are all the rage. But why? A food industry analyst believes that it’s not about nutrition or sustainable plant-based living - “The forces driving us towards plant milk are really something bigger: a manifestation of a collective anxiety that something is wrong with our bodies. That we aren’t as healthy and happy as we could be – or perhaps, should be – and something, or someone, must be to blame.There’s a lot of people discovering dairy intolerances and gluten intolerances and that kind of stuff, but actually I think what you’re looking at is much more intolerance to the life we’ve been living,” said Arbib.”

Cultural Appropriation
How do you differentiate between Middle Eastern recipes from Palestine and Israel? Is it okay for a white person to cook Mexican food? Chef Adam Liaw says he finds the idea of cultural appropriation of food difficult: “Food is one of the great unifiers,” he said. “Before you speak someone’s language, before you understand their history, before you walk a mile in their shoes, you eat the same food that person eats, and get some insight into how their life works, the way their culture works. So I don’t really believe in cultural appropriation in foods because it’s such a wonderful window into other aspects of the multicultural societies that we live in.”

Flavourful Saskatoon is a weekly Monday feature. I also post articles about food that is good, clean and fair; travel; and books. You may also enjoy EcoFriendly Sask profiling Saskatchewan environmental initiatives and events.

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