Episode 17: Alexis Goertz on Fermenting Foods and Edible Alchemy

For some, the idea of fermentation is relatively new and topical. For others, it’s a deeply engrained part of their cultural background. I’m relatively new to learning about the process of fermenting foods, and a lot of my appreciation comes from this week’s guest, Alexis Goertz! Alexis is a fermentation coach and expert, as well as the co-founder of Edible Alchemy CoLaboratory.

Edible Alchemy was founded in Winnipeg in January 2013 by Alexis and her friend and business partner Natalie Elizabeth, where they hosted workshops about the possibilities and inevitabilities of the microbial world. This led to a spread of exciting ventures, including the Probiotic Bacteria Bar, talks, discussions, tours, workshops, and more. Alexis moved to Berlin in 2014 and brought the first Bacteria Bar with her to see if there was any interest. Undoubtedly it brought a large following, and Alexis began to expand the Edible Alchemy CoLaboratory across two continents.

In our interview, Alexis shares her wealth of knowledge surrounding fermented foods and microbiome health. She explores the history and reasons that cultures ferment their foods worldwide, the importance of fermentation for gut health, and the ways in which fermentation scenes compare and differ between North America and Europe. We also talk all about how she’s helping to change the perspective on “scary” or “gross” words like bacteria, yeast and mould – so if those may you a bit squeamish, stay tuned, because she does an amazing job normalizing the idea of bacterias and moulds. She taught me SO much in our interview and has a natural passion and ease translating the science of fermentation in a fun, edu-taining way!

Listen to the episode in the player above, or download on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Music!

Resources:

Main website: http://ediblealchemy.co

Online courses: https://ediblealchemyacademy.com/courses

Sandor Katz's Art of Fermentation

Social:

Instagram: @ediblealchemydotco

Facebook: @EdibleAlchemyColaboratory

Episode 15: Brandi Bechard on Organic Food and CSA Farming

The start of October brings with it the beginning of non-GMO Month in the US and Canada, and who better a guest to kick this important discussion of than Brandi Bechard!

Brandi is an amazing CSA farmer, environmentalist, and the owner of a sustainable landscaping and garden coaching business. She originally hails from Windsor, Ontario, but has lived in cities and towns across Canada while pursuing contract work in environmental and natural resource sciences. She has worked in outdoor education, wildlife research, forestry conservation and on so many other environmentally-oriented projects! After spending a couple of years in research-heavy fields, she felt she wasn’t making a significant difference and had to compromise certain values that she held important to accommodate the career. She moved back to her hometown and started a business teaching others how to grow sustainable food amidst a desert of conventionally farmed land.

In our interview, we speak about her roots and what lead her to farming, break down some of the language surrounding organic and local foods, speak to issues of food security and access in Canada, and she shares more about edible landscaping and tips to help cultivate (heh…) a stronger relationship with sustainable food sources for beginners. Brandi has so much knowledge and experience to share, and is so peaceful to listen to, so I hope you learn as much as I did from this interview! Listen in the playbox above or on your favourite listening platform :)

Love Brandi Bechard’s episode and want to learn more about her? Check her out online!

Instagram: @borealbrandi

Facebook: @BrandiBechard

Resources:

• Wendell Berry: learn more about the agrarian and writer in this excellent interview by Yale e360 (which references some books of his as well)

• The 3rd Plate by Dan Barber

Episode 11: Shailee Koranne on Racial Food Stereotypes, Cultural Identity, and David Chang's Ugly Delicious

This week on AnthroDish, I am interviewing freelancer writer and journalist, Shailee Koranne. Based out of Toronto, ON, she writes about pop culture, bodies, cultural production, politics, and identity. She has written for major news outlets like VICE, Huffington Post Canada, Bitch Media, GUTS, and the Aerogram. On top of all the amazing writing she does, she also studies Equity Studies at the University of Toronto. 

I was introduced to Shailee through a mutual friend and read a piece she wrote for Bitch Media called “The Fried Chicken Dilemma: Ugly Delicious wants us to love our foods and ourselves," where she explores the negative role that food-related stereotypes have on the relationships between people of colour and their cultural foods. She has a writing style that expertly intertwines her personal experiences of racism and food stigma with broader themes of racial stereotypes and identity.

On today’s episode, we discuss how food stereotypes inform and maintain historically racist attitudes and biases, particularly for Asians in North America, as well as the role that food plays in everyday racial microaggressions. We also talk about how cultural foods are sterilized and removed from their contexts in order to present them to white and Western diners, and the implications of "trend" culture (i.e. charcoal ice cream, superfoods, and any restaurant with a line up around the corner in Toronto) on cultural foods. Shailee discusses how she learned to unpack and unlearn some of the harmful attitudes through her writing on the topic as well. I’m so excited for you to check this interview out, as Shailee has some really amazing insights and powerful reflections on the ways in which food shapes and changes personal and cultural identities.

Check out the episode above, or download on iTunes, Spotify, or Castbox. 

Love Shailee and want to read more of her work? Check her out on social!

Website: www.shaileekoranne.com

Instagram: @shailee.jpg

Twitter: @shaileekoranne

Episode 9: Dino Tinapay on the Art of Dining Solo

This week we're doubling up on AnthroDish episodes! We've been so fortunate to have a tremendous interest in guests and themes, and really didn't think it would be fair to keep these to ourselves for too long! 

This week's second episode features the inimitable Dino Tinapay, a self-taught expert of Toronto’s food scene and my go-to pal when I need a new restaurant recommendation. Dino sat down with me in my kitchen one evening to share his experiences dining solo and his tips and tricks to see cities through food.

We explore his early food influences growing up in the Philippines and how that shaped his food curiosity, then move into the ways in which atmosphere and time of day can shape solo food experiences. As Dino has worked in the restaurant industry for some time, we naturally move towards exploring how 9 to 5ers have shaped food culture in big cities (spoiler - there are some really fascinating ways this has shaped our culture!), how servers read table dynamics, and Dino’s tips for getting to know new cities through food. Dino is such a fun and insightful guest, I can’t wait for you to check out this interview!

Check out the episode (above) or download on Spotify, iTunes and Castbox. If you like what you're hearing, please subscribe, rate, and review! 

Resources Mentioned: 

• Food Wars anime trailer
• The NY Times piece by Stephanie Rosenbloom that inspired this episode 

Episode 7: Owen Campbell on Gender and Food Security for Winnipeg Youth

So excited to share today's interview with Owen Campbell! Ok, I probably say I'm ridiculously excited for every episode of AnthroDish, but I really do mean it! 

Owen is a trans man with a passion for cooking, baking, and za'atar spice. He currently works in Food Skills and Education at Food Matters Manitoba. Owen started his culinary journey with a small fib in order to get a job at a soon-to-be-open restaurant on the west coast. After landing it and working his way up, he left the restaurant industry to cook for a housing program in Vancouver’s downtown east side, where he remained until he and his husband decided to move to Manitoba. After a brief “retirement” from the food industry (to start and finish a BA and then a Masters in Linguistics), he came back to the food world to find a career in food security at Food Matters Manitoba.

Today we talk about his experiences working with youth in Winnipeg at Food Matters Manitoba, exploring some of the barriers they face when accessing food and creating meals, and who is most at risk for food insecurity in Winnipeg. We speak about the gendering that goes on in different food realms, and how these impact queer and trans youth particularly. We also look at the food landscape in Winnipeg and discuss some of the challenges and creative ways he teaches youth to overcome these barriers.

Check out the episode above, or download on iTunes and Spotify! 

Resources: 

You can find the Dan Jurafsky lecture he was referring to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_tceXVOcls 

Want to learn more about Owen? Contact him here: owenrcampbell@gmail.com or check out some of his work with Food Matters Manitoba here:  http://www.foodmattersmanitoba.ca/2018/07/a-queer-cook-off/ 

Episode 5: Brian Rankin on Punk Food & Growing Up Rankin

Today I am interviewing Brian Rankin. Brian is a professional photographer living in Toronto, Canada. He currently works as a photographer for Holt Renfrew, and his work was recently featured in an editorial for Yoko Mag, entitled “Tangled Up In Blue.” He grew up in a small town in Ontario and spent his summers out east in an even smaller town. He moved to Toronto when he was 18 to pursue a degree in English at the University of Toronto and somehow found his way into professional photography through this. When he’s not doing cool photography work, he’s playing guitar in a punk band or riding his bike without a helmet.

Today we sit down and talk about his personal experiences with food, how his upbringing *sort of* shaped his art and cooking, and what it’s like to be a photographer during the ride of social media food photos. Check out his episode below, or download on iTunes and Spotify. 

Want more Brian? Check out his band here, or his photography here. Find him on Instagram @brianrankin to see all his food stories - and some mishaps ;)