My father was an amazing cook. I have countless memories of my siblings (and eventually their families) and I gathered around his table for good food and great laughs.
My earliest memory of watching my father cook is around Christmas 1979. I even have a polaroid photo of him checking the turkey. And another memory (no photo) is from the early 80s: eating spaghetti in the sparse kitchen of his first house on Main Avenue. The meat sauce was thick and rich, but a tad spicy for my 10-year-old palate.
In the early 90s, he hosted weekend barbecues. My siblings who like out of the city would drive for two hours (each way!) to attend. Man, those were good times and my memories of those weekends are long and fond. And of course, he made meals for plenty of birthdays, special occasions, and holidays.
One of my last home-cooked meals from Dad was in March 2009 when I took my family home to Canada for the first time. Dad went all-out - lobster and everything - and I was disgustingly ill. Sadly, I spent most of my time lying in his spare room or hugging his toilet. In a brief moment of bravado, I sat at the table and ate what I could, to be polite. It didn’t last long. I wish that visit could have played out differently.
Luckily, there was another opportunity to eat from Dad’s Le Menu in 2012. It was salmon and it was delicious, as usual.
By the next time I visited home in 2018 with my son, Dad was struggling with his health and he didn’t cook from scratch anymore. We still enjoyed food together: Chinese food delivered - another of his favourites.
Some of my favourite memories of and with my father involve food. He loved to cook and no doubt about it, my father liked to show-off with food.
I once took a friend who was visiting from Montreal home for dinner. Dad made Cornish hens for each if us and an extravagant carrot cake. Just a simple dinner.
I am so grateful that I have some of my father’s recipes. I wish I had thought to ask for more. For now, I will share what I always believed to be Dad’s favourite cookies: Hermits. He made these A LOT when I was a kid.
Today, I made these for a friend who recently told me she doesn’t like chocolate in her biscuits. I said, ‘I know just the biscuit for you’. I took the dough to her house and baked them in her oven to fill her home with the spicy scent of these comforting cookies.
I encourage you to make my father’s favourite cookies and enjoy them with a cuppa tea or coffee. And think of my Dad, who loved people through food.
I definitely got my love of cooking and baking from my parents. Both were skilled in the kitchen. Thank you for reading.
Beautiful memories. I now know where your love of cooking comes from.