Reading lush descriptions of food not only gets readers hungry, but puts them in someone else’s shoes.

Whether family meals feature a hearty bowl of borscht or an exquisitely braised pork belly, food is a powerful way into telling stories — and these 10 Canadian books prove it.

Canadian food memoirs have been having a moment in recent years, offering intimate glimpses into each author’s family culture and lived experience.

Some of these food memoirs also inspired a CBC Radio Special, Dishing Up Stories, that explores why storytellers come alive when food is on the table.

Restaurant Kid by Rachel Phan

Three decades after her family’s restaurant opened, Rachel Phan’s parents are considering retirement. In the memoir Restaurant Kid, Phan reflects on this milestone and shares her experience growing up as the daughter of Chinese immigrants in a small town, and getting to know them as an adult, away from the stress of the restaurant.

Phan is a Toronto-based writer born and raised in a small town in Southern Ontario. Her work has been featured in HuffPost, CBC, the National Post and Maclean’s. She holds a Master of Journalism from the Toronto Metropolitan University. Restaurant Kid is her debut book.

How To Share an Egg by Bonny Reichert

When Toronto-based journalist Bonny Reichert turned 40, she quit her job and enrolled in culinary school — a life-changing decision that pushed her to explore her relationship with food in writing. This exploration, along with a critical bowl of borscht in Warsaw, led Reichert to writing her memoir, How to Share an Egg, which dives into how food shapes her history as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor.

Reichert is a journalist and chef based in Toronto. She was formerly an editor at Today’s Parent and Chatelaine and has written for The Globe and Mail. She won a National Magazine Award and was on the longlist for the 2020 CBC Short Story Prize. She teaches writing at the University of Toronto.

Poutine by Justin Giovannetti Lamothe

Journalist Justin Giovannetti Lamothe writes about the odd, winding origins of the closest thing Canada has to a national dish — Poutine. Through his research and a father-son road trip, he learns more about Canadian history and draws closer to the Québécois heritage he used to drift away from. 

Giovannetti Lamothe is a Montreal-based journalist who has covered major events such as the Lac-Mégantic rail explosion and the Fort McMurray wildfires. He was born in rural Quebec and has lived in Ontario, Alberta and B.C.

Chop Suey Nation by Ann Hui

In Chop Suey Nation, Ann Hui drives to small towns across Canada and visits the family-run Chinese restaurants that dot the country. She also discovers her own family’s secrets of working in the industry. Hui, a journalist with the Globe and Mail, begins her journey as an authenticity snob, but comes to appreciate the determination and enterprise of families across the nation.

Hui is a Toronto-based journalist at the Globe and Mail, covering the different experiences of different generations. She was formerly the national food reporter. Chop Suey Nation won the 2020 Edna Staebler Award for creative nonfiction.

Queers At The Table by Megan J. Elias and Alex D. Ketchum

Queers at the Table is an anthology of essays, comics and recipes that explores the many nourishing ways queerness shapes food production and restaurant culture. It celebrates how food empowers, transforms and brings together queer and trans communities. 

Alex D. Ketchum is an assistant professor at McGill University specializing in Gender, Sexuality and Feminist studies. She is also the author of Ingredients for Revolution: A History of American Feminist Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses. Ketchum is based in Montreal.

Megan J. Elias is an associate professor and director of the Food Studies Program at Boston University. They are the author of five books on food history, including Food on the Page: Cookbooks and American Culture. They live in Brooklyn, New York.

Acquired Tastes by James Chatto, W.L. Martin and Joseph Sproule

Acquired Tastes is a a book that explores the migration and creation of eight different dishes spanning centuries and continents. From the one queen’s introduction of Renaissance Italian lasagna into Poland to a merchant smuggling sweet potato from Manila to China, Acquired Tastes looks into the powers of food for cultural exchange and the motivations for sharing a dish or drink.

James Chatto is a Canadian food writer and the author of books including The Seducer’s Cookbook and A Matter of Taste. He is based in Toronto.

W.L. Martin is the author of A Kitchen in Corfu and has worked as a high school teacher and administrator.

Joseph Sproule is a historian who teaches at the University of Toronto.

Have You Eaten Yet? by Cheuk Kwan

Have You Eaten Yet? is a travelogue that tells stories of Chinese restaurants worldwide and explores global Chinese migration and how Chinese immigrants grapple with assimilation, cultural identity and economic survival.

Kwan was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. He co-founded The Asianadian, a magazine dedicated to promoting Asian Canadian arts, culture and politics, and a film production company, Tissa Films. He is currently based in Toronto. Have You Eaten Yet? won the gold prize for culinary narratives at the 2023 Taste Canada Awards.

The Lost Supper by Taras Grescoe

In The Lost Supper, journalist Taras Grescoe delves into ancient cuisine from all around the world to show that the answers to sustainable eating could lie in reviving the foods of the past.

Grescoe is a Montreal-based author and journalist. Grescoe won the Mavis Gallant Prize for Nonfiction for Possess the Air: Love, Heroism, and the Battle for the Soul of Mussolini’s Rome. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, the Guardian and National Geographic.

Hearty by andrea bennett

Hearty is an essay collection that explores andrea bennett’s love and appreciation for food as someone who’s worked in the industry for decades and uses food to show they care. The essays examine specific foods as well as broader themes like food media and home gardening in a blend of journalism, cultural commentary and personal experience. 

bennett is a writer and senior editor at The Tyee. Their writing can be found in The Walrus, Chatelaine, The Atlantic and the Globe and Mail. Their work includes the essay collection Like a Boy but Not a Boy and poetry collection the berry takes the shape of the bloom. They live in Powell River, B.C.

Maple Syrup by Peter Kuitenbrouwer

Maple Syrup explores the rich history and cultural significance of one of Canada’s most cherished traditions. It delves into the Indigenous heritage of maple syrup, its enduring place in Canadian identity and the complex industry that supports its production today.

Peter Kuitenbrouwer is a journalist, a forester and educator specializing in forest management. He serves as the editor of Our Forest, the magazine of Forests Ontario, and has written for publications like Maclean’s, The Walrus, The Globe and Mail and Canadian Geographic, among others. He is also the author of the children’s book Our Song: The Story of O Canada.