Happy Food Day

Any excuse to eat.

Food Day Canada, on July 31, is a coast-to-coast celebration of all things edible that seeks to stir food enthusiasts from every corner of the land to express sincere appreciation for the bounty of the groceries to which we have such abundant access.

For the eighth year running, this national event looks to make some noise about the regional diversity of this country’s culinary offerings by inviting Canadians to cook and eat in a way that acknowledges their wealth. Held the first Saturday of August when most of Canada is already in the throes of a civic holiday weekend, Food Day Canada is meant to keep the party sizzling.

Known until last year as the World’s Longest Barbecue, this tasty event was actually launched to inject some life into the Canadian meat industry, bruised at the time from BSE.

Concurrent to this year’s version of the event, organizers have launched a website, Foodday.ca, to introduce the world to some uniquely Canadian tastes. Ideally, celebrants the nation over will post menus featuring the local, regional and national dishes they scared up on the 31st—red, white and otherwise.

New this year, many restaurants from across the country are taking part in the affair including, in Toronto, Epic, Scaramouche and Lucien. Chefs from these hotspots will acknowledge the good fortune of their options on this day, producing dishes that celebrate the profuse product of Canadian farmers and fishers.

Like you needed another excuse to eat.