11/14/2025
Today I spent the day cooking with the chefs and students at George Brown’s School of Culinary Arts, where students utilize produce grown at Zawadi Farm and other local producers.
Being in that kitchen reminded me why local food matters. Not as a concept, but as something real that shapes flavour, community, and the strength of our local economy.
For a few seasons now, Chef Wendy Mah and her students have been visiting the farm to learn about how food is grown in the city. They ask good questions. They listen. They walk the rows and see the work that goes into each harvest. Today I had the chance to stand in their space and watch them turn those same ingredients into meals that honour the work that happens in the soil.
There is a clear link between how we grow food and how it gets transformed in the kitchen. When chefs choose local ingredients, they choose to keep value in the community. They choose to support growers who are caring for the land. They choose food that reflects the season and the people who harvested it.
When students experience this connection early in their training, something shifts. They begin to see food as a relationship rather than a product. They understand that chefs stand beside farmers in building a resilient local economy. Every choice they make in the kitchen becomes a vote for the kind of food system they want to see.
Today confirmed what I have believed for a long time. A strong food system grows from partnership. Farmers and chefs learning from one another. Sharing knowledge. Respecting the work that happens on both sides. And making sure the benefits stay rooted in the community.
I am grateful for our ongoing relationship with and School of Culinary Arts.
This is how a resilient city is built. One harvest. One kitchen. One shared meal at a time.
