Q. Wedding season continues apace. What are the most popular wedding cake flavours? Has dried-out fruit cake, cursed with nuts and topped with grout, finally had its day? . A. Let’s hear it for wedding cake we’d rather eat than stuff in our handbags. According to 2024 Brides Magazine, the

Q. Happy National Ice-Cream Day. Meanwhile, it’s hot, and the freezer is low on sweet delights. What kind of ice-cream are Canadians ordering to their doorsteps? . A. Uber Eats analyzed their Canadian ice-cream sales data from July 2024 to July 2025. And what did they find? Top 5 Canadian

Q. How is it that Bach came to write a cantata about coffee? . A. Johann Sebastian Bach, as it turns out, was mad about coffee. The BBC reports that he would drink up to 30 cups a day 👀. This at a time in the 18th Century when King

Q. We see Salvia Rosmarinus, or rosemary, feature in centuries of historic note, superstition, and potion-making. What special qualities have people ascribed to this savory, beautifully fragrant herb? . A. Joseph is said to have used rosemary in lining Jesus’ manger to help fend off insects. Rosemary potions were uniquely

Q. A ‘plum job’ is an excellent job. For some, this might mean high prestige. For others, this is a job where one can make a whole lot of bank without having to work so hard. How did plums find themselves in gilded easy street? . A. The expression ‘a

Q. We’re not all poutine and Nanaimo Bars. Which fruits and vegetables do Canadians favour? . A. To get a sense of what’s on our rainbow plate, Leger 360 polled 1,587 Canadians in 2020. Participants were asked which fruits and vegetables they had eaten in the past year. Which of

Q. Are you besotted with a particular  type of food? Is there a name for that? . A. Carnophile Loves meat Foodophile We’re not picky. Loves food in general Frigophile Loves frozen things. Includes frozen desserts Javaphile Loves coffee Mycophile Loves mushrooms Oenophile Loves wine Paniphile Loves bread Turophile Loves

Q. What is in Jamaican Jerk Spice? . A. When people learn that I’m half Jamaican, conversations quickly turn to the beautiful Blue Mountains, the turquoise sea, reggae, fresh mangoes, hard dough bread, and jerk spice. Jerk chicken, jerk pork, jerk breadfruit. The origins of jerk spice are up for

Q. ‘Vera moved to the tea table. There was a cheerful rattle and clink of china. Normality returned. Tea! Bless ordinary everyday afternoon tea!’   Yes, Agatha Christie. Bless ordinary everyday afternoon (and morning, and evening) tea. How has the sipping of glorious tea been celebrated in art? . A.

Q. How does the Canadian sweet tooth compare to those of our global counterparts? . A. We can start with the healthy sweets. Can you name the most consumed fruit in the world? According to the Guinness Book of Records, the most consumed fruit in the world is the banana