Faces, culture, neighbourhood, and food — in that order. That is how Suresh Doss, host of Locals Welcome, describes the new CBC Gem series.
For the food writer, storyteller, and veteran journalist, ‘faces’ embody the multicultural essence and presence of the country, where small pockets exist in every province, city, and town, offering multifaceted Canada on a plate.
“Within those pockets, what’s more, and really revealing to me, is that people eat quite diversely in this country. You walk into a foreign place, and you will see construction workers, and you will see people of my kind and people of another kind. And it’s an idea of, like, we well, cross pollinate so much,” he told Now Toronto.
The adage is as old as time, and more relevant than ever: food brings people together. Locals Welcome takes viewers on a journey through some of Canada’s best neighbourhoods and lesser-known restaurants, yet it goes beyond the table, highlighting the robust and flavourful conversations that also serve up harmony.
Doss says Canadians often rub shoulders with each other. From uptown Toronto to Downtown Toronto, and from cities and townships across the country, people eat similarly. It is the act of reaching over someone to grab dim sum with chopsticks or eating with your hands. It is the organic nature of cultures coexisting closely.
That is what makes the country, and its lesser-known culinary scene, truly unique, according to Doss. That is what the series intends to capture on screen – a landscape undefined by media, photos, and cameras, one representative of the people who live and breathe a variety of cultural cuisines.
Doss grew up in North York and Scarborough, often in predominantly Filipino neighbourhoods and communities, while surrounding himself with Jamaican friends. He says that grabbing a Jamaican beef patty and Chinese barbecue with company, among other dishes, was a regular occurrence.
He remembers the various menus written in different languages, the constant flow of people from all over coming in and out, being told to wait, unmarked takeout items, sounds of knives chopping, hearing that a specific food item was sold out, watching mothers and grandmothers working intergenerationally, and loud music.
But what stands out most are the conversation starters that were found in those rooms and takeout stalls, which taught him to loosen his shoulders and get curious about the cultures made available to his tastebuds. A lesson he hopes to share with viewers.
“What are you getting? So, wait, are you having your jerk chicken with the gravy, or not? Kind of thing, right? Or like, are you having your Jamaican beef patty in a coco bun? So, what is this? Am I having rice? And am I having this? Am I having that? That’s kind of like how I was raised, and that inspired my writing.”
Doss says food is deeply tied to nostalgia, social culture, perspective, lineage and a specific time and place. When people immigrate to the country, they bring a few things with them, including food, clothing, and some kind of artifact, parts brought over from a time of leaving and relocating.
“Where did that come from? So, like, is that something that was transported from when you left Southern Sudan and you came here? Or is that something you created here to represent, how your kids eat in school here to kind of mimic this mix of pasta sauce with souvenir flavors. It’s complicated, but I think the beauty there is.”
According to Doss, having immigrant parents, and connections to one’s forebears allows for the creation of something unique: the evolution of a dish made from times past, one that will continue to evolve with time and place — a byproduct shaped by the hands and minds of those who were here then, and those who are here now.
“If your mom makes a certain kind of curry chicken rice, it’s not authentic to Singapore, but it’s authentic to 1989 Singapore. And I think that’s what’s really special about Canada, because when you tell the story about Canada as it evolves, you tell the story of how it changes. So, like the kid that was born from that chicken rice in 1996 or whatever, will evolve and create something new.”
That culinary evolution and full circle cycle lives on for Doss, who now has the opportunity to experience the same restaurants in the city that he once frequented as a child, this time with his own mini-me.
“The chance to be able to film a couple of episodes in Scarborough, I think, was the most reflective for me because I was able to really dive into the places that I would go to as a kid, and then take my kid, as well,” he said.
“That was the most personal to me, the Jamaican beef patty, the Sri Lankan food, Haka cuisine. Growing up with Hakka cuisine, and then shawarma, in terms of Lawrence Avenue, that was the most favourite for me.”
While travelling through Los Angeles in his 20s, Doss sought to find his beat as a writer. “Am I writing about tacos? Am I writing about fine dining in Toronto? What am I doing?” While journeying, he says a very famous local food writer offered him guidance.
“He was like, all you have to do is just walk or drive. Just be curious.”
Now, Doss is offering that same advice to his viewers. Rub shoulders with others, experience more around you, put the phone down, walk through the aisles, look around, and most importantly, lean into curiosity.
“I think it will open the world to you.”
In the first episode of Locals Welcome, which premiered on Oct. 5, Doss explored Naija, a popular term used to describe Nigerian culture, walking viewers through its rapidly expanding and dynamic food scene.
New episodes of Locals Welcome air on Sundays. To learn more, click here.
