By: Omar Naser

It is most definitely evident that Toronto is a highly diverse city that contains recipes and foods from all the different geographic locations across the world. One way to get to know the city and its people is through different ethnic foods. Scarborough however, is known to be viewed the absolute most “ethnic” areas related to food, mainly due to mass global immigration since the late 1950’s. With trade systems Toronto is able to receive kinds of ingredients that do not come from Canada, which are utilized in making a “diverse” recipe and dish made not only by Canadian chefs, but all kinds of chefs.

So obviously by now, you get the idea of multiculturalism of restaurants in Toronto. Without the big immigrations that happened since the 1950’s, restaurants would not come in much variety. When it comes to geography there are Different ethnic neighbourhoods throughout the city which include: Chinatown, Koreatown, Greektown, Little India and Little Italy. All these locations add to the range in food multiculturalism.

Chinatown               Greektown Little Italy

Restaurants are not the only diverse place for food in Toronto. There are many of ethnic supermarkets that carry produce and food items from around the world. It is always highly recommended to visit your local ethnic supermarket once you arrive for all your needs.

Instead of a restaurant or a supermarket, there are other places to find amazing ethnic foods. Festivals is the answer.

Once arriving to Toronto it is common to go to food festivals, where you may be able to find food from your home country. Some of the known festivals among citizens in Toronto are: The Taste of Little Italy, Salsa Festival and Halal Food Festival.

Something like a salsa festival is pretty much a Latin American party with food, lively music and fun activities.

To conclude, Scarborough (or much bigger) Toronto is defined as “one of the most multicultural cities in the world”, since it is aiming to promote cultural diversity through food. Unlike the U.S., Canada does not provide a unique dish that it is known for world-wide. The U.S. being a lot less multicultural, only comes with famous dishes such as hotdogs and hamburgers. Canada however has poutine, but even then it is not popular globally. Having this special aspect of foods from all over will allow for an increase in immigration, resulting in even more dishes and ingredients to be brought in and used to benefit Toronto’s food and culture.

Works Cited/Bibliography

“Promoting Cultural Diversity through Food in ‘Multicultural’ Toronto.” Promoting Cultural Diversity through Food in “Multicultural” Toronto – Laboratoire De Recherche VESPA, http://www.labovespa.ca/en/multimedia-space/photo-bank-55/a-thousand-words-for-an-image/promoting-cultural-diversity.

“Cultural Foods in Toronto.” Next Stop Canada, 13 Apr. 2017, nextstopcanada.ca/cultural-foods-toronto/.

“Experience a World of Flavours in Toronto.” Tourism Toronto, http://www.seetorontonow.com/cuisine/experience-a-world-of-flavours-in-toronto/#sm.0001ds9y3scbado711ffvf4elzbap.
“When It Comes to Food, Diversity Really Is Toronto’s Strength.” TVO.org, http://www.tvo.org/article/when-it-comes-to-food-diversity-really-is-torontos-strength.