Marc Garneau CI, located in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Toronto [1], is home to numerous different cultures—and flavours. Thus, the MGCI Community Cookbook was born: an initiative combining the efforts of students, staff, caregivers, and community members to produce a full, professionally produced, hardcover cookbook to be available for purchase this coming May.

“This project has been a desire of Ms. McCalla and Ms. Gunn for many years, but the gears of production started to turn this year,” said Raasikh Wasiq, the MGCI Social Media Director who is helping out and appeared on CityNews coverage of the project.

It will showcase the unique recipes and stories of the community and help raise money for the school’s nutrition program, which currently provides roughly 100 students with breakfast, 900 students with snacks, and 200 students with lunch free of charge every day.

The project is led by Ms. McCalla in charge of design and photography, Ms. Gunn in charge of food and nutrition, and Vice Principal Ms. Kerigan. Recipes to the cookbook are accepted from all members of the school community and can be submitted via the MGCI Cookbook website. MGCI students work with staff and community members as a part of the Cookbook Committee. Students on subcommittees are responsible for testing recipes, advertising, interviews, photography, graphic design, editing, fundraising, video production, and planning events such as the Cookbook Potluck.

The potluck, which took place after school on 12 December 2023, was an event spanning 3 hours, organized with the goal of launching and promoting the cookbook to the school community. Participants brought the dishes they had submitted to the cookbook, then had the opportunity to try the range of food available, a taste of the full collection to come.

Leah Buenavista, a member of the photography subcommittee who took pictures at the event, commented, “I was mostly motivated [to join] by my interest in photography. [I like] being able to learn about different cultures through food [and] see the diversity in different spices [and] flavours.”

Students, staff, and the community are certainly hard at work ensuring all will be able to enjoy the finished cookbook in May.

“We still have much more to do to make sure this cookbook lives up to [the] dream,” Raasikh said.

Anyone interested in contributing or learning more about the MGCI Cookbook can find more information on the Marc Garneau Cookbook website.

[1] https://maytree.com/wp-content/uploads/DiversityMatters.pdf