Drinking cold sweet tea has always been my preferred way to pass a warm summer’s day. Growing up in Georgia, sweet tea was one of my favourite treats as a young child. While seemingly every Southern household had a pitcher of the sugary beverage in the fridge, ready to be enjoyed at any time, now that I live in Montreal, I have to brew sweet tea myself. As adults, it’s these specific foods and drinks that help us remember our families, even when we move far away from our hometowns. Having the dishes we grew up with not only reminds us of our childhood, but also keeps us connected to our roots. With limited options in Montreal to enjoy food from back home, however, finding these dishes can require a bit of effort.
Kayin Queeley, a case manager for the Office of the Dean of Students, grew up eating the national dish of Saint Kitts and Nevis: Saltfish and dumplings served with potatoes, breadfruit, and fried plantains. Now living in Longueuil, most of Queeley’s family remains in Saint Kitts and Nevis, making it all the more important for him to continue cooking Caribbean cuisine with his wife and daughter.
“In many ways, when I’m cooking something that my mom cooked, [that] I saw my aunt cook or my brother cook, it’s like sharing that experience, even though they’re not there,” Queeley said. “So really, it just means keeping my culture alive.”
Recreating the dishes made by loved ones is an integral means of staying connected to home, but there are limited options in Montreal. Restaurants might not serve regionally specific dishes, and attempting to make it yourself may require travelling out of the way to buy ingredients at specialty stores. Yet, this does not mean that finding echoes of familial dishes is entirely impossible.