Editor's Introduction

What is "good" food, and how might it contribute to what we might think of as a "good" life? For it is axiomatic that good food and good company are two of the finest pleasures in life. But it is also axiomatic that, as individuals, we have very different notions of what "good food" might mean. Since its inception this journal has engaged with the diversity of food cultures. It began with a focus on the multiple food cultures within Canada but soon moved to see this as a model for broader exploration of comparative food cultures. We are consequently delighted to offer two complementary issues this year, which bring together contributions addressing this pressing question. In this year's two issues of CuiZine you will hear answers from a wide variety of individuals in very different walks of life. In 6.1 ethnographic studies explore the food decisions of our friends and neighbours--including home cooks in New Zealand, and artisinal food producers and salespeople of Vermont. In 6.2 contributors look to distinctly Canadian notions about good food and to the ways our own foodways were shaped. In this first issue, which draws from voices across the globe, I am sure you will be struck, as I was, by the many moments of overlap. Hadas Ore, thinking about the foods prepared by middle class women who have migrated to New Zealand from Israel, describes how food can materialize nostalgia, and variously intimacy as well as tension. In two articles about artisinal food production in Vermont, Brad Jones and then Rachel DiStefano and Amy Trubek relay stories about individuals who not only take up the challenge of making good food but also the challenge of describing what that means for them, for their food products, as well as their production companies and marketing strategies. All agree that, as DiStefano and Trubek say, "place matters." Sometimes, of course, foods are "good" because they do the work of creating the story and sense of place, or as Ore points out, of imagining or recreating place. Next, in our "Cooking the Books Series," two writers put historical recipes to the test, to understand whether they are good enough to withstand the test of time. Finally, we are grateful to Marcy Goodman who contributes her lovely poem, which describes how food might lure even the finickiest of palates. My thanks once again to Renée Desjardins and Marianne Noël for their superb translations and to Renée, who also serves as our very able Lead for External Communications. Que représente la notion de « bonne chère » ou celle de « bonne bouffe » ? Et celle de la « belle vie »? N’y a-t-il pas, d’ailleurs, un lien intrinsèque entre « bonne bouffe » et « belle vie »? Car finalement, il n’y a pas de plus grand plaisir qu’un bon repas partagé en bonne compagnie. Par contre, ce qu’on qualifie de « bon » mets ou de « bon » repas n’a pas peut-être pas le même sens pour tous…. Dès sa conception, CuiZine se voulait un forum pour traiter de la grande diversité des cultures alimentaires et culinaires. Plus particulièrement, l’accent initial a été mis sur les cultures culinaires canadiennes. Depuis, ce cadre a été élargi afin d’explorer et de comparer d’autres cultures culinaires qui pourraient avoir un lien avec ou un impact sur le contexte canadien. Cette année, nous sommes donc ravis de vous offrir deux numéros complémentaires qui, en ayant recours à des études internationales et locales, adressent cette problématique. Les articles proposés ont été rédigés par des individus ayant des formations et des …