Presentation of the First Governor General's Awards
in Celebration of the Nation's Table

Rideau Hall, Wednesday, June 23, 2010

My wife has told you a bit about the official story of how this award began when I was at Cuvee in 2006, but like all good stories, this version is only half of it.  I would like to share with you now the other half…the less official half, if you will.

It was a very cold and blustery day in February in the Niagara Region.  Those of you from that area who are with us tonight can attest that no place feels colder than a vineyard in the middle of an ice storm, with the wind howling in off Lake Ontario.

I had been asked by the Niagara Community Foundation to present a wine award at the Cuvee gala and to say a few words about Canadian wine as their patron.  But, what to say?  That was the question. 

I am a great lover of wine and I had been to Niagara before with my family and but I had never been to Cuvee before and my English…well, it was, to everyone’s great surprise, including mine, not that bad. 

My original plan was to improvise, as I so love to do.  Then I decided I would jot down a few notes over breakfast about Canadian wine and its contribution to our society.  But, when I was sitting at my table in the hotel room, eating my lovely fruit with cheese, bread and coffee, it struck me.  I needed to talk about more than that.  I needed to talk about how what we eat and what we drink and how it gets to the table is a crucial part of our culture.  It is what joins us together.  It is what makes us who we are.  It is what sustains us as a people.  And then, I had an idea…

I quickly called my team together, sat them down, offered them coffee and brioche (always a good strategy for getting people on your side) and then told them of my little idea. 

Since there are Governor General’s Awards to celebrate literature, the performing arts, media arts, architecture and other endeavours that are vital to the cultural fabric of our country, why could there not also be an award to celebrate the culinary and table arts.

My team was not hard to convince (especially with there mouth full at the time) and we decided to float the idea out at Cuvee. While I did not have a chance to run it by my wife, I knew she would agree because like me, she believes in the fundamental place of the table in the discourse of our lives.  And, she did.  She loved, and loves, the idea, as you can see. 

J’avais quelques bonnes bouteilles rapportées des vignobles ontariens, qui ont su ajouter les vertus du vin à ma capacité de convaincre : mon épouse a reçu avec le plus grand enthousiasme le projet d’un prix du gouverneur général des arts de la table, et tous nos collaborateurs ont fait de même.

So, in my speech that night at Cuvee, I said, ‘I have one final idea that is percolating.’  (and now that you know the inside story, you can appreciate the word choice…′percolating’ was a reminder of our discussion over coffee in the morning.)  

The response to the idea was overwhelming.  Some of you who are here tonight, were present that night at Cuvee and I want to take this opportunity to thank you, and all the people like you across the country who have helped make this award possible, for your support, for your vision and for your shared passion.

This passion is something that has been a huge part of my life ever since I was a young boy.  I come from a culture of food and wine.  I was born in France and during my formative years, the land was as much a part of my education as literature, geography, sociology, psychology and philosophy. My grandparents and great-grandparents cultivated the land and made their own wine. And my father tended his library, his kitchen and his cellar, all with the same care and passion.

When I was older and moved to Canada, the table became the space around which I established my connections with society. After all, a table is not just a space to tantalize the taste buds. It is a place for conversation and sharing; where ideas flow as fully as the flavours of the meal.  It is there where people of all ages, all cultures and all walks of life, gather to share their hopes, their fears and dreams.  It is around a table where our collective stories are told and passed from one generation to the next. 

You will no doubt agree from your own experience, that around the table can be heard tall tales of great adventure and simple words of welcome; and whether there is a physical table or not, the act of hospitality itself conveys a message: when we break bread together, we are sharing the best that life has to offer, and what is more, the privilege of having food to share.

At a time when, too often, each of us thinks more of ourselves than the other, when imagination and initiative take a back seat to the daily hustle and bustle, when fast food and ready-made meals serve as culinary rituals, it is reassuring to have a central place and cultural forum for exchange, heedless of our differences.

It is in this spirit of exchange that this award was created. 

Over the last four years, we, my wife and my daughter and I, have travelled across this country, both geographically and gastronomically.  We have consulted with hundreds of people who contribute everyday to the bounty of our nation’s table:  farmers, food writers, sommeliers, chefs, cheese makers, fishers, teachers, students, hunters and tea makers.  We gathered around tables in culinary schools, hotel kitchens, farmers’ markets and old firehalls and broke bread together - exchanging ideas, stories and points of view; and it is from the fruits of those discussions that you find the very heart of this award.

We completely agreed that this award had to be different from other awards.  It had to recognize the human values we share around the table, and around the country.  It could not be about the specific accomplishment of one chef, one winemaker or one food producer. It needed to recognize those who inspire us, who teach us and who delight us with their contributions to the nation’s table.  It needed to recognize those with a passion for what links us together as Canadians. 

You know, life is a circle.  When my wife was first designated as Governor General, our predecessors invited us to come, meet with them and see the residence.  Do you know where the tour started and ended?  You guessed it, the kitchen, the garden and the table.  Like my wife and me, Mme Clarkson and Mr. Saul believed fervently in the importance of the culture and bounty of the nation’s table.  Over the last four years, we have strengthened those beliefs and closed the circle with the creation of this award.

This year during my speech at Cuvee, I said, “Before the fall harvest arrives, we will present the first Governor General’s Award in celebration of the Nation’s Table.”  I am proud to be here today to fulfill that promise and to honour the first recipients of this award whom you will see, represent in their actions and their passion, the full extent of the nation’s table and all the values this award was conceived to exalt.

I don’t know about you, but I cannot wait any longer, so let’s discover the wonder of the nation’s table and meet this year's recipients.