Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Oh, Canada.
It seems our often-overlooked country has been snubbed once again on the international stage, this time by the editors of Coco, a culinary book to be published by Phaidon Press.
On Amazon, the book is billed as "part cookbook, part guide to the world's best restaurants," with "10 of the world's greatest chefs" hand picking 100 up-and-coming culinary stars to celebrate.
Alas, nary a Canuck made the cut. And the oversight has left many Canadian foodies scratching their heads and demanding that Coco let one more cook into its kitchen.
"This is outrageous … that Canada not be considered," said J. Charles Grieco, president of the Ontario Hostelry Institute. "It's just beyond belief, in every respect."
Last week, there was still hope. Reportedly, Coco had one last spot to fill. Quill & Quire contributor Shaun Smith drummed up an e-mail campaign to persuade Phaidon to look north for the spot, and enlisted the support of 23 Canadian chefs and industry professionals including Jamie Kennedy, Susur Lee, Anne Yarymowich, Rob Feenie and Anthony Walsh. On Monday, they sent a letter to Phaidon's editorial director, Emilia Terragni, urging her to reconsider Coco's lineup.
But on Wednesday, it was announced on a New York Magazine blog that the spot was going to Anthony Demetre, a Londoner.
For James Chatto, prominent food journalist for Toronto Life, the news comes as a disappointment.
"It's a shame we didn't win this victory, but I'm not sure it was that much of a surprise," he said. "I'm very disappointed in Phaidon's response. They didn't even have the grace to send a proper reply, which is not very polite."
The editors of Coco, scheduled for release in November, could not be reached for an interview, but publicist Kimberly Yorio responded to The Globe and Mail by e-mail last week, stating that it was "inaccurate to say that Canadians were omitted from the list."
"The great thing about this series is that it makes no claims to be a guidebook or have an editorial point of view," Ms. Yorio wrote. "It's a collection of 10 leading global talents choosing 10 people in their industry to watch, and wholly subjective. The real magic of the book is that it's chefs picking chefs, unencumbered by editorial restriction."
Coco's curatorial committee also failed to include any Canadians, instead featuring the likes of Brit Gordon Ramsay, Ferran Adrià of Spain, Alain Ducasse of Monaco and American chef and food activist Alice Waters.
For Mr. Smith, the lineup surely hampered Canada's chances of making it into the 448 pages of Coco.
"Phaidon could have asked a Canadian to be on the curatorial committee for the book," he said. "Gordon Ramsay is setting a season of Hell's Kitchen in Whistler, yet he can't find a Canadian chef?"
In spite of the defeat, Mr. Chatto said he's proud to see Canadian chefs and foodies rally together in support of our local culinary arts. He considers Canada's food scene to be on par with, if not better than, that in some other countries on Coco's list - such as Australia, which got five chefs in the book.
But in future, when it comes to tooting Canada's horn on the international stage, the cheerleading has to start at home, Mr. Chatto said.
"It's often our own media that's failed to blow our own trumpets loudly," he said. "It's important to Canada that we begin to count among the nations that we can cook. I do think we have wonderful food here."