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鈥淓verything has a food angle. Everyone eats. Everyone shops. Everyone gets groceries.鈥�

Karon Liu, 2008 alum and the Toronto Star鈥檚 food reporter gave the School鈥檚 annual Atkinson lecture on April 7. 

It was one of the school鈥檚 first major in-person events since students returned to campus.

Since graduating, Liu has also had work in Maclean鈥檚, Food Network Canada, Sharp Magazine and the Globe and Mail. He also previously worked at The Grid and Vice Munchies.

Liu spoke about the difference between a restaurant critic and a food writer and the objective of better informing his readers on the backgrounds of the city鈥檚 eateries. 

鈥淭he job of a food writer is to fill in the blanks and get the information that a regular diner won鈥檛 be able to,鈥� he said. 鈥淏y that I mean, interview the cooks, talk to the people who work there, talk to the people who are the experts on the cuisine, contextualize the dish and the people who made it. I think by doing so, readers are not only more informed about what they鈥檙e going to order when they sit down at the place, but they also feel like they had a conversation with the owners.鈥�

Over the past two years, much of Liu鈥檚 focus has shifted to food operations during the pandemic.

鈥淭he pandemic really emphasized existing problems in the food world and it became such a big issue that it really brought these issues up to the public consciousness,鈥� he said. 鈥淏y that I mean the treatment of migrant workers and the lack of worker protections, how our food supply chain operates. The low pay, harassment and precarious employment that a lot of out front line workers have. I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 been such a point in time where issues of labour and restaurant labour and wages have become so much on the forefront of food writing.鈥�

As a food journalist, one of the biggest things Liu has noticed is the decline of the 鈥渁uthentic, traditional dish.鈥�

鈥淚 think now, in food writing, we鈥檙e seeing that food exists on a continuum, rather than a fixed point in time. Food is never static, just like music, fashion, literature. It evolves and grows with migration, war, technology, climate, influences from other cuisines. Who gets to deem that the food at this point in time is authentic and has to be put under glass in a museum?鈥�

Liu ended his lecture with a reminder that the food industry is massive, and there are always legal, environmental and economic angles that journalists may take.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so many aspects of the food and restaurant industry that you can look into.鈥�

The Atkinson is supported by the Atkinson Foundation, a charitable foundation committed to social and economic justice. The school of journalism has hosted the Atkinson Lecture for many years and has included speakers like Ryan McMahon, Michelle Shephard, and Denise Balkissoon.

You can find out more about the Atkinson Foundation and more about Karon Liu .