It was a celebration of food and drink 鈥� in this case pizza and wine 鈥� and a display of Canadian culture as a group of friends got together on Saturday evening.
The eight of us around the table get together regularly to enjoy fine food and drinks, along with some great company.
This time, the main course was pizza, although in the past, we鈥檝e enjoyed everything from Latin American meals to family favourite recipes and regional delicacies.
The pizza we enjoyed was a Windsor-style pizza, a variety that originated in the southern Ontario city in the 1950s.
Windsor-style pizza has a crisp crust, and the toppings are placed on top of the cheese, unlike other pizzas where the cheese is the final layer.
The meat is typically shredded pepperoni rather than the more common round slices of meat.
For purists, a very particular brand of Mozzarella cheese is used, but I haven鈥檛 seen that brand on the grocery shelves here in B.C., and I wasn鈥檛 prepared to trek out to Ontario to find it.
This was a pizza variety I hadn鈥檛 tasted before. I haven鈥檛 been to Windsor or the surrounding region, and while this pizza is listed as Ontario cuisine, it isn鈥檛 common elsewhere.
This got me thinking about how pizza has developed in Canada, and how we have contributed a lot to the world of pizza.
The Hawaiian pizza, with ham and pineapple toppings, was created by a Greek-born Canadian in southern Ontario in the early 1960s.
Today, that variety is beloved across Canada 鈥� aside from those who believe pineapple should not be found anywhere near a slice of pizza.
Halifax has Donair pizza. Pictou County, Nova Scotia has its own special pizza which uses a brown sauce instead of tomato sauce.
Regional pizza styles can be found in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Regina.
I鈥檝e had Indian-style pizza which has its own sauces, toppings and seasonings, and while I鈥檝e heard of poutine pizza and sushi pizza, I haven鈥檛 tried either of these. Maybe next time...
In the Okanagan Valley, one regional pizza chain used to offer peaches as a topping.
For a previous dinner together, several years ago, we tried a Thai-inspired pizza and a variety with apples and a blueberry compote.
Perhaps pizza is one of the foods that represents Canada鈥檚 values.
Pizza originated in what is now Italy, more than 1,000 years ago, and there are records of other pizza-like foods dating back close to 2,500 years ago.
But here in Canada, a land with a diverse population living across a vast area, our pizza culture shows a lot of variety. If you can imagine it, someone is probably working to create a unique style of pizza to satisfy your tastes.
Our circle of friends on Saturday evening also exemplifies this spirit of Canadian diversity.
The eight of us around the table work in a variety of fields, have plenty of unique interests and represent at least 10 different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Some of us prefer wine, others enjoy craft beer, and one prefers coffee, tea and sparking waters.
And when we鈥檙e having discussions, we often have a wide variety of opinions. We haven鈥檛 yet had a debate about whether pineapple belongs on pizza. That one could get lively.
On Saturday, we came together over pizza. Perhaps this food, as we enjoy it in Canada, can be an element that can bring together our wonderfully diverse country.
John Arendt is the editor of the Summerland Review.
