DESI DIARY
STORIES AND TRADITIONS FROM CANADIAN KITCHENS
Memories are Made in the Kitchen, an exhibition at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, celebrates the stories, technologies, and cherished objects found in kitchens from across Canada. Image credit: INGENIUM.CA.
When people cook together, they nourish more than just their bodies – they build memories and create lasting traditions.
Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation welcomes visitors to Memories are Made in the Kitchen, an exhibition at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum. This heartwarming, multisensory exhibition celebrates the stories, technologies, and cherished objects found in kitchens from across Canada. Through stories, photographs, artifacts, and kitchen objects, Memories are Made in the Kitchen highlights how the preparation and sharing of food can hold powerful memories and help shape new ones.
Visitors are invited to explore a series of photographs and meaningful stories from over 100 people who participated in making the exhibition from across Canada. They can experience a collection of familiar kitchen artifacts and objects that evoke memories and inspire new culinary discoveries. The exhibition offers a multisensory experience including videos, audio stories, soundscapes, and even taste in the museum’s adjoining demonstration kitchen. Visitors can get creative, explore new ideas, and connect with food and culture through hands-on fun in the accessible Lil’ Chefs Play Kitchen.
Memories Are Made in the Kitchen explores how cooking has been a way for families to sustain culture and pass down traditions to future generations. With a focus on the sense of connection people feel when they cook, the exhibition invites visitors to step into a welcoming, home-like space filled with evocative sights, and sounds. The exhibition offers a series of deeply personal glimpses into the ways cooking helps to sustain culture, adapt culinary traditions, and forge new memories through food.
The exhibition was developed in partnership with Laurysen Kitchens with support from the Ingenium Foundation.
“Memories Are Made in the Kitchen is a poignant example of what happens when community, culture, and curiosity come together,” said Kerry-Leigh Burchill, Director General, Canada Agriculture and Food Museum. “This exhibition honours the role food plays in connecting people, preserving traditions, and creating new memories. We are deeply grateful to the community participants and cultural experts who generously shared their memories, techniques, and recipes with us. We can’t wait to welcome visitors into this new space to discover the intimate culinary traditions and practices of Canadians.”
“This space is designed knowing that it will expose children to food and cooking in such an exciting and playful way, and all while creating lasting impact and memories for all who engage with it,” said Corey Laurysen, VP of Sales and Service, Laurysen Kitchens.
Ingenium oversees three national museums of science and innovation in Ottawa – the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, and the Canada Science and Technology Museum.
Its lngenium Centre houses an exceptional collection of artifacts, a research institute, and a digital innovation lab. Its museums, digital content, outreach programs, travelling exhibitions, and collaborative spaces help to educate, entertain, and engage audiences across Canada and around the world. The mandate is to bring science literacy and inspiration to people in Canada of all ages, abilities, identities, and backgrounds.