Lenore Newman may have one of the best jobs in the world. An average day might find her advising senior government, mentoring start-up companies as they develop cutting edge food technologies, hunting through far-flung markets for new and exciting flavours, giving a keynote lecture on food culture, consulting on the shape of meals of the future, or thinking about what we might eat on Mars. What a long, strange, tasty trip it's been!
Lenore was born in Sechelt, a small town on the coast of British Columbia. As the child of a fishing family, Lenore received an early introduction to food production and direct sales aboard her family's halibut boat, the Jaana. She grew up peddling fish on the dockside, eating in rough and tumble port town diners, and helping cook family recipes, experiences that gave rise to a deep love of nature and a lifetime of thinking about food.
Fueled by a desire to see the world and eat less halibut, Lenore left home to complete a degree in Physics and Astronomy at the University of British Columbia, then after a few years of wandering around Europe, Russia, and Asia and eating every strange and wonderful thing she could get her hands on, she returned to Canada to complete a Master's degree and PhD in Environmental Studies at York University. It was there that Lenore delved into larger environmental issues and developed a deep love of gastronomy and culinary cultures and an interest in the policies that impact what we eat. She also learned how to rescue a potluck when everyone brings hummus.
Lenore has authored and co-authored several popular books. Her first book, Speaking in Cod Tongues: A Culinary Journey through Canada, was released by University of Regina Press in January of 2017. A hybrid book aimed at a broad audience, Speaking in Cod Tongues is the first comprehensive look at Canadian cuisine on the national level. Speaking in Cod Tongues was a Saskatchewan Book Award Winner and a Gourmand Award finalist. Chef Jamie Kennedy described the book as a "wonderful gastronomical journey of discovery".
Lenore's second book, Lost Feast: Culinary Extinction and the Future of Food, was released in 2019 by ECW Press and explores the foods we literally loved to death. Covering the scope of human history and spanning history, Lost Feast received excellent reviews and several awards, including a 2020 silver medal in the Taste Canada Awards, the 2020 Science Writers of Canada Award, and the silver medal in the Ecology and Environment Category of the 2019 Foreword INDIES. Lost Feast was also named a NPR Science Friday Book Club pick and did well in Amazon Best Seller rankings.
Lenore's third book was co-written with her friend Dr. Evan Fraser after a spirited set of conversations about how a Martian city might feed itself. A pandemic project, Dinner on Mars was published in 2022 by ECW Press and received an IPPY award gold medal. In a starred review, Publisher's Weekly claimed, "This culinary cosmic outing is as creative as it is informative."
Lenore is often in the media, and is particularly proud of her recurring spot on CBC's North by Northwest with Margaret Gallagher on Canada's food culture, aptly called "Cravings". She has been featured on CBC Ideas, Global TV, TVO, Quirks and Quarks, the UK Times, The Current, the BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Saturday Evening Post, The Atlantic, NPR, Chatelaine, Saveur, and others. She is also a popular podcast guest, appearing on shows such as Gastropod, Future Hindsight, NPR's The Salt, and many more.
In addition to her work as an author and academic, Lenore has worked as a consulting fruit hunter. She enjoys combing the world's remote farm fields, archives, and seed banks for corporate clients seeking new and unusual tastes and flavours. She is particularly proud to be consulting on The Restaurant Beyond Time project, a sweeping exposition of the past and future of food under development by the 10Ton Foundation, Denmark.
Lenore currently splits her time between Vancouver, her hometown of Sechelt, and the open road. She lives with her partner Katherine, owns a piano and a paddleboard, and can usually be found near a restaurant or a beach.
