Designed by Christale Terris, the performative dinner LIKE HER HANDS explores place and memory, women's role in the food system, intergenerational heritage and relationship building through the act of preparing and sharing food. 

 

Using local and sustainable ingredients, participants prepared a stew composed of handmade GLISSANTS simmered in a rich chicken stock and served with boiled potatoes, fresh green beans and carrots.

 

Named after the slippery little dumplings it contains, this dish is a traditional French-Canadian meal. Glissants are also known as “pâtes à ragoût” or “grands-pères” (although these are normally shaped like dumplings).

 

Glissants are a family favourite taught to Christale by their grandmother, Victoria May Whalen (Mimi), who herself learned it from hers in Sudbury, Ontario in the 1940s.

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To perform the actual cooking and dinner, Christale invited five women with whom they cook regularly. Hands dusted in flour, using bottles as rolling pins, the crew made glissants and cooked them while chatting and laughing. This shared experience showed the relationship cuisine can build.

 

In the end, enticed by the mouth-watering aromas, observers and participants shared a bowl until the pot was empty, just like you can do at home.