Introducing Host of the 2026 Taste Canada Awards Soiree, Bob Blumer

Bob Blumer is a professional gastronaut, artist, and 8 times Guinness World Record-holder. He has created and hosted three award-winning Food Network series including Surreal Gourmet and Glutton for Punishment, and written seven acclaimed cookbooks in which he transforms ordinary ingredients into wow-inspiring dishes through simple cooking methods and whimsical presentations.

Bob’s most recent book Flavorbomb: A Rogue Guide to Making Everything Taste Better was awarded Taste Canada Gold for Best General Cookbook in 2021.

Bob is also a long-term ambassador for Second Harvest, a long-time supporter of No Kid Hungry, and a proud zero-waste champion. He now calls both Newfoundland and Los Angeles home.

You’ve built a career exploring food with curiosity, creativity and a sense of adventure. Where did that spirit begin, and what continues to inspire it today?

From an early age, my mother encouraged me to take “the road less traveled.” And that’s what I’ve always done, both consciously and subconsciously. I don’t own a watch, and I’ve never cared much about fancy possessions. At this point in my life, the greatest luxury I can imagine is having the freedom to explore, experience, stay curious and follow my culinary muse wherever it takes me.

You’ve shared food stories through books, television and live experiences. What makes storytelling such a powerful way to connect people through food?

Food is the great leveler and connector. Put something delicious between two strangers and they won’t be strangers for long.

Food writing can preserve family histories, cultural traditions and knowledge that might otherwise be lost. Why is it important to create space for these stories?

Preservation gives us the opportunity to repeat ourselves—or not repeat ourselves — depending on which of our ancestors was doing the cooking.

Canadian food writing reflects an incredible range of regions, cultures, communities and lived experiences. What do these stories reveal about who we are as a country?

#Diverse. And increasingly comfortable with the idea that there isn’t one Canadian food story—there are thousands of them.

Which Canadian food writers, storytellers or books have made a lasting impression on you, and why?

I had the honor of interviewing Thompson Highway on stage at the Devour! Film Festival around the time he released his autobiography, Permanent Astonishment. By his telling, he was born in the middle of the night, in a blizzard, near the Manitoba–Nunavut border, while his family was on the land trapping. He was every bit as fascinating, funny and unexpected as his book.

I’m also a big fan of my co-host Ali Hassan’s Is There Bacon in Heaven? — and I’m not just saying that because on awards night we’ll be relying on each other to get to the end of the show with our dignity intact.

What are you most looking forward to about hosting the 2026 Taste Canada Awards, and what makes this national celebration of Canadian food writing meaningful to you?

I’m really looking forward to being in a room filled with many of my peers and cookbook authors from across the country whose work I admire.

On a personal level, the evening has special significance. In 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, my book was awarded the Taste Canada Gold Award for Best General Cookbook. For me, it felt like the culmination of a 30-year evolution from quirky, self-taught interloper to bona fide cookbook author. Because the awards were held remotely that year, I didn’t have the opportunity to experience the celebration in person. So to finally be there in the room—and to be co-hosting—feels particularly poignant.

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