B aking hundreds of soft baguettes, flaky croissants and warm danishes is somewhat of a nightmare for most chefs—but not for Luke Gaston. “A lot of chefs out there despise doing desserts, despise baking,” says the Halifax chef-turned-baker. “I always gravitated towards that.” He’s spent years working in various culinary positions, most recently at restaurant […]
Chris Stoodley
Chris is a general reporter at The Coast covering everything from social issues to city matters that affect Halifax. He's also a photographer and freelance writer, and his work can be found in Paper Magazine, VICE and This Magazine.
Posted inFood + Drink
Tinápe is serving Filipino breads and pastries in Bedford
Baking has always been a passion for Sharon De Leon, but her career in preparing Filipino breads and pastries began almost accidentally. For years, it had always been her side gig where she’d fulfill orders at home whenever she found the time outside of working as a professional chef. But now, she’s made baking her […]
Posted inFood + Drink
The first Halifax Asian Food Festival is bridging the gap between cultures
When Joyce Liu was starting to think about putting together a new food event, she knew she wanted to create something that would bridge the gap between different cultures. She’s the head planner behind Off The Eaten Path, a multicultural food festival showcasing Nova Scotia’s diverse and growing population. For its debut event, Off The […]
Posted inArts + Music
Morgan Toney takes his ‘Mi’kmaltic’ tunes to Prismatic Arts Festival’s stage
When Morgan Toney first started playing the fiddle roughly three years ago, it was completely by accident. The 22-year-old Mi’kmaq musician—who hails from We’koqma’q and Wagmatcook First Nations—first found his musical rhythm by playing the drums as a child. But when he enrolled in Cape Breton University’s music program, the department chair mistakenly threw him […]
Posted inArts + Music
CBC’s “lust, legacy and lobster” show Moonshine stays true to Nova Scotia
Moonshine Tuesdays at 9pm on CBC TV Streaming on CBC Gem Dysfunctional is probably the best way to describe the Finley-Cullen family. It’s a clan that includes five adult half-siblings, each of whom have eccentric personalities and backgrounds that don’t quite mesh well together. Throw in a late aunt’s will that divides up her personal […]
Posted inArts + Music
Feel magic and wonder with Johnston Foster’s Olde Growth
Johnston Foster’s latest sculpture show at the Chester Art Centre began from a sort of mystical destiny. The American-born artist moved to Nova Scotia roughly nine years ago, but he had been laying low in the local arts scene up until around two years ago. Back then, Beverly McInnes—a board member at the Chester […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Barrio’s wants to share a full Filipino cuisine experience serving fusion flavours at Bearly’s
Nearly every week for Mary Panaligan has ended with a large Filipino feast. She and her husband, Rolly, have spent numerous Sundays with their friends cooking up large meals, loudly chatting about their lives and eating a variety of freshly made dishes. That’s commonplace for many Filipinos; there’s almost a sense of passion when it […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
How your campus is responding to COVID
Just days after school starts, Nova Scotia could enter the fifth and final phase of its plan for reopening from the worst of the pandemic restrictions, getting on with whatever the new normal of co-existing with COVID-19 for the rest of our lives looks like. The province is expected to enter Phase 5 on September […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Quinn’s Arms is bringing elevated British-style pub fare to Quinpool Road
Growing up in the United Kingdom, Paul Thomas (better known as Tommy) remembers always being surrounded by pubs. England and Wales were—and still are—dotted with taverns on nearly every street corner, even in residential districts. That aspect of Tommy’s homeland is something he adores, and it’s a facet he’s actively trying to bring to Halifax. […]
Posted inFood + Drink
If you can’t stand the heatwave…don’t even think about this kitchen
Every time Ewan Deveaux gets ready to head into a shift cooking at Salvatore’s Pizzaiolo Trattoria, he knows he’ll be spending a handful of hours sweltering in the back kitchen. A hot environment is second nature when you’re quickly assembling orders near a couple of blazing pizza ovens, four or five other speedy co-workers and […]
Posted inArts + Music
FIN Atlantic International Film Festival launches 2021 lineup
If this past year-and-a-half has you missing the movies—realizing that maybe the best part of a horror film is the whole audience holding its breath, or that a comedy just hits different when someone in the back row has a gregarious laugh—you’re not alone. But you’ll also find buttered popcorn-tinged solace in the return of […]
Posted inArts + Music
Halifax’s 2SLGBTQ+ community is calling new spots home
It’s been more than a year since Halifax’s last bar dedicated to the 2SLGBTQ+ community, Menz & Mollyz, announced its doors were closing for good. The north end gem took to its Facebook page last April to publicize its shuttering, and Halifax has been lacking in queer-centered spaces ever since. For 15 years, Menz & […]