Roger Dufau has stirred a flavourful career around his passion for food, and now the chef-turned-author is sharing his message about food and spirituality in a new book entitled We Are What We Think and What We Eat.
The book is an autobiography that challenges cultural attitudes around food and spirituality.
Dufau hopes readers will use his life experiences in both his professional life and his personal spiritual quest to question the status quo of food and social ideologies, and how it relates to living.
“It’s a little bit of wondering if maybe what I [the reader] believe is not so, maybe I should investigate more,” Dufau said. “It’s about exploring and realizing that experience is number one.”
Dufau has owned and managed 16 restaurants and eateries on three continents, including Maison Basque in Toronto, Panache in Hobart, Tasmania, and Le Petit Gourmet in Toronto, which he established with his mother.
Last Thursday, Dufau hosted a book launch at the Drew House Bed and Breakfast, a renowned historical property he owns with his wife Kathleen.
Dufau brings the influences of his early days in the Basque region of France and his international travel to explore his philosophy of health in body, mind and spirit, and the relationship people share with food sources.
“We are all one together,”he said. “How do we patch the world and make it harmonious?”
In his first book, Dufau is not afraid to tackle controversial subjects like genetically-modified crops and the current reliance on fast food and prepared food, all things he says are making individuals and society sick.
“We have this body for a short time and the spirit is what is most important to me. But the body is what we use as a vehicle to live in,” Dufau said.
It’s the spiritual aspect of life that drives Dufau these days.
“I believe that the meaning of spirituality is life being in harmony with itself in all aspects of creation,” he writes.
Part of that harmony involves food choices and production, such as limiting genetic manipulation of plants and animals in favor of more natural and sustainable options like organic food.
His solution to those problems is to eat well, buy locally and work with nature instead of against it.
“Nature is the good chef,” said Dufau, who does not consider his culinary skill to be as important as that of his food sources.
“If I don’t create meals with products that are proper … with good quality products the way they were intended to be used, I can’t make it magic.
“I am close to the earth and I respect the earth, and the magic is in the earth.”
Dufau also questions unfair international trade practices, the business practices of giant food producing companies and fast food chains and the addition of corn syrup to so many food items.
His book is divided into two sections. The first features the author’s life story while the second focuses on issues related to the production of food. More than a dozen of the author’s recipes appear in the book, as well as an extensive reading list.
Dufau’s history includes coming to Canada as an 18-year-old and working in Quebec, opening his first restaurant in France, dealing with an out-of-body experience during a tonsillectomy, and travelling around the world to experience many cultures.
He provides insights into creating and running a successful restaurant and relates tidbits about his family, such as his mother serving as a leader in the French resistance.
While his past has been his greatest teacher, Dufau expresses hope for the future with a society that is willing to question spiritual awareness and the future production of food.
“Natural choices beneficial for the greater good with the backing of science and spirituality will at some point become a priority,” Dufau writes.
We Are What We Think and What We Eat is published by Dog Ear Publishing.
For additional information, visit www.rogerdufaubooks.com.
