Cold plate, hot topic: Give the N.L. staple a healthy update, challenges group
Food First NL wants to make the dish healthier for people, the planet and communities
To many people in the province, cold plates are a delicious staple of gatherings from church suppers to baby showers to retirement sendoffs.
There are the goopy salads, in various shades of pink, yellow and green. There's rolled-up deli meat. Cold turkey or ham. A scoop of breadcrumb dressing. Sometimes, a pale slice of tomato. A devilled egg, if you're getting fancy.
Mouth-watering to many, a gastronomic mystery to a minority, and about to be messed with.
With its Cold Plate Challenge, Food First NL is hoping people might be up for mixing a little more nutrition into a Newfoundland and Labrador culinary tradition this November and December.
But first, a disclaimer.
"We don't have any beef with cold plates," said Ashton Lane, a co-director of the non-profit food security group — laughing somewhat nervously.
What Food First NL would like to see, however, is a little bit of a cold plate update. The group is inviting community groups to register to host a 21st-century take on a cold plate supper during the next two months, and have that event tackle a three-pronged challenge to make the main dish healthier for people, communities and the planet.
Beyond the potato
That might sound like heresy, and Lane herself has many happy childhood memories of Sunday leftovers served cold. In hindsight, however, "it wasn't maybe the best, healthy choice," she said.
To boost nutrition, Lane suggested looking to local ingredients and perhaps reinterpreting the various squishy salads, like beet or mustard.
"It's adding a little bit more green to the cold plate. You don have to get rid of all the potato salads — just don't have three types," she said.
If that's a bit of a brain-stumper, Food First NL will mail out recipes and educational resources in the mail to those who register for the challenge on its website.
As an additional incentive, the organization will give out 10 $300 grants to community groups to host an event, to invite new people into the tradition and share nutritional knowledge. As part of the event, Food First NL also wants to see an emphasis on the environment, and ditch any single-use cutlery or plates. (Sorry, Styrofoam.)
"We're really encouraging people to make it wasteless," said Lane.
Keep it (actually) cold
Lane's last request involves cold plate supper party crashers.
"Cold plates have a notoriously bad rap for food safety," she said, again, pointing to potato salads as a chief culprit.
"It's just a great little spot for germs and bacteria to grow."
The simple way to keep food safe from bacteria, she said, is simply to not leave cold plates out on counters hours before the big meal, unless that counter happens to be hovering around 4 C.
While only community groups are eligible to receive cash grants to help in the challenge, Food First NL hopes people and businesses get on board too, and use #coldplatechallenge on social media to share their ideas for mixing innovation with tradition.
And maybe a little mayonnaise.
With files from The St. John's Morning Show
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