In a remarkable achievement, Ben Gross and Daniel Kunanec from Don Mills Collegiate Institute have been named co-recipients of the Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Teaching. Their Tasting History project, which brought history to life through food, culture, and storytelling, has earned them Canada’s most prestigious honour in history education.
The awards, administered by Canada’s History Society, celebrate educators who push boundaries to inspire students and build bridges between past and present. Gross and Kunanec are among seven teachers across the country to receive this recognition and will accept their award at a ceremony hosted by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada.
Gross and Kunanec developed Tasting History to broaden their Grade 11 and 12 students’ understanding of European Jewry beyond the Holocaust. Drawing on Holocaust survivor memoirs from the Azrieli Foundation, students explored the food traditions of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish communities. They researched dishes such as cholent, challah, and latkes, learning their cultural and historical significance.
Using ingredients from the school’s urban farm, cooking with authentic methods and utilizing traditional equipment like the school’s outdoor wood-fired oven, students brought these recipes to life. Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter joined the class to share his memories of food and migration to Canada, prompting students to draw connections between his stories and their own experiences.
“The goal of this project was to allow students to explore the stories of Holocaust survivor immigrants to Canada through an interdisciplinary approach,” said Gross. “This approach provided many opportunities for them to make connections to their own stories of being and becoming Canadian, particularly through food.”
The students’ work culminated in a website documenting their research, recipes, and reflections on the intersections of food, culture, and history. Kunanec emphasized the transformative impact of this experiential learning: “This recognition means a great deal to me because it honours the value of the experiential learner. Experiential learning creates deeper and more meaningful connections to the subject than just reading about it in a textbook.”
The success of Tasting History highlights the power of innovative teaching to connect students with history in meaningful and enduring ways. To explore the students’ work, visit Jewish Survivance through Food: Tasting History.
To learn more about this year’s award recipients, visit CanadasHistory.ca/GGHA2024. The site includes podcasts and video interviews about the project, offering valuable insights into best practices in history education.