Born in Hawaii to a Chinese-Singaporean father and a Samoan-Chinese mother, Chin imbues her dishes with history while pushing Canadian Chinese cuisine forward. Her modern interpretations of traditional Chinese food using fresh, local, seasonal ingredients have put her front and centre on Canada's culinary map.

A WhatsApp chat group for African-born people in the Kingston area got real when someone issued a light-hearted challenge to see who could make the Jollof rice: a Nigerian or a Ghanaian. That back-and-forth turned into a community cook-off with close to 200 people taking part.

What started as a longing for the produce from home turned into a large community garden project that feeds hundreds of newcomer families and has revitalized Winnipeg’s Central park.

Grace Firmeza and Kriselda Alvarez wanted to recreate and sell some of their favorite Filipino dishes. That desire has resulted in a busy urban bakery and café run by the two friends. In addition, we hear from Nadège Norian, who comes from a long line of pastry chefs in France, and who upped Toronto’s pastry game when she opened Nadège Patisserie.

Toronto’s award-winning Chef Devan Rajkumar talks about his influences, the tensions early in his career of being a second-generation Canadian committed to making a living in the world of food, and the joys of pepper pot, the national dish of Guyana.

This season, we serve up stories of how immigration is shaping Canadian cuisine. From a friendly battle over Jollof Rice bragging rights to the surprising tale of Newfoundland Chow Mein, discover how food connects newcomers to their heritage, adapts to new tastes and strengthens communities.

Montreal-born Angelo Tsarouchas is known as The Funny Greek. He cut his teeth in the comedy clubs of Ottawa and Toronto before heading to the United States, where he now lives. And his Greek heritage has been centre-stage in his comedy for over three decades.

In this conversation with Philip Moscovitch, host of Countless Journey’s companion French podcast, D'innombrables Voyages, Angelo talks about how he draws on themes of home and heritage to hilarious effect.

There’s nothing like food and friendship to warm up a cold night.

On this episode, host Tina Pittaway heads to Antigonish Nova Scotia to drop in on a potluck dinner organized by the cast of New in Town, a recently staged community theatre show.

Equal parts comedy and variety show, it brought together about a dozen recent immigrants from countries including Iran, Afghanistan, China and the United States. They formed strong bonds over the months of writing and rehearsing the show.

Cast members and organizers pull back the curtain to share the experiences, stories and ideas that inspired the show and how they are creating new lives here in Canada.

When Jordanian-born Nour Hadidi arrived in Canada to study commerce at McGill, a roommate introduced her to the world of stand-up comedy via YouTube.

From that moment, Nour knew comedy was something she wanted to pursue. She finished her degree and worked for a few years in finance before taking the leap and working in comedy full-time as a television writer and stand-up comic.

Brutally honest in her routines, Nour draws on her experience as a Muslim woman of colour making her own way on a career path that can sometimes be unwelcoming.

“You know, it kind of takes over your life. There’s a rush when you do stand-up comedy that's unlike anything else. To get up there the adrenaline is, you know, pumping through your body. And to make people laugh, it feels like acceptance.”

Sandy El-Bitar knows a thing or two about not doing OK.

Her father died on the eve of her family’s immigration from Lebanon, she’s worked in palliative care, and, as a drama therapist, she spends her days helping people deal with emotional problems.

But Sandy is also a comic — and instead of running away from the pain in life, she thinks there is something beautiful about finding the humour in it.