Gavin Maclean has a long-standing tradition, of cooking up a traditional turkey dinner for his wife and daughter on Christmas Day.
This year, he invited some new and old friends.
Maclean, who often cooks for the Bradford Community Dinner held every Friday evening at Bradford United Church, decided to cook his Christmas Day Dinner at the church, and invite the entire community to attend. Anyone who wanted somewhere to go on Christmas Day, to share the season and a meal, was invited– along with volunteers from the Community Meal, the church, the Bradford Lions Club and the Helping Hand Food Bank.
He had the full support of his family. “Me, my wife and my daughter thought about it,” Maclean said. “This is exactly what we used to do at home.”
Maclean, who is a member of the Lions Club, had no idea what kind of response he’d get. Whether it was 4 or 40 people who sat down to share a meal with the volunteers, he said it would be a start of what he hoped would become as much a Bradford tradition as “Rosie’s Dinners” in Barrie.
For the past 25 years, Rose Romita – a caterer and Barrie City Councillor - has been serving up community meals three times a year, at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hundreds attend.
“We’ll start it here,” said Maclean, as the kitchen at the United Church filled with the rich aromas of roasted turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings.
Other groups have tried to launch a Christmas Day Dinner tradition in Bradford, with some success, but Maclean hopes his effort will grow – by word of mouth, and as guests simply follow their noses.