Chronicle 2017

PROFILES

A taste for the sweet life

ANNE LANGFORD DOTSIKAS 1983

Profile by Robin Hurlow 2001

Community. Gathering. Ritual. These themes lie at the heart of Anne Langford Dotsikas’s recent dessert cookbook With Love and Sugar . In truth, the book is so much more than recipes: it is a love letter to her two daughters; it is a record of one family’s daily and yearly rituals; it is a collection of personal essays and musings; and, not least, it is a full-on dive into the experience of baking. As a young woman at Havergal,

was inspired by Anne’s relationship to her daughters. When Kate was preparing to leave for university, she asked her mother to write out some recipes to take with her to school. As Anne reflected on her memories of time spent with her daughters and family, she knew that she wanted to leave them with something more – with a kind of homage to their life together. She also hoped to inspire others to create their own unique

Anne was encouraged to pursue her interests in the arts including writing, drama and choir. She credits her time at Havergal with helping her to cultivate a sense of possibility and empowerment as a young woman – a sense that she could pursue her passions and succeed. Her degree in English and film at McGill University led to a flourishing career as a producer at Global TV, focusing on arts and entertainment news. Following the birth of her first daughter, Anne carved a path for herself with a job share position at Global during a time at which such an approach was almost unheard of. Eventually, she chose to focus her energies on raising her two daughters, Kate and Emily (who also attended Havergal) and volunteering for a wide variety of arts-based agencies. She has also written a book of poetry, a cultural blog reflecting her diverse interests, and is planning future projects in writing and film. As a book that centres on life in family and community, it is no surprise that With Love and Sugar

rituals for themselves and their loved ones. So, in honour of her upcoming 50th birthday, Anne selected 50 of her family’s favourite recipes over the years, including the luscious chocolate cake that graces her book’s cover. Colour, texture, taste and season all shape both the content and format of the book. For Anne, baking is no doubt a science but, more important, it’s a creative act – a form of self-expression and a way of showing care for others. It is also a meditative act – she enjoys the tactile pleasures of being in the kitchen, hands on her ingredients, connecting brain to body through the act of baking. In Anne’s work, the senses serve as a means to engage with others, to come together and to celebrate the special moments that are sprinkled throughout everyday life. In her words, “Treats become ritual markers. Rituals are the language of families and require only someone to keep track, everyone to hold fast.”

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