FOOD 106: FOOD WE SHARE

There Is Always Food

In Haiti, food is rarely only about the person eating.

We share, and food can become rather elaborate, à la the table garnie.

Klas nan sesyon.

Food marks the moments when we come together. And the way we serve it often tells us something about what the gathering itself means.

At a wedding, feeding people is part of receiving the community. Haitian weddings are traditionally communal affairs—which may explain why buffet-style service makes so much sense. When your guest list can expand from close family to half the commune, everyone still has to eat.

Then there is the elaborate table garnie: a table overflowing with pâtés, fruit, sweets, and other foods, itself a display of hospitality and abundance.

And even the wedding cake can continue the gathering. In some communities, the cake isn’t cut and served at the reception. It goes home with the couple, where those closest to them can visit and share it later—extending the celebration beyond the wedding day.

Sometimes the sharing begins before the wedding itself. At the réveillon de noces, relatives, neighbors, and friends may gather the night before to eat, drink, dance, and celebrate together. Family members may also contribute to the new household—including food from relatives who farm.

The same happens at other major events—graduations, funerals, réveillons. At a First Communion, baptism, or other religious celebration, there is food. Families dress up, take pictures, come home, and gather around a table.

At a funeral, food is part of how a community gathers around a grieving family. People come, sit, pray, talk, stay, and eat. Feeding people becomes part of the work of mourning and caring for one another. Elaborate pâtés are among the foods traditionally associated with funerals as well as weddings and baptisms.

PHOTO CREDITS

The photographs featured throughout this post are courtesy of Chef Taïssa Mazile, founder of Port-au-Prince–based Tasty Bites by Chef Taïssa. Chef Taïssa brings together food, culture, entrepreneurship, and community through her culinary work in Haiti and beyond. Learn more about Chef Taïssa and her culinary journey in Fonkoze’s 2025 Annual Report. [LINK: Read Chef Taïssa’s Full Profile →]

We gather. We feed people. We share.

Lekòl lage.