Hi I’m Alexandra, but most people call me Lexi. I’m a journalist and master’s student — and this podcast is our final capstone project! I grew up as a child of immigrants and I quickly noticed that the food I had at home was different than what I saw in my friends’ lunchboxes and on TV. Home cooking and imported foods were a big part of my cultural identity, and remain a way I connect with my Polish heritage. As I grew older, I developed a passion for cooking. I would say my specialty dish is any sort of stuffed vegetable! My favourite international cuisine is Thai, and my favourite comfort food is a breakfast sandwich with avocado. The best thing about working on this podcast has been witnessing the passion, innovation and pride from small business owners and restauranteurs. And of course, making Jordan listen to my pretentious (yet clueless) food reviews.

Alexandra Burza

Hello, my name is Jordan! I'm a journalist with CBC and a master's student...welcome to Secret Ingredient: our final capstone project! Coming from a big family, sharing a meal together was always a huge part of my life growing up. Whether it was the holidays, Sunday brunch or simply dinnertime, sitting down to enjoy home-made food still brings me back to memories around the table. Since I was little, one of my favourite things to do is just sit down to a meal with friends, family or acquaintances to eat, laugh and share in their cooking. I'm very adventurous when it comes to trying new dishes and enjoy exploring the flavours that different cultures bring to their food (no matter how spicy!). Right now I'm really loving Mediterranean dishes, but lately I've been getting into Latin cuisine as well (bring on the plantain)! This project has been an incredible opportunity to learn more about different cultures' inspiration and passion for what they put into their food. It's been a wonderful journey with Lexi exploring how people connect with their identities through cuisine...and sampling some of these dishes along the way!

Jordan Heuvelmans