This is Rose's story.

A Recipe for Making a Difference  

Long before healthy eating had entered the Canadian consciousness, Rose Reisman, a self-cured “bad eater,” set out on a mission to introduce healthy and delicious cooking to Canadians. She remembers, “In the early 90s, I looked around and nobody was writing books on healthy cooking. I didn’t know anything about writing cookbooks, but I knew it was important.” Slowly but surely, these revolutionary cookbooks found their way into stores and kitchens across the country and around the world. 

Then, Rose took healthy eating to the next level. “I wanted to partner with a meaningful organization. Too many people I knew were suffering from various cancers and succumbing to the disease. I realized that The Princess Margaret had these walks. I knew I had to partner with this organization!” She approached The Princess Margaret with an appetizing offer, “Why don't you combine forces with us – a healthy caterer. That will make people feel good. They’ll be eating well during this Walk” What’s more, Rose and her catering partners have raised tens of thousands of dollars for the cause and continue to walk the walk every year. “We decided to be a real part of this event.” 

21 cookbooks and nearly 30 years later, this Canadian trailblazer reflects on The Princess Margaret’s own trailblazing innovation in the cancer field and the partnership. “You always look back and say is this worth doing? Is this important? Actually, it’s phenomenal. Princess Margaret researchers are exploring immunotherapy, new clinical trials and so much that was not possible back in 1993 when we first joined forces. If you’re going to try to fight cancer, it’s the only place you want to go in this country.” 

Rose concludes, “Cancer is something we all should be afraid of. Whether it’s from our food, our genetics or our environment, there’s still a lot we don’t know. What we do know is, this a cause that everyone should be involved in, however they can. The Walk to Conquer Cancer is just one simple way of getting involved and making a difference.”