Soup lovers gather in Moncton to raise funds for United Way

Gene Cormier, a chef in the Moncton-area, loves to serve up soup to his customers. He compares it to a hug in a bowl.

“People already feel that warmth and the image in their mind. Already that it is going to be comforting,” said Cormier, the owner of the Euston Park Social.

The restauranteur was one of many chefs serving up their heart- and stomach-warming creations at the Soupfest 2020, an annual fundraiser for the United Way in Moncton.

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Tuesday saw a steady lineup of people at the event in the Moncton Coliseum as they waited to taste a variety of soups.

Soup festivals are growing in popularity and now being held in cities across Canada including Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

It’s not a surprising fact for Cormier or William Lutes, another chef who took part in the festival on Tuesday.

He said that soup has become a food staple especially when colder weather kicks in.

“Because it’s wintertime in the Maritimes and it’s cold and we love to warm our bones,” he told Global News.

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But does the fondness for soup — be it broth, bisque or bouillon — go beyond cravings for a warm belly?

Cormier thinks it is connected to how it makes people feel.

“If you think of the first foods that you eat as a child they are in puree form so maybe that is where everybody’s mindset is going,” said Cormier.