PEI Cooks is the overall brand for our PEI Cooks at Home, cooking workshops, newspaper columns and local support programs. What started as a simple Facebook home cooks group, called PEI Good Eats, 20,000+ members later has become a mission to help support a more sustainable food ecosystem on our little Island.

​

PEI Home Cooking

​

Prince Edward Island home cooking is built on simplicity, generosity, and tradition. It reflects a place where neighbours share what they grow, families gather around the kitchen table, and recipes carry the stories of those who came before us. From fishing villages and farmhouses to small-town kitchens and community halls, Island food has always been about making the most of what we have - and sharing it with the people we love. These recipes capture that spirit: honest, comforting, and full of heart. (And gives us all something delicious to try and foods to explore, from a generations-old chowder to a beef pho and Thai curry bowl. As Islanders redefine newcomers’ food, everything tastes better!

​

The Home Cooks’ Recipes

​

This cookbook began with a simple idea: to celebrate the incredible home cooks of Prince Edward Island and preserve the recipes that have shaped our communities for generations. Many of these dishes were shared in moments of generosity - posted online to help someone learn, comfort a neighbour, or bring a taste of home to someone far away. Collecting them here honours the cooks who kept these traditions alive and ensures that future generations can continue to enjoy them. This book is both a tribute and a thank-you to the Island cooks who show their care through food.

​

Proceeds from the sale of this cookbook will enable the work of PEI Food Strong, Inc., a social enterprise created to support home cooking and the local food sector.

​

The Home Cooks Behind the Food
 

Behind every recipe in this collection is a real Islander - a parent, grandparent, newcomer, neighbour, or friend - who shared their family favourite with the community. All live here (full-time or seasonally), used to live here or have family here. These cooks come from every corner of PEI and every walk of life. Some have been cooking for decades; others are just beginning their own family traditions. Together, they reflect the incredible diversity and creativity of Island kitchens. Their stories, memories, and techniques are woven through every dish, reminding us that food is not just about ingredients—it’s about people.

​

The PEI Good Eats Facebook Group

​

The PEI Good Eats Facebook group is where this cookbook found its beginning. What began as a community space for Islanders to share recipes, tips, and local food finds quickly became one of the most active and positive online cooking communities on the Island. Thousands of members post their family dishes, preserve local food knowledge, help others learn, and celebrate successes in the kitchen. This cookbook exists because of them - their willingness to share, their enthusiasm for Island food culture, and their pride in PEI’s rich culinary heritage. This cookbook is theirs with our love.

​

About Parry and Allan

 

Parry Aftab first fell in love with an Islander and quickly fell in love with Prince Edward Island. 

​

She and her now husband, Allan McCullough (a Montague boy), toured the Island while he introduced her to his friends and family and Island foods. He took her on a lobster-fishing sail while he best friend "corked" and when the captain boiled canners on a propane burner and melted butter in the microwave, she was "an Islander by Choice" before they docked.

​

Now retired, she spends most of her time running PEI Food Strong (a social enterprise dedicated to supporting our local food sector) with Allan and her PEI Good Eats Facebook group with 21,000+ members, trading recipes with other home cooks and supporting the local food sector.

​

The cookbook was conceived to help raise funds to assist struggling local farmers, fishers and small vendors. When she reached out for help from the group's fav home cooks, so many responded that the cookbook went from its planned 100 pages to 200+ pages. 

​

She goes from farmers markets to small vendors to specialty vendors and food makers every week to help support and promote them. You can reach her at parry@aftab.com or from the Facebook group.

​

Allan comes from generations of Islanders from Down East PEI. He has a strong tech background as a game designer and received his degree in instructional design. He and Parry are attached at the hip, both dedicated to helping others and improving the world.

​

Everyone loves Allan. Especially Parry.