Diverse City: Breaking barriers one snack at a time

Montreal-born Trini-Filipino Florence Sidney partnered with Latvian-Russian Nir Guzinski to create hilarious digital content introducing viewers to snacks from around the world. It’s called “Snack Chat.”

“Snack chat was an idea that I had for a long, long, long time,” Sydney said. “And I didn’t know how I was going to do it. And I knew I wanted something that was funny, informative, smart.

“And then when I met Nir, it was for me an instant connection. I had to do it with him. So I asked him if you wanted to participate. I gave him the idea behind it. And we started.”

Sidney is a TV host, best-selling author, and content creator. Guzinski is a Montreal-based actor, content creator, and comedian.

“Comedy has, I think, a dual purpose,” Guzinski said. “One is to entertain, make you just feel good because laughter is medicine. But also it sheds light on important issues, but in a different way and a different perspective. And I think that’s what I love about comedy.”

Having a love for sweets, this is an opportunity Guzinski says he couldn’t pass on.

“I love snacks. I have a huge sweet tooth. So for me, anything to do with snacks was a yes, a big yes for me. And we vibed on what the concept would be. And I was eager to get tasting,” he said.

Sydney released a cookbook in September 2017 titled “3 Ingrédients = 1 Repas.”

“I wrote my cookbook in French because I’ve always worked in French. So it was like a natural thing for me to write in French. And then as I was promoting the cookbook, I did promotion on French TV, French radio, newsprint.”

“And I did a show on Ici Television to promote my cookbook. And the viewers kept emailing the show, asking when I was going to be back. So after many times of being a guest on that show, the VP of Ici Television was like, well, I’ll give you your show because people want to see you.”

Together, they’re showing viewers the variety of snacks available.

“There’s a whole world of snacks out there. And I’m always eager to learn about new snacks and also get new taste buds, flavors,” said Guzinski.

As for Guzinski’s favourite snack, he says “On Snack Chat? I’m terrible with the names. But it was the Nutella. What was it called, the Nutella thing? Skyflakes. Skyflakes. Skyflakes. That was my favorite one so far in the Snack Chat.

“But my favourite snack? Pirouline. The Pirouline, like chocolate wafers.”