After tragedy, community rallies around soul food restaurant in Cedar Springs
In January, Alecia and Mike Durocher's house burned to the ground. Despite the personal tragedy, the Durochers were back in the kitchen of their popular soul food restaurant in Cedar Springs the very next day.
Jonathan Pinto visits Comfort & Soul, a restaurant serving southern classics on the historic Talbot Trail
Alecia Durocher, co-owner of Comfort & Soul in Cedar Springs, Ont. talks about one of her signature dishes from the American south, called "chicken and dumplings."
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In January, Alecia and Mike Durocher's house burned to the ground. Despite the personal tragedy, the Durochers were back in the kitchen of their popular soul food restaurant in Cedar Springs the very next day.
Comfort & Soul is in Cedar Springs, a hamlet of Chatham-Kent. (Jonathan Pinto/CBC)
Click on the on the audio player to hear more of this remarkable story.
Zac Sanford is Alecia & Mike's son. He's the baker at Comfort & Soul. That's a chocolate Jack Daniel's cake in his hands. (Jonathan Pinto/CBC)
One of the signature desserts is the chocolate peanut butter pie. (Jonathan Pinto/CBC)
Comfort & Soul is also the only restaurant in Cedar Springs. (Jonathan Pinto/CBC)
A look at the specials board. (Jonathan Pinto/CBC)
Fried chicken topped with fresh-baked biscuits and sausage gravy. (Jonathan Pinto/CBC)
Freezer meals are available for pick-up and delivery. Pictures of this inventory book are a common feature on the restaurant's Facebook page. (Jonathan Pinto/CBC)
Comfort & Soul is located at 8619 Talbot Trail in Cedar Springs, a community of Chatham-Kent.
Jonathan Pinto is the host of Up North, CBC Radio One's regional afternoon show for Northern Ontario and is based in Sudbury. He was formerly a reporter/editor and an associate producer at CBC Windsor. Email jonathan.pinto@cbc.ca.
