When Kizzy Vaughan thinks of the time she's spent in Trinidad, her memories always include a big Sunday night meal surrounded by her nearest and dearest.

"In Caribbean culture, you're brought up where you have to have Sunday dinners together," says Vaughan, a chef at catering company Separate Tables. "So for me, Caribbean food is all about family."

Separate Tables is one of 90 food vendors that will be serving dishes along the Scotiabank Caribana parade route on Saturday, Aug. 1. The company got its name from the family members who run the business.

"We're all one family even though we now sit at separate tables," Vaughan told CP24.com while tending the grill at this year's Caribana launch party at Yonge-Dundas Square. "We have a branch here and one in Trinidad and we all work together."

When Vaughan gets nostalgic for the islands, her mind usually drifts to calaloo (a leafy green side dish), rice, chicken, and of course, macaroni pie, a casserole-type affair made of pasta, shredded carrots, spices and cheese.

But when it comes to Carnival -- or its Torontonian sibling Caribana -- the food that trumps all is known as pealau.

"It's a one-pot dish made of rice, meat and pigeon peas," she said. "During Carnival there are always people coming and going so you always have to have something to feed them."

Fifteen-year-olds Nicholas Mohammed and Marvin Yeboah know what it's like to be caught in the middle of a Caribana feeding frenzy. This will be their third year working at the Famous Recipe booth at the parade, where they expect to sell upwards of 500 rotis.

"It's a real hustle," Yeboah says. "You've got to stay on your toes."

Mohammed -- whose great-grandparents moved to Trinidad from the Middle East, and whose grandfather devised the Famous Recipe from which the business is named -- says he has always associated his island roots with good food.

"They love to eat over there," he said, while serving out doubles (chick pea curry between flatbread) and polori (fried dough served with sauce) at the family stand. "They probably eat about five times a day."

All joking aside, Mohammed says Caribbean food has helped his family maintain their culture despite living in Canada.

"My whole family has to get together to eat at least once a month and we've been serving food at Caribana since I was small," he says. "It's good for community."