How I was introduced to bagels

My life-long requirement to ingest at least one bagel per week was set in motion by a math teacher in high school - Mr Gaspar. He was one of the few teachers that didn't live in the surrounding area (Two Mountains, or Deux Montagnes as it's known now) where I grew up in the outskirts of Montreal. Mr Gaspar actually lived in downtown Montreal. Once a week he brought fresh bagels from a quality source in Montreal and brought cream cheese too, to share with his students. Bagels were a new phenomenon to me back then - we never had them at home, and they were awesome.

I still eat them to this day. Although, I pine for the fresh, authentic Montreal style bagels he brought to us back then. Note that Montreal style bagels are quite different from New York style. They have bigger holes for one thing. They are also sweeter and denser and are always baked in a wood-fired oven.