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Digestible Bits and Bites #65, September 2018

Digestible Bits and Bites

The monthly newsletter of the
Culinary Historians of Canada
Number 65, September 2018
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Historic baked goods produced at the bake-oven workshop led by CHC board member Sherry Murphy at Montgomery's Inn in August. Photo by Elka Weinstein.

 Index

  1. CHC News and Upcoming Events

  2. News and Opportunities

  3. Events of Interest

  4. Upcoming Conferences

  5. Food for Thought (book reviews)


1. CHC News and Upcoming Events
 

Please Join Us!

The CHC Annual General Meeting is coming up on Saturday, October 20. It will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Village Room at Swansea Town Hall (95 Lavinia Avenue, near Runnymede TTC station in Toronto). On that date, we'll be filling four board positions: Secretary, Chair of the Membership Committee, Chair of the Outreach Committee and Volunteer Coordinator. If you have an interest in being considered for one of these positions, please speak to any board member or email info@culinaryhistorians.ca.

Not ready to commit to the board? All our activities are managed by a very small volunteer committee, so we welcome a helping hand in any capacity, whether it’s contributing to this newsletter, helping out at events or informally assisting a committee (like Programming, Membership or Communications). Although our activities tend to cluster in the Greater Toronto Area, you don't have to live nearby to participate.

If you're not yet a member, or if your membership has lapsed, please consider joining! CHC memberships are priced at $30 (one year) or $55 (two years) and cover up to two family members at the same address. Besides this newsletter, members receive substantial discounts at our events and a copy of our invaluable membership directory, as well as occasional perqs like members-only events.
 

Don't Miss Out on Our Greek Cooking Workshop!

Only 20 tickets will be sold for "Opa! Snacking the Greek Way," a mezedes workshop with Magdaline Dontsos. It will be held from 2 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 22 at the Ralph Thornton Centre (765 Queen Street East, near Broadview, in Toronto).

Noted Greek cook Magdaline Dontsos will show participants how to make some surprisingly easy Greek mezedes—"little plates," or "snacks." First will be a hands-on session in which we will make dolmadakia, the enticingly scented little parcels of grape leaves stuffed with herbs and rice. Then Magdaline will demonstrate how to make chickpea “meatballs,” known as revithokeftedes. All will be accompanied by some samples of a few other tasty and traditional Greek mezedes. Tickets are $40 to $45, and are available on Eventbrite.
 

Visit the Restored Montgomery's Inn
On Thursday, September 6, the early Victorian Montgomery's Inn in Etobicoke, Ontario, will be hosting its annual corn roast and celebrating its newly completed renovation. The walls are painted, the new lighting is installed and the pictures have been rehung; the inn is now ready to welcome visitors again. CHC will be there, selling books and tasty treats.
 

Royal Canning Competition Prize Book Is Online

Peter Hohenadel, Director of Agriculture and Food at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, writes: "It’s that time of year again! The Royal’s canning competition prize book is available online. Now you can find everything you need to know about entering your homemade jams, jellies, pickles, salsa and chili sauces in Canada’s biggest canning competition. In the Heritage Classes (pre-1967 recipes), you can enter for heritage jam and pickles.

"In fact, the 2017 Judges’ Choice of all entries was a heritage carrot marmalade made by Tom Boyd of Toronto. Tom’s marmalade will be produced by Rootham Gourmet Preserves and on sale at this year’s Fair. Heritage winners (plus winners in maple, honey and cheese categories) will be invited to meet the public and sample at Champions Day, presented by Rootham, on Wednesday, November 7 from 4 to 7 p.m. Whether you  win, lose or draw in our competition, please plan to join us to sample some of Ontario’s best preserves—and meet our winners."

Please also consider planning ahead to submit your handiwork to the competition. The CHC sponsors both the Heritage Jam and Heritage Pickles classes; winners receive ribbons and cash prizes, and winning entries are exhibited at the fair. You don't need to be a member to enter. For further details, view the prize book here.
 
Upcoming CHC Events
  • Thursday, September 6: Corn Roast and Heritage Fair, Montgomery's Inn, 5 to 8 p.m., Etobicoke, Ontario. CHC will be on hand in the historic tavern and kitchen, selling cookbooks and serving up tasty treats at this annual event, which this year sees the official unveiling of the newly restored inn, as well as oven-roasted corn, hot dogs and watermelon, family activities and live music by Gin Lane. (Don't forget to bring your picnic blankets and lawn chairs!) Admission: Free.
  • Saturday, September 22: Opa! Snacking the Greek Way (mezedes workshop), 2 to 3:30 p.m., Ralph Thornton Centre (765 Queen Street East, Toronto). Noted Greek cook Magdaline Dontsos will lead a workshop in which we learn how to make some surprisingly easy Greek mezedes ("little plates,” or “snacks”). Admission: $40-$45. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.
  • Saturday, October 20, Annual General Meeting, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Village Room at Swansea Town Hall (95 Lavinia Avenue, near Runnymede TTC station in Toronto).
  • Monday, October 29: Taste Canada Awards Gala, Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto. CHC is once again a sponsor of the pre-eminent celebration of Canadian culinary writing.
  • November: Scugog Remembers, Port Perry
  • November: Remembrance Day at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (on the Burnbrae Farms Food and Lifestyle Stage) and Heritage Preserving Competition
  • Saturday, November 24: Baking for the Victorian Christmas Table, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. CHC board member and historic cook Sherry Murphy will once again lead a hands-on exploration of seasonal recipes dating from the Victorian period. This year, we're in a new venue: the historic kitchen at Campbell House (160 Queen Street West, Toronto). Admission: $55-$65. Tickets and further information will be posted to Eventbrite closer to the event.
  • Saturday, December 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Frost Fair, Fort York National Historic Site: CHC will participate with book sales and baked goods.
  • Saturday, February 23, 2019: Hungry for Comfort: A Celebration of Food History puts the spotlight on African-Canadian culinary stories.
Join the Culinary Historians of Canada!



The membership year runs from one annual general meeting (usually in October) to the next. Download a membership form here and join us today! 

2. News and Opportunities

Compiled by Carolyn Crawford, Julia Armstrong & Sarah Hood
 
Taste Canada Early Bird Tickets Now Available!
The 2018 Taste Canada Award winners will be announced at the gala on Monday, October 29 at Toronto's Fairmont Royal York Hotel, where attendees network with Canada’s cookbook authors, food bloggers, publishers, farmers, chefs, restaurateurs, industry, media, government and cookbook fans. Early Bird tickets are now available.
 

Visit a Fall Fair!
The fall fair season has begun. If you live in Ontario, you'll be pleased to know that the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies provides a handy online guide to all the fall fairs in the province.
 

Domestic Skills Symposium
The 2018 edition of the annual Genesee Country Village & Museum Domestic Skills Symposium will be held in Mumford, New York, from November 2 to 4, with workshops on Friday and Sunday and a full-day symposium on Saturday. The event embraces all aspects of 19th-century life, including fashion, cuisine, technology and material culture.

This year, it includes a buffet luncheon featuring such historical delights as Salamongundy, Collared Pork, Green Corn Pudding, East India Pickle and "Mrs. Fitzhugh's Buns." The four featured presentations are "Writing in the Early Republic" (conservator R.B. Bartgis), "At table ... the Georgian Dining Experience" (historian Niel DeMarino), "Before There Was Jell-O" (Lynne Belluscio of the LeRoy Historical Society and the Jell-O Gallery) and "Victoria's Closet, Fashion of the 1840s" (GCVM curator Patricia Tice).

Among the classes are hands-on workshops on traditional bread-baking, cheesemaking and the creation of springerle cookies, as well as the concoction of unusual-tasting (by today's standards) sauces and flavourings. Prices vary according to program. Pre-registration is required: 585-538-6822.
 

What's Cooking? (Member News)

CHC MEMBERS: Please let us know what you're up to! We'll publish all suitable news items received at cadmus@interlog.com by the 25th of each month. (Please write your announcement directly into your email window, with no attachments except a photo. Be sure to include a web link for further information!)



CHC Board member Sherry Murphy continues her series on culinary history in The Bluffs Voice community newspaper with this article on Canadian War Cake. Sherry has been researching WWI-era recipes for several years, throughout the 100th anniversary commemorations being observed since 2014.

At 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 16, CHC member Nathalie Cooke will give a talk entitled What Is Canadian Cuisine? Lessons from Generations Past at The Waring House (395 Sandy Hook Road in Picton, Ontario). She promises to explore the ways that Canada’s diversity finds expression in food choices over time, what foods Canadians have grown, prepared and shared, and what characterizes Canadian cuisine. A professor of English and Associate Dean of Rare & Special Collections at Montreal's McGill University Library, Nathalie has published extensively on the shaping of literary and culinary tastes in Canada. She is the founding editor of CuiZine: The Journal of Canadian Food Cultures, co-editor (with CHC Lifetime Member Fiona Lucas) of the new edition of Catharine Parr Traill’s 19th-century classic The Female Emigrant's Guide and co-curator of the recent exhibition Mixed Messages: Making and Shaping Culinary Culture in Canada at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto.

On August 18, CHC member Karen Millyard hosted "Emma’s Ball and Supper at the Crown" at Montgomery's Inn, recreating delicious scenes from Jane Austen’s novels. She has a full roster of other literary-themed historical recreation events coming up at the inn over the course of this fall and winter (visit Jane Austen Dancing for further details):
  • Master and Commander—A Weekend in 1812 (October 19 to 21), an immersive experience in the fascinating world of Britain's Royal Navy of 1812.
  • Toussaint: Traditions of the Dark Months (November 18), a bewitching evening of storytelling and music from the Celtic tradition of Breton folklore.
  • The Jane Austen Christmas Supper (December 8).
  • Dickens Christmas Feast (December 15).
  • Twelfth Night Traditions: Supper and Dance Party (January 4).
On September 9, CHC member Pat Crocker, author of Preserving: The Canning and Freezing Guide for All Seasons, among many other books, presents Fabulous Fall Tonic Elixirs, a free talk about growing and using tonic herbs at Richter's Herbs in Goodwood, Ontario.


Samples of Austen-era jam dishes, made at a workshop led by Mya Sangster at Hungry for Comfort in February.

At 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 16, CHC Lifetime Member Mya Sangster will present a talk titled "There's More to Jam than Tarts" for members of the Jane Austen Society of North America's Toronto chapter. Mya will look at the use of jams and marmalades in Jane Austen's era, and non-members are welcome to attend for a fee of $10. The event takes place in the lower hall of the Church of St. Augustine of Canterbury (1847 Bayview Avenue).

On August 25, CHC members, including Mark D'Aguilar, Sharon Majik and Elka Weinstein, participated a bake-oven workshop at Montgomery's Inn. Led by CHC board member Sherry Murphy, they tested historic recipes such as Maria Rundell's French Bread from A New System of Domestic Cookery (1806), Little Soda Biscuits by Catharine Parr Traill, Port Hope Biscuits from The Home Cook Book (1877), Sally Lunns from The Practice of Cookery by Mrs. Dalgairns (1840) and Geneva Rolls from Eliza Acton's Modern Cookery for Private Families (1845).

Pictured below: Elka with her Sally Lunns (left) and Sharon and Mark with 15th-century "manchetts" or bread rolls (right).

3. Events of Interest

Compiled by Jane Black, Sarah Hood and Carolyn Crawford

THIS MONTH (September 2018)

Toronto
  • Tuesday, September 4: Table Talk with Laura Carlson, 6 to 9 p.m. In collaboration with Artery, The Depanneur hosts food historian, writer and broadcaster Laura Carlson of The Feast Podcast for an exciting dive into the history of medieval Spanish food and culture. Len Senater will present medieval Spanish recipes: Ajo Blanco (a chilled white gazpacho with almonds and garlic), Pescao en Escabeche (fish cooked in oil and vinegar) dressed with pesto-like Juvert sauce, Ciurons Tendres Ab Let De Melles (chickpeas cooked in almond milk and spices) and Tarta de Santiago (a gluten-free almond cake) with Higos ala Francesa (figs stewed in sweet wine). Admission: $25 + HST.
  • Saturday, September 15: Pioneer Harvest Festival, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Black Creek Pioneer Village hosts this Mennonite Central Committee fundraiser featuring a plethora of period culinary experiences from the Mennonite and Pennsylvania-Dutch communities. Admission: Free with regular admission; some activities such as ale sampling incur extra costs.
  • Sunday, September 16: "There's More to Jam Than Tarts," 2 p.m. CHC Lifetime Member Mya Sangster presents a talk about the use of jams and marmalades in Jane Austen's era for members of the Jane Austen Society of North America's Toronto chapter at the Church of St. Augustine of Canterbury (1847 Bayview Avenue). Admission: $10 (non-members).
  • Sunday, September 16: City Cider, noon to 5 p.m. Spadina House Museum hosts the annual celebration of Toronto's urban fruit harvest in the historic apple orchard, where guests will enjoy a hard cider bar from Ontario Cideries, listen to local music and help with hand-pressing apples for fresh cider. Admission: $10 (online), $15 (door), free (12 & under), including a tour of Spadina House. All proceeds support Not Far From The Tree's fruit picking and sharing program.
  • Saturday, September 22: Opa! Snacking the Greek Way, 2 to 3:30 p.m. CHC presents a Greek cooking workshop at Ralph Thornton Centre. Noted Greek cook Magdaline Dontsos will lead a workshop in which we learn how to make some surprisingly easy Greek mezedes ("little plates,” or “snacks”). Admission: $40-$45. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.
  • Saturday & Sunday, September 22 & 23: Canada's Hundred Days: A Great War Living History Weekend, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fort York National Historic Site salutes the remarkable Canadian contribution made in the final days of the First World War with military exhibits and demonstrations of drills and tactics by accurately uniformed First World War re-enactment units. The Historic Cooks, including CHC members, will be on hand with samples of authentic foods from the front line and the home front. Admission: Free. 416-392-6907.
  • Sunday, September 23: Harvest Festival, noon to 4 p.m. Todmorden Mills invites visitors to celebrate the harvest season in the valley, visit historic homes, sample period recipes, tour the Wildflower Preserve and create a fun take-home craft.
  • Sunday, September 23: Sculpting with Sugar, 1 to 3 p.m. The Gardiner Museum presents renowned culinary historian Ivan Day, who will demonstrate how he creates his sugar masterpieces; attendees will have a chance to make their own sculptures out of sugar clay. Admission: $15 (general), $11 (65+), $9 (students), free (Gardiner Friends, 18 & under).
  • Sunday, September 30: Harvest Festival, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Colborne Lodge invites visitors to celebrate the harvest season in beautiful High Park. Activities include pumpkin carving, apple bobbing, a harvest lunch at the Children's Garden, period music and dancing, along with food and craft vendors.
Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area (GTHA)
  • Thursday, September 6: Corn Roast and Heritage Fair, 5 to 8 p.m. (Etobicoke, Ontario). Montgomery's Inn welcomes visitors to participate in the official unveiling of the newly restored inn while enjoying oven-roasted corn, hot dogs, watermelon, family activities and live music by Gin Lane. CHC will be on hand in the historic tavern and kitchen, selling cookboks and serving up tasty treats. Admission: Free.
  • Sunday, September 9: Fabulous Fall Tonic Elixirs, 2 to 3 p.m. (Goodwood, Ontario). Richter's Herbs welcomes CHC member Pat Crocker, author of 18 cookbooks, who will discuss tonic herbs to grow and the making of teas, tinctures and syrups for elixirs. Admission: Free.
  • Thursday, September 27: Thirsty Thursday, 7 to 10 p.m. (Etobicoke, Ontario). Montgomery’s Inn presents Thirsty Thursday tavern night with beer, wine or a Thomas Montgomery specialty in the restored 1847 barroom, along with Irish stew, fresh-baked bread and live traditional music. Admission: Free. Cash bar; $5 for a bowl of stew, while supplies last. 416-394-8113.
  • Saturday, September 29: Pumpkins and Spice: The Untold Story, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Hamilton, Ontario). Dundurn National Historic Site welcomes participants to join a hands-on cooking workshop about traditional pumpkin recipes and their spices while learning about the history of this favourite fall vegetable. All participants will take home a recipe booklet and a free pass to the museum. Suitable for ages 14 years and older. Admission: $55. Pre-registration is required.
Other Regions
  • Sunday, September 9: Harvest of the Past, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Edmonton, Alberta). A family-friendly Ukrainian harvest festival at Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village.
  • Sunday, September 9: Open Hearth Cooking at the Manor, 1 or 6 p.m. (Grimsby, Ontario). Nelles Manor Museum presents an introductory hearth-cooking class using 19th-century recipes and an original 230-year-old hearth and crane, led by historical interpreter Julia Baird. Admission: $30, including a tour.
  • Saturday, September 15: Tango Tea, 2 to 5 p.m. (Cambridge, Ontario). A high tea of finger sandwiches and petits fours. Accompanying the repast will be an afternoon of entertainment that will include an overview of the 1910s, songs, silent films and recitations, followed by period dances led by internationally renowned social dancers Richard Powers and Kimber Rudo. Period costume is encouraged but not mandatory. Admission: $50.
  • Sunday, September 16: What Is Canadian Cuisine? Lessons from Generations Past, 2 p.m. (Picton, Ontario). The Waring House presents a special lecture by CHC member Nathalie Cooke about the way Canada’s diversity finds expression in food choices over time. Admission: Free.
  • Sunday, September 16: Applefest Fall Fair, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Burlington, Ontario). Ireland House Museum celebrates autumn with a day of attractions, including historic demonstrations and entertainment featuring the Halton Dance Network, BarryO Kidshow & the Poacher Ukulele Band. Admission: Free. 905-332-9888.
  • Tuesday to Saturday, September 18 to 22: International Plowing Match and Rural Expo, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Paincourt, Ontario). A rural tradition of plowing, agriculture and food. Admission: $20 (adult), $5 (6-15), free (under 6).
  • Sunday, September 30: Suffragette Tea, 1 to 3 p.m. (Pickering, Ontario). A discussion at Pickering Village Museum about the struggle for women's right to vote. Edwardian recipes will be featured: menus typically include sandwiches or a hearty equivalent, pickles, dessert, sweets, tea and a cold beverage. Throughout the course of the meal, costumed interpreter(s) lead an interactive presentation on the tradition of tea and women's rights. Recipe handout provided. Admission: $32. Pre-registration is required. 
LOOKING AHEAD (October 2018)

Toronto
  • Wednesday, October 3: From Past to Present: A Jewish Food Tour Through Kensington Market, 6 to 8 p.m.. The Ontario Jewish Archives’ Stories of Spadina Tour explores the history of Kensington Market when it was a thriving Jewish village with  kosher bakeries, butchers and shuls. Participants will learn the history of this once-Jewish market while discovering the Jewish cultural renewal happening in the area. This unique tour includes a visit to two community gardens. Admission: Free. Pre-registration is required; enrolment priority will be given to Birthright Israel alumni.
  • Saturday, October 6: Hearth Cooking Workshop: Hearth & Harvest, 10 a.m. to noon. Gibson House Museum presents a class in which participants will use produce from the season's harvest to create an autumn meal over the open hearth. This hands-on workshop is led by an experienced historic cook. Participants must be 12 years of age or older. Admission: $35.
  • Saturday, October 20: Harvest Tea, two seatings: noon & 2:30 p.m. Gibson House Museum invites guests to relax and enjoy a Victorian-inspired harvest tea with finger sandwiches and sweets in the historic 1850s farmhouse, served in the company of costumed interpreters. Not recommended for children under 6. Admission: $20, including a tour. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required.
  • Saturday, October 20: CHC Annual General Meeting, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Village Room at Swansea Town Hall (95 Lavinia Avenue, near Runnymede TTC station). Please join us!
  • Monday, October 29: Taste Canada Awards Gala, 5:30 to 10 p.m. The Fairmont Royal York Hotel hosts this pre-eminent celebration of Canadian culinary writing, of which CHC is once again a sponsor.
Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area (GTHA)
  • Friday to Sunday, October 19 to 21: Master and Commander – A Weekend in 1812, all day. (Etobicoke, Ontario). Montgomery's Inn hosts the meals for this immersive experience in the fascinating world of the 1812-era Royal Navy, presented by CHC member Karen Millyard. The event also includes a tall ship cruise, sea shanties, French duellists, dancing, antique weapons and hands-on workshops and demonstrations. Admission: Various prices. Pre-registration is required. 416-578-1031.
  • Thursday, October 25: Thirsty Thursday, 7 to 10 p.m. (Etobicoke, Ontario). Montgomery’s Inn presents Thirsty Thursday tavern night with beer, wine or a Thomas Montgomery specialty in the restored 1847 barroom, along with Irish stew, fresh-baked bread and live traditional music. Admission: Free. Cash bar; $5 for a bowl of stew, while supplies last. 416-394-8113.
  • Saturday, October 27: Loaf ’n’ Ladle Pioneer Supper, 7 p.m. (Brampton, Ontario). Bovaird House presents another instalment of its popular historical feast. More details to follow.
Other Regions
  • Saturday, October 3: Historic Luncheon, two seatings: noon & 1:30 p.m. (Peterborough, Ontario). Hutchison House Museum presents a homemade meal served by costumed interpreters in the historic Keeping Room. Admission: $15. Pre-registration is required. 705-743-9710.
  • Saturday to Monday, October 6 to 8: Thanksgiving at Kings Landing, various times (Prince William, New Brunswick). Kings Landing Historical Settlement presents Thanksgiving dining programs (a traditional Victorian Thanksgiving Dinner and a lively Harvest Home Long-table Feast) with farm-fresh ingredients, time-honoured recipes and a sense of history unique to New Brunswick. Pre-registration is required.
  • Friday, October 26: Autumn Tartan Tea, 2 p.m. (Cambridge, Ontario). McDougall Cottage presents a traditional tea with sandwiches and sweets. Musician Bill Muir sets the musical mood. Admission: $15 + HST. Pre-registration is required.
CONTINUING
  • To Labour Day: Scottish Tea at Hutchison (Peterborough, Ontario), Tuesday to Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. Served on the terrace in the period garden, the tea includes scones, preserves, whipped cream, oatcakes and tea, lemonade or iced tea. Admission: $10 (adults & youth), $5 (under 10), including tours of the 1840s restored stone house. Pre-registration is required at 705-743-9710.
  • To Labour Day: Upper Canada Village (Morrisburg, Ontario). Open daily, the village offers historical culinary treats, from Sasparilla and Ginger Beer at the Cook’s Tavern to period dinners and afternoon teas at Willard's Hotel. Admission varies.
  • To September 16: Agriculture in Huron County (Goderich, Ontario). Huron County Museum & Archives presents an exhibit on modern agricultural practices, successes and challenges in Huron County.
  • To October 8: Kings Landing Historical Site (Prince William, New Brunswick). The site offers historical wine-, butter- and cheese-making demonstrations as well as open-hearth baking and cooking demonstrations.
  • Through October 2018: From Glen Notes to War Notes: A Canadian Perspective on the First World War in Rilla of Ingleside (Guelph, Ontario). The first exhibit in the new Archival & Special Collections space in the University of Guelph's McLaughlin Library, co-curated by staff, students and faculty from the Department of History, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI. Materials are drawn from the U of G Library's extensive L.M. Montgomery Collection.
  • Daily: Historic Afternoon Tea & Tour at Fort Langley National Historic Site, tea 1 to 2:45 p.m., tour 3 to 4:30 p.m. (Fort Langley, British Columbia). An elegant afternoon tea at the Little White House (LWH) Salon Café in the coach house of the historic Marr House. Fort Langley, a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post, was first established in 1827. On the tour, visitors will hear about local historical characters and explore the homes and workshops of the people of the trade. Admission: $15.68 per person (plus admission fee for groups of 15–30), including tea, tour and HST. 604-513-4799 or fort.langley@pc.gc.ca.
  • Daily: Fishing the West Coast and the Canning Line, 10 a.m. to  5 p.m. (Steveston, British Columbia). The Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site offers exhibits on the development of fishing on Canada’s West Coast and modern fishing practices, too. Admission: Free for Canada 150.
  • Sundays: Gibson House Tea & Tour, 1 to 4:30 p.m. (Toronto). Every Sunday, there’s tea, cookies and a seat for you at the harvest table in the 1850s historic kitchen. Free with regular admission.
  • Indefinite run: Ongoing exhibits at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum (Ottawa) explore Food Preservation, Bees and Canola. Admission: Free with entrance to the museum. 613-991-3044 or 1-866-442-4416.
  • Indefinite run: Beggar’s Banquet (Louisbourg, Nova Scotia). Participants enjoy an 18th-century maritime meal while dressed in period clothing.

4. Conferences

Compiled by Julia Armstrong

Upcoming 

September 20 to 21, 2018 (Edinburgh, Scotland)
1st BIANNUAL CONFERENCE ON FOOD AND COMMUNICATION
"Food is one of the key aspects through which we represent ourselves individually and as a community," write the organizers of this conference. "It is also located at the core of many social issues and issues and interests." See the details about attending and the list of keynote speakers.

September 21 to 22, 2018 (Toronto, Ontario)
A PASSION FOR PORCELAIN
An international symposium celebrating the career and scholarship of Meredith Chilton, former chief curator at Toronto's Gardiner Museum. Includes a presentation by noted English food historian Ivan Day on "Frozen Treats: The Development of the Ice-Cream Cooler."


October 4 to 5, 2018 (Antalya, Turkey)
3rd TASTE OF CITY CONFERENCE: FOOD AND MARKETING

This conference focuses on understanding the role that food plays in place marketing and branding, including food tourism and multidisciplinary approaches to gastronomy and culture. One of the many sub-themes focuses on the marketing of heritage food.

October 25 to 26, 2018 (Vancouver, British Columbia)
8th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FOOD STUDIES
The three themes of the conference are food production and sustainability; food, nutrition and health; food politics, policies and cultures. Register here.

November 1 to 3, 2018 (Washington, D.C.)
4th ANNUAL SMITHSONIAN FOOD HISTORY WEEKEND

Explore the history and changing dynamics of regional food cultures in the United States. On the menu are cooking demonstrations, hands-on learning, dynamic conversations, Smithsonian collections, a black-tie gala and dance performances.

November 15 to 16, 2018 (Tours, France)
FOOD AS A CULTURAL HERITAGE: CHALLENGES, PROCESSES AND PERSPECTIVES
Organized by the European Institute for the History and Culture of Food (IEHCA), the objective of the conference is to advocate a multidisciplinary approach to food heritage and to examine, from a European and international standpoint, countries that have successfully added food elements to UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.


November 16 to 17, 2018 (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
AMSTERDAM SYMPOSIUM ON THE HISTORY OF FOOD
This annual conference is a collaboration between the University of Amsterdam's Special Collections and School of Historical Studies and the Social & Cultural Food Studies (FOST) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. It is targeted at both an academic and professional audience. See the conference page for details.

Looking Ahead

2019

June 1 to 7 (Vancouver, British Columbia)
CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR FOOD STUDIES 14th ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
In association with the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Theme: Circles of Conversation.

June 6 to 8, 2019 (Washington, D.C.)
AGRICULTURAL HISTORY SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING
Call for papers deadline: September 28, 2018.
Theme: Power in Agricultural History; see details and suggested topics.
Of note: 100th anniversary of the society.


June 8 to 12, 2019 (Saint-Marie Among the Hurons, Midland, Ontario)
ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR LIVING HISTORY, FARM AND AGRICULTURAL MUSEUMS


June 18 to 21 (Barcelona, Spain)
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON CULINARY HERITAGE, TOURISM AND SUSTAINABILITY
Call for papers deadline: September 30, 2018.
Themes and information: Click here.
Venue: Observatorio de la Alimentación (University of Barcelona) and Fundación Alícia.


July 12 to 14, 2019 (Oxford, England)
OXFORD SYMPOSIUM ON FOOD & COOKERY
Call for papers deadline: mid-January 2019.



2020

June 21 to 25, 2020 (Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts)
ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR LIVING HISTORY, FARM AND AGRICULTURAL MUSEUMS

5. Food for Thought

Welcome to our new book reviewers, editor Sonja Pushchak and retired librarian Laura Reilly! If you are a CHC member who would like to contribute, please contact Elka Weinstein at elka.weinstein@utoronto.ca or Sarah Hood at cadmus@interlog.com.

Have you missed a book review? You can read reviews from all our past issues online.

   
France Is a Feast: The Photographic Journey of Paul and Julia Child (Thames & Hudson, 2017). Review by Sonja Pushchak, pictured above.

Well, Julia. Julia Child joined the ranks of extraordinary women recognized by a first name long ago. Her culinary philosophy, exuberantly launched with Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 1961, championed making over heating-and-serving in an era queasy with TV-dinnerism. By now, everyone who knows cooking has bought or read something by Julia. For Julia-philes, the pursuit of a library that encompasses her life, wit and expertise is something never quite finished.

You might expect France Is a Feast to be another cookbook, orchestrated to awe with gastronomic delights overlooked by her other publications. Not quite. Husband Paul is first in the subtitle because it’s his passionate devotion to photographing postwar France that provides the book’s purpose. How he seems to have captured it, if you’re a fan of Hollywood musicals, shares curious similarities with An American in Paris (1951). I’m just guessing, but the image opposite the title page looks a lot like the lamplit staircase that Leslie Caron descends to be swept into the arms of Gene Kelly. Paul Child, despite the analytical seriousness of his artist statements, prefigures Vincente Minelli’s vision in bringing that film to fruition: a desire to selectively create a magical French landscape; part materiality, part mind. 

And that, if you amble along the book’s charming avenues while reading Paul’s letters, just about sums up how the two feel about their adopted home. From the moment Paul and Julia step off the boat and head for La Couronne, France’s oldest restaurant, for a lunch of oysters, Dover sole in “sputtering butter,” salad and local cheese, both husband and wife are wholeheartedly entranced and remain so for the years that Paul occupies various diplomatic posts for the US Information Service.

France Is a Feast is a journal with personality, ambitiously weaving the heady early days of bistro-hopping that feed Paul’s cultured soul and propel Julia toward a now legendary career with Paul’s many shots of Paris, Marseilles and Julia as you haven’t yet pictured her (in shorts, sundresses and cocktail ensembles). In an almost indispensable complement to My Life in France (2006), authors Alex Prud’homme and Katie Pratt have crafted this text as treasured partner Paul’s story, where haute and hardship, American pluck and French tradition converge to shape a diplomat’s career and the lives of a thoroughly dynamic couple. 

Review Contributors
  • Sher Hackwell (Vancouver)
  • Sarah Hood (Toronto)
  • Shirley Lum (Toronto)
  • Dana Moran (Ottawa)
  • Susan Peters (Morrisburg, Ontario)
  • Sonja Pushchak (Toronto)
  • Laura Reilly
  • Elka Weinstein (Toronto)
If you are a CHC member who would also like to contribute, please contact Publications Chair Sarah Hood at cadmus@interlog.com.
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