The Culinary Landmarks Hall of Fame celebrates the personalities who have shaped Canadian culinary writing and made a lasting contributi<\/p>\n
on to our culture through their influential and inspirational cookbooks. Collectively, these authors\u2019 stellar books or bodies of work have had a durable impact on understanding the evolution of our unique Canadian cuisine.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Culinary Landmarks Hall of Fame \/ Le Temple de la Renom\u00e9e du Livre Culinaire Canadien award was created by\u00a0Taste Canada: The Food Writing Awards<\/a>\u00a0in 2009 to honour the publication of\u00a0Culinary Landmarks: A Bibliography of Canadian Cookbooks 1825\u20131949<\/em>\u00a0by Elizabeth Driver, its first recipient.<\/p>\n Taste Canada celebrates Canada\u2019s world-class culinary writers and food culture. The annual Food Writing Awards nurture an industry inspired by our vibrant culture, celebrates our stories, embraces our collective history and explores our family legacies through food. More than just the ingredients we consume, food is a symbol of our shared culture, varied traditions, unique history and heritage. Food is at the heart of the Canadian identity. It is ingrained in our culture, from coast to coast. It was founded as Cuisine Canada in 1997.<\/p>\n CHC sponsorship for the historical people posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame started in 2014, and the following year CHC also started to sponsor the current inductees too.<\/p>\n Le Temple de la renomm\u00e9e Les Saveurs du Canada c\u00e9l\u00e8bre les personnalit\u00e9s qui ont fa\u00e7onn\u00e9 l’\u00e9criture culinaire canadienne et apport\u00e9 une contribution durable \u00e0 notre culture gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 leurs livres de cuisine influents et inspirants. Collectivement, les livres ou les \u0153uvres stellaires de ces auteurs ont eu un impact durable sur la compr\u00e9hension de l’\u00e9volution de notre cuisine canadienne unique.<\/p>\n Le prix CULINARY LANDMARKS HALL OF FAME \/ LE TEMPLE DE LA RENOMM\u00c9E DU LIVRE CULINAIRE CANADIEN a \u00e9t\u00e9 cr\u00e9\u00e9 par Cuisine Canada en 2009 pour honorer la publication de Culinary Landmarks: A Bibliography of Canadian Cookbooks 1825\u20131949 par Elizabeth Driver, sa premi\u00e8re r\u00e9cipiendaire.<\/p>\n Cuisine Canada est devenu Taste Canada: The Food Writing Awards en 2013. La r\u00e9compense a \u00e9t\u00e9 renomm\u00e9e TASTE CANADA HALL OF FAME \/ LE TEMPLE DE LA RENOMM\u00c9E LES SAVEURS DU CANADA en 2016. Les Saveurs du Canada c\u00e9l\u00e8bre les auteurs culinaires de renomm\u00e9e mondiale et la culture culinaire du Canada. Les LAUR\u00c9ATS DES \u00c9CRITS CULINAIRES annuels nourrissent une industrie inspir\u00e9e par notre culture dynamique, c\u00e9l\u00e8brent nos histoires, embrassent notre histoire collective et explorent nos patrimoines familiaux \u00e0 travers la nourriture. Plus que les ingr\u00e9dients que nous consommons, la nourriture est un symbole de notre culture commune, de nos traditions vari\u00e9es, de notre histoire et de notre patrimoine unique. La nourriture est au c\u0153ur de l’identit\u00e9 canadienne. C’est ancr\u00e9 dans notre culture, d’un oc\u00e9an \u00e0 l’autre.<\/p>\n Les Historiens culinaires du Canada \u00e9tudient, interpr\u00e8tent, pr\u00e9servent et c\u00e9l\u00e8brent le patrimoine culinaire du Canada, qui a \u00e9t\u00e9 fa\u00e7onn\u00e9 par les traditions alimentaires des peuples des Premi\u00e8res nations et des g\u00e9n\u00e9rations d’immigrants de toutes les r\u00e9gions du monde. Gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 des programmes, des \u00e9v\u00e9nements et des publications, le CCH \u00e9duque ses membres et le public sur l’histoire des aliments et des boissons du Canada. Elle a \u00e9t\u00e9 fond\u00e9e en Ontario en 1994.<\/p>\n Le parrainage du CHC pour introniser des personnes \u00e0 titre posthume au Temple de la renomm\u00e9e a commenc\u00e9 en 2014, et l’ann\u00e9e suivante, le CHC a aussi commenc\u00e9 \u00e0 parrainer les intronis\u00e9s actuels.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Michael Smith<\/strong><\/p>\n In 13 cookbooks over 25 years, best-selling author and professional chef Michael Smith (born 1966) has shared his easy-to-make recipes with Canadian families, inspiring us to have fun cooking healthy, sustainable food together.<\/p>\n As proprietor of The Inn at Bay Fortune and The Fortune Bridge House, Michael\u2019s culinary practice is rooted in the terroir of Prince Edward Island, where he offers visitors true \u201cfarm to fork\u201d menus and innovative and immersive dining experiences, such as the FireWorks Feast.<\/p>\n A consistent thread runs through his cookbooks and their titles: His warm PEI hospitality and accessible teaching style in Chef at Home: Cooking without a Recipe<\/em> (2005); simple, wholesome recipes in Real Food, Real Good<\/em> (2016), and Farmhouse Vegetables<\/em> (2023); and his unwavering focus on the fundamentals of cooking, including most recently his exploration of fire, in Farm, Fire & Feast<\/em> (2021) and Wood, Fire & Smoke: Recipes and Techniques for Wood-Fired Cooking<\/em> (2025).<\/p>\n Through his cookbooks and other media, innkeeping, teaching, and special events, Michael has not only made PEI a culinary destination, he has boosted PEI’s tourism profile, along with Canada\u2019s, on the international level.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Julia Aitken\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Julia Aitken (1955\u20142020) was an experienced editor of several publications including the hugely popular Homemaker\u2019s Magazine, Elm Street and Recipes Only. As a writer, you could approach Julia with confidence knowing that the proposals you presented to her would be acknowledged with respect but also, with a clear idea of her readers\u2019 needs and desires, including the requirements of that particular publication.<\/p>\n Julia also wrote cookbooks, beginning with Julia Aitken’s Baker’s Secret<\/em> (1986), then two collections of recipes for entertaining; and she co-authored The Ontario Harvest Cookbook<\/em> (1996) with Anita Stewart (another inductee into the Hall of Fame, in 2012). Julia knew her audience and wrote recipes that were tantalizing but streamlined with tips to ensure success and make each step manageable. It was as if Julia took you into her kitchen and worked beside you every step of the way to ensure success.<\/p>\n It was a pleasure to do business with Julia. She had a great sense of humour, a vast knowledge of food and a keen interest in the people whom she served. In short, she was a professional!<\/p>\n It was a great loss to the culinary world when Julia died of cancer, at age sixty-four.<\/p>\n Barbara Barnes<\/strong><\/p>\n Barbara Barnes of Edmonton is a retired home economist. For 33 years, she managed the ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen, including writing \u201cbulletproof\u201d recipes for 20 sold-out cookbooks, from Gas Grilling Quick & Simple<\/em> (1998) to Call of the Flame<\/em> (2009). Holiday Cookbook<\/em> (2001) is her favourite. These simple cookbooks are for any cook, family or community with limited access\u00a0 to specialty ingredients and constrained budgets. She appeared on CTV Edmonton, wrote a syndicated Calgary Herald<\/em> column, and adjudicated food events for the Edmonton Exhibition and Calgary Stampede. She is a long-standing coordinator on Taste Canada\u2019s book awards committee. During COVID, Barbara kept in touch with family and friends via a weekly newsletter. It transformed into a memoir, her latest cookbook, A COVID Culinary Chronicle<\/em>. Barbara Lynn Barnes is a worthy recipient of this lifetime achievement award from Taste Canada.<\/p>\n Barbara Barnes est une \u00e9conomiste familial retrait\u00e9 d\u2019Edmonton. Pendant 33 ans, elle a dirig\u00e9 la cuisine de la compagnie ATCO Blue lame Kitchen, entre autres, elle a \u00e9t\u00e9 auteure de recettes rigoureusement test\u00e9es publi\u00e9es dans 20 livres de cuisine \u00e0 succ\u00e8s de \u00ab Gas Grilling Quick & Simple \u00bb (1998) \u00e0 \u00ab Call of the Flame \u00bb (2009). \u00ab Holiday Cookbook \u00bb (2001) est son favori. Ses livres sont faciles \u00e0 consulter pour tous les cuisiniers, les familles et la communaut\u00e9. Ils requi\u00e8rent peu d\u2019ingr\u00e9dients sp\u00e9ciaux et conviennent \u00e0 tous les budgets. Elle est apparue \u00e0 CTV Edmonton, a \u00e9crit une chronique pour le \u00ab Calgary Herald \u00bb et a \u00e9t\u00e9 membre de jury pour des \u00e9v\u00e9nements dont le Edmonton Exhibition et le Stampede de Calgary. Elle a \u00e9t\u00e9 coordonnatrice pour le comit\u00e9 du concours de livres culinaires Les Saveurs du Canada pendant plusieurs ann\u00e9es. Pendant la covid, Barbara a gard\u00e9 le contact avec sa famille et des amis en publiant une infolettre hebdomadaire. Ce projet a \u00e9t\u00e9 transform\u00e9 en un m\u00e9moire pour son dernier livre de cuisine intitul\u00e9 \u00ab A COVID Culinary Chronicle \u00bb. Barbara Lynn Barnes est digne r\u00e9cipiendaire de ce prix pour l\u2019ensemble de sa carri\u00e8re d\u00e9cern\u00e9 par Les Saveurs du Canada.<\/p>\n Habeeb Salloum Syrian-born Habeeb Salloum (1924\u20132019) enjoyed relating the culinary heritage of his compatriot Arab-Canadians. He grew up on hardscrabble homesteads in Saskatchewan, where his father had settled in 1923. Two of Habeeb\u2019s books integrate Prairie west and Middle East historical and contemporary foodways. Arab Cooking on a Prairie Homestead: Recipes and Recollections From a Syrian Pioneer<\/em> (2005; revised, enlarged, retitled 2017) is a cookbook-memoir highlighting the \u201cold-country\u201d home cooking of his mother Shams. She grew Syrian lentils and chickpeas, which thrived in the dusty Saskatchewan soil, and adjusted her recipes for the indigenous saskatoon berry, wild greens, and prairie fowl. Her homemade yogurt, burghul, kishk, and qawarma nourished them during the Depression.<\/p>\n Habeeb Salloum became Canada’s most eminent expert on Arab cuisine with a body of award-winning food writings. The Hall of Fame honours his two Canadian cookbooks, Bison Delights: Middle Eastern Cuisine, Western Style<\/em>\u00a0(2010) and Arab Cooking on a Prairie Homestead<\/em>.<\/p>\n N\u00e9 en Syrie, Habeeb Salloum aimait raconter l\u2019h\u00e9ritage culinaire de ses compatriotes Arabe-Canadiens. Il a grandi sur des fermes pauvres de la Saskatchewan, o\u00f9 son p\u00e8re s’\u00e9tait install\u00e9 en 1923. Deux des livres de Habeeb int\u00e8grent les habitudes alimentaires historiques et contemporaines des Prairies de l’ouest et du Moyen-Orient. \u00ab Arab Cooking on a Prairie Homestead: Recipes and Recollections From a Syrian Pioneer \u00bb (2005; r\u00e9\u00e9dit\u00e9 et augment\u00e9 avec un nouveau titre en 2017) est un livre de cuisine-m\u00e9moire mettant en lumi\u00e8re la cuisine familiale \u00ab traditionnelle \u00bb de sa m\u00e8re Shams. Elle cultivait des lentilles et des pois chiches syriens qui prosp\u00e9raient dans le sol poussi\u00e9reux de la Saskatchewan. Elle adaptait ses recettes \u00e0 l’am\u00e9lanchier indig\u00e8ne, aux plantes sauvages et \u00e0 la poule de prairie. Son yogourt maison, le boulgour, le kishk et le qawarma ont nourris sa famille pendant la Grande D\u00e9pression.<\/p>\n Habeeb Salloum est devenu l’expert le plus \u00e9minent du Canada en mati\u00e8re de cuisine arabe avec son corpus d’\u00e9crits culinaires prim\u00e9s. Le Temple de la renomm\u00e9e rend hommage \u00e0 ses deux livres de cuisine canadiens, \u00ab Bison Delights: Middle Eastern Cuisine, Western Style \u00bb (2010) et \u00ab Arab Cooking on a Prairie Homestead \u00bb.<\/p>\n Jean Par\u00e9 (1927\u20132022) was a caterer before writing her first cookbook, 150 Delicious Squares<\/em>, in 1981. She founded Company\u2019s Coming, now with over 200 cookbooks, among them such enduring familiars as\u00a0Muffins & More<\/em>\u00a0(1983), Kids Cooking<\/em> (1995),\u00a0Slow Cooker Recipes\u00a0and\u00a0Easy Entertaining<\/em>\u00a0(1998) and\u00a0Simple Suppers<\/em> (2007).\u00a0Par\u00e9 is one of the world\u2019s most successful cookbook authors in terms of sales. Her recipes use ordinary daily ingredients and “make mealtimes more manageable for millions” because of her Golden Rule: “never share a recipe you wouldn\u2019t use yourself.” She is a Canadian culinary icon. Taste Canada and the Culinary Historians of Canada honour Jean Par\u00e9 and her lifetime of culinary writing by inducting her into our Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Jean Par\u00e9 (1927\u20132022) \u00e9tait traiteur avant d\u2019\u00e9crire son premier livre de cuisine, \u00ab 150 d\u00e9licieux carr\u00e9s \u00bb en 1981. Elle a fond\u00e9 Company\u2019s Coming, qui compte maintenant 200 livres de cuisine dont des titres familiers toujours populaires comme \u00ab Pains \u00e9clairs et muffins \u00bb (1983), \u00ab Recettes pour mijoteuse \u00e9lectrique \u00bb (1998), \u00ab Jean Par\u00e9 re\u00e7oit avec simplicit\u00e9 \u00bb (1998), et \u00ab Soupers Simples \u00bb (2007). Jean Par\u00e9 est l\u2019une des auteurs culinaires qui a vendu le plus de livres de cuisine au monde. Ces recettes emploient des ingr\u00e9dients de tous les jours \u00ab ce qui rend l\u2019heure des repas plus facile \u00e0 des millions de personnes \u00bb. Sa r\u00e8gle d\u2019or \u00e9tait : \u00ab ne partagez jamais une recette que vous ne feriez vous-m\u00eame \u00bb. Elle est une ic\u00f4ne culinaire du Canada. Les Saveurs du Canada et les Historiens culinaires du Canada honore Jean Par\u00e9 et sa carri\u00e8re d\u2019auteure culinaire en l\u2019introduisant \u00e0 notre Temple de la Renomm\u00e9e.<\/p>\n Anne Lindsay<\/strong><\/p>\n Anne Lindsay is widely known through her cookbooks with the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Canadian Cancer Society. She changed Canadian diets by sharing recipes with nutritional information the whole family would eat and advocating for heart-healthy cooking in Smart Cooking<\/em>\u00a0(1986),\u00a0The Lighthearted Cookbook <\/em>(1988),\u00a0Lighthearted Everyday Cooking\u00a0<\/em>(1991),\u00a0Light Kitchen<\/em>\u00a0(1994) and\u00a0New Light Cooking<\/em> (1998).\u00a0In 2010,\u00a0Lighthearted at Home: The Very Best of Anne Lindsay<\/em>, a compilation of her life\u2019s work, was an instant bestseller. She was one of the first Canadian cookbook authors to reach global success and to be appointed to the Order of Canada. For over 40 years, Anne Lindsay was a leader on the Canadian culinary landscape and a champion of healthy eating.<\/p>\n Anne Lindsay est bien connue pour ses livres approuv\u00e9s par l\u2019Association Coeur+AVC et la Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 canadienne du cancer. Elle a chang\u00e9 la di\u00e8te des canadiens en partageant des recettes et leurs valeurs nutritionnelles accessibles \u00e0 toute la famille et recommand\u00e9es pour un c\u0153ur en sant\u00e9 avec ses livres \u00ab Bonne table bons sens \u00bb (1986), \u00ab Au go\u00fbt du c\u0153ur \u00bb (1991), \u00ab La cuisine l\u00e9g\u00e8re d\u2019Anne Lindsay \u00bb (1994), et \u00ab La nouvelle cuisine l\u00e9g\u00e8re d\u2019Anne Lindsay \u00bb (1998). En 2010, \u00ab Lighthearted at Home: The Very Best of Anne Lindsay \u00bb a \u00e9t\u00e9 un succ\u00e8s instantann\u00e9. Elle a \u00e9t\u00e9 une des premi\u00e8res auteures culinaires canadienne \u00e0 atteindre un succ\u00e8s global et elle a \u00e9t\u00e9 re\u00e7ue membre de l\u2019Ordre du Canada. Pendant plus de 40 ans, Anne Lindsay a \u00e9t\u00e9 leader de la sc\u00e8ne culinaire canadienne et championne de la cuisine sant\u00e9.<\/p>\n Micheline Mongrain-Dontigny (Qu\u00e9bec) Micheline Mongrain-Dontigny a publi\u00e9 14 livres de cuisine sur la cuisine qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise contemporaine et traditionnelle. En tant que chef, elle a donn\u00e9 des cours de cuisine, travaill\u00e9 dans des restaurants, \u00e9crit pour des magazines, donn\u00e9 des conf\u00e9rences sur l’histoire culinaire qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise. Elle a \u00e9t\u00e9 membre du jury du Grand Prix canadien des produits nouveaux et de l’\u00e9v\u00e9nement pr\u00e9curseur de Taste Canada, Cuisine Canada, pour lequel elle a pr\u00e9sid\u00e9 le comit\u00e9 des livres de cuisine de langue fran\u00e7aise. Son premier livre de cuisine est La Cuisine Renouvel\u00e9e<\/em> (1988). Son dernier livre en date est Les Grands Classiques de la Cuisine d’Ici<\/em> (2016). Ses livres de cuisine c\u00e9l\u00e8brent les recettes traditionnelles et contemporaines telles qu’elles sont pr\u00e9par\u00e9es au Qu\u00e9bec aujourd’hui dans les cuisines domestiques et professionnelles. Nous reconnaissons l’\u0153uvre de sa vie dans la litt\u00e9rature culinaire.<\/p>\n MichelineMongrain-Dontigny has published 14 cookbooks on contemporary and historical Quebecois cuisine. As a chef, she taught cooking classes, worked in restaurants, wrote for magazines, lectured on Quebec culinary history. She was a jury member for the Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards and Taste Canada\u2019s predecessor Cuisine Canada, for which she chaired the French-language cookbook committee. Her earliest cookbook was La Cuisine Renouvel\u00e9e<\/em>\u00a0(1988). Her latest is\u00a0Les Grands Classiques de la Cuisine d\u2019Ici\u00a0<\/em>(2016). Her cookbooks celebrate traditional and contemporary recipes as prepared in Quebec today in both home and professional kitchens.<\/p>\n Posthumous Inductee Savella Stechishin (1903\u20132002, Ssakatchewan)<\/strong> Stechishin was inducted for\u00a0Traditional Ukrainian Cookery<\/em> (1957), still internationally acknowledged as the definitive English-language guide for Ukrainian cooking. It endures as a reference for Ukrainians while sharing their cuisine with cooks of other heritages.\u00a0In 1913 at age nine, Stechishin immigrated to Saskatchewan. She married at 17 and bore three children, then earned a Home Economics degree. She became a cooking teacher, university lecturer and journalist. Stechishin received multiple honours for community advocacy, journalism, education, and establishing Ukrainian Canadian organizations. Her Order of Canada recognized her dominant role as a teacher and writer who preserved and shared the treasures of Ukrainian Canadian cuisine and folk arts.<\/p>\n Savella Stechishin (1903\u20132002) est intronis\u00e9e pour son livre Traditional Ukrainian Cookery<\/em> (1957) sur la cuisine ukrainienne traditionnelle, toujours reconnu internationalement comme le guide d\u00e9finitif en langue anglaise de la cuisine ukrainienne. Il demeure une r\u00e9f\u00e9rence pour les Ukrainiens tout en permettant le partage de leur cuisine avec des cuisiniers d’autres origines. En 1913, \u00e0 l’\u00e2ge de neuf ans, Stechishin a immigr\u00e9 en Saskatchewan. Elle s’est mari\u00e9e \u00e0 17 ans et a eu trois enfants, puis a obtenu un dipl\u00f4me en \u00e9conomie domestique. Elle est devenue professeur de cuisine, professeur d’universit\u00e9 et journaliste. Stechishin a re\u00e7u de nombreuses distinctions pour ses activit\u00e9s de plaidoyer communautaire, son travail de journalisme, d’\u00e9ducatrice et la cr\u00e9ation d’organisations canado-ukrainiennes. Son Ordre du Canada a reconnu son r\u00f4le dominant en tant qu’enseignante et \u00e9crivaine qui a pr\u00e9serv\u00e9 et partag\u00e9 les tr\u00e9sors de la cuisine et des arts populaires ukrainiens-canadiens.<\/p>\n Bonnie Stern (Ontario) Bonnie Stern\u00a0needs no\u00a0introduction to Canadians. Chances are you cook out of at least one of her 12\u00a0cookbooks. Her first was 1987\u2019s\u00a0Bonnie Stern\u2019s Cook Book<\/em>, and her twelfth was\u00a0Friday Night Dinners<\/em>, which highlights her Jewish heritage. In between were her four famous and best-selling Heart Smart\u00a0<\/em>cookbooks and\u00a0Bonnie Stern\u2019s Essentials of Home Cooking<\/em>, winner of an International Association of Culinary Professionals award in 2004. In 1971, Bonnie was an early graduate from the George Brown College chef school. She soon launched her career by opening a cooking school, which operated for 37 years, but she also wrote a national newspaper column and hosted three national television cooking shows. In a 2016 TEDx talk, she summarized her life of communicating flavourful everyday cooking by introducing herself as \u201ca home cooking warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n Bonnie Stern n’a pas besoin d’\u00eatre pr\u00e9sent\u00e9e aux Canadiens. Il y a de fortes chances que vous cuisiniez \u00e0 partir d’au moins un de ses douze livres de cuisine. Son premier Bonnie Stern’s Cook Book <\/em>a \u00e9t\u00e9 publi\u00e9 en 1987 et son douzi\u00e8me est Friday Night Dinners<\/em> qui met en valeur son h\u00e9ritage juif. Entre les deux se trouvent ses quatre livres de cuisine c\u00e9l\u00e8bres et les plus vendus dont Heart Smart<\/em> et Bonnie Stern\u2019s Essentials of Home Cooking<\/em>, laur\u00e9at d’un prix de International Association of Culinary Professionals en 2004. En 1971, Bonnie \u00e9tait une des premi\u00e8res dipl\u00f4m\u00e9es de l’\u00e9cole de chefs du George Brown College. Elle a rapidement lanc\u00e9 sa carri\u00e8re en ouvrant une \u00e9cole de cuisine qui a \u00e9t\u00e9 en op\u00e9ration pendant 37 ans. Elle a \u00e9galement \u00e9crit une chronique dans un journal national et anim\u00e9 trois \u00e9missions de cuisine \u00e0 la t\u00e9l\u00e9vision nationale. Dans une conf\u00e9rence TEDx en 2016, elle a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 sa vie de communication en cuisine quotidienne savoureuse en se pr\u00e9sentant comme \u00ab une guerri\u00e8re de la cuisine maison \u00bb.<\/p>\n Posthumous Inductee Noorbanu Nimji (1934\u20132020, <\/strong>Alberta) Noorbanu Nimji was born in Kenya in 1934 into an educated, entrepreneurial Ismaili Muslim family originally from Gujarat, India. When she married at 19 she couldn\u2019t cook yet, but she quickly demonstrated talent. In 1974 the Nimji family settled in Calgary.\u00a0Noorbanu\u2019s unintentional cooking career began while teaching Ismaili recipes to homesick students. Her four cookbooks, collectively entitled A Spicy Touch, have been called \u201ccommunity connectors.\u201d Volume one was published in 1986, followed by the others in 1992, 2007 and 2015. The last was subtitled\u00a0Family Favourites from Noorbanu\u2019s Kitchen<\/em>, and was cowritten with Karen Anderson.\u00a0Over 250,000\u00a0A Spicy Touch<\/em> books have been sold. Noorbanu\u2019s cooking embraced her North Indian ancestral roots, her East African upbringing and its British colonial influence, and her life in urban Alberta. Noorbanu died in 2020, but her self-published Canadian cookbooks have preserved the oral culinary culture of the dispersed Gujarati-Kenyan Ismaili people in Canada and beyond.\u00a0The\u00a0Nimji family writes: “Everything our Mother did was out of love for helping others. She was very humble and would have been completely surprised and delighted by this recognition. We are very grateful to Taste Canada and the Culinary Historians of Canada for sharing her legacy of absolutely dependable and delicious Indian recipes with people who might not have otherwise known about A Spicy Touch.”<\/p>\n Noorbanu Nimji est n\u00e9e au Kenya en 1934 dans une famille musulmane ismaili \u00e9duqu\u00e9e et entrepreneuriale, originaire du Gujarat en Inde. Quand elle s’est mari\u00e9e \u00e0 19 ans, elle ne savait pas encore cuisiner, mais elle a rapidement d\u00e9montr\u00e9 qu’elle avait du talent. En 1974, la famille Nimji s’installe \u00e0 Calgary. La carri\u00e8re de cuisine involontaire de Noorbanu a commenc\u00e9 alors qu’elle enseignait des recettes isma\u00efliennes \u00e0 des \u00e9tudiants qui avaient le mal du pays. Ses quatre livres de cuisine, intitul\u00e9s collectivement A Spicy Touch<\/em>, ont \u00e9t\u00e9 qualifi\u00e9s de \u00ab connecteurs communautaires \u00bb. Le premier volume a \u00e9t\u00e9 publi\u00e9 en 1986, suivi des autres en 1992, 2007 et 2015. Le dernier \u00e9tait sous-titr\u00e9 Family Favorites from Noorbanu’s Kitchen<\/em> et co\u00e9crit avec Karen Anderson. Plus de 250 000 livres de A Spicy Touch<\/em> ont \u00e9t\u00e9 vendus. La cuisine de Noorbanu embrassait ses racines ancestrales indiennes du Nord, son \u00e9ducation est-africaine, son influence coloniale britannique, ainsi que sa vie dans les villes de l’Alberta. Noorbanu est d\u00e9c\u00e9d\u00e9e en 2020, mais ses livres de cuisine canadiens publi\u00e9s \u00e0 compte d’auteur ont pr\u00e9serv\u00e9 la culture culinaire orale du peuple isma\u00eflien gujarati-kenyan dispers\u00e9 au travers du Canada et au-del\u00e0.<\/p>\n Stephen Yan <\/strong>(British Columbia) Stephen Yan was an ambassador of Chinese cooking. He was the first Chinese-Canadian chef to host a cooking show, CBC\u2019s wildly popular \u201cWok with Yan\u201d (1978 to 1995). From Hong Kong, Yan emigrated to Vancouver in 1967 at age 19, where he eventually opened restaurants and self-published many cookbooks. His syndicated show and cookbooks encouraged home cooks to experiment with Asian ingredients, techniques and equipment, especially the cleaver and the wok, his speciality. People young and old fondly remember the show and books. His delicious stir-fry recipes were simple, colourful and quick. Stephen Yan\u2019s world-wide fans loved the puns emblazoned on his aprons: \u201cDon\u2019t wok the boat\u201d and \u201cWokkey Night in Canada\u201d are but two.<\/p>\n Stephen Yan \u00e9tait un ambassadeur de la cuisine chinoise. Il a \u00e9t\u00e9 le premier chef sino-canadien \u00e0 animer une \u00e9mission de cuisine, la tr\u00e8s populaire Wok with Yan<\/em> de CBC (1978 \u00e0 1995). De Hong Kong, Yan a \u00e9migr\u00e9 \u00e0 Vancouver en 1967 \u00e0 l’\u00e2ge de dix-neuf ans, o\u00f9 il a finalement ouvert des restaurants et publi\u00e9 de nombreux livres de cuisine \u00e0 compte d’auteur. Son \u00e9mission syndiqu\u00e9e et ses livres de cuisine encourageaient les cuisiniers \u00e0 exp\u00e9rimenter avec des ingr\u00e9dients, des techniques et des ustensiles asiatiques, en particulier avec le couperet et le wok, sa sp\u00e9cialit\u00e9. Les jeunes et les moins jeunes gardent un pr\u00e9cieux souvenir de ses spectacles et de ses livres. Ses d\u00e9licieuses recettes de mets saut\u00e9s \u00e9taient simples, color\u00e9es et rapides. Les fans de Stephen Yan du monde entier ont ador\u00e9 les jeux de mots arborant de ses tabliers : dont ces deux parmi tant d’autres \u00ab Don’t wok the boat \u00bb et \u00ab Wokkey Night in Canada \u00bb<\/p>\n Posthumous Inductee Norene Gilletz (1940\u20132020, Qu\u00e9bec)<\/strong><\/p>\n Photo: Courtesy of Gilletz Family<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cCanada\u2019s queen of kosher cuisine,\u201d Norene Gilletz, died in February 2020, age 79, still writing and blogging about Canadian food. Her first cookbook, Second Helpings, Please!<\/em>, (1968), reprinted 17 times, is now subtitled The Iconic Jewish Cookbook<\/em>. Her final cookbook, The Brain Boosting Diet<\/em>, appeared last December. She wrote 10 others, plus many food columns and blog posts for the Canadian Jewish News<\/em>. Her Facebook group boasted over 10,000 members, who happily called themselves \u201cNoreners.\u201d Gilletz was famous for her humour, culinary knowledge, and generous mentorship of food writers, teachers, and fundraisers. Her recipes are delicious and reliable; thousands still make her Sweet and Sour Meatballs and Carrot Cake. Gilletz\u2019s books united communities as varied as Jewish women\u2019s groups, food processor owners and thyroid cancer sufferers.<\/p>\n \u00ab La reine canadienne de la cuisine casher \u00bb, Norene Gilletz, est d\u00e9c\u00e9d\u00e9e en \u00e9crivant et en bloguant sur la cuisine canadienne. Son premier livre de cuisine, Second Helpings, Please!<\/em> (1968), r\u00e9imprim\u00e9 dix-sept fois, est d\u00e9sormais sous-titr\u00e9 The Iconic Jewish Cookbook<\/em>. Son dernier livre de recettes, The Brain Boosting Diet,<\/em> est paru en d\u00e9cembre 2020. Elle en a \u00e9crit dix autres, ainsi que de nombreuses chroniques culinaires et articles de blogue pour le Canadian Jewish News<\/em>. Son groupe Facebook comptait plus de 10 000 membres, qui s’appelaient joyeusement les “Noreners”. Gilletz \u00e9tait c\u00e9l\u00e8bre pour son humour, ses connaissances culinaires et son mentorat g\u00e9n\u00e9reux aupr\u00e8s d’auteurs culinaires, d’enseignants et de collecteurs de fonds. Ses recettes \u00e9taient d\u00e9licieuses et fiables; des milliers de personnes pr\u00e9parent encore des Boulettes de viande aigre-douce et son G\u00e2teau aux carottes. Les livres de Gilletz ont uni des communaut\u00e9s aussi vari\u00e9es que des groupes de femmes juives, des propri\u00e9taires de robots culinaires et des personnes atteintes d’un cancer de la thyro\u00efde.<\/p>\n Jessie Read (1905\u20131940, Qu\u00e9bec)<\/strong><\/p>\n Jessie Read was a home economist who wrote a column called \u201cThree Meals a Day\u201d for the Evening Telegram<\/em>. These recipes were subsequently published as a series of books with the same title in 1934, 1935 and 1938. Read trained in dietetics and then worked for the Consumer\u2019s Gas Company in Toronto. She became known for her cooking demos, weekly broadcast for the Radio Cooking School, and starring role in Canada\u2019s first cooking school talking picture, Kitchen Talks<\/em>. Intended for the average or aspiring home cook,\u00a0Three Meals a Day<\/em>\u00a0was enormously successful. Read’s life was a mere three-and-a-half decades, but her influence was briefly bright.\u00a0Read\u2019s family has\u00a0created\u00a0a website to honour\u00a0her memory.<\/a><\/p>\n Jessie Read \u00e9tait une \u00e9conomiste m\u00e9nag\u00e8re qui a \u00e9crit une chronique intitul\u00e9e \u00ab Three meals a day \u00bb pour le Evening Telegram. Ces recettes ont ensuite \u00e9t\u00e9 publi\u00e9es sous la forme d’une s\u00e9rie de livres portant le m\u00eame titre en 1934, 1935 et 1938. Read a suivi une formation en di\u00e9t\u00e9tique, puis a travaill\u00e9 pour la Consumer’s Gas Company \u00e0 Toronto. Elle est devenue connue pour ses d\u00e9monstrations de cuisine, ses \u00e9missions hebdomadaires pour la Radio Cooking School et son r\u00f4le principal comme premi\u00e8re personne ayant une voix parlante \u00e0 une \u00e9cole de cuisine au Canada, Kitchen Talks<\/em>. Destin\u00e9e au cuisinier ou en apprentissage, Three Meals a Day<\/em> a \u00e9t\u00e9 un \u00e9norme succ\u00e8s. Sa vie n’a dur\u00e9 que trois d\u00e9cennies et demie, mais son influence a \u00e9t\u00e9 bri\u00e8vement brillante.<\/p>\n Naomi Duguid (Ontario)<\/strong><\/p>\n Naomi Duguid is a prolific cookbook writer, culinary journalist, photographer, teacher and world traveller. Her eight cookbooks have won multiple awards from the IACP, James Beard Foundation and Taste Canada. Her first six titles were co-authored with former husband Jeffrey Alford between 1995 and 2008. Her two solo cookbooks are Burma: Rivers of Flavor<\/em>\u00a0(2012) and\u00a0Taste of Persia<\/em> (2016). A renowned storyteller and celebrated photographer, Duguid has travelled extensively through Southeast Asia and Persia with local people. Her exemplary body of work shares these culinary experiences through gorgeous images, an anthropological perspective and uncomplicated recipes that encourage creative cooking at home.<\/p>\n2025
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Michael-Smith-Headshot_credit-Al-Douglas-OK-TO-CROP-150x150.jpg\")
<\/strong>Michael Smith, Headshot. Photo credit: Al Douglas.<\/span><\/h1>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Julia-Aitken-picture-150x150.jpg\")
<\/p>\n2024<\/strong><\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Barbara-Barnes-cropped.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Habeeb-Salloum-credit-Muna-Salloum-300x225.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
credit Muna Salloum<\/strong><\/p>\n2023<\/strong><\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Jean-Pare-j.jpg\")
Jean Par\u00e9<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/AnneCloseUp.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n2022<\/strong><\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/portrait-Micheline-300x210.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Photo:\u00a0Micheline Mongrain-Dontigny<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/c840d6832f8ce3ba155962979\/images\/1044e842-8e81-944d-c59f-b13ee9af9085.jpg\")
<\/div>\n
Photo: Zenia Stechishin<\/em><\/p>\n
\n2021<\/strong><\/h1>\n
![](\"https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/c840d6832f8ce3ba155962979\/images\/81b9981f-320f-f318-6e05-55bc5cc15cd2.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/strong>Photo: book\/livre, <\/em>Friday Night Dinners, 2019<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/c840d6832f8ce3ba155962979\/images\/37a9159b-0662-f956-600d-badf2cf52bd1.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/strong>Photo: Jeremy Fokkens<\/a><\/p>\n
\n2020<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/chinese-recipes-stephen-yan-213x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Photo: book\/livre, <\/em>Chinese Recipes (1981)<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Norene_Gilletz-portrait-240x300.jpg\")
\n2019<\/strong><\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Jessie-Read-1935-220.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPhoto Credit: Author photo from Three Meals a Day<\/em>, 1934<\/h6>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Naomi-Duguid.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPhoto Credit: Larry D. Moore<\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Graham_Kerr-300x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Constance-Hart-Household-Recipes-184x300.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/b-barss-portrait-cropped-150x150.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Edna-Staebler-e1603653444402.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Julian-Armstrong-200x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Rose-Murray-214x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Pattison-Nellie-Lyle-150x150.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Helen-Wattie.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.culinaryhistorians.ca\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Elinor-Donaldson-Whyte.png\")
<\/p>\n