The Secret is in the Sauce

With an aging population and an increasing number of elderly people affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive difficulties, our collective memory is on the point of disappearing. And this is even more evident among Quebec’s English-speaking seniors, who are fewer in number, less visible and more isolated. The result is the lamentable loss of our cultural heritage, of stories, of recipes, all of which are part of a unifying thread between the generations, weaving the cultural fabric that allows a community to be a community. In 10 or 20 years, who will remember the traditional recipe for Greek baklava, Russian blini, the Irish recipe for ham hock and colcannon, or Italian passata della Nonna? Food that people once ate when they gathered together for family meals, and which nourishes the soul.

No time to visit Grandma at the hospital or at her residence? We will do it for all those young and not-so-young people whose hectic lives prevent them from visiting their aging relatives and who, as a result, will be deprived of a vital cultural heritage.

The Secret Is in the Sauce is a project that relies on Quebecers’ (of all origins and languages) love of food and their innate sense of celebration and festivity to create a project that will bring together and give recognition to anglophone culture among first-generation immigrants and First Nations communities.

In the pursuit of the finer recipes there is in the Quebec English-speaking communities, Monique Polak, author, blogger, moderator and journalist, has crisscrossed Quebec with photographer Monique Dykstra to meet with 20 anglophone seniors. The seniors share family recipes, talk about their lives, feast days, and explain how traditional know-how and culture are passed down through the generations. The 21 recipes have been brought together and printed in a lovely book.

Enjoy the interviews, and bon appétit!