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 that will be distributed free of charge. Book launches will be held in several of Montreal’s cultural communities.

But the Secret is in the sauce project does not stop there. In the meanwhile, every two weeks you will be invited to meet a new English-speaking senior from first-generation immigrants or First Nations communities and learn a new recipe on this web page. You can pre-order your free edition by writing to: frederick.gaudin-laurin@metropolisbleu.org.

Mentors, Elders, Traditions, and Me: Chefs and Influences
A collaboration with the Appetite For Books library
(in English)

Les oreilettes de Madelaine et Laurène
Un texte de Pascale Navarro
(en Français)

Monique Polak is the author of 26 books for young people. Her spring 2019 titles are I Am a Feminist: Claiming the F-Word in Turbulent Times, and Princess Angelica, Part-Time Lion Trainer. Monique is a two-time winner of the Quebec Writers’ Federation Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Monique has been teaching at Marianopolis College for 32 years. She is also a freelance journalist whose stories have appeared in the Montreal Gazette and in Postmedia publications across the country. Monique is a columnist on ICI-Radio Canada’s Plus on est de fous, plus on lit!

Monique Dykstra is professional photographer from Montreal, Canada, and the author of two photography books. She opened Studio Iris Photography in 1994, a busy Montreal studio that specializes in wedding photography, family portraits, corporate events, business portraits, and private photography classes and workshops.