Recettes des femmes de St. Joseph

Recettes des femmes de St. Joseph

Community cookbooks were not generally a francophone practice (Driver, “Cookbooks” 410). Even the promising-sounding Recettes des Femmes de St. Joseph, from a francophone community in Manitoba, contains recipes written entirely in English. Although most recipes were contributed by women with French names—Mrs. Annette Lavallee, Mrs. Rene Perron, Mrs. Elouise Delorme, for example—none are traditionally French-Canadian. By contrast, the collection includes “Chinese-Fried Rice,” “Chop Suey,” and “Chili con Carne.” The section on “Supper Quantity Cooking,” moreover, which reflects the role of homemade food at community and church gatherings, does not contain any particularly French-Canadian dishes. Interestingly, rather than use a local printer, the group elected to have their book published by the Women’s Clubs Publishing Co. in Chicago, which would also publish books from Wesleyville, Newfoundland and Elmira, Ontario, as well as communities across the United States. The notion of sending a local manuscript to such community cookbook businesses began in the 1950s; other companies offering this service included North American Press (in Kansas City) and L. Rasmussen Co. (in Winnipeg) (Driver, “Home Cooks” 58). The fact that this book was published in the U.S. by an English-language publisher may explain the absence of accents in the women’s names.

Mouvement des femmes chretiennes

1968