The Contest has ended. Congratulations to Johanne Mercier who won the cookbook La cuisine de mon enfance and Francine Boisvert who won the Chocolats Grandbois gift certificate. And thank you to all the participants who put up so patiently with persistent technichal problems. Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
It all started with a phone call, as usual. Publishing house Éditions Transcontinental was looking for an associate editor to deliver their new cookbook. Go-to-print: September 2014. The banana peel? We were already June 2014…
Producing a book in 3 months is unheard of, even in these 24-7 days with our foot glued to the gas pedal. But I’ve the cardex from hell (translation: I personally know a lot of chefs) and I had planned a laid-back summer to enjoy life with my anti-daycamp son.
So I said yes, especially given that the publisher was giving me largely carte blanche to choose the chefs, which meant I could offer their first tribune to some up-and-coming Québec cooks on the verge of stardom but not quite there. I could also call upon old accomplices from previous books, seasoned chefs who’d seen it all and could deliver 10 recipes with their eyes closed.
© Mathieu Dupuis Photographe
My mates this time around:
• Jean-Luc Boulay from Restaurant Saint-Amour
• Michele Forgione from Impasto and Gema Pizzeria
• Jonathan Garnier from La Guilde Culinaire
• Thania Goyette and Louis Trudeau from Pied-Bleu
• Martin Juneau from Pastaga
• Christophe Morel Chocolatier
• Antonio Park from Park
• David Pellizzari from Lili Co.
• Marc-André Royal from Bistro Le St-Urbain
• Gita Seaton from resto Nouveau Palais and the Winneburger foodtruck
Thank goodness, the concept was both appealing and reachable: La cuisine de mon enfance features childhood recipes that have shaped all 11 chefs. Some are reproduced as is from their mother’s recipe files (and a few moms were a phone call away, making sure kiddo towed the recipe line). Other recipes had already been or were revamped and brought up to bistro standards for consenting adults.
To the mix, add a super food stylist like Johanne Depelteau who can whip up brioche with her eyes closed and a talented über organized photographer like Mathieu Dupuis…and, mon doux, we made it. We actually made it.
Did you hear the one about how much food photographers love, just love natural light? Well they really, just really do.
Johanne and Mathieu in action, where each picture serves up a challenge: with or without garnish? do we need utensils you think? should we add more sauce (or worse, remove some), do we slice, dig in (careful, irreversible!). Nothing but decisions all through…
The cherry on the proverbial sundae? La cuisine de mon enfance has just made the Canadian finals, in the Best Historical Cookbook, at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. It’s my third time on that merry-go-round, after Passion Chocolat with Geneviève Grandbois (Canadian finalist in the Single Subject category) and 100 recettes pour toi mon cœur for the Montreal Heart Institute (that made it all the way to the world finals against, my heavens, Michelle Obama). Bravo to the whole team and our stellar chefs, you rock.
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CONTEST
To mark the relaunch of my blog, I’m organizing a friendly contest with two simple prizes to be won:
• 1 copy of La cuisine de mon enfance signed by moi
• $40 in Chocolaterie Geneviève Grandbois gift-certificates
Winners will be drawn at random on February 5, hopefully in time for you to treat your loved ones to a book recipe or a super box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day, who knows.
It’s easy to enter:
1. Like my Facebook page Mon Terroir.
2. Tell me what’s YOUR favourite recipe book in the Comment section.
Care to double your chances? Share this contest on social media by posting the following message:
”Want to win La cuisine de mon enfance cookbook + Grandbois Chocolates? Do like me and enter on francofoodie.com #cuisinedemonenfance”
The contest is open to anyone, anywhere. Good luck to all.
J’ai découvert avec retard le livre I Love New York: Ingredients and Recipes et je le trouve très beau et bien organisé. C’est un très bel ouvrage, facile à feuilleter et avec de belles photos.
Ah, merci bien! Je ne connaissais pas 😉
En raison des difficultés techniques du blogue hier, certaines participations m’ont été envoyées via les médias sociaux. Donc, c’est confirmé! Bonne chance à :
Cedric Fontaine
Denise Draws
Sylvie St-Pere
Brun Tourville
gabriellesavaria
Johanne Mercier
Bonjour. Il y a un livre que je trouve absolument fascinant, il est en cinq volumes, le travail d’une vie je pense et se nomme “Histoire de la cuisine familiale du Québec”. Une vraie bible culinaire et d’histoire.
Merci, je ne l’ai jamais feuilleté, ça manque à ma culture. Je promets de rectifier la situation rapidement 😉 En attendant, vous êtes officiellement inscrite au concours, bonne chance !
Bonne chance à Catherine Thibault-Denis qui s’est inscrite via Facebook (vive les probs techniques encore une fois).
Bonne chance à Francine Boisvert
Mon livre préféré est : Cuisine japonaise naturelle de Kagemori !
Bonne chance à France Fournier (inscrite sur Facebook) dont le livre préféré est Prêt-a-servir de Louise Rivard 😉
Bonne chance à Léa Ouellet qui a participé sur Facebook à cause des difficultés techniques du site.