Certain foods are named for the places they come from, but many foods acquire place-based names for quite different reasons. This episode peels back the layers of that oh-so-Canadian treat, the Nanaimo Bar. Lenore Newman fills us in on his history and heritage, while also commenting on the quasi-luxury that the dessert represented in past, and maybe still does. Sandwiching this exploration, Alexia Moyer tells us about the iconic French pastry, the Paris-Brest, and Julia Mitchell responds to Lenore’s article, “Notes from the Nanaimo Bar Trail.”
Guests:
Alexia Moyer is co-Managing Editor of Canadian Food Studies and a founding member of the editorial collective, red line-ligne rouge, based in Montreal.
Lenore Newman is a professor in the department of Planning, Geography, and Environmental Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley, as well as Director of its Food and Agriculture Institute.
Julia Mitchell is a master student in arts and communication at Carleton University, exploring the use of French terminology on English-language menus.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Speaking in Cod Tongues by Lenore Newman
- La Poutineby Geneviève Sicotte
- Paris-Brest (pastry)
- “But is it Authentic?” by Lisa Heldke
Credits:
Host/Producer: David Szanto
Executive Producers: Rachel Engler-Stringer, Laurence Godin, Charles Levkoe, Phil Loring, Kristen Lowitt
Audio consultant: Zélie Scherrer
Music: Alex Guz and Evgeny Bardyuzha on Pixabay
Sound Effects: Aviana_Phoenix and BenKirb and freesound_community on Pixabay
Photo: Joy (CC-BY 2.0, no changes made)
#DigestingFoodStudies
Digesting Food Studies is funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Lakehead University, and the Canadian Association for Food Studies.
