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November 30, 2015 - Kirkus Review for Before Sliced Bread
This memoir of a Canadian girlhood affectionately combines recollections with recipes.
In her debut book, Kerr—a former chef and restaurant owner—shares nostalgic memories of growing up in and moving around Canada and the special dishes she encountered along the way. After arriving in an ethnically mixed neighborhood in Montreal as a small child in 1938, Kerr learned to love kosher delis, cheese blintzes, and Newfoundland molasses taffy. Meanwhile, she experienced childhood pleasures that will ring familiar to Canadian readers and awaken new interest in the era for Americans, including reading the Eaton’s catalog at Christmastime, wearing Red River coats (“Everyone has a story about this famous coat”), and riding open-air streetcars for sightseeing. As an adult, Kerr wound up in Vancouver, but in her various stops, she experienced an intriguing variety of culinary traditions. Period photos help tell the story, and an epilogue provides background on Canadian history. Kerr’s culinary journey embraces home-style goodies such as poutine à trou and maple syrup pie in Montreal; fried fiddleheads and Acadian bread pudding in New Brunswick; “bakeapple” pie in Newfoundland; Mennonite onion pie in Manitoba; and coquilles St-Jacques à la Corbeille (Kerr’s restaurant) in British Columbia. In between anecdotes and recipes, the author traces the varied influences on Canadian cooking, such as patterns of immigration or expulsion, the importance of seafood in the Maritimes, and foods linked to special holidays. Kerr’s family’s stories and anecdotes are absorbing, but home cuisine is the star of this book. Its evocative prose, excellent photos, and luscious-sounding recipes will stoke readers’ appetites and spark their imaginations. The instructions are written clearly and aimed at readers who are experienced enough to have, for example, a favorite pastry-crust recipe; indeed, all the entries are based on tried-and-true family recipes. Another plus is Kerr’s emphasis on local food customs, which include ingredients such as fiddlehead ferns, Saskatoon berries, or Newfoundland cod and techniques such as boiling dinner in a gauze bag. The recipes may be old-fashioned, but they have timeless appeal.
Well-written, mouthwatering, and nostalgic—an excellent addition to the literature of North American cooking.
This memoir of a Canadian girlhood affectionately combines recollections with recipes.
In her debut book, Kerr—a former chef and restaurant owner—shares nostalgic memories of growing up in and moving around Canada and the special dishes she encountered along the way. After arriving in an ethnically mixed neighborhood in Montreal as a small child in 1938, Kerr learned to love kosher delis, cheese blintzes, and Newfoundland molasses taffy. Meanwhile, she experienced childhood pleasures that will ring familiar to Canadian readers and awaken new interest in the era for Americans, including reading the Eaton’s catalog at Christmastime, wearing Red River coats (“Everyone has a story about this famous coat”), and riding open-air streetcars for sightseeing. As an adult, Kerr wound up in Vancouver, but in her various stops, she experienced an intriguing variety of culinary traditions. Period photos help tell the story, and an epilogue provides background on Canadian history. Kerr’s culinary journey embraces home-style goodies such as poutine à trou and maple syrup pie in Montreal; fried fiddleheads and Acadian bread pudding in New Brunswick; “bakeapple” pie in Newfoundland; Mennonite onion pie in Manitoba; and coquilles St-Jacques à la Corbeille (Kerr’s restaurant) in British Columbia. In between anecdotes and recipes, the author traces the varied influences on Canadian cooking, such as patterns of immigration or expulsion, the importance of seafood in the Maritimes, and foods linked to special holidays. Kerr’s family’s stories and anecdotes are absorbing, but home cuisine is the star of this book. Its evocative prose, excellent photos, and luscious-sounding recipes will stoke readers’ appetites and spark their imaginations. The instructions are written clearly and aimed at readers who are experienced enough to have, for example, a favorite pastry-crust recipe; indeed, all the entries are based on tried-and-true family recipes. Another plus is Kerr’s emphasis on local food customs, which include ingredients such as fiddlehead ferns, Saskatoon berries, or Newfoundland cod and techniques such as boiling dinner in a gauze bag. The recipes may be old-fashioned, but they have timeless appeal.
Well-written, mouthwatering, and nostalgic—an excellent addition to the literature of North American cooking.
November 9, 2015 - Before Sliced Bread receives 5 stars from Foreword Clarion Reviews...
"This book is a charming account of a well-lived life and a sparkling introduction to Canadian culture.
Before Sliced Bread is an extended love letter to Jeannette Kerr’s native Canada, chronicling her childhood in prewar Montreal and Newfoundland and her later years working and raising her family in several other provinces. This nostalgic compilation of family lore and memories hearkens back to an era she describes as when “things were simple and life was reverent,” but her tone never gets cloying or melancholy.
Kerr recounts the joys of winter sports outfitted in her Red River Coat and tasseled hat, throwing stink bombs at a gaggle of boys, and tucking into smoked meat sandwiches from Schwartz’s Deli. Canadian readers will smile knowingly as these tales unfold, and those unfamiliar with Canadian culture will learn a lot.
Studding the memoir like raisins in a Figgy Duff (see page 66) are recipes for twenty-eight traditional Quebecois, Acadian, and Anglo-Canadian foods. Kerr draws not only from her own culinary heritage (she is the product of a French-Canadian mother and a Newfoundland father of Irish descent) but from her years as the chefowner of La Corbeille, a fine dining restaurant in Bathurst. Her portraits of various ancestors, friends, and neighbors nicely introduce these delicious tidbits, and each finished dish is illustrated with one of the author’s elegantly composed color photographs. It is a mouthwatering tour of this geographically and culturally diverse country, from the molasses taffy and fried fiddleheads of the Maritimes to the hearty farmhouse fare of her grandmother-in-law’s Manitoba kitchen.
Kerr is a great ambassador for Canadian history and culture, but does not shy away from noting some negative aspects of the good old days, like the ethnic and religious prejudices that divided her old Montreal neighborhood or the sometimes harsh treatment she and her childhood friends received from the local Catholic priests and nuns. Her prose really shines when she describes celebrations with her family and friends. She masterfully evokes all the senses in her description of the rousing French-Canadian Christmas season, replete with the scent of spruce boughs, the sight of window candles flickering “like so much diamond dust,” and the pleasures of feasting and
caroling during the all-night party on Christmas Eve, le réveillon.
...This book is a charming account of a well-lived life and a sparkling introduction to Canadian culture."
-Foreword Clarion Reviews 5 Stars
"This book is a charming account of a well-lived life and a sparkling introduction to Canadian culture.
Before Sliced Bread is an extended love letter to Jeannette Kerr’s native Canada, chronicling her childhood in prewar Montreal and Newfoundland and her later years working and raising her family in several other provinces. This nostalgic compilation of family lore and memories hearkens back to an era she describes as when “things were simple and life was reverent,” but her tone never gets cloying or melancholy.
Kerr recounts the joys of winter sports outfitted in her Red River Coat and tasseled hat, throwing stink bombs at a gaggle of boys, and tucking into smoked meat sandwiches from Schwartz’s Deli. Canadian readers will smile knowingly as these tales unfold, and those unfamiliar with Canadian culture will learn a lot.
Studding the memoir like raisins in a Figgy Duff (see page 66) are recipes for twenty-eight traditional Quebecois, Acadian, and Anglo-Canadian foods. Kerr draws not only from her own culinary heritage (she is the product of a French-Canadian mother and a Newfoundland father of Irish descent) but from her years as the chefowner of La Corbeille, a fine dining restaurant in Bathurst. Her portraits of various ancestors, friends, and neighbors nicely introduce these delicious tidbits, and each finished dish is illustrated with one of the author’s elegantly composed color photographs. It is a mouthwatering tour of this geographically and culturally diverse country, from the molasses taffy and fried fiddleheads of the Maritimes to the hearty farmhouse fare of her grandmother-in-law’s Manitoba kitchen.
Kerr is a great ambassador for Canadian history and culture, but does not shy away from noting some negative aspects of the good old days, like the ethnic and religious prejudices that divided her old Montreal neighborhood or the sometimes harsh treatment she and her childhood friends received from the local Catholic priests and nuns. Her prose really shines when she describes celebrations with her family and friends. She masterfully evokes all the senses in her description of the rousing French-Canadian Christmas season, replete with the scent of spruce boughs, the sight of window candles flickering “like so much diamond dust,” and the pleasures of feasting and
caroling during the all-night party on Christmas Eve, le réveillon.
...This book is a charming account of a well-lived life and a sparkling introduction to Canadian culture."
-Foreword Clarion Reviews 5 Stars