Documentary of the week | Quebec on the plate

From our grandmothers’ cuisine to new star chefs, including Expo 67, there’s no doubt that Quebec cuisine has undergone quite a revolution in just a few generations. A new TV series takes stock, in the company of several big names in our gastronomy.

For those who are still wondering whether Quebec gastronomy really exists, know that the avowed aim of Steak, corn, potatoespresented from Friday on Historia, is sure to convince you that yes. Produced by Zone 3 and hosted with wit and many puns by Jonathan Roberge, the series of 10 episodes of 30 minutes revisits here the history of the emancipation of our plate, and, by the way, our history in general.

Think archive footage, excerpts from period programs, all joyfully commented by various personalities, experts, even historians. Let us mention Jean-Paul Grappe, Liza Frulla, Janette Bertrand, Hugue Dufour, Sister Angèle, Louis-François Marcotte, Bob le Chef, Lysanne O’Bomsawin, Anne Desjardins, Daniel Vézina, Simon Mathys, Colombe St-Pierre, Stelio Perombelon and Lesley Chesterman.

Nostalgia is there, as we will have understood. And gluttony and creativity too.

“It’s a subject that touches me personally, I cooked so much with my mother, my grandmother, it’s in my DNA,” comments director Émilie Ricard-Harvey.

The idea is to see the history of Quebec through different lenses.

Émilie Ricard-Harvey, director of the series

It should be noted that she relied here on the research of Priscilla Plamondon Lalancette, who did a doctorate on the subject. The journalist and researcher also appears in various episodes as an analyst, notably in the very first one, which launches the series with a bang, with Expo 67.

Informative and entertaining

Gathered around a table in a bright yellow period kitchen (found in a presbytery, the director says), Liza Frulla, general director of ITHQ, and Jean-Paul Grappe, chef and professor emeritus, dissect this “thermal shock” and especially gastronomic shock caused by the Expo. We learn all sorts of amusing anecdotes, including that special authorization was required to serve sausage (charcuterie was banned from importation at the time), that horse meat also caused quite a headache (banned by the Church) and that women were finally able to sip draft beer (until then only offered in taverns, therefore to men), and this, in complete freedom. Oh yes, and that Liza Frulla was selling entrance tickets there at the time!

Each episode (we had the opportunity to watch three) is also constructed in the same way, with choice guests around a table, in a discussion hosted by Jonathan Roberge, punctuated by varied extracts and analyses from various experts.

It is concise, but dense, informative and entertaining, and above all rhythmic. We fervently hope that this rhythm will not run out of steam over the weeks.

We had the good idea of ​​bringing together speakers from different generations, including Sister Angèle and Louis-François Marcotte to discuss television, or Janette Bertrand and Hugue Dufour to discuss our grandmothers’ cooking, which gives rise to engaging discussions, and above all an interesting perspective. And then you have to hear Sister Angèle exclaim: “Good God, mercy!” in front of an excerpt from a period show. Or Janette Bertrand emphasize: “They say the good old days, but they weren’t the good old days!” when talking about our grandmothers, who spent their entire days in the kitchen.

In the coming weeks, the series will also address the issue of cooking education, the impact of industrialization, the rebellion of Quebec chefs, the history of recipe books, the evolution of fast food (with a Quebec twist) and the contribution of major waves of immigration.

“We could have made a whole season with this episode,” says the director, who does not hide her desire to offer a second season. It must be said that two big names are also conspicuous by their absence, namely Martin Picard and Normand Laprise, due to scheduling issues, we are told. “And we still have plenty of things to explore,” she adds: our holiday traditions, the seasons and their traditions, food festivals, etc.” Stay tuned!

Steak, corn, potatoes is broadcast on Historia from September 27 at 9 p.m.