What if the secret to a good cookbook goes through the family? By these dishes repeated many times over time, favorites that survive the fashions. This is at least the idea that germinated in the head of nutritionist Hélène Laurendeau and which blossomed into a 208-page collection entitled My kitchen.
At the end of the line, we immediately feel the smile in his voice. Hélène Laurendeau would never have thought one day of composing her own cookbook. This pandemic project, entirely cooked up and photographed in his chalet in Lanaudière, is the fault of his daughter Juliette Filion, who had played the archivist to please him a few years ago. It also appears, like a wink, on the cover page. This digital directory of the family’s favorite dishes had quickly captured the attention of relatives who were asking for a real paper version.
The result offers 90 recipes, from appetizer to dessert, interspersed with jams, marinades, sauces and accompaniments. Through family specialties and certain Quebec classics adapted to make them healthier, Hélène Laurendeau adds recipes from friends, inspiring chefs and dishes picked up during her many travels. “I didn’t want to do a coffee table book, but rather a useful book that will really serve, that will be stained, she enthuses. These are everyday recipes that I still make and my kids ask me when they’re home. Some come from people who are no longer there and it touches me a lot because it makes their memory alive. Like my mother-in-law of Ukrainian origin who taught us how to make blintzes, small pancakes stuffed with cottage cheese. Or even the torta caprese of Edda, of which I saw the original handwritten version. »
She indicates at the beginning of her book that “sharing a recipe is not a trivial gesture”. In this transmission, Hélène Laurendeau believes that we spread both pleasure, memories, culinary knowledge and, more than anything, we immortalize knowledge. It is with these notions in mind that she has therefore detailed each method of preparation and annotated each recipe. “I spent a lot of time thinking about how to explain as simply and completely as possible. Her talent as a popularizer, she probably owes it to her father, a surgeon who liked to explain his work to his curious children. “I found it remarkable. And I remember, when I graduated in nutrition, I challenged myself to take my knowledge and give it to as many people as possible. »
A great consumer of cookbooks, she was inspired, among others, by Patricia Wells and Daniel Pinard in writing recipes. “I wrote it with the intention of explaining enough, of being there in the kitchen with them. Like a little bird above their shoulder telling them: “Be careful, it might stick, stir well.” I want people to feel like they can do them at home. »
A kitchen for all
His concern for accessibility was also transposed into the production of the book. All the recipes were cooked with her family and friends on a modest coil stove without a hood, then photographed in the adjoining dining room. The realistic style of the images adds a touch of simplicity. “I wanted to portray real life in which humble foods have a prominent place. I wanted to demonstrate that eating well is possible for everyone. »
These are everyday recipes that I still make and my kids ask me when they’re home
The nutritionist hopes she will be able to rally people in the kitchen, especially children. “I find it important to involve them early, she breathes. It’s magic for them! We often hear that cooking is long, it’s tedious, but we rarely hear that it’s a moment of happiness, that it smells good in the house, that we share a moment with the children who come back from school. I am convinced that the kitchen serves to connect us to each other. »
More than anything, Hélène Laurendeau wants to inspire families to bring together their culinary heritage; these often jumbled recipes that define their roots and their history. “I’d like to tell them, ‘Go over there. It seems to be there, the solution to the pleasure of cooking.” »