What do you think?
Rate this book
Pantry and Palate: Remembering and Rediscovering Acadian Food
What is Acadian food? It is humble, homey, and comforting. It is made with love and devotion, from a larder that is small but mighty, and holds history within itself. And it is made to be eaten.
In Pantry and Palate, journalist Simon Thibault explores his Acadian roots by scouring old family recipes, ladies’ auxiliary cookbooks, and folk wisdom for 50 of the best-loved recipes of Acadians past and present. Recipes run the gamut, from the art of pickling beets to old-fashioned foodways such as rendering lard and cooking with head cheese, to Acadian staples like Classic French Canadian Tourtière and Seafood Chowder, and a delicious roster of desserts from Rhubarb Custard Pie to Acadian Panna Cotta.
Including essays celebrating the stories behind the recipes, a foreword by bestselling author Naomi Duguid (Taste of Persia), and photos by noted food photographer Noah Fecks (The Up South Cookbook), Pantry and Palate is magnifique from page to plate.
In Pantry and Palate, journalist Simon Thibault explores his Acadian roots by scouring old family recipes, ladies’ auxiliary cookbooks, and folk wisdom for 50 of the best-loved recipes of Acadians past and present. Recipes run the gamut, from the art of pickling beets to old-fashioned foodways such as rendering lard and cooking with head cheese, to Acadian staples like Classic French Canadian Tourtière and Seafood Chowder, and a delicious roster of desserts from Rhubarb Custard Pie to Acadian Panna Cotta.
Including essays celebrating the stories behind the recipes, a foreword by bestselling author Naomi Duguid (Taste of Persia), and photos by noted food photographer Noah Fecks (The Up South Cookbook), Pantry and Palate is magnifique from page to plate.
224 pages, Paperback
Published May 30, 2017
1 person is currently reading
83 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 12, 2017
This is beautiful cookbook that includes history of the Acadians as well as authentic dishes. They are a culture that bakes a lot and uses all parts of the animal. Coming from South Texas where cows heads are common in the grocery store, a recipe with a head in it doesn't really make me drop a beat. I would certainly buy this book as the recipes look delicious.
October 17, 2017
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
“I like to think that all reasons to cook are of equal value and are equally important to transmit.
That’s why this book is in your hands.”
I don’t often review cookbooks, but this one grabbed my attention. Mind you, I own plenty of cookbooks and family recipes, having lived overseas and being a shameless gourmand, many of my memories of each place begins with a favorite meal. I think this cookbook is fabulous. I learned about Acadian food but more importantly, I enjoyed recipes from Thibault’s own family and friends. I think fondly of recipes in my own family that has exchanged hands over the years, (mine is Hungarian) but it’s as important to our history as anything else. My husband’s family is of French-Canadian descent, and the Meat Pie recipe in this cookbook is similar to the one my father-in-law passed down to me. Potato Pancakes always makes my mouth water, my family has their version too, just made some last month. Did I mention the photos in this cookbook are beautiful? I’m starving right now, never review a cookbook when you’re hungry.
His stories are lovely, particularly the one about how he called his mom with cooking questions. I consider myself a decent cook, and I still asks my mother questions too. Mothers are the source, I guess. The recipes are written so that anyone can give it a go. Certainly comfort food, my favorite! I’ve started a garden this past year, so the canning section is a plus for me. Though I received this as an ARC, I intend on buying the book for my cookbook collection. The section about rendering pork fat takes me back to discussions with my own grandmother about lard and it’s importance in many recipes. Trust me, I’ve heard how our flour in America is just terrible compared to the flour she cooked with in Europe and how much of a difference in makes in the lightness of her pastries (cooking with our flour it’s too heavy for her liking).
Old recipes sometimes seem simple, but I have cooked complicated meals as much as the ‘easy ones’. Fancy doesn’t always win.
I enjoyed the stories Simon Thibault shared, food is an important bond in most cultures, and it’s funny to think you can get misty eyed over a cook book but there you go. Folklore, family history, delicious dishes from the Arcadian pantry. Darn I am craving meat pies now.
Available Now
Nimbus Publishing
“I like to think that all reasons to cook are of equal value and are equally important to transmit.
That’s why this book is in your hands.”
I don’t often review cookbooks, but this one grabbed my attention. Mind you, I own plenty of cookbooks and family recipes, having lived overseas and being a shameless gourmand, many of my memories of each place begins with a favorite meal. I think this cookbook is fabulous. I learned about Acadian food but more importantly, I enjoyed recipes from Thibault’s own family and friends. I think fondly of recipes in my own family that has exchanged hands over the years, (mine is Hungarian) but it’s as important to our history as anything else. My husband’s family is of French-Canadian descent, and the Meat Pie recipe in this cookbook is similar to the one my father-in-law passed down to me. Potato Pancakes always makes my mouth water, my family has their version too, just made some last month. Did I mention the photos in this cookbook are beautiful? I’m starving right now, never review a cookbook when you’re hungry.
His stories are lovely, particularly the one about how he called his mom with cooking questions. I consider myself a decent cook, and I still asks my mother questions too. Mothers are the source, I guess. The recipes are written so that anyone can give it a go. Certainly comfort food, my favorite! I’ve started a garden this past year, so the canning section is a plus for me. Though I received this as an ARC, I intend on buying the book for my cookbook collection. The section about rendering pork fat takes me back to discussions with my own grandmother about lard and it’s importance in many recipes. Trust me, I’ve heard how our flour in America is just terrible compared to the flour she cooked with in Europe and how much of a difference in makes in the lightness of her pastries (cooking with our flour it’s too heavy for her liking).
Old recipes sometimes seem simple, but I have cooked complicated meals as much as the ‘easy ones’. Fancy doesn’t always win.
I enjoyed the stories Simon Thibault shared, food is an important bond in most cultures, and it’s funny to think you can get misty eyed over a cook book but there you go. Folklore, family history, delicious dishes from the Arcadian pantry. Darn I am craving meat pies now.
Available Now
Nimbus Publishing
September 18, 2018
I made a longer blogpost that I will be publishing later but here are some of the observations // excerpt from that future post.
This won't end up being a book review so much as a bunch of notes to take away. Full disclosure: this is a friend of my partner's who wrote the book. It is an Acadian foodways cookbook. I would recommend it for anyone who likes those recipe books from churches but would like a professional eye and culling for only the best of the best.
This is definitely a foodways book. It is a helpful preservation and understanding of how a particular regional cooking style is rooted in the area. In this case, there is also a sense of history of how the dishes progressed. There is a history of a dish if you know how to read it. For me, it was a bit like stepping back into my childhood with recipes that may seem old fashioned but are really more about how one cooks with a less modern approach. There are techniques and food that have been tossed out because it isn't one that the consumer wants. All meat, no trimmings kind of thing.
This book stirred up a bunch of thoughts as the author worked towards taking the scraps of old recipes into modern recipes. Most older recipes are written with the idea that you have some ordinary skills. A lot of these skills are no longer common. Head cheese mentioned above had very little in the way of a recipe or what you do with the head you have. I guess nowadays, there is youtube and the Food Network.
I do recommend this for anyone who is trying to reclaim their family recipes. It covers off a good way to figure out how to read your family recipes. I must admit that a romantic notion of trying to understand the Kashubian recipes from Wilno came to my mind. I know that so many of the women there are getting on in age and that the young people are leaving without capturing that old fashioned way of eating and cooking. Maybe this is one way out of our odd way of food consumerism that has caused some issues?
This won't end up being a book review so much as a bunch of notes to take away. Full disclosure: this is a friend of my partner's who wrote the book. It is an Acadian foodways cookbook. I would recommend it for anyone who likes those recipe books from churches but would like a professional eye and culling for only the best of the best.
This is definitely a foodways book. It is a helpful preservation and understanding of how a particular regional cooking style is rooted in the area. In this case, there is also a sense of history of how the dishes progressed. There is a history of a dish if you know how to read it. For me, it was a bit like stepping back into my childhood with recipes that may seem old fashioned but are really more about how one cooks with a less modern approach. There are techniques and food that have been tossed out because it isn't one that the consumer wants. All meat, no trimmings kind of thing.
This book stirred up a bunch of thoughts as the author worked towards taking the scraps of old recipes into modern recipes. Most older recipes are written with the idea that you have some ordinary skills. A lot of these skills are no longer common. Head cheese mentioned above had very little in the way of a recipe or what you do with the head you have. I guess nowadays, there is youtube and the Food Network.
I do recommend this for anyone who is trying to reclaim their family recipes. It covers off a good way to figure out how to read your family recipes. I must admit that a romantic notion of trying to understand the Kashubian recipes from Wilno came to my mind. I know that so many of the women there are getting on in age and that the young people are leaving without capturing that old fashioned way of eating and cooking. Maybe this is one way out of our odd way of food consumerism that has caused some issues?
October 24, 2017
Before reading this book I was not aware of the specific cuisine and traditions of the Acadian communities in Canada. The term refers to the earliest European settlers in Canada and covers generally the areas of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Putting together the family traditions, the author created a special collection not only of recipes, but brought together an entire world with its own flavors and eating habits. 'So what is Acadian food? It's food that is humble homey, occasionally homely, and very comforting. It is made with love and devotion and from a larder that is small but mighty. It is made to be eaten'. A recommended read to anyone interesting in testing new recipes, but also discovering old forgotten cultures and the way in which they survived through food and family traditions. The visual part is also entincing, with beautiful photography which contributes to a better representation of the food stories.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
November 17, 2017
Read our author interview here: https://www.wanderingeducators.com/be...
Simon A. Thibault's new cookbook, Pantry and Palate: Remembering and Rediscovering Acadian Food combines the best of many worlds - of home cooks and family recipes; of cooking, with seasons, from a place; of history, both Acadian and culinary; and delicious, interesting recipes that bring the taste of home, family, history. Ever since we visited New Brunswick, I've been interested in Acadian history and the Acadian diaspora. This cookbook? It helps satisfy my quest to learn more about this facet of Canada's history.
In reading it, you'll learn about the culinary history of the Acadian foodways, of the truth of you are where you eat, many fascinating and delicious recipes, and, most likely, start to ask questions of your family cooks, look for recipe notebooks, and discover your own culinary heritage.
Simon A. Thibault's new cookbook, Pantry and Palate: Remembering and Rediscovering Acadian Food combines the best of many worlds - of home cooks and family recipes; of cooking, with seasons, from a place; of history, both Acadian and culinary; and delicious, interesting recipes that bring the taste of home, family, history. Ever since we visited New Brunswick, I've been interested in Acadian history and the Acadian diaspora. This cookbook? It helps satisfy my quest to learn more about this facet of Canada's history.
In reading it, you'll learn about the culinary history of the Acadian foodways, of the truth of you are where you eat, many fascinating and delicious recipes, and, most likely, start to ask questions of your family cooks, look for recipe notebooks, and discover your own culinary heritage.
April 18, 2021
In “Pantry and Palate: Remembering and Rediscovering Acadian Food,” Simon Thibault delves into his Acadian roots to produce this cookbook and teach us a little about his past history. Acadians are the descendants of French settlers who arrived in North America in the early 1600s and settled around the areas in Canada of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Recipes are mostly simple, using commonly found ingredients but also include such items as hog heads and such. The most fun part about this book can be found in the stories told, providing a short history behind a recipe, and the beautiful pictures of the completed dishes. The book in a sense, is captivating, drawing one into the time period and causing you to imagine what it must have been like. From the photographs of the food, you get the feeling of being down home.
September 29, 2017
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.
This book is part cookbook and part history lesson. It's fascinating to see regional dishes displayed in their own book. I think many home cooks have interesting stories surrounding their family recipes, and it's so neat to see Mr Thibault's. Although I would not attempt many of these recipes (mostly to do with needing to find hog heads) it's important to have them captured and preserved for future generations. An interesting and informative book!
This book is part cookbook and part history lesson. It's fascinating to see regional dishes displayed in their own book. I think many home cooks have interesting stories surrounding their family recipes, and it's so neat to see Mr Thibault's. Although I would not attempt many of these recipes (mostly to do with needing to find hog heads) it's important to have them captured and preserved for future generations. An interesting and informative book!
September 6, 2017
What a fun cookbook to use and have on hand in the kitchen. I really liked the layout and the use of the old handwritten recipes shown.
The recipes were well done, easy to follow and you will have most of the ingredients on hand. I like that in a cookbook.
Each recipe has a little history behind it and why it made the cut into the book. Pictures of most of the finished dishes and that is always a plus in a cookbook.
The recipes were well done, easy to follow and you will have most of the ingredients on hand. I like that in a cookbook.
Each recipe has a little history behind it and why it made the cut into the book. Pictures of most of the finished dishes and that is always a plus in a cookbook.
September 12, 2017
I loved the introduction to this book" It's hard to talk about food and not talk about family". I learned a lot about Acadians (first French settlers to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and PE Island), and Acadian food according to the author is "humble, homey, occasionally homely, and very comforting". It's not food that I'm immediately attracted to based on my own background (Caribbean), but it's a book full of great history, information, and different foods.
November 28, 2017
This book is not only a cookbook but a book of Acadian history, complete with translations and family stories. Whether you are looking for a favourite poutine recipe, molasses cake, doughnuts or dried apple cake, this book has it all.
Maple Whipped Cream is the most delicious in my opinion but many are contenders.
Beautiful pictures, wonderful stories and a look back in time at Acadian favourites including the steps for preserving a lot of food, it's a book your family will enjoy.
Maple Whipped Cream is the most delicious in my opinion but many are contenders.
Beautiful pictures, wonderful stories and a look back in time at Acadian favourites including the steps for preserving a lot of food, it's a book your family will enjoy.
January 5, 2018
It just happened that read two cookbooks in a row. Both this book (and 'Eat this poem') are so much more than just collection of recipes. Simon Thibault describes Acadian history, family anecdotes, and folk wisdom. The heart-warming stories then wrapped in the recipes of old fashioned food ways where nothing is wasted but prepared to dishes the family enjoyed.
September 19, 2017
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Showing its definite French roots, this is a heartfelt produced volume with so many Acadian-influenced dishes from Eastern Canada. Family recipes are offered, and all sound delicious, and also easy to make. Wonderful!
Showing its definite French roots, this is a heartfelt produced volume with so many Acadian-influenced dishes from Eastern Canada. Family recipes are offered, and all sound delicious, and also easy to make. Wonderful!
September 25, 2017
A beautiful cookbook that feels as much a history lesson as recipes. I wouldn't say the recipes are the most exciting just from the ingredients and complexity but they feel hearty and like a few may even become staples. Overall, a fun concept and definitely an enjoyable personal story.
October 14, 2017
This is an interesting and visually attractive recipe book where old family recipes go together with a historical and cultural view of Acadians.
August 10, 2021
amateur writing; reads like a personal diary about author’s family; some historical/educational info buried in long stories
May 12, 2025
See my review at https://canadiancookbooks.ca/pantry-a...
January 30, 2018
An excellent selection of recipes I myself have grown up with and recognize as authentic. Little disappointed there was no ploye recipe, but there was a great chapter on cooking and using a pig's head so it evens out. Couple of spelling mistakes, though.
September 22, 2017
This cookbook is a tribute to Acadian food and family. It makes the author's family history come alive.
Too often our female ancestors become lost, but their cooking is a way to memorialize their lives. The author honors his family by incorporating their handwritten recipes, photos, and family stories in such a loving and respectful manner.
This cookbook is also full of what any of us what to see in a great cookbook, gorgeous photos!
The practicality of the recipes would be useful for all levels of cooks. The family background and photos make this a great resource for Acadian genealogists, in fact for any genealogists who look for ways to honor their ancestors by writing about them.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing an ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Now I'm off to add this cookbook to my Christmas list!
Too often our female ancestors become lost, but their cooking is a way to memorialize their lives. The author honors his family by incorporating their handwritten recipes, photos, and family stories in such a loving and respectful manner.
This cookbook is also full of what any of us what to see in a great cookbook, gorgeous photos!
The practicality of the recipes would be useful for all levels of cooks. The family background and photos make this a great resource for Acadian genealogists, in fact for any genealogists who look for ways to honor their ancestors by writing about them.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing an ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Now I'm off to add this cookbook to my Christmas list!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews