Hall of Fame Award (Posthumous) | 2019

In the early twentieth century, Jessie Read, born in the small town of Lucan, Ontario, worked as a food economist and wrote a culinary column in Toronto’s Evening Telegram newspaper called “Three Meals a Day.” Trained in the field of dietetics, Read’s column was quite popular with readers, inspiring the creation of a three-part cookbook of the same name. The first part of the series was published in 1934 and the other two parts were published in 1935 and 1938 respectively. These cookbooks helped Canadians prepare easy, budget-friendly meals during the trying times of the Great Depression. The chapter on budgeting, for example, provides advice on how to save money on a variety of housekeeping expenses. As the book’s title suggests, Read believed in the importance of three meals a day and advised readers on how to incorporate inexpensive ingredients. In 1936, she starred in the film Kitchen Talks, which pioneered a new way of sharing recipes with the world and enhanced her popularity among Canadian cooks.