Hall of Fame Award (Posthumous) | 2010

Celebrated broadcaster and cookbook writer Kate Aitken was a household name in Canada for much of the twentieth century. Affectionately known as “Mrs. A.,” her voice was often heard coming through the radio as she taught listeners how to cook and keep a home. Due to her expertise, she was hired by the federal and provincial Departments of Agriculture to provide instruction on canning, farming, cooking, and sewing. Kate Aitken’s Canadian Cookbook, first published in 1945, was a bestseller due to Aitken’s reputation and the breadth of information available in the book. Along with providing a variety of recipes, Aitken offered readers practical advice concerning nutrition, canning and preserving, and meal planning. Though published as the Second World War was concluding, Kate Aitken’s Canadian Cookbook helped women manage the limited food supply so they could continue preparing nutritious meals in the immediate postwar era.