Hall of Fame Award (Posthumous) | 2020

Known as the queen of kosher cuisine, Norene Gilletz’s Jewish heritage played a substantial role in her career as a cookbook author, food writer, and teacher. Born and raised in Winnipeg, at the age of nineteen Gilletz moved to Montreal to take an office job. She learned to cook as a young bride and inadvertently became an authority on the subject after joining a local B’nai Brith chapter that was compiling the iconic Second Helpings, Please! (1968). After Gilletz opened a home-based cooking school and kitchenware store, she began selling food processors. To help cooks use the new appliance, Gilletz wrote The Pleasures of Your Processor in 1979. Her annotated 1982 edition, shown here, was well-used as evidenced by the hand-written recipe alterations and food stains. This version and other books from her personal collection were donated to Archival & Special Collections in 2019 (2019-026). Gilletz will be remembered for her ability to connect with audiences through her cookbooks and recipes, which continue to be mainstays in many kitchens around the world.

Gilletz, Norene. The Pleasures of Your Processor: A Collection of More Than 700 Delicious Recipes and Hundreds of Practical Hints to Help You Fully Enjoy. Revised Edition. Montreal: n.p., 1982. Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph Library (s0007b21 Norene Gilletz Collection).