Elora author offers flavourful glimpse into Atlantic Canada’s history
ELORA – Jan Feduck’s debut book, Dining Out With History, is a recipe book, travel guide, collection of short stories and historical textbook all rolled into one colourful and digestible package.
“I see history through food,” Feduck told the Advertiser, and the historical recipes in her book empower readers of all ages to bring history to life in a way they can explore with their senses.
It makes history accessible to everyone, because “everybody eats,” she said.
The book was inspired by Feduck’s love of historic sites across Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick.
“It’s my gift to the East Coast because I love it so much,” Feduck said.
Feduck lives in Elora but her roots take her over to the east coast, going back to the 1700s on both sides of her family, she said.
And she has spent a significant amount of time visiting historic sites in the eastern provinces, dressing up in historical costumes, taking educational courses, and tasting traditional foods.
Feduck has been working on the book for about 10 years, and inside is a description of the 20 historical sites she visited.
With each site description is information about its history, photographs, a recipe for a dish traditionally eaten there, and a fictional short story based on historical information that incorporates the dish and “brings the site to life,” Feduck said.
The recipes range from “four cent bread,” with just three simple ingredients: flour, baking powder and water, to “Viking soup,” which includes meat or fish and an assortment of foraged vegetables such as dandelion leaves, wild garlic and wild mustard.
The book was edited by Fergus-local Nancy Fischer, and was published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside.
The content was also vetted by officials at the historical sites, who Feduck said were “very helpful.”
Though this is Feduck’s first book, her writing has been published in the Toronto Star, Waterloo Region Record, Guelph Mercury, Trip Atlas, Avalon Magazine, Our Canada Magazine, Grand Magazine, E Bike Action and Geist, as well as on her blog at diningoutwithhistory.com.
Dining Out With History will be released on March 15 and available for purchase at Magic Pebble Books as well as online at Indigo.
