“Treats from a Belgian Cook”: Food, Gender, and Ethnicity in the Canadian Tobacco Grower, 1960s–1970s

Abstract

In the 1960s and 1970s, tobacco became an important agricultural commodity in Canada due to global demand for tobacco products. In regions like Norfolk County, the heart of Ontario’s “tobacco belt,” many families growing tobacco were first-generation European immigrants who were drawn to its profitability. During harvest, it was commonplace for farm wives to provide homecooked meals to seasonal agricultural labourers, and farms known to serve good meals attracted reliable workers. To assist cooks with this mammoth chore, a monthly column in the Canadian Tobacco Grower magazine offered recipes and tips. Drawing on these columns, this article examines how harvest meals not only contributed to a farm’s financial success but also allowed women to preserve their ethnic identities and maintain traditional foodways. In the ongoing scholarship around gender, immigration, and food in the post-war period, this study contributes an important rural and agricultural dimension.