Pierre Berton's plea for real food
Broadcast Date: May 11, 1967
Three of Pierre Berton's great passions in life – Canada, food, and his wife, Janet – come together in 1967's The Centennial Food Guide. The book, co-authored by husband and wife, is a tribute to a century of good eating in Canada and a testament to the couple's own tastes. In this segment from CBC-TV's Telescope, Pierre condemns artificial food (reserving special disdain for instant coffee) and Janet explains how nothing ever goes to waste in the Berton household.Pierre Berton's plea for real food
• The Centennial Food Guide was one of three books Pierre Berton produced in a series of illustrated books published to mark Canada's 100th anniversary. The others were Great Canadians and Remember Yesterday. He would go on to chronicle the Centennial year in his book 1967: The Last Good Year.• Research and testing of the book's 128 recipes was extensive. "For an entire winter, we ate not like kings but like early Canadians," Berton wrote in his autobiography, My Times. "After about the 50th meal, one of the children whose favourite dish was Kraft Dinner asked plaintively, 'Hey, Mom? When are we going back to eating normal?'"
• Among its 180-odd recipes, The Centennial Food Guide explains "How to Make Instant Coffee Taste Almost Palatable." The key is in mixing it with a cup of hot milk instead of water.
• In 1963 Berton began hosting The Pierre Berton Show, an independent production that aired on six TV stations at the beginning and 22 by the time it ended in 1973.
Pierre Berton's plea for real food
Medium: Television
Program: Telescope
Broadcast Date: May 11, 1967
Host: Pierre Berton, Janet Berton
Duration: 5:21
Last updated:
April 22, 2009
Pierre Berton's plea for real food.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: April 22, 2009.
[Page consulted on Feb. 13, 2012.]