A Canadian Keepsake

What’s in a menu?

In 1941, the Canadian National Railway Company and the Canadian Pacific Railway distributed a Table d’Hote menu for its customers. The menu features simple meals. Steak, potatoes, pea soup, and corn on the cob are just some examples of a meal that offered multiple options at various price tiers, and the menu is book-ended with a high quality colour photo of a Mountie on the front, with a brief history of the RCMP on the back. It is not just a menu, but a souvenir of what was hopefully a special journey across Canada.

A Multicultural Precursor

The intricately designed bilingual menu. The Mary Williamson Culinary Collection, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.

The first thing I noticed about the menu were staples: coffee, tea, buttermilk, and hot chocolate. In fact, Quebec in particular “prized” a warm chocolate brew, and “chocolate’s earliest connection to Canada can be found in the journals of Samuel de Champlain.”[1] Even in its simplicity, the menu represents Canada as a settler colony from diverse European backgrounds.

Why the Mounties?

The proud and mysterious Mountie. The Mary Williamson Culinary Collection, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.

As much as I enjoyed reading the menu and imaging myself on that train, I think the most interesting parts of the menu have nothing to do with food. In the front photo, a Mountie sits atop his horse on rugged terrain, solemnly staring beyond the frame, with only the sky behind him. Underneath the caption is a simple label: The “Mountie”.

The back explains the history of the RCMP and how they came to symbolize “law, order, [and] justice to Canadians, native born or immigrant.”[2] As a Canadian with both European and Indigenous ancestry, it fascinates and horrifies me that there is no trace of irony in that statement, especially when it claims that the Mounties were originally assembled “to handle Indian unrest and protect settlers in the North-West Territories.”[3]

I also wondered why the Mounties were prominently featured in the first place. Then I noticed that the menu came in an envelope addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Rankin in North Carolina. Maybe friends or relatives of the Rankins traveled on the CPR and sent them the menu as a souvenir? I’d have kept it; it’s beautifully designed with a high production value, especially considering that it was printed in wartime. It’s also printed right on the official envelope that it was a memento of a trip across Canada with “scenic grandeur and unsurpassed service”.[4] I don’t know if the CPR was able to deliver on that promise, but this piece of ephemera is a snapshot of the hopes and dreams of a young, struggling nation. I think the CPR wanted the menu to be distinctly Canadian, but they weren’t sure what that really meant. It’s a question of national identity that we still struggle with. We’ve come a long way, but our journey is far from over.

BIO

Katie Paolozza is a first year Museum Studies student with an abiding love of food and food culture. She graduated with distinction from the University of Toronto in 2016 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in English and History. She is fascinated with ephemera and material culture, and hopes to work in collections management when she obtains her Masters. When she isn’t studying, Katie likes to read, write, and over-analyze her favourite movies.

[1] Macpherson, 79, 84.

[2] CPR/CNR (1941) Table d’Hote Menu. Mary Williamson Culinary Collection, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto.

[3] CPR/CNR (1941) Table d’Hote Menu. Mary Williamson Culinary Collection, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto.

[4] CPR/CNR (1941) Table d’Hote Menu. Mary Williamson Culinary Collection, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto.