My Canada Includes Foie Gras is Jacob Richler’s personal culinary journey, beginning at his mother’s dinner table, unfolding in the favourite restaurants of his father, Mordecai, and culminating in a two-decades-long career as a food columnist, restaurant critic, and cookbook writer.

Here Richler tells the story of Canadian cooking at its most accomplished, from fast food to haute cuisine. Along the way he profiles the dishes that form our national culinary identity and the chefs behind them—exploring their backgrounds and training, as well as what makes them tick, from the rare vantage point of a writer who’s always been welcome in their kitchen. Richler also examines the roots of our cuisine, speculates on the direction it’s headed, and attempts to gauge how it measures up internationally. And he does it all with a hands-on, personal approach, interspersing recipes that allow the reader to duplicate some rich part of the Canadian experience at home—whether it be Mark McEwan’s indispensable foie gras, Thomas Haas’s celebrated pineapple carpaccio, or the hitherto secret recipe for a smoked meat sandwich as served at Schwartz’s in its heyday. Finally, and perhaps most important, he undertakes this all with a sense of fun.

JACOB RICHLER writes regularly on food and other topics for Maclean’s and several other publications. He has won two National Magazine Awards. Richler is well-known for his food writing and for his books with Chef Susur Lee (Susur: A Culinary Life) and Mark McEwan (Great Food at Home and Mark McEwan’s Fabbrica).

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“My Canada Includes Foie Gras is a great addition to the Canadian gourmand library. Richler takes us on a passionate gastronomic journey across the country.” - Daniel Boulud, Restaurant Daniel, NYC

“Jacob Richler’s food-centric tales relate in rich detail a life full of adventure and belly-bloating joy. Through his patriotic curiosity and thoughtful research, we learn the intricacies of Canada’s flavourful but often overlooked culinary history. As a smoked meat deprived ex-pat, My Canada Includes Foie Gras made me long for the smells, sounds and tastes of my homeland.” - Gail Simmons, bestselling author of Talking with My Mouth Full

“Witnessed in Canada’s most accomplished kitchens—including Richler’s own—this is the gourmets’ gospel, last testament of the golden age of eating. Read it when you’re very, very hungry.” - James Chatto, award-winning food writer and restaurant critic

“A wonderful and highly personal account of what’s good to eat in Canada, where to find it and how to cook it. His tales of the gastronomic habits and eccentricities of the Richler family are fascinating. Richler knows and has worked with the top chefs in the country. He is highly knowledgeable, acutely discriminating, loves controversy and takes no prisoners. A must-read for all who care about what goes into their stomach.” - Sondra Gotlieb, journalist and award-winning novelist