5 Canadian Cookbooks That Offer a Unique Sense of Place

For nearly 20 years, I’ve been entrenched in the world of cookbooks. As a chef I’ve cooked out of more than 2,000 of them (truly!), and since 2005 I’ve been the owner of Appetite for Books, a cookbook shop in Montreal. Even with all that, I still look forward to opening each new volume of dishes, storytelling, and photography to share in its recipes and flavors. 

For me, cookbooks are a snapshot in time of a country’s cuisine. Whether it be preserving historical dishes or capturing modern classics, cookbooks help us map places and their foodways. And that definitely applies to Canada, where the best cookbooks capture our vast and diverse landscape, cultures, and culinary practices as they evolve with First Nations ingredients, European traditions, and immigrant influences.

Every cookbook is a worthy investment, and these five distinctly Canadian cookbooks are great introductions to the diversity and terroir of the country, from the Caesar cocktail to poutine. Oh, and don’t forget the maple syrup.

Au Pied de Cochon Sugar Shack

By Martin Picard

There is no question that Quebec has the richest culinary history in all of Canada. And maple syrup, in all its glorious, sticky sweetness, is at the epicenter of it all. At Montreal chef Martin Picard’s temple of excess in Mirabel, Au Pied de Cochon Cabane à Sucre, maple syrup is the star. 

Every spring, when the sugar maple sap is running, Quebecers flock to the Cabane à Sucre to indulge in baked ham, oreilles de crisse (crispy pork fat), and sugar pie, all drowned in liquid gold.

Picard’s self-published Au Pied de Cochon Sugar Shack cookbook, which won the Cookbook of the Year at the Gourmand Awards in Paris in 2013, offers a mix of rustic country fare with refined dishes that celebrate Quebec’s rich food traditions. Although often elaborate, the recipes are a true representation of Quebecois cuisine in all its indulgent nature. (Note: This wonderful book can be hard to find, but used copies are worth tracking down on Amazon and other sites.)

True North: Canadian Cooking from Coast to Coast

By Derek Dammann and Chris Johns

Canadian terroir is as diverse as the people who live there. And nothing represents it more than True North. Chef Dammann’s career has been deeply rooted in using and highlighting seasonal and sustainable Canadian ingredients, like spot prawns from British Columbia and moose tongue from Newfoundland, and that knowledge drives this book’s broad reach.

Unlike most cookbooks, which organize their chapters by course (appetizers, salads, meats and fish, etc.), True North organizes by types of geography: Atlantic, forest, tundra, and farm, for example. This immediately immerses the reader in Canada’s dynamic terroir and its regional foodways. It’s a real journey.

Feast: Recipes & Stories from a Canadian Road Trip

By Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller

There is no better way to experience a country, in all its vastness, than on a road trip. And this is exactly what authors Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller did. It all started, in a very Canadian way, eating chips (probably ketchup flavor) on a fallen log in a rushing river, while camping in Squamish, British Columbia. 

Recipes like arctic char pipsi from Nunavut and bison sausage rolls, inspired by a visit to Gus Janke’s Maple Hill Bison Farm outside Edmonton, Alberta, are real highlights. But it’s the book’s short, love letter–like stories about locals, producers, and chefs that best showcase Canada’s food identity. 

Feast is a genuine celebration of Canadian food and culture, and the beauty of Canada’s landscapes, all seen from the front seats of a two-wheel-drive hatchback.

Tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine

By Shane M. Chartrand and Jennifer Cockrall-King

First Nation, Métis, and Inuit people make up around 5% of Canada’s population; speak more than 60 Indigenous languages; and live in cities, reservations, rainforests, polar deserts, and high plains. The peoples and traditions are as varied as the land itself. Yet, at the heart of it all, a respect for the land, the preservation of traditions, and a sense of welcoming and generosity are prevalent. 

In Cree, tawâw means something like, “Come in, you’re welcome, there’s room.” Chef Chartrand is inviting us into his proud traditions and personal stories of growing up Cree in Alberta, with its struggles and victories. Throughout Tawâw, he intertwines his connection to the land with culture and Indigenous identity.

Prairie: Seasonal, Farm-Fresh Recipes Celebrating the Canadian Prairies

By Dan Clapson and Twyla Campbell

The origins of Prairie lie in the Prairie Grid Dinner Series, created by the authors in 2017 to highlight and unify the diverse culinary scenes across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. With a heavy emphasis on locally sourced ingredients and preserving the region’s short growing season, Prairie brings that inspiration together into a collection of more than 100 recipes and tips from chefs and friends, including the authors’ own family favorites. 

Canada’s prairies — albeit famously flat with howling winds and long, bitter, cold winters — have a sense of resilience and pride. With haskap berries and honey to brighten you up in the summer and braised meats and root vegetables to warm you in the winter, Prairie is an ode to an often overlooked, yet very important, part of the Canadian food narrative.