Home Cook Book

The Home Cook Book of 1877 was Canada`s first fund-raising cookbook, the one that inspired an enduring tradition of community cookbooks. The fourth title in the Classic Canadian Cookbook Series celebrates the 125th anniversary of this nineteenth-century best-seller, which sold more than 100,000 copies. The tried, tested, and proven recipes run the gamut from oysters and omelettes to Lemon Pie, Strawberry Shortcake, and Champagne Cup. An introduction by culinary historian Elizabeth Driver tells the intriguing story behind this landmark cookbook, compiled by the ladies of Toronto and other Canadian cities and towns, for the benefit of the Hospital for Sick Children.

Elizabeth Driver is an editor and writer who has spent over twenty years researching the culinary history of Canada and Britain. She is fascinated by the history of food and an avid collector of cookbooks and antique kitchenware. Elizabeth lives with her husband and two children in Toronto, where she is the Foodways Program Officer at Mongomery's Inn museum. She demonstrates such historic techniques as cooking on an open hearth, returning home most days with the smell of wood smoke on her clothes.