“Steak, Blé d’Inde, Patates”: Eating National Identity in Late Twentieth-Century Québec

Abstract

This paper explores the connections between pâte chinois and Quebec national identity during the second half of the twentieth century. The respective French, British, and Native roots of the ingredients are highlighted and discussed, with a particular emphasis on socioeconomic and cultural terms that also extends to the analysis of the historical preparation of the layered meal, more akin to “daily survival” than to gastronomy. Special attention is also given to the significance of the dish’s origin myths, as well as to cultural references on a popular television series. Those origin myths are separated along the French/English divide, thus evoking the often-tempestuous relationship between these two languages and their speakers in Quebec. The progression of the discourse surrounding pâte chinois , from a leftover dish prior to the rise of nationalism in the ’70s, to a media darling in the decade following the 1995 referendum, corresponds with efforts to define and then to redefine Quebecois identity. The history of the dish tells the tumultuous history of the people of Quebec, their quest for a unique identity, and the ambiguous relationship they have with language. Pâte chinois became a symbol, reminding French Canadians of Quebec daily of their Quebecois identity .