Gastronomie et... philosophie

Article by Mario Duliani entitled, "Gastronomie et... philosophie," which appeared in Points de Vue magazine in March 1959.

Duliani begins the article by stating that in Montreal one can eat at a number of restaurants that offer international cuisine. He says that eating at these restuarants is like touring the world, as the food often reflects the nature of the countries themselves. He then goes on to examine how various dishes found at these diverse restaurants reflect the people, landscape and psychology of their countries of origin. After describing the dishes, he provides his observations on various "characters" one can find dining at these restaurants. He end this section by stating that although he cannot guarantee that these definitions are strictly accurate, he is certain that they do offer a close appoximation of the truth. In the last section of his article Duliani speaks about the culinary art fair which took place last month. He then ends by providing four recipes for his readers. The recipes are for: Sauce aux anchois (Anchovy sauce), Rognons aux champignons (Kidneys with mushrooms), Perdreaux rôtis (Roasted partridges) and Huîtres à la saucisse (Oysters with sausage).

Mario Duliani a journalist and playwright. He was born in Italy in 1885 and moved to France in 1907 where he worked as foreign correspondent for  Il Messagerio of Rome and was the playwright of a number of French-language productions. Duliani came to Canada in 1936, having been sponsored by the editor of La Presse. Three months prior to his internment on June 10, 1940, he was employed as a theatre production manager for the French division of the Montreal Repertory Theatre. He spent three years in the internment camps. After his release he wrote a memoir of his internment experiences – the only published account by an Italian Canadian internee. The French La ville sans femmes was published in 1945, and the Italian Città senza donne appeared in 1946.