SUMMER OF '67: NATIONAL FOOD CULTURE AT THE MONTREAL EXPO

A Muse Bouche | Jordan Fee

---

Recently, I have been mildly obsessed with the 1967 World’s Fair in Montreal, commonly known as Expo ’67. My father has spoken to me many times about his experience there as an 11-year-old child from Ashton, Ontario (to this day only has about 200 residents). If you have ever seen footage of this incredible event, then you can probably understand how such a thing could change the life of a person coming from the smallest of towns.

Signage for Expo '67 (Source)

Two months ago, I began an internship at an art gallery, where my supervisor told me about his experience there as a kid, just a few years younger than my father. It was remarkable to hear the similarities between their accounts, and to obtain more details about Expo ’67. One thing that he mentioned specifically was the film “A Place To Stand”, which was shown at the Ontario Pavilion. I went home that night to watch it, and I found it to be stunningly beautiful. I then discovered the set of coins that Canadian artist Alex Colville had produced for the centennial celebration, deepening my interest in the visual culture of this historic moment. 

Alex Colville's nickel, made for the centennial celebration. Photo courtesy of Jordan Fee

So it seemed that with each passing day, I was learning something new about Expo ’67. Little did I know that the best was to come, as it was just two days ago that I saw an official Expo ’67 guide for the first time. It had apparently been stored in a basement for a number of decades, and it definitely showed some wear. However, aside from the cover pages, much of the book was in decent shape, and so I obtained a deeper glimpse into the rabbit hole. Of course, being someone interested in food, I turned straight to page 206, to the section titled “Restaurants”. 

The official Expo '67 guidebook. Photo courtesy of Jordan Fee

The introductory page for this section is expectedly cosmopolitan in tone, citing a number of cooking traditions, from the U.S.S.R to “La Belle France”. The grounds were constructed as a series of four sections - Cité de Havre, Ile Sainte-Hélène, Ile Notre-Dame and La Ronde – each of which provided a distinct visitor experience.

One could spend the day wining and dining in a number of different countries, from Austria to Norway, Germany, Trinidad and the Polynesian Islands. Astoundingly enough, each of these countries brought their food heritage to Montreal for visitors to consume. Even though some aspects of these dining experiences were quite stereotypical by today’s standards, it is apparent in this guidebook that the spirit of Expo '67 was one of hopeful optimism.

Strangely enough, some of the most intriguing aspects of food culture at Expo '67 were those which came from within the country. In the Canadian pavilion, one could find a restaurant called “La Toundra”, which was meant to be representative – in terms of food and décor – of life in Northern Canada. Two Inuit artists, Elijah Pudlat and Kumukuluk Saggiak, were invited to Expo '67 to paint a mural for the interior of this restaurant, depicting common activities in the north. Another restaurant, simply called “The Buffet” could also be found within the Canadian Pavilion, but it is ultimately La Toudra which offers the most interesting information about the perception of Canadian food culture at this time. Although much is known about the major world’s fairs – like London’s Great Exhibition of 1851 – an oft forgotten aspect of these events is the ways in which they shaped food culture for the participating nations.

The Canadian Pavillion (Source)

In the section of the guidebook that discusses restaurants, the reader is assured that the food consumed at Expo '67 would be uniquely representative of its country of origin. Authenticity was considered to be crucial, as it tends to be today amongst food lovers. However, there was evidently a strong sense of exoticism associated with trying these different delicacies, which selectively othered certain cooking traditions. 

The introductory page for the "Restaurant" section of the guidebook. Photo courtesy of Jordan Fee.

Rhona Richmond Kenneally, professor of design and computation arts at Concordia university, has written a fantastic analysis of the food culture at Expo '67, highlighting how national food culture was shaped through the design and structure of restaurants like La Toundra. Noting just how ambiguous the offerings were when it came to specialty dishes, Kenneally remarks that the distinctions made between Canadian, International and “Tundra” cuisines were extremely arbitrary in nature, and that the supposed origins of some of the dishes were simply wrong. One could find buffalo meat in the tundra section of the menu, but the grasses needed to sustain buffalo could not be found in such a region. Thus, the Canadian food identity established at Expo ’67 was in many ways unclear and problematic, using the flare of the exotic to promote Canada as a uniquely modern destination.

Therefore, like other world’s fairs, Expo ’67 still fell prey to the allure of nationalism, and colonialism as well. Although it seems that the festival was characterized by a sense of inclusion, it nevertheless revealed some issues at the heart of Canadian culture, namely: what does it mean to be Canadian, when this is in fact not our land? This is still a relevant question today, especially as we continue to learn more about the indigenous cultures that thrived here long before we did. 

Overview of the Canadian and Ontario Pavilions (Source)

Nevertheless, I must say that I am still very interested in what it must have been like to spend a day at this momentous event. I can only imagine what a hot summer day would have looked like there, in all of the fashion and fervour of the 1960’s. If you want to know more about what would have been happening there in the summer of '67, check out this CBC radio broadcast about some of the popular exhibits found there. It should be noted that this program aired on July 7th, 1967 - 52 years ago, almost to the day! I hope that some of you become just as interested in this piece of Canadian heritage as I am.