Irene Maillet-Belley as Dorine with a photo of author View from the observation tower at Pays de la Sagouine.
After taking in a short performance that finishes with a catchy, traditional Acadian song, I follow a boardwalk that meanders gracefully across the river to a tiny island. There, I wander in and out of colourful, almost cartoonish buildings reminiscent of traditional Acadian homes. Actors and interpreters in period costume tell stories, sing, dance and play music, all in the roles of Maillet characters like Thaddée, Walkalone and Dorine. Irene Maillet-Belley, in the role of the fiery Dorine, offers me a sample of poutine râpée —the traditional Acadian potato dumpling stuffed with pork. She tells me the dish is nicknamed nun’s farts. I have a good laugh, but Dorine goes on to explain the historic roots and importance of Acadian foods. “When we came back after the expulsion, they wanted our fertile land,” she says, referring to le Grand Dérangement or deportation of the Acadians by British forces in the period 1755 to 1763. “They gave us rocky and sandy land along the shoreline. That’s why we became fishermen. Potatoes grow well there. That’s why potatoes are a big part of our traditional food.” From scarcity, generosity is born. “That’s the Acadian way,” she says. “If you come over to my parents’ house, they would say, ‘Make yourself at home. Serve yourself. Go to the fridge. If there’s anything there you like, just take it.’” Samples of other traditional dishes are passed around, such as slices of rappie pie (another potato-based Acadian favourite), served with a puddle of molasses for dipping. I’m reminded of the other rib-sticking comfort foods I’ve seen on menus all along this coast such as crêpes râpée and
tartes aux coques or clam pie. Except for the clams, wild meats such as venison, moose and rabbit have been replaced in traditional dishes by pork and chicken. Slipping out of character just for a moment, Maillet-Belley reflects on the importance of Dorine and all the other characters who come to life in the park. “Just working here for 22 years, representing l’Acadie around the world, is the most important thing to me. I am an Acadian in my heart and in my blood; proud of who I am.” As Dorine, she’s had the opportunity to share that pride with thousands who visit the park every year—more than 1.5 million since it opened in 1992. Some of these encounters have led to moments of fame for Maillet-Belley as Dorine. She’s played spoons with Camilla Bowles when she and Prince Charles visited New Brunswick, and she’s taught members of the Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins how to eat lobster the Acadian way. For her work, author Antonine Maillet has won major awards at home and abroad, including two Governor General’s Awards, the Order of Canada, and in 1979 the Prix Goncourt, France’s literary award for “the best and most imaginative prose work of the year.” She was the first non-European recipient. These accolades are all the more astonishing for the types of characters she created and for her subject matter— previously neglected working-class Acadian culture and history. As a fitting end to my Acadian tasting experience, Dorine hands around shots of la flacatoune bagosse. It’s the legal version of traditional Acadian moonshine made
Antonine Maillet.
with a blend of lemon rum, apple juice and vanilla syrup, but it goes down easy. The original was a drink flavoured with wild berries and made of—what else— fermented potatoes.
Acadian Molasses Cake by Irene Maillet-Belley, an actor at Pays de la Sagouine, who says “Acadians always drank tea, not coffee, and when there was leftover tea, we could not afford to throw it out, so we used it in recipes like this.” In a bowl, mix together 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs ½ cup butter (or margarine) ½ cup molasses In another bowl, mix together 2 cups flour 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ginger 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp allspice 1 cup hot black tea Cream sugar, molasses and butter. Mix in eggs and set aside. Mix dry ingredients. Blend sugar mixture, flour mixture and tea, alternating one third at the time, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Pour in a greased loaf pan and cook in a 350°F degree oven for one hour.
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