VALERIE SOVRAN MITCHELL IS a lover of Italian food and culture whose cooking has been enjoyed by friends, family and the many patrons of the neighbourhood cafe she established in Victoria, British Columbia. Her lasagna was recently chosen as one of the recipes to be featured in The Great Canadian Feast, an acclaimed cookbook published by Canadian Geographic magazine celebrating family traditions from Canadian kitchens.

Valerie grew up in Trail, a small town in the mountainous interior of British Columbia reknowned for its vibrant Italian culture and strong sense of community. Valerie’s Nonna Sofia and Papa Poscente immigrated to Trail from Antrodoco, Italy in 1920 and raised a family of five children on Papa’s modest wages as a labourer at the Cominco smelter. All hallways in Nonna’s and Papa’s home led to the kitchen, where successive generations learned from Nonna the techniques for making the traditional dishes she learned growing up in Italy. In Polenta on the Board, Valerie preserves these traditions with delightful stories, easy-to-follow recipes and captivating photographs any reader will enjoy.

The Foreword for Polenta is written by Star Weiss Fuoco, author, editor and TV cooking show host. A writer on the subject of the Slow Food movement, Star notes the relevance of Polenta on the Board to this movement, which originated in Italy.

Miriam MacPhail, a graphic designer respected for her creativity, effective use of illustrations and easy-to-read layouts, has created a visually appealing landscape-style text design, complemented by black-and-white as well as colour photos. The cover, also designed by MacPhail, is a celebration of rich golden polenta, sumptuous red tomatoes and vibrant green herbs against a backdrop of a textured black image of Nonna’s original little black recipe book.

Editor Lindsay Sovran Mitchell has paid meticulous attention to detail and accuracy in the listing and measurement of ingredients and the clarity of instructions. Stories flow with well-edited prose.

The book was perfect-bound and printed by Morriss Printing Co.Ltd.



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