Françoise Kayler (? in Bois-Colombes, a suburb of Paris, France – 24 April 2010, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada)[1] was a journalist and food critic. She wrote for La Presse for more than forty years[2] and was the most-prominent culinary critic of Quebec.[3]

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Biography

In 1951 Kayler married Jean Vaillancourt, a Québécoise journalist at La Presse. When he died ten years later, Kayler gained employment with the same newspaper.[2] In 1964 she began creating a page on food. Initially, this involved food in general, involving recipes and reports on agriculture. After a few years she started writing culinary reviews. She helped to promote a culture of good eating. Her reviews sometimes brought death threats, and to preserve her anonymity she wore a wig and faced away from the camera for television interviews.[2] Kayler became the most prominent culinary and gastronomic critic of Quebec.[3]

After retirement, Kayler continued writing about food in the blog Gastronote. She sat on a number of committees to promote local restaurateurs, producers and regional products.[3] Kayler died in her sleep at the age of 80. In March 2011 the Quebec Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (ITHQ) inaugurated a room in her honour. The foundation of the ITHQ awards a Françoise Kayler scholarship[4] for cooking and sommelier students.[2]

References