As a publicity stunt to lure tourists, Alberta's Social Credit government staged a "national dish" contest, offered $1,000 in prizes. Contest rules called for a dish "distinctive to Alberta" which could be served by restaurants for not more than $1. Six thousand plain and fancy recipes (including one from a wag who suggested "grilled gophers fried in Turner Valley oil with Alberta gas over a mountain range") swamped contest headquarters. Last week in Edmonton, the judges selected a plain-sounding winner.
First prize$600 and a gold medalwent to pretty, rosy-cheeked Jessie Hazard Smith,...