Actor Rémy Girard & chef Christian Brion of Provigo prepare tasty treats

New cookbook published by the Montreal Children's Hospital

As part of the activities marking its 100th anniversary, the Montreal Children’s Hospital (MCH) of the McGill University Health Centre launched a new cookbook today entitled Lovin' from the Oven. All the proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the Children's. To mark the occasion, actor and Hospital spokesperson Rémy Girard teamed up with chef Christian Brion of Provigo-Loblaws to make two of the book's tasty treats in the Community Kitchen of the Angus Loblaws, 2925 Rachel Street East. The book contains hundreds of favourite recipes from the families of the Hospital's clinical laboratory technologists. In a chapter entitled "Feeding Kids: It's just as easy to do it right," parents are offered some simple nutrition tips.

Why a cookbook?

The book is an initiative of the Children's medical laboratory technologists, who were looking for a means to raise funds for educational projects in the clinical laboratories. "Having exchanged recipes among themselves for as long as they can remember, they had the idea of compiling the best of them into a cookbook which could be sold to benefit the Hospital and sustain continuing education for our technologists," explained Dr. Claire Dupont, coordinator and editor of the book. She concluded: "The 100th anniversary of the Hospital gave us the opportunity to create the book and to join in the celebrations of the first pediatric hospital in Quebec in our own special way."

Lovin' from the Oven devotes an entire chapter to helpful tips for parents on childhood nutrition, which was prepared by Dr. Richard Hamilton, professor of pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition at the McGill Faculty of Medicine and the Montreal Children's Hospital of the MUHC. This chapter addresses the issue of how to meet the nutritional needs of children for growth and development and establish healthy eating habits.

This project was made possible through the participation of Provigo Inc. and the help of sponsors Kraft, Natrel, Robin Hood Multifoods and Unilever, whose generosity will allow all the proceeds from the sale of the book to support the Children's. The Lovin' from the Oven cookbook is already available on the Foundation's Web site at www.childrenfoundation.com and at the Children's Boutique located on the 2nd floor B Wing of the Hospital, and will be on sale in Maxi & Cie and Loblaws stores shortly. The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation wishes to thank all the sponsors, as well as Provigo for their valuable collaboration.

This book is the first in a series of three which will be published during the centennial year of the Montreal Children's Hospital. The next, entitled One Hundred Years of Stories, will be launched within the next few weeks.

100 years of medical breakthroughs, hope and hugs

The Montreal Children's Hospital, founded on January 30, 1904, has been the site of many medical breakthroughs, including the invention of the first respirator in the world, the youngest heart transplant in Canada and the insertion of a mechanical heart to save the youngest patient on a transplant waiting list in North America.

"The Hospital has played a key role in the development of pediatric care in Quebec over the past 100 years. We are determined to continue in this role for the next 100 years," said Dr. Nicolas Steinmetz, Associate Executive Director of the Montreal Children's Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre.

The Montreal Children's Hospital is the pediatric teaching hospital of the McGill University Health Centre, and is a leader in the care and treatment of sick infants, children and adolescents from across Quebec. The Montreal Children's Hospital provides a broad range of high-level health care services, as well as ultra-specialized care in five areas of expertise: cardiology and cardiac surgery; neurology, traumatology and neurosurgery; genetic research; musculoskeletal conditions, including orthopedics and rheumatology; and psychiatry and child development. Fully bilingual and multicultural, the institution is serving an increasingly diverse community in more than 50 languages.

Note: Photos are available through the Canadian Press - Quebec