Background
Margo Oliver was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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Margo Oliver
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Education
University of Minnesota.
Career
After a brief stint as a legal secretary, in 1950 she earned an undergraduate degree in home economics from the University of Manitoba, followed by a year of graduate work at the University of Minnesota. She then worked for General Mills in Minneapolis. She became Canada"s first "Betty Crocker" after General Mills expanded its operations into Canada.
As "Betty Crocker", she spent four years traveling throughout Canada, appearing on radio and television, speaking to groups and giving cooking demonstrations.
She joined the staff of the (now defunct) Montreal Standard newspaper in 1959 as food editor of the weekend newspaper supplement, "Weekend Magazine", and its successor "Today", until 1982 when "Today" ceased publication. At her behest, the Standard built a proper test kitchen for her where she tested recipes for her columns in "Weekend Magazine" and "Today".
In 1993, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Ontario Home Economists in Business (OHEIB). Oliver died in Fergus, Ontario.
In English
During her time at "Weekend Magazine" and "Today", Margo Oliver published approximately 10,000 recipes in the two, as well as five cookbooks plus several more ephemeral publications.
(Many of the recipes originally published in "Weekend Magazine" and "Today" reappeared in these cookbooks) Later, she published a further three cookbooks. Weekend Magazine Cookbook, Montreal Standard Publishing (Montreal), 1967
softcover reprint, Totem (Don Mills, Ontario), 1977,
Weekend Magazine Menu Cookbook, Montreal Standard Publishing (Montreal), 1972,
softcover reprint, Optimum Publishing (Montreal), 1989,
Stew and Casserole Cookbook, Optimum Publishing (Montreal), 1975,
Most Treasured Recipes, Optimum Publishing (Montreal), 1977, Online Computer Library Center 15829534
Great Entertainers, Health and Welfare Canada (Ottawa), 1980
reprinted, Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (Edmonton, Alberta), 1991,
Postdoctoral fellows on web at
Weekend Magazine Cooking School, Weekend Magazine (Montreal?), 1981
Twenty Lessons About Basic Cooking and Baking Techniques
Twenty-eight Additional Lessons About Basic Cooking and Baking Techniques
Cooking for Today, Today Magazine Incorporated (Toronto), 1982,
Cookbook for Seniors, International Self-Counsel Press (North Vancouver, British Columbia), 1989,
Good Food for One, International Self-Counsel Press (North Vancouver, British Columbia), 1990,
Classical Canadian Recipes, Optimum Publishing (Montreal), 1993. This was also printed as
Classical American Recipes, Great Pond Publishing (Stowe, Vermont), 1993, and
The Good Food Cookbook, Tormont Publishing (Montreal), 1993, (a shortened version)
In French
Several of Margo Oliver"s cookbooks also appeared in French:
Perspectives Les Menus, Montreal Standard Publishing (Montréal), 1972,
Cuisine Pour Tous Les Jours, Editions Optimum Limitée (Montréal), 1975,
Louisiana Bonne Cuisine, HB & Cie Editeurs (Montréal), 1992.
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Born
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Died
June 4, 2010 (aged 87)