Broncons Royal Jersey - History
Construction of a Chinese camp, Kamloops B.C.
Chinese workers were employed in the 1800s by Chinese labour
Broncons Royal Jersey contractors during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway linking Montreal with Vancouver. Many of those
Broncons Royal Jersey workers who stayed once the railway was completed resorted to opening small inexpensive restaurants or working as cooks in mining and logging camps, canneries, and in the houses of the upper classes in cities and towns. They prepared variations on traditional Cantonese food that were well-received by local patrons and they were prized as cooks in wealthier households. This occurred despite the fact that few if any of them were trained chefs. In most small towns in Western Canada, the Chinese af was the first restaurant established, and often the only one. People did not buy the food of their own ethnic group, since they could prepare those themselves, whereas Chinese food was a novelty. Furthermore, the Chinese community was not heavily involved
Broncons Royal Jersey in agriculture, so this presented an opportunity for an alternative source of income. Consequently the Chinese community specialized in the restaurant business, and were able to undercut and out compete later rivals. Even today in many towns and hamlets across the prairie provinces and in northern British Columbia, there can usually be found a Chinese caf regardless of the community's size, serving "Canadian and Chinese cuisine" or, once more common, "Chinese and Western Food". In Glendon, Alberta, for example, next to a roadside model of the world's largest perogy (a staple of Ukrainian cuisine), sits the Perogy Caf, which serves "Ukrainian and Chinese Perogies" (meaning Pot Stickers). This establishment is actually owned by a Vietnamese family.
In British Columbia, a form of buffet known as the Chinese smorgasbord developed in pre-railway Gastown (the settlement that became Vancouver) when Scandinavian loggers and millworkers encouraged their Chinese cooks to turn a sideboard into a steamtable instead of bringing plates of single dishes to the dining table. Following the introduction of the automobile and the invention of the drive-in restaurant (by another Vancouver restaurateur: see White Spot), Chinese take-out service was augmented by Chinese drive-ins, including the now-vanished Dragon Inn chain, which was also known for its smorgasbord.
In Vancouver and Victoria, the more authentic Chinese restaurants were largely found in those cities' Chinatowns, but Chinese food became a staple of city as well as small-town life and became a normal part of the local culture. Many British Columbians for example, grew up using chopsticks as well as knives and forks. Certain Chinese-Canadian recipes became current in non-Chinese households by the mid-20th Century (e.g. chow mein, sweet and sour pork, chop suey, egg foo yung).
Further Cantonese immigration to Canada began anew in the 1960s, and was ignited in the 1980s in anticipation of China's administrative take-over of Hong Kong. This resulted in many Hong Kong families relocating to Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and above-all Canada. This preference for Canada was due to its immigration policy, a high-standard of living, established Chinese community, and its membership in the Commonwealth. Today Chinese Canadian citizens are the largest visible minority group in Canada, and Chinatowns are in every major Canadian city, with those in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal being the largest.
