Sister Angèle

Childhood

Angiola Rizzardo was the seventh of nine children, growing up in a harmonious family of mountain farmers. During the German occupation of her village, she survived two attempts on her life, miracles that she attributes to the Madonna del Covolo. (See also Second World War.)

To help her family, she worked from 1950 to 1955 at the Bramezza inn close to her home, where she learned to cook.

On 12 October 1955, at the age of 17, she left for Montreal to help her sister Maria, who was expecting her fourth child. When she arrived in Montreal, a good Samaritan told her that the Sœurs du Bon-Conseil were organizing suppers for newcomers. She went there and ended up volunteering. It was likely at this time that her religious vocation first took shape. She began by working for five years in the kitchen of the Embassy of Italy in Montreal, where she learned French from the French wife of the Italian delegate. (See also Italian Canadians.)

Religious Life

Angiola Rizzardo took her first vows on 8 September 1960 and became Sister Angèle. She was responsible for cooking for 200 people at the Dorchester House of the Sœurs du Bon-Conseil. In 1967, at the instigation of Vatican II, she swapped her uniform for civilian clothes. (See also Catholicism in Canada.)

Education

Sister Angèle studied at the Institut familial et social des Sœurs du Bon-Conseil.

In 1971, at the age of 33, she obtained a teaching certificate in food and culinary arts from the Quebec Ministry of Education.

From 1975 to 1980, she took courses in professional cooking, baking and pastry at the Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ).

Career

Teacher

Sister Angèle taught professional cooking, bakery and pastry at the ITHQ from 1975 to 1991. She also trained chefs around the world, including Egypt, Morocco and Cuba.

Artist and Culinary Host

Sister Angèle first ventured into the world of communications thanks to the director of the ITHQ, who asked her to represent the Institute on Allô Boubou, a variety show, as a last-minute replacement for a French chef who could not appear. She won over the show’s host, Jacques Boulanger, with her quick wit, her humor, the songs she hummed while cooking, including O sole mio. During this show, he allowed her to exceed the time allotted so that she could finish her lasagna recipe. Her ease on television stemmed from the feeling that she was fulfilling one of her dreams: doing theatre. The applause was as intense as for a big star. The audience fell in love with her, so much so that during her subsequent culinary show at the velodrome, people came to see her and congratulate her. This was the beginning of her fame. As required by the Union des artistes, Sister Angèle became a member and subsequently participated in numerous television and radio programs, including Radio-Canada, TQS, TVA, Canal D, RDI, and Télé-Italia.

• Cooking host on Jacques Boulanger's show, Allô Boubou, Radio-Canada (1982–84)
• Host, La Fourchette d'or, TQS (1983–91)
• Cooking host on Jacques Boulanger's show, La cuisine joyeuse de sœur Angèle, Radio-Canada (1984–92)
• Host at CHRC radio, Quebec (1985)
• Co-host with Gaston L'Heureux, L'Heureux retour, TQS (1987)
• Co-host with Guy Boucher, La Fourchette des Vedettes, TQS (1988–91)
• Co-host with Guy Boucher, La Fourchette d'or, TQS (1988–91)
• Star of Jean-Marie Bioteau's short film, with host Alain Stanké, Sœur Angèle par Sœur Angèle, Television (1990–91)
• Co-host with Serge Christiaenssens, La fourchette d'aujourd'hui, TQS (1991)
• Host, Les 7 jours de Sœur Angèle, Radio-Canada (1993–95)
• Contributor to the show La victoire de l'amour, hosted by Sylvain Charron, TVA (1995– 2020)
• Co-host with Jean-Pierre Coallier, Côté cour, TVA (1996)
• Co-host with Michel Jasmin, Michel Jasmin en direct, TQS (1997)
• Host, Côté cour, TVA (1998)
• Host, Le cercle des fermières, Vidéotron (2001)
• Star of Pierre Brochu's medium-length film, Sœur Angèle, Canal D, (2009)
• Star of Martine Breuillaud's medium-length film, Angèle, une mission accomplie, RDI (2015)

Author or Co-author

• La cuisine joyeuse de Sœur Angèle (1983)
• La cuisine simplifiée : le guide moderne de la cuisine avec Sœur Angèle (1990)
• À table avec Sœur Angèle (1994)
• La Fourchette d'or, volumes 1 to 4 (1988–91), merchandise from the show of the same name broadcast on Télévision Quatre-Saisons
• Les miracles culinaires de Sœur Angèle (2003)
• Dans la cuisine de Sœur Angèle (2008)
• Louis Pilon, Suzanne Trudel and Sister Angèle, Cuisinons et colorions avec Sœur Angèle : 12 recettes faciles à faire avec les enfants ! (2008)
• Merci mamma ! Anecdotes, recettes et attraits touristiques de la Vénétie de sœur Angèle (2016)
• Rosette Pipar, Marguerite Blais, and Sister Angèle, one of the collaborators, De la proche aidance à la bienveillance : Témoignages et plaidoyer (2018)

Singer

On 5 December 2006, Sister Angèle released her first album, Noël angélique, featuring well-known artists. The aim was to help young people who are homeless, lost, discouraged or addicted to substances.

In November 2010, the box set Le temps des Fêtes de Sœur Angèle was released, bringing together "The most beautiful selections from the Christmas season", with about twenty other singers.

Representative and Ambassador

Sister Angèle represents the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture at food fairs in several countries. She is also an official ambassador for Canada’s Ministry of Agriculture. In 2018, she was named as Quebec’s ambassador for the World League for the Right to Happiness.

Fondation Sœur Angèle

Established in 2006 by Sister Angèle, the Fondation Sœur Angèle supports people, including youth, who need help discovering, learning and succeeding in cooking.

Sales of Sister Angèle cheeses and cretons help in part to subsidize the Fondation Sœur Angèle and have enabled it to donate approximately $100,000 to food banks and $60,000 to schools and the Fourchettes de l'espoir.

Awards and Distinctions

• Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).
• Member of the Order of Canada (2013)
• Knight of the National Order of Quebec (2016)
• Golden Clover Award of the World League for the Right to Happiness (2018)
• Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy [Cavaliere del Ordine de la Stella d'Italia], first woman to receive this honor (2019)
• La Grappe gourmande Award (2020)