'Unsung heroes': Mary Janet MacDonald shares stories, recipes of 12 women in new cookbook

A beloved Cape Breton baker is sharing the stories and recipes of 12 inspiring women in her new cookbook.

Known for her cinnamon rolls and cheery disposition, Mary Janet MacDonald became famous during the COVID-19 pandemic for her Facebook Live show, "Tunes and Wooden Spoons."

Since then, the Port Hood, N.S., resident has earned followers from around the world and has produced two cookbooks.

MacDonald's fame started following a request for family members to share her baking skills online during the pandemic.

"We have three children out west, and our daughter Margie was a teacher out there and she just said, one day on the phone back in March of 2020, 'Mom, we've got to do something. Why don't you just go on Facebook Live and show people how to make your cinnamon rolls, because we all love your cinnamon rolls,'"MacDonald recalls.

She says she never expected the show to become what it is today.

"So, it was just going to be a one-off. So, I did it and I didn't know how to even technically do that, but we managed," says MacDonald. "And we were on lockdown and we couldn't believe just the love that came from everybody from that first show."

MacDonald says, following that first appearance, her granddaughter helped her come up with a name for the show. It didn’t take long for “Tunes and Wooden Spoons” to take off.

"The force was there from the people who needed a pastime, I believe, and it just kind of happened every Sunday then, and here we are.”

Every Sunday, MacDonald invites viewers into her Cape Breton kitchen via Facebook Live to follow along as she makes her favourite recipes.

Along with viewers around the world, MacDonald's community has been supportive of her new venture.

"I love that I can talk about my community and Port Hood and Cape Breton, and use it as a platform to encourage people just to come and visit, you know? [It's] a beautiful island, and the cinnamon rolls, well, I make them all the time and the grandchildren just love them," she says.

MacDonald says her first cookbook, "Tunes and Wooden Spoons: Recipes from a Cape Breton Kitchen," mainly focused on recipes that were passed down to her over the years, as well as things that she loves to make.

Her second cookbook, "Tunes and Wooden Spoons: Love without Measure," focuses on 12 women and their recipes, as well as ideas from her friends and family.

"They supplied me with lots of recipes, plus more of my own, and I think as co-author, my daughter who started it all is a photographer in her pastime, and she took all of the pictures," says MacDonald. "I wanted a picture of every recipe and she complied, and I think it's a really pretty book to look at and I think people will enjoy the stories and the recipes."

As to how she narrowed it down to just 12 women, she says she tried to select different cultures to provide a variety of options.

"So, we have the Mi'kmaq, we have an Acadian woman, we have a Dutch woman who came here from Holland after World War II and her story, and just great bakers.”

MacDonald says the 12 women featured in her new cookbook are all in their 80s and 90s-- except for one, who was 106.

"I think it was so nice to feature women like that who were the backbone of their family and unsung heroes who had just kept their family going on the farms," she says.

MacDonald's cookbooks can be found online.