Mae West: Cake Wake

MAE WEST inspired a dessert — — and last week the inventor of the May West snack cake died.
• • Montreal Gazette staffwriter Alan Hustak just reported that Rene Brousseau, the Quebec City baker who claimed to have invented the May West, one of the province's most popular snack foods, died in Quebec City on July 23 at age 89.
• • Brousseau was born in Quebec City in 1918. During the Depression, he dropped out of school when he was 15 years old to work as an apprentice baker.
• • Brousseau was working as a pastry chef at the Vaillancourt Bakery in Quebec City during the Second World War when he came up with the idea for the chocolate-coated, cream-filled vanilla cake. It is generally assumed the cake was named for the bawdy U.S. actress Mae West, the star of a popular wartime movie, My Little Chickadee.
• • But Brousseau's son, Jacques, said the dessert got its name because the cake was so puffy, it resembled a life preserver that was also nicknamed Mae West.
• • The spelling of the brand name was changed to May after the actress died in 1980, to avoid a lawsuit from West's estate.
• • Brousseau never profited from his recipe, but according to his son was given a $50 bonus when May Wests started selling like hotcakes.
• • Nothing legally exists to prove Brousseau was the inventor of the May West, but no one ever contested his claim.
• • In 1972 the trademark was bought by Vachon Inc., now a division of SaputoInc. The treat is still manufactured and remains one of Quebec's most popular snack foods. ...
— — excerpt — —
• • Source: The Montreal Gazette — — www.canada.com/
• • Byline: Alan Hustak
• • Published on: 4 August 2007
• • Nourish your Mae West memories on Friday evening 17 August 2007, when a guided tour will explore Manhattan's WEST-side during the "Mae West Side Story" walking tour. The event — — open to the public — — is timed to salute Brooklyn's own sexpot on her birthdate. [See the Annual Mae West Gala posting below.]
• • Only 12 more days until Mae's birthday!
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.