Crabtree à la Carte

"Crabtree à la Carte"
Season	11
Episode	13
Airdate	January 29, 2018
Writer	Simon McNabb
Director	Leslie Hope
Guests	Matt Baram as Roderick Rhodes Daniel Kash as Randall Gordon
Previous	Mary Wept
Next	The Great White Moose

"Crabtree à la Carte" is the thirteenth episode of the eleventh season and the one hundred sixty-third of the Murdoch Mysteries series. It first aired on January 29, 2018.

Summary

Margaret Brackenreid and George Crabtree participate in a cooking competition sponsored by a canned beef company, but the insult-hurling judge is poisoned. However, things get a little more complicated when it's revealed that the judge was not the only one who ate from the poisoned tin - everyone did, including Crabtree and Mrs. Brackenreid.

Character Revelations

• George Crabtree fears for his life when he thinks he has consumed tainted meat.
• Violet Hart proves to be diligent and good at her job in the City Morgue.
• Watts and Cherry team up for the first time and discover the only moleta in all of Toronto.
• Julia is in the second month of her pregnancy.
• Margaret Brackenreid cheats to get what she wants and the Inspector bribes Crabtree to give her what she wants.

Continuity

• Crabtree's Aunts were referenced, specifically Aunt Fern for her apple and beef balls recipe.
• William and Julia experience some friction with uncomfortable tense moments between the first-time expectant parents.
• George comes up with "Tasty Vittles Dinner ...ready to heat, ready to eat", and shortens it to 'TV Dinner'.

Historical References

• The Pythagorean diet, vegetarianism, practiced by Percy and Mary Shelley, along with Leonardo Da Vinci who is quoted: "My body will not be a tomb to other creatures."
• Crabtree states that if he dies he will "...never see Egypt or any of those new provinces we have now." Two new Canadian provinces (Saskatchewan and Alberta) were added in September 1905, making nine in total as of this episode.

Trivia

• The episode's storyline is a possible allusion to the Chicago Tylenol Murders that occurred in the Chicago Metropolitan Area from September to October 1982, which resulted in the murders of seven people. Even though the company was found not at fault, the company apologized before they knew what the cause was. 
• Other episodes with Crabtree in the title are: Crabtree Mania and Kung Fu Crabtree.
• The character Randall Gordon is an allusion to British celebrity chef and restaurateur Gordon Ramsay.
• Actor Matt Baram first appeared as Edward Simms in the episode Houdini Whodunit.
• Actor Daniel Kash was last seen as Arthur Frumm in All Tattered and Torn.
• Actor Scott Edgecombe portrayed Randolph Phillips in Dial M for Murdoch.

Cast

Main Cast

Yannick Bisson as Detective William Murdoch
Hélène Joy as Dr. Julia Ogden
Thomas Craig as Inspector Thomas Brackenreid
Jonny Harris as Constable George Crabtree

Recurring Cast

Daniel Maslany as Detective Llewellyn Watts
Arwen Humphreys as Margaret Brackenreid
Bea Santos as Louise Cherry
Shanice Banton as Violet Hart

Guest Cast

Matt Baram as Roderick Rhodes
Daniel Kash as Randall Gordon
Eddie Glen as Mr. Madison
Alicia Dea as Kathleen Cooper
Jill Frappier as Lolo Tucker
Jerome Bourgault as Henri Prideaux
Scott Edgecombe as Dickie Douglas
Nick Bailie as Mr. King
Jeremy Crittenden as Arthur Power
Ian MacIntyre as Dr. Fenton

Gallery

Cooking competitors

Victim

Cherry on the story about tainted meat

Botulinum?

Murdoch at the Blackboard discussing the case...

...With Crabtree and Watts.

Examining the evidence

Cherry and Watts at the newstand

Murdoch and Ogden questioning the victim