Story by Adrian Brijbassi
Vacay.ca Managing Editor
Shane Chartrand says he鈥檚 making up for lost time.
The Edmonton-based chef only learned the extent of his Indigenous roots when he was 29 years old. Shortly after finding out about his lineage, Chartrand became determined to know all he could about his culture and use his skills as a chef to celebrate its cuisine.
Now 43, Chartrand is excelling. He represented the Alberta capital at the competition, has written a cookbook, 鈥淢arrow: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine鈥� and is launching a new 150-seat restaurant at Edmonton鈥檚 .
On top of leading a kitchen in his home province, Chartrand also travels around Canada to introduce his cuisine and how it connects to stories of his culture.
On National Indigenous Peoples Day, June 21, he will be among chefs collaborating on a dinner in the Okanagan Nation, on the traditional territory of the Osoyoos Indian Band.
The 60-seat Elements Dinner 鈥� so named for the Earth, Air, Fire, and Water that will inspire the feast 鈥� is set to take place on the patio at winery, which overlooks vineyards and Lake Osoyoos.
Here is an introduction to the chefs who will be participating.
Shane Chartrand
The executive chef at Sage, also at the River Cree Resort, was raised in foster homes and later adopted into a M茅tis family in Alberta. When he learned he was from the Enoch Nation, part of the Plains Cree people, he also gained a new focus for his culinary talents.
鈥淚t can be deep and dark and cool,鈥� he says about Indigenous cooking. 鈥淚t鈥檚 wrapped in spirituality, and when I found out all of that then I thought, 鈥榃hy can鈥檛 I celebrate my identity?鈥欌��
He shifted from Asian and Japanese cuisine to learning about game meats and foraged fruits, herbs, and flowers that are used so often in Indigenous recipes from central Canada.
鈥淔rom now to the day I expire, I will celebrate and research Indigenous backgrounds, food culture, and food relations with elders,鈥� Chartrand says.
In the past two years, he has visited nine different tribes, learning and documenting their way of life. From each of them, he retains stories about how their food consumption is impacted by their culture.
For example, he says he was moved by the Haida adoration of chum salmon, which is widely considered an inferior fish product. But, as Chartrand found out, the chum salmon is revered by the people known as the warriors of the Pacific northwest because of the fish鈥檚 tenacity, which gives it a kinship with B.C.鈥檚 Haida Nation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big, strong fish, it has to battle through some difficult waters, and the belief is that strength will be part of you when you consume it,鈥� Chartrand says, explaining why an unheralded species has meaning to that specific Indigenous community.
鈥淚t鈥檚 those kinds of stories that I bring from every nation and what I want to share when I cook. Food and story go hand in hand.鈥�
Joseph Shawana
At in Toronto, Joseph Shawana spotlights the ingredients and flavours of his heritage.
A member of the Odawa Nation, he was raised on the Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve in Manitoulin, a scenic destination about 550 kilometres northwest of Toronto.
Trained in classic French cuisine, Shawana has blended his skills with recipes and influences from the matriarchs in his family. The name of his 27-seat restaurant means 鈥済randmother鈥� in Cree.
The result is a menu that makes a bold, uncompromising statement as it aims to introduce Indigenous food to a wide audience.
鈥淎 lot of our clientele are from European descent and they鈥檙e always blown away about the simplicity of what we do and how it鈥檚 not overcomplicated,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e do a venison osso bucco; a braised elk and a pickled elk heart. We have a pemmican dish where we work with traditional recipes and try modernizing it.
He will be cooking in B.C. for the first time when he brings his skills to Osoyoos in June.
Shawana has teamed with Chartrand at similar events and says diners will enjoy a diverse meal.
鈥淓ach one of us has something to bring to the table,鈥� he says. 鈥淪hane鈥檚 cooking technique and background are completely different than mine. When we collaborate we come up with some amazing menus. That鈥檚 one of the things to look forward to.鈥�
Orlin Godfrey
Godfrey, who oversees the menu at NK鈥橫ip Cellars, will be the host chef for the Elements feast. As such, he sees part of his role as a champion for the Okanagan鈥檚 local growing scene.
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 hoping to do is to express what the Okanagan can do, because it is in between a lot of things. We鈥檙e not on the coast and we鈥檙e not in the Alberta prairies, we鈥檙e kind of in the middle of those two places. And in the south, with our climate being so hot, we tend to see a lot of young leaves early,鈥� Godfrey says.
A Vancouver transplant, Godfrey has been amazed by the quality and variety of produce he comes across every day in the desert-like climate of the South Okanagan. The relationships he has built with farmers offers him deeper understanding of the area鈥檚 possibilities.
鈥淎s with any chef that is reliant on their area or the culture that鈥檚 behind the area, you have to talk to the people who are actually out in the field, who know what鈥檚 growing and what鈥檚 growing well,鈥� he adds.
Godfrey also has the distinction of working at a winery, which has 鈥渆xponentially increased鈥� his understanding of food-and-wine pairing wines.
鈥淗aving a winemaker on hand to explain the flavours and how their wine works with a specific terroir is something I haven鈥檛 been around before. Having that expertise about the land and what we grow is something I appreciate for sure,鈥� says Godfrey, who will be joined at the Elements dinner by NK鈥橫ip Cellars winemaker Justin Hall.
Although not a member of an Indigenous nation, Godfrey knows the power and emotional impact that collaborations such as the one planned for June 21 can have on guests. He鈥檚 excited to team with Chartrand and Shawana, and keen to showcase his region鈥檚 ingredients.
鈥淓verything is just getting going,鈥� he says of the spring growing season in Oliver and Osoyoos. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a lot of fresh lettuces, herbs, arugula, asparagus popping up, and within the next month there鈥檚 going to be a lot more.鈥�
Justin Hall (winemaker)
Hall, a member of the Osoyoos Indian Band, will not only oversee the wine pairings for the five-course Elements Dinner,. but will also share stories about the history of NK鈥橫ip Cellars, which was named the 2016 Canadian Winery of the Year by Intervin.
Hall鈥檚 path to becoming one of the few Indigenous winemakers in North America began more than 15 years ago when the leadership of the OIB encouraged him to take up the trade.
He did so with gusto, studying in New Zealand and working alongside fellow winemaker Randy Picton to develop his talents at NK鈥橫ip Cellars, which is a partnership between the OIB and .
鈥淥ne of the things I learned early on is that winemaking isn鈥檛 about a recipe. This is about consistency. It鈥檚 about educating yourself year after year, knowing your land and your vines so well that you know what wine you鈥檙e going to get even before you harvest your grapes,鈥� Hall says. 鈥淲hen people suggest that winemaking is like art, I think where that鈥檚 true is artists see the whole picture before they start. I see wine that way now. I see the end result before I begin the process.鈥�
Those results have produced national sensations that will be among the many wines poured on National Indigenous Peoples Day.
The Elements event will take place in cooperation with , the luxury resort that is part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection of properties and is next door to the NK鈥橫ip Cellars patio.
MORE ABOUT THE ELEMENTS DINNER
Date: June 21, 2018, 6:30-11 p.m.
Location: NK鈥橫ip Cellars patio, 1400 Rancher Creek Road, Osoyoos, B.C. (see map below)
Tickets: The five-course dinner includes wine pairings and costs $155 per person. .
MORE ABOUT SPIRIT RIDGE, UNBOUND COLLECTION BY HYATT
Location: 1200 Rancher Creek Road, Osoyoos, B.C. (see map below)
Website:
Telephone: 250-495-5445
Room rates: A search on the property鈥檚 booking engine returned a nightly rate of $256 for a June weekend.
MORE VACAY.CA
鈥� One of Canada鈥檚 leading wineries, NK鈥橫ip Cellars is building on the reputation it has built for producing award-winning wines and providing outstanding tasting experiences.
鈥� Immigrants from India, farmers devoted to sustainability, and Indigenous community members have turned the grape-growing regions of Oliver and Osoyoos into global success stories.
鈥� The grape-growing land of the South Okanagan resides in the traditional territory of the Osoyoos Indian Band, which is a community of about 540 members.
