Stratford culinary students explore Indigenous ingredients ahead of fundraising dinner
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Caitlin Noel-Drews still remembers some of her earliest experiences with food.
They happened around the time she and her mother – renowned First Nations artist Maxine Noel – moved to Stratford.
“It’s funny,” Noel-Drews said. “One of my first contacts with food was actually the appetizers that are served at gallery openings. When I was four, I became an expert on which pâtés had pepper and which ones didn’t. That was my beginning.”
When she turned 14, Noel-Drews began working in Stratford’s restaurant scene at places like Bentley’s before her career took her across Turtle Island. Now 35, she lives with her partner, Indigenous consultant Brad Greyeyes-Brant, in the Ottawa Valley where her focus includes regenerative agriculture and plant propagation.
Noel-Drews returned to Stratford this week to work with Stratford District secondary school’s Culinary Club on a fundraising dinner for Nshwaasnangong Child Care and Family Centre in London. Although Wednesday’s dinner is already sold out, Beacon Herald reporter Chris Montanini asked Noel-Drews about her childhood in Stratford and the connections she sees between traditional Indigenous ingredients and food sovereignty and sustainability.
Q: What inspired you to pursue a culinary career that included a focus on traditional Indigenous ingredients?
A: Maxine Noel – originally from Birdtail Sioux First Nation in Manitoba – was a Dakota Sioux speaker who lost a lot of her language in a residential school, Noel-Drews said about her mother. “For me, it was very difficulty to culturally be a part of our community. It’s very far away. I’ve always realized (however), that no matter the person or no matter where they’re from, food is a language we can all speak and it’s a language we can all share. Despite not being able to go to ceremony or actively be a part of my own cultural community, being able to grow those ingredients, experience those ingredients, is almost like self ceremony. It’s … a way to experience my culture through food.”
Q: What are some highlights on the menu you’ve been working on with students in Stratford this week?
A: The first is smoked wild turkey wing, Noel-Drews said. It will be tossed in sumac, dehydrated poblano peppers and fire weed pollen, then served with a kale, celeriac and beet slaw. Those are all ingredients SDSS teacher Andrew Mavor grows in his garden not far from the school. “I think that’s a very important aspect,” Noel-Drews said. “Andrew has a very deep understanding of the biodiversity that is Perth County and so he was one of the best representatives to show me what exactly exists here and how I can turn that into a dish that still showcased Indigenous flavour profiles.”
The second is the entrée, neeps and timpsila tatties with wojapi and pemmican crumble. Based on a traditional Scottish dish, Noel-Drews said she’s giving it an Indigenous twist by using prairie turnips. It represents a combination of cultures – similar to people with multiple heritages, Noel-Drews said. “I am half German,” she explained. “In (Sioux) culture it’s called two-eyed seeing, being able to walk in both worlds. A lot of that comes with great privilege, but it also comes with great responsibility as well. I believe all people should be representing all parts of them when they’re creating food, especially for their families and those that they love.”
Q: What messages would you like students to take away from your visit?
A: “Our people have prophesized that the seventh generation, which is this new generation of kids, are going to be the ones who change the world,” Noel-Drews said. “What I would like them to take (away) is that everyone should be – regardless of whether they are Indigenous or non-Indigenous – incredibly proud of where they come from and the people that they represent. Also I’d like them to take away the fact that we only have one Earth and we have to make responsible decisions in order to keep her safe and happy.”
Q: What can we learn from Indigenous cultures about food sovereignty and sustainability?
A: “Everything,” Noel-Drews said. “There is a huge push in the world right now to start protecting the environment. The whole movement to wellness, to eating locally, to eating sustainably, to nourishing your body in the best ways; those are ancient things that native people have been doing for thousands of years. There are elders who are still alive who have all of this knowledge. Eighty per cent of the world’s biodiversity is protected by 20 per cent of Indigenous-owned land and that I think in and of itself speaks volumes.”
Q: In what ways do you think food can contribute to reconciliation efforts between Canada and its Indigenous peoples?
A: “Food can sometimes be political but, for the most part, food is about community and bringing people together,” Noel-Drews said. “I think one of the best ways toward reconciliation is absolutely food because it doesn’t really matter what your politics are, it doesn’t really matter how you feel, everyone has to eat and ultimately we are all still living in the same place. A lot of times Indigenous people are a little bit nervous or trepidatious to be sharing their knowledge with non-Indigenous people, and non-Indigenous people are a little bit nervous also about asking questions. When everyone is in the kitchen all working together towards the same goal, those conversations are so much easier because everyone is the same in that moment.”
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