By the age of eight, Theresa Contois was tall enough to reach the controls on her family’s kitchen stove. To her parents, that meant it was time to cook.
Cedar Feast House has since expanded and it continues to serve Indigenous dishes such as rhubarb BBQ pulled-bison sliders, pumpkin-crusted halibut, and wild-rice cranberry salads, in the province and beyond. There are plans to launch a mobile trailer to make food even more accessible to Vancouver residents.
Cardinal, who is Whitefish Lake First Nations, grew up in Slave Lake and other northern Alberta communities. In 2018, he launched Tee Pee Treats, a catering company in Edmonton that focuses on Indigenous meals and dishes with Indigenous influences. Bannock donairs, chili, and bannock berry cake are just some of the foods Cardinal excels at, thanks to the cooking techniques his mother and aunties taught him.
The path to becoming a caterer as an Indigenous person is not without its challenges. The legacy of residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and other systemic barriers have served as obstacles. Contois is the daughter of residential-school survivors, which she says led to a challenging upbringing, abusive romantic relationships and experiences of homelessness and substance abuse while living on Hastings Street.
Destiny Moser, a chef based in Waterloo, Ont., began exploring her Indigenous roots in 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Moser, who is part of the Ojibwe tribe of the Rainy River Band, left her corporate job to care of her children full-time, earned a culinary degree, and delved into the history of Indigenous food.
Rediscovering their origins later in life did not stop these caterers from launching and growing their businesses. The hardships of 2021 cemented Moser’s desire to pursue her catering project, Cedar Spoon, full-time. Since its launch in September of that year, Cedar Spoon has gained widespread attention for its “hyperlocal and ultra-seasonal” Indigenous food, such as sage roasted duck legs and maple butternut squash sorbet.
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