Rooted Catering Dishes

Bannock breakfast sandwiches

Golden brown Bannock is sliced in half and topped with a local Sriracha Revolver chili garlic mayo, egg and cheese. Layered with your choices of bacon or sausage.

Bannock is one of the most popular and widespread Indigenous foods throughout Canada. Almost everyone has a specific way they make their bannock. It can be baked, done on the stove top, deep fried, or cooked on a stick on the open fire. Bannock is great paired with soups, stews, cooked wild berries and dips. This fusion dish turns bannock into a hearty breakfast sandwich. 

Traditional Indigenous versions of bannock can be made from corn, nut meal, flour, and ground plant bulbs.  

Bannock donut holes

Bannock donut holes tossed in icing sugar and served with blackberry sage dipping sauce.

Bannock is one of the most popular and widespread Indigenous foods throughout Canada. Almost everyone has a specific way they make their bannock. It can be baked, done on the stove top, deep fried, or cooked on a stick on the open fire. Bannock is great paired with soups, stews, cooked wild berries and dips. Traditional Indigenous versions of bannock can be made from corn, nut meal, flour, and ground plant bulbs.  

Birch syrup bars

Shortbread bars topped with a mixture of birch syrup, sliced almonds and brown sugar.

Birch syrup is primarily produced in the Cariboo region of British Columbia. Different from traditional maple syrup it is not as sweet and has a more of a caramel flavour. Birch syrup is made from the birch sap. Traditionally birch sap was used as a beverage consumed either fresh or naturally fermented. 

Birch syrup glazed wild salmon

Wild salmon glazed with a rich birch syrup.

Salmon is an important traditional resource for many Indigenous peoples and it continues to be an important part of cultural traditions, social practices, and the economy. As part of its spiritual and cultural significance, salmon is believed to give you positive energy and strength when consumed. Numerous river systems in the Lower Mainland have fall runs of salmon—Chilliwack, Harrison and Capilano, to name a few. Learn more about the significance of salmon from Indigenous Tourism BC here. 

Salmon is prepared in a variety of ways: it is cooked on cedar planks, candied, made into jerky, made into strips, smoked, canned or cooked on the open fire. Salmon is preserved by drying, smoking, canning or freezing. Smoked salmon is hung on poles and racks inside a smokehouse for 2-3 days. Canned salmon is cut into pieces, washed, salted and then canned. Salmon can be roasted, boiled or steamed. 

Bison chili

Slow cooked bison and beef with sauteed vegetables in a rich tomato sauce.

Bison (sometimes called buffalo) are the largest land animal in North America, and are a part of the same family as cattle—bovidae. Bison are not just a traditional food source, but they were also a critical resource for survival, used for trade, tools, clothing, and shelter. Learn more about the different types of bison and their spiritual, economic, and cultural importance to many Indigenous peoples across North America. 

Bison meat is similar to beef but has a stronger flavour and a sweet undertone. Traditionally bison is roasted, boiled, smoked or dried. 

Dandelion potato salad

Yukon Gold potatoes, fresh apples, green onion, red peppers, and dandelion vinaigrette.

Dried dandelion leaves are used in the vinaigrette for this zesty potato salad. Dandelion plants were brought to Canada hundreds of years ago by French colonists. Indigenous people use dandelions for many different medicines. The leaves are used to add flavour to salads, sandwiches and teas, the roots are used in coffee substitutes, and flowers are used to make wines. Dandelion is a generous source of Vitamins A, B, C, D and various minerals. Dandelions grow best in the southern portion of BC.

Spruce tip hashbrowns

These hashbrowns are roasted and tossed in a spruce tip salt. Layered with roasted onions, peppers, and mushrooms.  Spruce tips have a nice earthy flavour.

Spruce tips are the new spring growth at the end of a branch of spruce trees. They are tender, packed with nutrients, and can be eaten raw, in syrup, tincture, oil, or tea. Spruce tips contain vitamin A, potassium, vitamin C, magnesium, phosphorus, and antioxidants. They also provide antimicrobial and antibacterial properties, can be used to season soups, pastas, stews, curries, and enhance mineral absorption from grains and legumes. 

There are approximately 35 different species of spruce that can be harvested for their tips, and each species will have a slightly different flavor. Spruce tips are sought out by chefs, brewers, and mixologists for their soft nature and distinct flavor.

Spruce tips are a foraged delicacy, hand-harvested by pinching off the tips, and are only available for a few weeks in the spring. Spruce tea, which relieves coughing sore throats and chests, and is made by boiling spruce cones and straining. Sticky gum is the clear sticky sap that can be found on spruce trees—it is used to soothe irritated skin, heal cuts, and reduce the chance of infection. Spruce gum can be chewed like a piece of gum and the juice can be swallowed. It is also used to draw out slivers.

Three sisters salad

A mixture of maple roasted corn, squash, beans, and fresh greens with Dijon sweetgrass vinaigrette.

The three sisters refer to a traditional trio of plants grown by various Indigenous Peoples across North and Central America—corn, climbing beans and squash. When planted side by side these crops help each other grow. Corn provides support for the bean vines to grow on. Beans add nitrogen into the soil to fertilize the corn and squash. Finally, squash grows as a groundcover to provide shade, which keeps the ground moist and prevents weeds from growing.

The three sisters are a complete nutritional package with carbohydrates from corn, protein from the beans, essential vitamins and minerals from the squash.

Sweetgrass is an aromatic herb and is also a sacred medicine symbolizing healing and peace. It’s a grass with long soft leaves that grows from 1-3 feet tall. The grass is often gathered and dried, then the leaves are braided together for smudging. The 3 sections of the braid represent mind, body and spirit to some Indigenous peoples and in other traditions the 3 sections also symbolize love, kindness and honesty. Smudging invites good spirits and positive energy. Sweetgrass grows across North America and Northern Europe, below the Arctic Circle.