TORONTO -- Indigenous chefs are skipping the grocery store lines and opting for a more traditional approach to food.
Instead of pre-packaged meats and commercially grown foods, Indigenous chefs are returning to their territories to hunt and gather.
鈥淚鈥檓 going back to the bush, back to where I came from,鈥� said Indigenous chef Cezin Nottaway. 鈥淓ating what I鈥檓 supposed to and what I have to, because it鈥檚 who I am as an Anishnawbe.鈥�
Indigenous chefs are bringing traditional food items, like corn, maple and wild rice back to the table.
鈥淭hey actually taught settlers how to make sugar out of maple,鈥� said food researcher and author Lenore Newman.
She said that a long-persistent myth would have people believe that Indigenous people weren鈥檛 farming in B.C. until after settlers arrived.
鈥淥f course they did,鈥� said Newman.
When people ask what Indigenous cuisine is, culinary teacher David Wolman has the answer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 foods that were here pre-contact,鈥� he said.
Putting a new spin on traditional dishes is Wolman鈥檚 forte, and bringing contemporary flavours to traditional dishes is bringing a lot of attention to these chefs.
鈥淐urried caribou, where I鈥檓 taking our caribou and making a curry out of it, it鈥檚 quite nice,鈥� said Wolman.
Nottaway served her Indigenous food to thousands on Parliament Hill for Canada鈥檚 150th birthday.
Now, Indigenous chefs say they are using traditional dishes and ingredients to tackle racism and colonialism, and to connect with their roots.
