Students savour traditional flavours and practices on Indigenous Culinary Arts field trip

By College Relations | June 26, 2019
           

Salmon smoking over open fire during hands-on Indigenous Culinary Arts field trip
Salmon fillets cook on an open fire during the Indigenous Culinary Arts field trip to Westbank First Nation.

Salmon fillets roast on stakes over an open fire while roe bubbles up in a steaming pot of vegetable and fish soup nearby. These are signs of a finished and ready-to-eat meal, yet indicate the start of something special cooking here at Okanagan College.

On a field trip to the Westbank First Nation in May, OC’s Indigenous Culinary Arts class had the opportunity to learn about the traditional Okanagan-Syilx style of cooking in a hands-on experience, hosted by Elders Pamela and Grouse Barnes. The gastronomic outing contained a variety of chopping, mixing and other culinary techniques all aimed at producing a final meal for the class to enjoy together.

The field trip to the Barnes’ property felt like home for many of them, despite the differences in style and practice.

“This has been quite the experience,” says Ruby Pahtayken, a student from the Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. “All of this is new to me. Back home, we don’t have the same fish, but this is how we uniformly cook it, over the open fire. Cooking like this in your own backyard and learning the teachings from our ancestors, our grandmothers and grandfathers, brings me back home.”

The field trip is an important ingredient of the brand new intake which launched this past March, as part of the broader Culinary Arts program offered at the College. With tradition at the heart of the new program, students follow the same curriculum to that of their counterparts in other intakes, but the flavour of Indigenous culture is heavily infused.

Walking with the students at each step in the process, the Barnes’ passion for teaching future generations lies in the sharing of knowledge, and in this case, hands-on learning. Together with family, they run Wildrose Native Traditions, where they lead field trips for students in the area, teaching about Indigenous culture.

“For me, it’s about sharing knowledge, sharing the stuff that we do,” Grouse explains. “We share because we know that the knowledge we share is like a calm pond. When you throw a pebble in the middle, the ripple affects not only students here, but whoever they’re going to teach: their kids, grandbabies, where they take this knowledge.”

Pahtayken adds that the gathering and foraging of plants serves as a metaphor for her returning home to Saskatchewan with new knowledge.

“What I can utilize and gather here in the field is similar to the gathering of information. I can take it back home to Saskatchewan and I can share it with my community.”

These values of applied learning are integral to the program, something Director of Food, Wine and Tourism at OC, Jonathan Rouse, says acknowledges the value of Indigenous culture in the area and within the food industry as well.

“The culinary world is still predicated on very historical European practices. We’re moving much farther than that,” he explains. “Here’s an opportunity for us to take local Indigenous values and practices and see how we can embed them into the curriculum and learn from that.

“The Okanagan is so rich and diverse; it’s really a classroom. It brings the whole food and culinary scene alive.”

The program is open to anyone, however, every student in the inaugural class is from a Canadian Indigenous background. The pilot is supported by the Industry Training Authority (ITA) and the Okanagan Training and Development Council (OTDC), which also plays a part in assisting students from the moment they enrol to the time they begin searching for a job.

As the pilot program continues, the Culinary Arts department will look to both current and prospective students to gauge the growth and progression of the program. With more field trips like this one planned for the future, prospective students can learn more about the Indigenous intake at www.okanagan.bc.ca/culinary.



Tags: Food, Wine & Tourism, Food, Culinary Arts, Truth and Reconciliation

TOP STORIES

RELATED STORIES

Sign up for weekly stories




Trending

Communications student standing outside the Centre for Learning building at the Kelowna campus
Meet Ruth Gabriela Melo Flores

April 4, 2023

Q: What's your name? A: Ruth Gabriela Melo Flores Q: What's your hometown? A: Quito – Ecuador – South America Q: How did you end up at Okanagan College? A: Well, I studied for a bachelor's degree in Law in Ecuador. Then, I worked for a while and got my Master's degree in Government and Culture of Organizations at the University of Pamplona.  When I returned to my country, professional opportunities arose for me. I mean, a Master's degree improved my career. Spain helped me develop ...

Read more...
Animation student
Artistic students design future careers in animation

June 7, 2022

Grads of Okanagan College’s Animation Diploma program are finding their skills have never been in higher demand. First- and second-year students showed samples of their artwork and demo reels to industry partners at OC’s annual Animation Industry Night on May 17. “Lots of the work was very professional,” says James Wood, Chair of Okanagan College’s Animation Department. “Our program is short, but intense. The instructors make sure the students have a realistic understanding of what they need do to succeed in a competitive and demanding wo...

Read more...
JAMK campus
OC Business students embrace international study again

May 30, 2022

Business students from Okanagan College are once again able to travel to Jyväskylä, Finland to experience an international summer school at the JAMK University of Applied Sciences.  Finland’s education system is widely regarded as one of the best in the world.  OC Business Professor Blair Baldwin, who has taught Services Design at JAMK for several summers, says working in Finland has helped him innovate and create new teaching methodologies. “JAMK employs experiential learning across its curriculum,” he says. “They stress critical thinkin...

Read more...
Enactus 2022
Enactus Okanagan College tops the field, sets sights on national championships

May 27, 2022

Okanagan College students will once again be competing for the Canadian title after qualifying for the Enactus National Exposition with a first-place finish in their league during the semi-final round. Enactus teams at post-secondary institutions across Canada competed virtually earlier this month, and Okanagan College scooped up top position in the TD Entrepreneurship Challenge, and runner-up in the Scotiabank Climate Action Challenge for the Unusually Good Food Co. project. It also included national runner-up in Shaw and RBC accelerators...

Read more...