According to Iroquois legend, there were once three sisters: corn, beans and squash, who were inseparable. They supported each other and lived together in harmony, growing in a way that benefitted all three. There are many versions of this legend among different Indigenous tribes, but the core is intact. The interplanted trio thrived when they were together.
Joe Dierickse explains this symbiotic relationship: “The corn grows up, the beans grow up the corn, the corn takes certain nutrients and the beans replenish it. And the squash grows on the ground and protects the ground. It’s a relationship that came to our people in a vision.”
Using the three sisters as inspiration, Dierickse, chef de partie at The Bear, The Fish, The Root & The Berry, is looking to open a food stand this summer that will serve Indigenous food in a down to earth, accessible way, while taking a step beyond bannock.
“When I was researching restaurants and trucks everything was Salmon and Bannock in Vancouver, Mr. Bannock, Kekuli Cafe’s Don’t Panic We Have Bannock, the new truck in Vernon is BannockSlap; so I noticed that’s all bannock, bannock, bannock, bannock,” said Dierickse.
Though he recognizes the importance of a staple bread in every culture around the world, Dierickse also expressed his drive to explore other areas of Indigenous cuisine that aren’t as mainstream.
Submitted photo.
Among his many ideas and ambitions around this concept, “chapter one” will centre around corn. Dierickse explains that corn is one of the common threads that runs through all Indigenous people in the Americas. He said he wants to start with corn because “it’s kind of what started our cultivation [of food], and so I think it’s appropriate to kind of lead with that as well.”
The idea is to do corn on the cob, but with a twist. Dierickse said he would smoke the corn, and “load it up like a baked potato” with things like popcorn, herbs, seeds and sauces.
In the future, he wants to also continue in a similar direction, adopting different sides of Indigenous food with a healthy twist. One idea was to do something like Buddha bowls with wild rice, dried apple chips, squash, beans, corn and cranberries.
Dierickse has been in the restaurant industry since he was a teenager. He started as a dishwasher back in Red Deer, Alberta, and went on to work at the Four Seasons restaurant in Whistler, the Blarney Stone Irish Tavern, and now The Bear, The Fish, The Root & The Berry.
Growing up, Dierickse said he was disconnected from his Indigenous food culture. It wasn’t food he ate or even particularly knew much about. Moving to the West Coast from Alberta in the early 2000’s changed that.
“I moved to B.C. and noticed that there’s a more inviting First Nation culture out here,” he said. From the restaurants he worked at and chefs he learned from, Dierickse explains how his knowledge of Indigenous food began to grow along with his passion for it. It’s something he is still learning.
“I’m not the guru. I’m not the expert, but I’m on this journey. And so people will be learning alongside me as I learn things and share them,” said Dierickse.
