By Bryan Eneas

New cook brings Indigenous flair to Historical Museum Tea Room

May 20, 2018 | 12:35 PM

There’s a new chef in the kitchen at the Prince Albert Historical Museum Tea Room and she’s bringing an Indigenous flavour to the menu.

Diana Bird is set to start cooking on May 22, after a chance application for the position. She was contacted to conduct a traditional food display and during a tour, she was shown the Tea Room where she inquired about the current cook. 

“[The tour guide] said there was a deadline to apply, so I applied that day because the deadline was that day, and I received the contract,” Bird said. “It’s a little bit of a dream come true for me, I didn’t expect that at all.”

She said working and going to school has made for a frenzy of a few years. She had intended to take the summer off but the chance to pursue her passion was too good to pass up.

Food is somewhat of a family matter for Bird. She’s the oldest child in a large family, which brought along the task of always cooking for others when growing up. Her mother is also a certified chef and taught her the key ingredients in the world of catering.

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Bird’s passion is paired with a love of traditional fare. Her menu will feature bison, elk, wild rice and fiddleheads among other dishes. She’s familiar with the foods, as her family produced a cookbook, From the Birds, which blends Indigenous and modern cuisine.

The cookbook includes items like fiddlehead bannock pitas, a favourite of Bird’s, and recipes using traditional ingredients like smoked pickerel, duck, moose and berries. It also features photographs of the instruments and techniques used to cook the food.

“If someone hasn’t tried fiddleheads before, they’re in for a surprise,” Bird said with a laugh. “If they’ve never had candied trout, or smoked salmon,  or any of those types of things, I think they’re really going to enjoy it.”

Bird said she uses Indigenous fare for both health purposes and to maintain a cultural connection, attempting to eat at least one meal a day which includes traditional foods.

“Those are the types of foods that are healthy for Indigenous people, and going back to that way of life for me, is really paramount,” Bird said. “It’s just really important, because whatever you give to your body, that is going to sustain you, and if you have Indigenous foods, you know it’s healthy.”

While moose meat is a favourite, she won’t be able to serve it on her menu unless she can get an animal that’s been tagged. Any bison and elk served is sourced from nearby farms.

Bird’s venture into the Tea Room isn’t unfamiliar territory. She started up a catering business, serving soup, sandwiches and bannock, to make some money during her post-secondary studies. While she didn’t expect much, it has since blossomed.

She’s also found a few ways to give back and support the community through her passion. Bird’s looking to continue organizing dinners to either feed the city’s less fortunate or support the organizations who work with them.

She said she aims to support local business and producers exclusively to create the items on her menu. Local artist Alan Morrow’s work will be featured on the Tea Room’s walls as well.

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas