The NWT Culinary Festival’s Street Feastival gives everyone “a chance to spend the day listening, talking, tasting, thinking about food,” organizers say.
Janet Dean, executive director of the Territorial Agrifood Association, says Yellowknife has a lot of foodies and the event allows everyone to learn something new or show off their food knowledge.
“Fall in love with hot dogs again. Participate in our food trivia contest and let people realize that you secretly do know an awful lot about wine or chocolate,” she said. “Or maybe even just hang out with other people.”
Dean pointed to the Street Feastival’s displays of traditional smoked fish and meat, calling the event “a great opportunity to talk to people and hear about those skills.”
Saniz Gahdele-Baton and Shene Catholique-Valpy, for example, showcased smoked trout and beef.
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“It’s really important to share traditional Dene food from the land and to have visitors see what we have, and to taste it and enjoy it.” Gahdele-Baton said.
Chefs Steph Baryluk and Jenni Lessard teamed up to demonstrate braised muskox and reindeer on nettle tostadas.
“We’re both Indigenous chefs promoting our culture,” Baryluk said, describing menus that combined food they grew up eating with other cultural influences.
“Indigenous cuisine isn’t stuck in a moment in time,” she said. “It changes, just like every other cuisine, with contact with other people and new ideas.”
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Chef Baryluk, who is Teetl’it Gwich’in from Fort McPherson, said this demo was a unique opportunity to use meat from Inuvik.
“As we are serving Indigenous cuisine, we’re also sharing story, we’re sharing traditions and we’re sharing culture,” she said.
“It’s a bigger movement than feeding you. We’re sharing and we’re educating and we’re very proud of who we are, and we’re just trying to showcase that.”
Other demos included elaborate decorative fruit carving, how to make gnocchi by hand, creating the 2025 festival mocktail, and a mushroom blind taste-test.
Chef Dave Gillespie says he could probably tell the difference between varieties of mushroom by touch alone. He believes he has probably cut up 1,000 lb of mushrooms at restaurants in which he has worked.
“They’re all earthy, they’re all woody. There’s a certain amount of acid to them. There’s a bit of a twinge of something bitter in the back of your mouth. But they are all very distinct, so you can come to tell them apart,” he said.
He delighted the audience by correctly identifying four of the five mushrooms he tasted.
The street festival featured numerous food trucks and restaurants providing snacks, full meals, treats and drinks.
Beyond the food, audiences also had a chance to listen to live performances.
