Indigenous cultures and Canadian culinary innovation took centre stage at the Navy Hall on Saturday evening, with diners enjoying a six-course meal that its creators hope will put Canadian cuisine on the global map.

The Culinary Tourism Alliance hosted the Great Taste of Canada dining experience on Dec. 7 from 4:30 to 8 p.m., which blended recipes that have survived millenniums with modern culinary techniques.

The Great Taste of Canada initiative looks to explore the country’s culinary offerings, spotlight regional specialties, local food customs and one-of-a-kind dining experiences across Canada.

In a speech to diners on Saturday, Rebecca Mackenzie, president and CEO of the Culinary Tourism Alliance, said it hopes to use gastronomy to achieve many things: Storytelling, cultural preservation, fostering connections between communities and reconciliation.

“While you might think that Canada could be known for our food, unfortunately, to global travellers, we aren’t,” said Mackenzie in her speech. “We are not recognized for our foodways and our food culture.”

Mackenzie said Destination Canada has identified nine international markets they aim to attract with the Great Taste of Canada experiences, as part of a broader effort to promote the country’s tourism offerings.

These markets have expressed particular interest in three key aspects of Canadian tourism: The outdoors, Indigenous culture, and culinary experiences.

“So, we’ve combined all three,” she said.

To start, guests were given foraged rosehip and cranberry hot cider with fried Indian doughnuts and white bean hummus on seed crackers.

The second course included scones and Haudenosaunee cornbread, served with whipped ramp and wild garlic butter and seasonal preserves.

The third course offered Tyendinaga pickerel and wild rice chowder or a vegetarian Three Sisters potage with Tuscarora white corn.

Crystallized Gete-Okosomin squash with maple and Mayan Mexican chocolate followed as the fourth course.

The fifth course featured juniper and ramp-braised bison on an allspice and maple squash ring, topped with barbecue sunchoke sticks and garnished with mussels in puffball mushroom dashi, with a vegan succotash option.

Chef Tawnya Brant explained how this dish highlights the preservation of age-old recipes, incorporating foraged ingredients such as stinging nettle, which has been used by Indigenous peoples for generations.

“It remedies its own sting when cooked,” she said.

For dessert, guests were given a pawpaw Chantilly cream-topped sassafras gelée with cedar shortbread crumble and wild rose petals, with a gluten-free version available.

A surprise deconstructed chocolate chili raspberry tart by chef Aicha Smith-Belghaba finished the meal, featuring a ganache infused with Madagascar vanilla, Mexican chilies and maple syrup — all vegan and gluten-free.

Reflecting on the experience, Chef Smith-Belghaba acknowledged the challenges of her work, but emphasized its importance.

She said it’s her resilience, shaped by her upbringing, which has been key to persevering.

Through her cooking, she offers others the chance to experience Indigenous culture and savour traditional foods in a new light.

“Food to Haudenosaunee people — I’ll speak to that because I’m Haudenosaunee — is very much a spiritual thing.”

“It connects you to land — family. It also feeds your body, your mind and your spirit as well,” she said. “I hope everyone walks away with that type of feeling of happiness, being with others, laughter — all those things.”

“Food and feasting are a big part of our culture. I’m pleased that our two Indigenous chefs, Tawnya Brant and Aicha Smith-Belghaba, will be sharing that with you tonight,” said Claire Sault, chief of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, in her speech.

“I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that my mother is Mohawk. I see our two chefs are Mohawk,” she said.

“It’s pivotal — if we are true to our evolving dynamics of truth and reconciliation —that we understand each other, and find some common ground,” she said to the crowd.

Sault sees the Great Taste of Canada as a vital opportunity to promote reconciliation and raise awareness of something due to more attention: Local cultural tourism products.

On their way to hosting culinary experiences across the country, the CTA is setting its sights on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia as the next destination for their Great Taste of Canada series.