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Chef Rich Francis revives Indigenous culinary traditions

Rich Francis - Illustration by Chief Lady Bird, The Globe and Mail
Published: 8 November 2022

Rich Francis, owner of Seventh Fire Hospitality Group in Six Nations in Ontario and Alberta,Ā  never set out to be a chef, but leveraged his time on Top Chef Canada to launch a prominent culinary career. Francis focuses on the precolonial culinary traditions of Indigenous peoples, but there are limits on what heā€™s able to do. ā€œMost of my work is in First Nations communities,ā€ Francis told Prof. Karl Moore in an interview for The Globe and Mail. ā€œPartially because itā€™s illegal to do what Iā€™m doing using Indigenous products. For example, thereā€™s nowhere in Canada where you can use a beluga whale. We canā€™t profit from it. By doing these dinners, Iā€™m forced to go, ironically, to Treaty or Indigenous lands, where we were starved in the first place, because it gives me a sanctuary and the freedom to do what I need to do.ā€

Illustration by Chief Lady Bird, The Globe and Mail

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