Chef Steph Baryluk on how her Gwich'in culture inspires her cooking

Steph Baryluk has made a name for herself by showcasing her Gwich'in culture through food.

The Teetlit Gwich'in chef grew up in Fort McPherson, N.W.T., and is currently based in Tsawwassen B.C. Baryluk is the sous chef at Chartwells Canada, and has travelled the world sharing food inspired by the ingredients and culture of her home community.

This weekend, she was at the NWT Culinary Festival, where she teamed up with Chateau Nova executive chef Ibro Vejzovic and his team to cook a five-course meal showcasing ingredients local to N.W.T.

Items on the menu included fried bannock with spruce tip, poached Mackenzie Delta whitefish, beet chips with Back Eddy's Seasoning, and a cloudberry cheesecake.

Baryluk spoke to CBC's Sarah Krymalowski on Saturday as she was preparing the meal.

The following text has been edited for clarity and length.

What was your path to becoming a chef?

I left my community right after high school. I was always encouraged to kind of see what's out there… After trying a bunch of different paths I ended up in culinary. I think it was a way for me to build that connection to my culture again.

Leaving a community of 800 people and all of a sudden living downtown Vancouver is a big change. You're suddenly not surrounded by the people you know, the food you eat, or even the landscape. 

Culinary is where I keep my connection to my Indigenous culture. It's taken me to Italy, Texas, throughout Canada, where I do teaching, receptions, dinners, all with Indigenous culinary.

How long have you been in this industry?

I've been in it for about nine or 10 years. Growing up in McPherson though, I got to kind of see first hand the harvesting, the processing, how different preservation methods are in place. 

It wasn't  until I completed or was in culinary school, living on my own, that I started to appreciate that it's not normal for everybody to kind of have their dad hunting and their mom making dry meat or things like that. So I'm very fortunate to grow up where I did with parents who are passing that tradition on.

What's the most most important thing you learned about food from your community?

First of all, taking only what's needed. For years and years and years, the Porcupine Caribou herd sustained us. It sustains the Gwich'in people of the Yukon, the N.W.T., and also Alaska.

So we want to respect our food, avoid food waste, and also adapt. I know this year we didn't really have very much Caribou. So we're adapting to what we have.

Today at the culinary festival, in the kitchen, there's things not working, so we're adapting. It's not about having this perfect picture meal. Things happen and we need to just use what's around us. I guess that's my biggest lesson, is learning to use what I have. 

How do you create your menus?

I look for indigenous produced items specifically. That way we're giving these businesses a chance to get their name out there.

Today, at this event here in Yellowknife I have a Mackenzie Delta whitefish, I have cloudberries, and I also have cranberries that all went through the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation processing plant in Inuvik. I'm super excited about that.

What's your favourite thing about cooking?

It's a good way to build connection with people. Where I'm based in B.C., it's very multicultural. Items I'm cooking that maybe I grew up with, there are always connections with people all over the world having similar dishes, or doing things the same way.

I really enjoy when someone can sit down, eat some of your food and it brings them back to a certain point in their life. 

And I think, you know, having that connection through food is so important. It's a good way for us to share our culture, tell our story and, you know, just keep spreading all of the Gwich'in traditions.

How does it feel to be at this festial in N.W.T., showcasing what you do a little closer to home?

It's good. The more work I'm doing further south, people up here are just kind of seeing it through social media or things like that. But to actually be here and for them to, you know, have a chance to kind of taste some of this food, it's very exciting. 

This is where I was raised. Without that kind of community aspect or the upbringing with my Gwich'in culture, I wouldn't be doing this today. It was taught to me by my parents, and our grandparents.

So I think this is more than just representing "Chef Steph." This is for our community, our elders, our younger people. They need to see our food being showcased, they need to see our stories being showcased.

We face a lot of barriers as Indigenous people. And it's important to spread the message that if you are willing to make positive changes in your life, and work toward your goals, you know, eventually things will start to happen for you. 

What advice would you give to youth in the North who might want to follow a similar path?

It's been almost two years now that I've been actively doing this type of work, and it's nice to see first hand the positive impact that it's bringing. After receptions or events generally, you know, I have people reaching out to me and they're almost emotional that their Indigenous food is being served.

It's important for me to kind of share that message.

The big thing I hope that our Indigenous youth can learn is that they can also do these things, you know, regardless of if it's related to culinary or not, we can accomplish big things. 

Not just Indigenous youth, but maybe other Indigenous mothers who are, you know, wondering if they should go to school, wondering if they should maybe apply for that job, just do it.