Aurora Rose Zboch and Kieona Sashay interview Pow-Wow Cafe chef Shawn Adler.
Pow Wow Café is sharing Indigenous culture and food with the people of Kensington Market through a unique twist on a traditional Indigenous bread: Indian tacos.
Fried bread was introduced when the Europeans came and brought white flour. A post-contact food, of course, said Shawn Adler, owner and chef.
Yet, it is a modern day tradition. Indigenous people all over North America eat some form of fried bread, or bannock.
“Certainly, food is the first way into a culture,” said Adler. He had been serving the fried bread dish music festivals since 2003 before opening Pow Wow Café last October.
Growing up in Orangeville, Ont., Adler began cooking when he was 16 and opened his first restaurant at 23 while in university. Pow Wow Café is his most recent project, having opened one year ago in Kensington Market, a location Adler especially chose for his Indigenous restaurant.
Adler opened and ran several restaurants and bakery-bistros around Peterborough and Eugenia, Ont. He continues to operating between his other projects like The Flying Chestnut Kitchen throughout the week.
Kensington Market, Alder said, is where locals and tourists alike enjoy variety of cuisines for brunch, lunch and dinner — not to mention all the
freshly sourced produce, fish and meats. However, there was never an Indigenous restaurant in the area.
“I always dreamed of opening something in Toronto, specifically in Kensington Market. When this property went up for rent, I jumped on it and never looked back,” Adler said.
Pow Wow Café introduced appetizers and desserts over the course of 2017, and the brunch menu was updated, too.
“It’s going to be a constant evolution, we don’t want to get bored. But certainly [the menu is] always based on Indian tacos.”
“The community comes in all the time and says ‘This is just like my nookomis (grandmother) used to make,’ or ‘Oh, my nookomis’ was better!’” Adler said. “So many people have stories of their family’s fried bread or bannock recipes.”
Originally, the menu had the simple four tacos. Two changed from smoked pork to pork souvlaki and the jerk chicken turned into chicken curry.
Adler said he sees some regulars on a weekly basis, and new customers are pleasantly surprised.
“Our cuisine’s certainly based mainly in pow wow affair but we also do The indigenous ingredient-inspired brunch is very popular.”
Currently cash only. Pow Wow Cafe is located at Kensington Market, 213 Augusta Ave, Toronto, ON.
(Featured photo courtesy of Hector Vasquez / blogTO)
Leave a Reply