“We all have one goal and that is to feed people good food and share our culture,” said Tea-N-Bannock employee, Joanna Simon.
Tea-N-Bannock, a local Indigenous restaurant formed the idea to infuse traditional Indigenous cuisine with modern day recipes. Located on Gerrard Street East, this fusion style restaurant has been one of the first and most longstanding Indigenous restaurants in Toronto since 2012.
According to the restaurant’s tag line it’s, “Where the Past and Present Meet”. With dishes such as the bison burger, Tea-N-Bannock has made a conscious effort to celebrate their cultures with known favourites.
“Some of the menu items are traditional and some are more contemporary…where you find the traditional being the wild rice dishes… and then more of the contemporary coming with the Navajo Tacos which are typically served on the Pow Wow Trail, as well as fry bread and bannock,” said Simon.
According to Simon, she said the idea of this restaurant was the dream of the owner, Enos Miller, a non-indigenous man who spent over 20 years amongst Indigenous communities in the North. He learned skills such as fishing and recipes as well as Anishinaabe and Ojibwe dialect.
Tea and bannock are normally served when guest or kinfolk visit the home.
According to Simon, the word bannock comes from the Celts (Scotland and Ireland).
“Everyone has their own recipe, some people in the north use lard still to this day but we don’t here,” said Simon.
She says in order to stay with the contemporary mindset of the restaurant, a lot of their breads and items including the bannock are cooked with vegan ingredients.
Tea-N-Bannock has not only prioritized teaching their customers about Indigenous culture, but also encourages their employees to learn more about each other’s nations.
According to Simon, all paid employees at this location are Indigenous or First Nations, some being of Cree, Mohawk and Haudenosaunee nations.
One of the restaurant’s cooks, Michael Assin, grew up on a reserve and spoke about adapting to life in the city and how he appreciates the fusion Tea-N-Bannock provided.
“I’d actually rather have a mixture of the two worlds,” said Assin.
He said in the past, he has had an unpleasant experience working in other Indigenous restaurants because he received a low pay rate and was overworked. He said working at Tea-N-Bannock is a better experience due to the fair and inclusive mindset the restaurant has to offer.
Tea-N-Bannock educates their customers about Indigenous cultures by hosting events such as arts and crafts night where visitors can learn beading and quill work.
Looking forward, Miller would like to hand off the business to someone of Indigenous decent and one day open a secondary location in Ottawa.
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