Canada’s longest-running cooking show will be filming on Six Nations next month, showcasing the community’s food traditions to the world.
Moosemeat and Marmalade, a show where cultures intersect though food, will be filming the seventh season of the documentary cooking show on Six Nations of the Grand River territory from May 2 to May 10.
The show is about two hosts, Art Napolean – described as a “bush cook” – and classically-trained French Chef Dan Hayes exploring cultures through food.
The original APTN production has gone international and is shown in countries as far away as Turkey and New Zealand.
Because they don’t have a massive budget like the publically-funded CBC, the show relies on partnerships with communities.
The episode filming on Six Nations will showcase the community’s food traditions.
“We know how important corn was, we know how important strawberries are…we want to kind of show that off, show that to the world,” said Napolean, who is also one of the show’s producers. “We’re there to learn about things like food sovereignty and food security.”
The half-hour episode will condense three days’ worth of filming into 22 minutes of air time.
Napolean said they want someone from the community to teach viewers about corn, lyed corn and how it’s processed, how it’s procured, and they’ll also test out some Iroquois recipes.
Kayanase, a greenhouse on Hwy. 54, is one of the filming locations.
“We’re very familiar with respecting local customs and protocols,” said Napolean, as they aim to tell the most “positive and beautiful story” they can about Haudenosaunee food traditions.
They’re also thinking of fishing in the Grand River and visiting local restaurants and local food sustainability organizations as part of the episode highlighting the local food scene.
“We’re hoping to get your blessing to be able to proceed,” Napolean said to Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Council during a meeting last week.
SNGR is happily welcoming the crew to the territory to begin filming next month.
“We’re very rich and filled with many chefs,” said Elected Chief Mark Hill.
