Indigenous chef creates sweetgrass ice cream in partnership with frozen treats giant
CBC
An Owen Sound chef is bringing his Indigenous-inspired sweetgrass ice cream to one of Canada's most iconic frozen treat manufacturing facilities.
Zach Keeshig, who is from Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation at Cape Croker Reserve, is teaming up with Chapman's to create a limited edition ice cream flavour.
"We're pushing the boundary on what Indigenous food could be," said Keeshig, who is the owner of Indigenous restaurant, Naagan.
"It doesn't just have to be wild rice and squash," Keeshig said. "We can introduce new techniques to bring Indigenous food to life and put it on the forefront."
The ice cream flavour is called Wiingashk, which is the Ojibway word for sweetgrass. Keeshig said the green dessert tastes like a floral version of vanilla and is balanced out by hints of maple syrup.
"Replacing something as typical in the culinary world as vanilla with sweetgrass is innovative to say the least," said Ashley Chapman, chief operating officer of Chapman's. "What he is doing is truly pioneering."
The idea to use sweetgrass in ice cream came from Keeshig's childhood, when he saw dried sweetgrass used in traditional ceremonies in his community.
"My dad would light it up and it [smelled] faintly like vanilla," said Keeshig, who is visited the reserve frequently as a child.
Because dried sweetgrass is used to cleanse the body in smudging ceremonies, Keeshig said he chose to use fresh sweetgrass in his recipe.
"I don't approve of chefs using dried sweetgrass in their cooking," said Keeshig. "We tried to look for the fresh stuff so that we could use it for cooking and not cross that boundary of using something ceremonial to cook with."
Keeshig met Chapman in 2020 when the two collaborated on catering a lunch for Owen Sound health care workers during the pandemic.
When an opportunity came up to create an Indigenous-inspired ice cream flavour, Chapman immediately reconnected with Keeshig.
"He's got such an interesting mind as far as being a French-trained chef and incorporating all of these things from Indigenous culture," said Chapman.
While Keeshig has made sweetgrass ice cream at his restaurant, it will be a different experience at Chapman's Markdale creamery. The team will have to modify the thicker dessert to have a consistency similar to Chapman's ice cream, then balance the flavours.