Honouring Indigenous Food Culture
Featuring Chef Shane Chartrand
Indigenous Culture
We’re proud to provide a space for Indigenous food culture to be celebrated within our restaurant. These feature dishes explore the reawakening of Indigenous cuisine, and provide a delicious opportunity to contemplate what it means to cook, eat, and share food. Try Shane’s latest culinary creations, available nightly on our main dinner menu.
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth, we honour and acknowledge that Banff’s townsite, including The Maple Leaf restaurant, is located on traditional Treaty 7 territory. Read more.
Indigenous Culture
We’re proud to provide a space for Indigenous food culture to be celebrated within our restaurant. These feature dishes explore the reawakening of Indigenous cuisine, and provide a delicious opportunity to contemplate what it means to cook, eat, and share food. Try Shane’s latest culinary creations, available nightly on our main dinner menu.
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth, we honour and acknowledge that Banff’s townsite, including The Maple Leaf restaurant, is located on traditional Treaty 7 territory. Read more.
About Shane
Born to Cree parents and raised by a Métis father and Mi’kmaq-British mother, Chef Shane Chartrand has dedicated his adult life to learning about his history, visiting with other First Nations peoples, gathering and sharing knowledge and stories, and creating dishes that combine his interests and express his personality. Chef Chartand shares his inspiration for each of his feature dishes in the stories below.
Indigenous food is about land. It's about place. It's about terroir.
It's about the ingredients from where you're from.
Appetizers
Alder Roasted Mushrooms 16 (v/gf)
corn relish | shaved celery | almond parsnip puree
“The amount of mushrooms that grow in the forests of Prince Rupert is incredible. This dish is a celebration of their land, and the Terrior that grow so many “Chicken of the Woods.”
Cinnamon Maple Cured Salmon “Mosaic” 25 (gf)
honey roasted beets | sweet mustard broth
“Salmon is of course the staple ingredient for Aquatic based Indigenous peoples of our land. The flavour of cinnamon is simply my own style of cooking Indigenous food.”
Entrées
Cornmeal Crusted Rainbow Trout 45 (gf/df)
torn off the plank to order | carrot & honey purée |
wild onions | wilted spinach, capers | deviled egg
“Trout is a staple of the Plains Cree diet. Based on the reality we are landlocked, river & lake fishing is a huge part of our world, even more than hunting. I created this dish around those moments.”
Bison Tenderloin & Marrow 80 (gf)
apple sauce | warmed shaved potatoes | pan jus
“This dish is a celebration of two things: the Okanagan Valley where I have spent a lot of time cooking in the region where the Indigenous peoples live, and for the plains Cree, and the bison relationship of food, that has been gifted to us, and now as well to all people.”
Appetizers
Alder Roasted Mushrooms 16 (v/gf)
corn relish | shaved celery | almond parsnip puree
“The amount of mushrooms that grow in the forests of Prince Rupert is incredible. This dish is a celebration of their land, and the Terrior that grow so many ‘Chicken of the Woods.”
Cinnamon Maple Cured Salmon “Mosaic” 25 (gf/df)
honey roasted beets | sweet mustard broth
“Salmon is of course the staple ingredient for Aquatic based indigenous peoples of our land. The flavour of cinnamon is simply my own style of cooking Indigenous food.”
Entrées
Bison Tenderloin & Marrow 80 (gf/df)
apple sauce | warmed shaved potatoes | pan jus
“This dish is a celebration of two things: the Okanagan Valley where I have spent a lot of time cooking in the region where the Indigenous peoples live, and for the plains Cree, and the bison relationship of food, that has been gifted to us, and now as well to all people.”
Cornmeal Crusted Rainbow Trout 45 (gf/df)
torn off the plank to order | carrot & honey purée |
wild onions | wilted spinach | capers | deviled egg
“Trout is a staple of the Plains Cree diet. Based on the reality we are landlocked, river & lake fishing is a huge part of our world, even more than hunting. I created this dish around those moments.”
Bring it home
Chef Chartrand’s cookbook, Tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine, traces Chartrand’s culinary journey from his childhood in Central Alberta, where he learned to raise livestock, hunt, and fish on his family’s acreage, to his most recent success as a highly sought after leader and consultant of Indigenous cuisine.
Containing over seventy-five recipes — including Chartrand’s award-winning dish “War Paint” — along with personal stories, culinary influences, and interviews with family members, tawâw is part cookbook, part exploration of ingredients and techniques, and part chef’s personal journal.
Where To Find Chef Shane
National Indigenous People’s Day
This is a day for all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and ongoing contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Join Chef Shane at The Whyte Museum grounds for Experience a Taste of Cultures with free samples of delicious Indigenous dishes using traditional ingredients from a variety of Indigenous chefs. Free, limited quantities from 2 – 5 pm.
Brewery & The Beast
A ticketed culinary event & music festival, featuring open- fire cooking craft beer & cocktails.
Visa Infinite Dining Series
Details: Ticketed event available exclusively to Visa Infinite card holders. $195/person. The historic Deane House is consistently considered one of Calgary’s best restaurants, thanks in large part to the talents of Chef Jason Barton-Browne, where he serves up a feast of seasonal, local, and sustainable food. Making this outdoor, tented dinner even more exciting will be his collaboration with some of Alberta’s most award-winning chefs: Scott MacKenzie from sister restaurant River Café; Shane Chartrand, the voice and face of Indigenous cuisine in this country; Blair Lebsack of RGE RD in Edmonton; and Deane House Pastry Chef, Jaimie MacIssac
Great Kitchen Party (invitational)
An evening of elevation and celebration of Canadian culture. Chef Shane Chartrand is honoured to compete at this regional qualifier for the Canadian Culinary Championship. A past gold medalist, Shane will be the only Banff chef to compete.
Land Acknowledgement
Let's Collaborate
We’re honoured to provide a space for Indigenous food culture to be enjoyed within our restaurant. These feature dishes explore the reawakening of Indigenous cuisine and provide a delicious opportunity to contemplate what it means to cook, eat, and share food. Help us share this collaboration between The Maple Leaf and Chef Shane Chartrand with the downloadable assets we’ve provided here.
Please credit: The Maple Leaf @themapleleafbanff / Chef Shane Chartrand @shanemchartrand / Banff Hospitality Collective @banffhospitalitycollective
Let's Collaborate
We’re honoured to provide a space for Indigenous food culture to be enjoyed within our restaurant. These feature dishes explore the reawakening of Indigenous cuisine and provide a delicious opportunity to contemplate what it means to cook, eat, and share food. Help us share this collaboration between The Maple Leaf and Chef Shane Chartrand with the downloadable assets we’ve provided here.
Please credit: The Maple Leaf @themapleleafbanff / Chef Shane Chartrand @shanemchartrand / Banff Hospitality Collective @banffhospitalitycollective
Featured In
Culinaire Magazine: Salutes & Shout Outs
Alberta indigenous chef and cookbook author Shane Chartrand has joined The Maple Leaf restaurant in Banff, with a new à la carte feature menu exploring the reawakening of Indigenous cuisine, created to honour his culture and traditions. Try the superb cinnamon-cured salmon appetizer, bison tenderloin, cornmeal-crusted rainbow trout and more at The Maple Leaf, 137 Banff Avenue, and see Chef Chartrand’s full menu at banffmapleleaf.com.
Culinaire Magazine x Global News: Road Trip Dining
Speaking of food that speaks to the beauty of our country, renowned chef and cookbook author Shane Chartrand has joined the team at the Maple Leaf restaurant in Banff as co-executive chef. The best way to get a taste of Chartrand’s signature culinary style is to order from a new feature menu he’s created to honour his own Indigenous culture and traditions as well as the Indigenous history of the Banff townsite, which sits on Treaty 7 territory.
Chorney-Booth: Celebrate Canadiana food and design at a new mountain-themed restaurant in West Hillhurst
Speaking of food that speaks to the beauty of our country, renowned chef and cookbook author Shane Chartrand has joined the team at the Maple Leaf restaurant in Banff as co-executive chef. The best way to get a taste of Chartrand’s signature culinary style is to order from a new feature menu he’s created to honour his own Indigenous culture and traditions as well as the Indigenous history of the Banff townsite, which sits on Treaty 7 territory.