"House Special": New docuseries is a nostalgic journey to small-town Chinese Canadian restaurants

Oct 31 2022, 10:38 pm
Chef and national best-selling author Jackie Kai Ellis describes herself as having a distinct culinary vocabulary.

“As a Chinese Canadian, my culinary vocabulary had some flavours, textures, ingredients, and combinations that were influenced by a unique kind of nostalgia,” said Kai Ellis to Daily Hive. “I was familiar with mixing languages and saw the fluidity and overlap between Chinese, Canadian, and French cuisines.

“I remember being in Paris while studying pastry and craving a Chinese home-cooked meal. Unable to find rather usual ingredients at the Sunday market, I created a simmered dish out of large chunks of lardon, juicy prunes, aubergines, onions and chives, soy, and local wildflower honey. It reminded me of the sweet and salty dishes of home when eaten on a bowl of steamed white rice.”

Kai Ellis, an acclaimed designer, entrepreneur, and advice columnist, is helping take viewers on a mouth-watering nostalgic journey of their own. She hosts the new Telus original docuseries House Special, created by Vancouver filmmakers Black Rhino Creative, premiering on Wednesday, November 16.

 

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According to Kai Ellis, founder of Vancouver’s Beaucoup Bakery, House Special is a five-part docuseries about Chinese Canadian history through the lens of small-town Asian restaurants and the families who run them. There are also conversations over sweet and sour pork.

Telus and Black Rhino asked if I would be interested in being involved,” she explained. “It was during the pandemic and I was reading so many stories of Asian hate crimes. I was confronted by the reality of my race in such a raw way that I had begun to wonder why I knew so little about my Chinese Canadian heritage.

“When the opportunity came up, I felt honoured to be able to learn more about this history alongside the viewer, in a very personal way.”

House Special

House Special/Submitted

Over the course of House Special, viewers will join Kai Ellis in travelling by train to visit five communities in BC and Alberta on a culinary quest to uncover the dishes at the centre of the Chinese Canadian story. As she meets local historians and restaurant owners, sampling staple dishes and cooking recipes, Kai Ellis explores the story of her own Chinese Canadian heritage.

“We filmed most of the episodes in the winter months in rural BC and Alberta,” shared Ryan Mah and Danny Berish of Black Rhino Creative. “Despite the cold weather, we were welcomed with open arms and warm hospitality in every town we visited.

“Jackie was pregnant in her second trimester and one of the biggest surprises for us was to discover how adventurous and easygoing she could be. She was a curious and intrepid traveller and her energy, enthusiasm and passion for the project were on par with the whole production team.”

House Special

House Special/Submitted

Mah and Berish told Daily Hive that making House Special was a deeply personal experience for all involved.

“As an all-Asian production crew, we all had a vested interest in making this the best series we could,” Mah and Berish added. “It allowed us to revisit our childhood memories through food. We each had something to relate to while filming, whether that was drinking soups boiled for hours by Chinese elders, or having homemade soy milk.”

House Special‘s first two episodes premiere on November 16 on Telus VOD Optik and online. A new episode can then be seen on the subsequent three Tuesdays.

House Special

House Special/Submitted

The five cities showcased in the docuseries include Penticton, BC; Vernon, BC; Kelowna, BC; Red Deer, Alberta; and Grand Prairie, Alberta. Each episode has a unique theme that is explored, and delicious dishes like pork fat rice, ginger beef, and handmade dumplings are on the menu.

“Behind every dish there is a family, working hard seven days a week, providing a better future for their family. There’s a story attached to every Chinese restaurant across the country,” said Mah and Berish. “No matter where you are, no matter how small the town, there is always a Chinese restaurant with incredible stories of resilience and hard work from the inspirational people who run them.”

For Kai Ellis, she hopes that viewers of House Special get what she got out of filming the project: understanding.

“I began to understand this Chinese Canadian culture, the culture of my parents and my culture so much more deeply,” Kai Ellis said. “I understood why Chinese people ask, ‘Have you eaten yet?’ instead of, ‘How are you?’ I understood why my mom cut me a plate of fresh fruit instead of saying, ‘I love you.’

“I was taught about the generations before me that loved through famine, wars, sacrifice and survival; through food, shelter, money, warmth and suddenly understood the meaning behind the designer handbag cliché and understood for the first time the luxury of a Chinese chicken soup.”

For more information on House Special, visit the docuseries website.

Daniel ChaiDaniel Chai

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