Reclaiming culture through cuisine: The story behind Vancouver’s only Indigenous restaurant
Inez Cook, owner of Salmon n’ Bannock and member of Nuxalk Nation, has a lot of firsts under her belt. She owns what is currently the only Indigenous restaurant in Vancouver, has opened the first Indigenous restaurant in a Canadian airport, and is now the first in the city to be serving up a new Indigenous brunch service.
So, with this new brunch menu, we took it as the perfect excuse to stop by for a long overdue visit to Salmon n’ Bannock.
We sat with Cook over a plate full of Bannock French Toast (more on that in a second) to chat about how the restaurant got its start, how Cook has reclaimed her Indigeneity through Salmon n’ Bannock, and to dig into some delicious brunch.
Getting started
“I’m not actually a cook, just my family name is,” said Cook with a laugh.
Cook spent 33 years in the airline industry, spending time travelling all over the world, taking in all the different cultures, and observing how food brings everyone together, before venturing into the food industry.
Despite her long aviation career, starting Salmon n’ Bannock always seemed to be in the cards for Cook.
“I always wanted to start a restaurant,” said Cook, reminiscing on growing up in Vancouver playing restaurant as a child and dishwashing at the young age of 13 at Boston Pizza.
“I think I thought it would be more play and less hard work than it really is,” added Cook. “When people say ‘do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life,’ it’s not true. I’m doing exactly what I love, but I’m working really hard.”
However, it wasn’t until the 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver that Cook realized that the city was missing an Indigenous restaurant.
Another part of the inspiration for Salmon n’ Bannock came from Kekuli Cafe, an Indigenous cafe with locations in Kelowna, Merritt, and Kamloops.
“I had been in Kelowna during a wine festival and I’d seen a huge sign that said, ‘Don’t panic, we have Bannock,’ and I was like, ‘Oh my God, stop the car,’ and that’s Kekuli Cafe.”
After chatting with Kekuli Cafe owners Sharon and Darren, Cook had asked if they wanted to partner up. Not wanting to overextend themselves, they ended up saying no, but gave Cook their blessing and offered help.
“We’ve been best of friends ever since,” said Cook.
As for the name Salmon n’ Bannock, Cook said she knew she wanted it to be Salmon and Something so non-Indigenous folks would see something familiar. Then, she decided to put bannock in it so that Indigenous people would know this was their restaurant.
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Challenges of starting and operating a restaurant
Operating a restaurant in Vancouver for 15 years is no small feat, and while Salmon n’ Bannock has drawn people from far and wide, Cook has also faced her fair share of challenges.
For starters, Cook said that the Vancouver restaurant scene was fickle and that it was hard to get a foot in the door.
“Everybody knows somebody,” said Cook. “They know the chef that studied somewhere. They know something about somebody, and when I opened, nobody knew who I was because I was in aviation. I wasn’t in the culinary world, so I had a lot to prove.”
But it wasn’t only the culinary world that Cook had to prove herself to.
“I didn’t grow up in my culture either, so I had a lot to prove not only to the culinary world, but to the Indigenous world,” said Cook, adding that she has been learning a lot from the restaurant as well as her team.
“My whole team here is Indigenous from different areas,” she said. “We’ve been learning from each other.”
Another challenge for Cook has been the sourcing of ingredients.
“A lot of our traditional foods aren’t available on the commercial market,” said Cook.
Additionally, price points are a big concern for Cook, especially since Salmon n’ Bannock doesn’t serve more widely available meats like chicken, beef, or pork.
“We don’t get any of our ingredients wholesale,” said Cook. “So, staying competitive on the market while staying local and using top-quality ingredients, it’s all challenging.”
Cook always makes sure to shop Indigenous brands first. Then, she’ll look to purchase something local, and if she still can’t find what she’s looking for, she’ll look at Canada as a whole.
Marco Ovies/Dished
And it’s not just ingredients where Cook tries to support Indigenous businesses as well. In addition to art from various Indigenous artists listed for sale covering the walls, Salmon n’ Bannock gets its soap in the bathroom from Sister Sage, tea from Ancestors Cafe, beer from Locality Brewing, and coffee beans from Spirit Bear Coffee, to name a few.
Food
When it comes to food, there are many times to get excited about. During our visit, we had the chance to try Salmon n’ Bannock’s recently launched brunch service.
Highlights include the Bennies on Bannock with smoked salmon (because when you visit a place named Salmon n’ Bannock, you can’t leave without trying salmon and bannock).
While bannock is prepared differently depending on where you are, Salmon n’ Bannock bakes theirs so it’s dense but still moist and fluffy. In our opinion, the perfect vessels to serve something as saucy as an egg Benedict.
Bennies on Bannock with smoked salmon (Marco Ovies/Dished)
And when it comes to salmon, Cook assured us that they don’t use the F word here (F word meaning farm, of course).
“There’s no farm salmon here, you can tell from the colour and the flavour,” said Cook, adding that eagles don’t eat farm salmon (“What does that tell you?” she asked us).
But the showstopper on the brunch menu, and one of Cook’s favourite dishes on the new brunch menu, is The Hibernator. Think French toast, but made with bannock and topped with berries and maple syrup. There’s also the option to turn this into The Auntie, which substitutes the syrup for maple liquor.
The Hibernator (Marco Ovies/Dished)
For those visiting for dinner service, Cook recommends trying the salmon sample, which features salmon served in three different ways.
Another must-order according to Cook is the Bison Pot Roast, which is slow-cooked for 24 hours and melts in your mouth, as well as the sablefish.
Salmon n’ Bannock is open seven days a week from 3 to 9 p.m., and for brunch on Sundays with two seatings at 10 a.m. and noon.
Salmon n’ Bannock
Address: 1128 W. Broadway #7, Vancouver
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