In this season’s final episode, we peel back the curtain on the Manitoba Food History Project to talk about memories and highlights as producer Kent Davies interviews co-authors Kimberley Moore and Janis Thiessen about their book, Mmm…Manitoba: The Stories Behind the Foods We Eat.

Everywhere you go, everyone has a food story. When the Manitoba Food History Project team were in Baltimore, Maryland for the Oral History Association conference, we interviewed people at the OHA Block Party about their favourite food memories. In one of our last episodes of the first season of Preserves, we share these stories.

The labour of food production isn’t always appreciated or understood. In this episode, VJ’s Drive-Inn owner John Calogeris and Bryanne Mysak reflect on skilled versus unskilled labour, and Emma Dubeski shares the history of the People’s Cooperative Association.

Clay vessels hold immense importance in Indigenous foodways due to their natural properties, cultural significance, and role in preserving culinary traditions. In this episode, artist and guest producer KC Adams (Ininnew/Anishinaabe/British) reveals the importance of pottery in Indigenous food history, showcasing deep connections between food, culture, and the environment.

Food is an important part of holiday traditions. Whether you gather with family and friends to celebrate Christmas, Hannukah, the changing of the seasons, or something else, holidays are a time to remember who we are and where we’ve come from. They’re also a time to think about our future and who we want to become.

‘Fish stories’ have always been synonymous with far-fetched tales, but sometimes in food history, those fish stories turn out to be true. In this episode, we explore the unlikely story of a small fish with a big culinary impact: goldeye. We also explore the importance of pickled herring in preserving cultural traditions.

Farming in Manitoba has a long and varied history, ranging from the agricultural practices of Indigenous people on this land over the millennia, to immigrant farm techniques, to the more recent (re)discovery of organic farming. Featuring interviews with a farmer-professor and a German Canadian grandma, this episode explores a few of these farm stories.

What is Kutia? And what does it have to do with the history of Ukraine? In this episode of Preserves, Allie Skwarchuck cooks Kutia with her grandparents, and learns about Ukrainian culture in the process.

Candy making was big business in mid-century Winnipeg, involving companies like Cavalier, Galpern’s, Paulin-Chambers and Scott-Bathgate. In this episode, we explore the history of this industry, including a unique Manitoba confection that’s still a favourite amongst folks on the prairies, the Cuban Lunch.

Traces of an earlier era of independent grocery stores dot the landscape of Winnipeg. Riediger’s Supermarket was one such store, catering to a Mennonite clientele in the North End since 1937. Their story reflects the changes in the retail grocery business in Manitoba over the last century.

Over the course of the Manitoba Food History project, we’ve encountered many interesting stories, subjects, and recipes that just wouldn’t fit into a full episode. We’ve tasked research assistant Michaela Hiebert to help curate a few of these bite-size stories into conversational segments we’re calling Crumbs. In our inaugural Crumbs episode, we’ll hear about the history of Manitoba Sugar, learn the smelly story behind baker’s ammonia and explore Manitoba’s connection to the popular Ukrainian-Canadian dish, beet leaf rolls.

The University of Winnipeg based Diversity Food Services is an anomaly in the food service industry landscape. As a social enterprise, Diversity is structured like a for-profit business but its primary objective is to benefit the community through delivering food in ethically and environmentally conscious ways. As Diversity Chef Darwin Gaspar and Chief Operating Officer Ian Vickers can attest to, running a social enterprise can be a challenging and rewarding experience. However, the on-going uncertainty and economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Diversity and other food service providers to pivot to other service models or risk closing.

For almost a hundred years liquor was heavily controlled and regulated in Manitoba. It wasn’t until the past few decades that the provincial liquor control legislation would begin to change, allowing for more personal responsibility over restrictions that could be described as repressive and discriminatory. This episode asks: When and how did our province’s history of restrictive liquor laws originate? What role did the Hudson’s Bay Company play in the control of liquor sales? And how did Manitobans circumvent restrictions on liquor in the form of bootlegging and moonshining?

Chinese-Canadian restaurants have long been a staple of small towns across Canada — where through ingenuity, Chinese-Canadians have been able to thrive despite encountering economic and systemic discrimination. Lok Ki-Mak, owner and chef at Lee’s Village Restaurant in Steinbach, Manitoba, shares his experiences, explaining how several rural Manitoban restaurants are the result of a close-knit Chinese-Canadian community.

Winnipeg, Manitoba is the home of one of the most popular snacks in North America, the Pizza Pop but a lot has changed since Paul Faraci created the cheese-filled turnover nearly sixty years ago including the snack itself. Paul’s grandson, Anthony Faraci tells the story of how he and his father brought back the original recipe, which they now dub Paul’s Original Pizza Snack.

When is a plant a weed or a food? What can that tell us about shifting perspectives on food systems? In this episode, chef, podcaster, and food educator Anna Sigrithur cooks us a tasty wild edible dish aboard the Manitoba Food History Truck as we explore wild foods, bioregionalism, and the impact of colonialism on traditional foodways. 

Snack foods have been marketed in Canada for almost a century. Ad campaigns have included “Buy Canadian! Support the war effort! Support local sports!” But what about Old Dutch potato chips? How have they advertised their products? And what did they have to do with the TV show Kids Bids?

Bannock is viewed by many Manitobans as an Indigenous food, though its ingredients derive from European contact. But what would Indigenous food look like today if its development hadn’t been disrupted by colonialism? Chef Steven Watson, from Winnipeg’s Commonwealth College, talks about the historical, imaginative, and spiritual work of creating an Indigenous cuisine for the 21st century.

In 2006 before the trend of craft brewing reached Manitoba, establishments like Half Pints Brewing Company were trying to make beer differently. Half Pints CEO David Rudge and Brewmaster Chris Young talk about the challenges of being a local brewery and how the Winnipeg music scene played a role in developing consumer taste for local craft beer.

John Ginakes (proprietor of Winnipeg restaurants including Thunderbird and Johnny G’s) and Demitris Scouras (Red Top) give us a glimpse into the community business networks established by post-WWII Greek immigrants that created some of Winnipeg's beloved burger joints.