Indigenous cuisine a hot seller at Back to Batoche

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“I love cooking and the food,” he said, when asked what his favourite part of the festival was. “The Métis food has been a big part of my life, all my life. I grew up Métis and I’m proud to be Métis.” 

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Hailing from Leoville, Sask., Sawatsky said they serve fried pike, Métis tacos and fry bread during the festival. They also had a special on Friday and Saturday night when they served up neck bones, which is always a big seller during the festival. 

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Back in the kitchen, he said it’s all hands on deck. 

“We have a lot of friends and a lot of staff; everybody comes back with us every year. We must be doing something right because they really enjoy working here with us,” he laughed. 

What sets his stand apart from everyone else, he said, was how quick his team could prepare an order. 

“We like to have no more than a five-minute wait for anybody for their food.” 

In food truck alley, the longest line at any stand was for a small trailer called Coralee’s Cree Cuisine. 

There, Linaya Cuthand, her mom Coralee, and the rest of their family throw down on the grill to serve up what Cuthand calls, “the best bannock burgers around”. 

“My mom makes fresh bannock every single time.” 

Linaya Cuthand and her family’s food truck, Coralee’s Cree Cuisine, had a long line of customers all weekend at the Back to Batoche festival. (Image Credit: Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

They also have their own take on the classic corn dog where instead of the standard breading, they use bannock, which happens to be one of their best sellers. Coralee’s also debuted a new item this year, which quickly became a fan favourite with their fried bologna sandwich, featuring bologna with lettuce, cheese, and mayo slapped between two pieces of bannock. 

Cuthand explained that her family has had the business since 2018, travelling around to various festivals and pow wows across the prairies from their base in Red Pheasant Cree Nation. 

“I always loved my mother’s cooking. Everyone does, all the community members always ask her to cook for every event.” 

Back to Batoche welcomed around 40,000 people from across the country and world for its 56th installment from July 16-19. 

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com