Food from the heart of

by Julie Pellissier-Lush

Shaun Zwarun Formac Publishing

You can hear the pride in Shaun Zwarun’s voice when he talks about his work, and this work of art is full of delicious recipes, mouthwatering pictures and easy and fun directions on how to prepare each dish. He brings his many years of experience, sourcing local produce and knowledge from the many cultural chefs who have crossed paths with him at Kiju’s Restaurant in Membertou First Nation, where he is executive chef.

When asked why he picked the recipes he did, he says, “It was hard. I had double the amount I needed and I knew I had to cut a few out when I realized I had 21 different soups, and this wasn’t going to be a soup cookbook. I picked the ones that were important to me, showcasing the foods from across the [Unima’ki/Cape Breton] Island and I tried to stay more original than going just with the trends that come and go.”

When creating his menu for Kiju’s Restaurant, the first few years Zwarun changed the menu every season—four new menus a year. This was a huge task for him and the rest of the staff, but he found customers would come in for certain dishes. He learned to leave those items on the menu.

Many of those recipes he added into this book as customer favourites. These foods have stood the test of time, like his delicious cheesecake.

“People come sometimes just for that and a cup of tea. So, what I learned over time is a lot of our menu items don’t get changed out. And when I do change things out it is only about half the menu, just to keep the menu current. Some of those items that must stay on will be here in my book,” he says.

Zwarun advertises special menu items online and has discovered people will pack the restaurant just because of the advertisement. The community has been supportive of the work he has been doing, as he has implemented Indigenous cuisine into the menu with help from Indigenous cooks, to share their knowledge of preparing their food. Zwarun has also held International Culinary Night—with different cuisines from around the globe— each Saturday night for the past several years (prior to Covid).

As a big fisherman and a seafood lover, Zwarun struggled deciding which recipes were his favourites. For someone who does not have much experience cooking easy meals (like soups and salads), he has written a set of recipes with instructions that are easy to follow and make anyone feel like a professional chef.

Writing a cookbook was always a dream of Zwarun’s. Now he has put together his favourite recipes, had photographers take breathtaking photos of his food and had the collection professionally edited (from his publisher, Formac) to create a perfect book.

“I am so excited to have my own book,” he says. “I think this will be good for me and the restaurant as well.” ■ JULIE PELLISSIER-LUSH, M.S.M., is the Poet Laureate of Prince Edward Island and the author of My Mi'kmaq Mother, Mi’kmaq Campfire Stories of Prince Edward Island and Epekwitk: Mi’kmaq Poetry from Prince Edward Island.