I’m fascinated with the behind-the-scenes of creating food. Whether it was The Heat with Mark McEwan back in 2006 or Carnival Eats with Noah Cappe, it’s interesting to find out how food is prepared, quickly and on-location, for people.
That fascination continues with Pow Wow Chow. The documentary series, debuting Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on APTN, hits the road to follow two Indigenous chefs preparing food for crowds at Pow Wows across the country.
Featuring Indigenous chefs Shawn Adler of the Pow Wow Café and Flying Chestnut Kitchen, and Bob Chilblow of Chiblow Fish, their partners, family, and road crews, each instalment of Pow Wow Chow digs into the dishes being created, as well as spotlighting the Pow Wows themselves.
“Going behind the scenes is interesting,” Adler says during a recent phone call. “People don’t have that perspective without a TV show, and it definitely makes for some interesting watching.”
Adler and his partner are a sight, driving a small yellow school bus from location to location, unloading it, prepping, cooking, selling, cleaning up, packing up and doing it all over again. It can be a logistical nightmare, but one Adler has nailed down with experience.
Produced by InterINDigital and Sandbay, Pow Wow Chow is educational as well. Viewers learn about the Pow Wow Trail, which stretches from B.C. to Nova Scotia, celebrating Indigenous culture as multiple generations come together to enjoy food, honour traditions, forge a sense of community and practice spiritual healing.
“APTN is aired all across Canada,” Adlet says. “I don’t think a lot of non-Indigenous folks have ever been to a Pow Wow, maybe they have heard the term before, and don’t really understand what happens. Beyond the food vending, there is the drumming, the dancing, the singing, all of the craft vendors and it’s a family-oriented cultural practice.”
“I hope that people tune in and garner a little more of an understanding of life on the Pow Wow Trail.”
Pow Wow Chow airs Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on APTN.
Image courtesy of Sandbay Entertainment.
