The Depanneur + The Bentway Communal Table 2023
Family-style dining in a unique urban setting. Communal Tables are seated, family-style meals, served and shared at 10 tables of 6, where you bring your own plates and cutlery.
THU September 14 | Autumn Equinox Feast | Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin
Strachan Gate at The Bentway • 6pm • Pre-order online until MON June 19
Join Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin (They Feed the People) on September 14, in anticipation of the Autumn Equinox, to celebrate the changing of the seasons and the gifts of the fall harvest. We are excited to bring a specially curated Autumn Equinox Feast to the Bentway Communal Table that originates that originates from the sky, the water, the land and the kitchens of our families. We invite you to sit with us as we tell a story through Indigenous ingredients, and offer an experience to see food as understand it – a way to build meaningful relationships.
Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin (They Feed The People) is a Toronto-based Indigenous catering company and food sovereignty project that brings Indigenous fusion foods to catered events, festivals, cultural gatherings and pop-ups around the city. In the summer of 2022, they brought an Indigenous food market to the historic Fort York site that became a busy weekly event feeding hundreds of people and introducing them to Indigenous twists on popular street food recipes. Led by Laurie Hermiston, the “Dash” team is a catering company with a conscience, paying forward a portion of all of their profits to food sovereignty projects in the community.
Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin will also be the recipient of all funds raised by this year’s Pay It Forward program, to support their mission to provide fresh, lovingly prepared food to vulnerable persons in Toronto’s Indigenous community.
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This special feast will feature a creative, elevated menu inspired by traditional indigenous foodways, featuring local, seasonal and wild-foraged foods sourced in collaboration with indigenous-led producers and suppliers.
Hominy Corn Chowder
with Sage Infused Bannock
White Bean with Sumac Dip & Smokey Sunflower Dip
served with Wild Rice Crackers.
Fall Harvest Salad
with a Sweetgrass Vinaigrette
Chokecherry & Wild Grape Braised Venison Shoulder
Served with Squash and Parsnip Puree
-or-
Wild Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash [Vegetarian]
with cranberry, walnut and wild mushroom Saute
Baked Apple Upside-Down Cake
with Maple Cream
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Meat or Vegetarian
Autumn Equinox Feast
Communal Tables opening (Jun 21) and closing (Sep 14) feasts by Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin are priced at $80pp +HST, with all additional proceeds going to support their programs. All other Communal Table dinners are $40 pp.
Toronto-based Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin (They Feed the People)is an innovative Indigenous catering company that has been working to support Indigenous seniors and vulnerable community members since June 21st, 2020. What began as a food security project for houseless Indigenous relatives is now a sovereign approach to raising funds and sharing much needed support for Indigenous seniors, families, and vulnerable community members in the city. Building relationships through food and honoring the role of Matriarchs in community by supporting the vulnerable are important pillars of what Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin does.
A portion of their profits from catering are used to support the right to food security and wellness for Indigenous peoples on their ancestral lands. Currently, they support the Seniors at Wiigwamen Terrace in Toronto with a bi-weekly produce and prepared meal market, a saturday breakfast program, social dances and celebrations and a weekly lunch meeting to help organize their own advocacy and projects. They work closely with outreach teams and frontline support in the city to share traditional foods with Indigenous people living houseless and bring food to families grieving from loss and traumatic experiences.
You can find the Dashmaawaan team throughout the city at various catering events, community gatherings, festivals and feasts, and at their weekly Indigenous Summer Food Market at the Historic Fort York Site serving their unique style of Indigenous fusions and street-style food.
Co-presented with Fort York National Historic Site, a place where past and present meet to spark discussions about shared futures. The site features Canada’s largest collection of original War of 1812 buildings and a Visitor Centre with engaging and immersive exhibition experiences. Fort York is part of Toronto History Museums, a collection of 10 historic sites owned and operated by the City of Toronto devoted to sharing this land’s diverse histories. General admission is free.
Pay It Forward
At check out, you will be invited to optionally contribute towards our Pay It Forward initiative. 2023 Pay it Forward funds go to Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin (They Feed the People) to support the food security needs of vulnerable persons in Toronto’s Indigenous community.
