On historic 104 Street sits Bernadette’s, a cozy and delicious refuge from the busy city streets. Inside, you get the tantalizing smells of steaming, buttered bannock and the savoury tang of saskatoon berry brisket fills the air.
Sitting down for a meal is an experience of fresh flavours, rich history and the comfort of home.
Bernadette’s has broken onto the scene as Edmonton’s first Indigenous fine dining restaurant. Founders Scott Jonathan Iserhoff and Svitlana Kravchuk hope to transcend the stereotypes that confine Indigenous cuisine and shape a new understanding of what their food can be.
Connection with their customers is their goal. That’s why every customer is granted Kokhum’s hospitality, that careful attention to detail that grandmothers have; anticipating your needs before you might even know them.
“She just knows,” says Iserhoff. “Back home there was always tea, bannock with some margarine.”
It’s that feeling of comfort that breaks cultural barriers.
“A lot of times people try some of Scott’s dishes and then they’re like ‘well, I’m from a different country but this really reminds me of something my grandma would make,’ or ‘this really reminds me of something I had as a kid,’” said Kravchuk, who added that connection is often the first step to understanding the history behind Indigenous food.
The food that comes out of Bernadette’s kitchen is also political.
Many of Iserhoff’s dishes are based on the recipes that Indigenous peoples turned to when they were barred from hunting and harvesting while being confined to reservations by the Canadian government.
“The government fed us through these rations,” said Iserhoff. “Think canned meats, flour, lard, butter—things that you can make bannock with. That’s why it’s so predominant in Indigenous families.”
But even though it’s an Indigenous staple today, bannock is not a traditional dish—it’s Scottish.
“There was a lot of trade with recipes and food when settlers were coming here,” said Iserhoff. “It’s survival. It’s adapting to your environment and perseverance.”
The same story sits behind their spam stuffed olives.
“A lot of people don’t know why [we make them], but there’s a political side to that,” said Iserhoff. “They’re looking at it as a fancy dish, so essentially it’s turning food insecurity into food security.”
When it comes to their ingredients, the duo strives for fresh, wild and local. They rotate their menu as ingredients go in and out of season, like their BC halibut or wild caught scallops from Nova Scotia, so every visit is a pleasant surprise.
And they don’t stop at food—this applies to their drinks as well.
“We have quite an extensive, beautiful cocktail [and] mocktail menu,” said Kravchuk. “We make everything in-house, so not only fresh juice or simple syrups, but cordials and shrubs are made in-house as well.”
They also put an emphasis on supporting small producers.
“For example, we carry Indigenous made mezcals that come from small communities, they’re family made and carry a lot of significance culturally and spiritually,” boasts Kravchuk. “We have Indigenous made wines too, which is also really beautiful.”
The two believe their restaurant is a big step forward for Indigenous representation. But while it’s exciting that Bernadette’s is a first for Edmonton, it’s also a sobering reminder of how slow Canada’s reconciliation movement is.
“Just to have an Indigenous business within the city centre is a big deal,” said Iserhoff. “We’ve got Indigenous folks from out East and the West coming here, saying how inspired they are.”
Dining at Bernadette’s is a unique opportunity to develop your understanding. The pair say that often, people don’t realize how diverse Indigenous food is and encourage you to take a moment to consider the history behind the food, and where the recipe came from.
“It’s breaking the stereotypes and understanding of what the food is and what the different cultures can be, and they’re not all the same,” said Kravchuk.
The representation doesn’t stop there.
“We employ Indigenous folks here,” said Iserhoff who added they encourage their staff to express themselves.
“We’re running a cocktail club where our three servers are actually creating their own cocktail menu based on their family and their childhoods,” said Kravchuk. “The drinks that they all come up with are so unique to their personal stories, something that’s inspired by your grandmother’s pie or by a kid drink that their grandma would get them from the store.”
Bernadette’s offers an experience you can’t get anywhere else, with staff that are truly passionate about their work, and food steeped in history (and amazing flavours).