Cree Chef Shane Chartrand was already a familiar name in Edmonton’s culinary scene, but thanks to a recent appearance on the latest season of Top Chef Canada, he’s becoming a familiar face, too.
Chartrand’s time on Season 11 of Top Chef Canada was marked by a commitment to staying true to his roots. “I represented the terroir of Canada,” Chartrand says. “I kept everything very prairie-esque and deeply Indigenous to showcase authenticity.” Using ingredients like reindeer lichen, elk meat, berries and bear grease, he brought Indigenous culinary traditions to national attention. Spoiler alert: Though he didn’t take home the title, you’ll see Chartrand on most of the season’s eight episodes.
The experience wasn’t without its challenges — Chartrand had to leave his job to participate, and two family members passed around the same time as filming.
“The physical cooking is grueling, and the emotional component is difficult, too,” Chartrand says. But competing was a “checkbox” item he had long wanted to do, and is grateful for the opportunity. “I left with valuable insights, proving to myself and others that Indigenous cuisine has a rightful place on the global culinary stage.”
Fresh off Top Chef Canada, Chartrand opened Paperbirch, an Indigenous culinary hub in the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market. There, Chartrand focuses on using local ingredients to craft breakfast and lunch dishes, collaborating with vendors in the market to showcase their produce, sauces and meats. The name is a tribute to Indigenous culture, referencing the first tree that Indigenous people used to craft canoes.
As one of this year’s Best Restaurants judges, Chartrand loves to see innovation in the local culinary community. “I really enjoy people who make me feel a little jealous because they are a little bit better than me, or their idea was a little bit better than mine,” Chartrand says. “I love when I taste something and think, ‘I wish I thought of that.’”
This year, Chartrand hopes to bring some of his own innovation to Edmonton’s culinary scene and envisions hosting after-hours intimate Indigenous tasting dinners at Paperbirch. “Guests will get laughs, tears, and a deeper understanding of what Indigenous culinary arts represent,” Chartrand says. “It’s about walking away feeling better, inspired and connected.”
Chartrand also plans to host “cooking experiences” out of the hub later this year, where he’ll share dishes indigenous to other cultures (Italian, French, Filipino) the same way he shares his own. It’s all to further his mission of using food as a means of teaching and connection.
While Top Chef gave him national attention, Chartrand’s passion for Indigenous culinary arts have taken him around the world, including Egypt for the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 27), where he highlighted the importance of Indigenous traditions and sustainability. “I talked about how storytelling and healing and food all go together, and how we all influence the frequencies of the land. The more of a positive person you are in your life, the more of a positive influence you’ll have on this world.”
But he feels Top Chef was “the biggest showcase for Indigenous food I’ve ever been a part of, by far.” And despite 2025 plans for even farther food-related travel, “I always end up back in Edmonton, because it’s home.”
This article appears in the March 2025 issue of Edify
