Cree head chef brings Indigenous flavour to British-inspired gastropub: ‘He nails it every time’

When you first walk into the Cascade Room, it appears like an upscale pub with a typical British flavour — with an advertised Sunday roast and a Union Jack painting on the back wall.

But opening the restaurant’s menu, there’s an Indigenous twist. Recent dishes have included bison and wild rice meatloaf with bannock bread pudding, and leek ash-rubbed halibut with Three Sisters mash.

Darrel Ahenakew was hired on as the head chef of the popular spot on “Vancouver’s” Main Street in 2022, and has since been infusing some of his upbringing into his cooking. He grew up in Treaty 6 territory in “Saskatoon,” near his mother’s home reserve of Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation.

“It’s fun to play around,” he said in an interview shortly before opening the restaurant on a weekday in February.

“I think people get excited when they go to a restaurant, and there’s kind of a slight twist.”

When asked what his current favourite dish on the Cascade Room menu was, Ahenakew laughed — describing how he typically enjoys whatever he is currently working on, and likes to be present in his work.

As of right now, that would be the smash burgers — with thick slabs of bacon and cheese —  inspired by the Rink Burgers back in his hometown, a staple in Saskatoon and highly sought after at curling or hockey rinks. 

A spin on a classic burger is just one of the ways Ahenakew experiments in the kitchen. His cooking style draws inspiration from his culture and others worldwide to create an elevated cuisine.

From an early age, Ahenakew found himself curious in the kitchen with his siblings, finding what tastes he enjoyed and letting creativity take the lead. When his parents would leave lunch for them, he described build-your-own-style meals, like taco spreads, that inspired him. 

After studying at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Engineering, Ahenakew realized it wasn’t his path. While in school, he started his first kitchen job in a bakery, balancing both. 

This experience clarified his path when he considered how much fun he had cooking compared to university life. After sharing this decision with his mother, they created a compromise to switch to cooking school, where he attended Dubrulle Culinary School. He hasn’t looked back since. 

One of the things he didn’t learn how to perfect at culinary or pastry school was bannock. His mother tried to teach him after discovering this and Ahenakew added that he would practice with her to try and learn. With a lack of luck he decided to dedicate time to this new challenge.

“I practiced in secret for months and then when she came to visit I pretty much nailed it,” he said.

In the Cascade Room’s kitchen, Ahenakew gestured towards the various workstations and mementos, like fridge magnets from various cities, as sous chef Cynthia Dorantes busied herself with preparations for the evening ahead.

Ahenakew described the preparation process as the technical component of the day, which usually begins before other staff arrive. Then there is the vital process of choosing ingredients for dishes, with Ahenakew often opting for Indigenous ingredients that hold significance to him. 

“I watch a lot of travel shows and I get inspired, especially by Indigenous tribes around the world,” he said.

“There’s a lot of similarities but then even just different cultures, I just find it all very fascinating with different flavour profiles and I’ll bring a lot of that stuff into my food without it being a fusion.”

His approach is what initially interested the Cascade Room’s co-owner, Nigel Pike, who was looking to upscale the restaurant’s cuisine when he brought Ahenakew on the team in 2022. 

Pike said it was clear that Ahenakew understood what they were looking for, especially with his experience in restaurants with various themes and styles. He explained that their interview extended well past the usual timeframes as they got caught up chatting about food. 

“His features are phenomenal, and his culinary palate is second to none,” said Pike. 

“Probably one of the best chefs I’ve ever worked with in respect to consistency. There isn’t a dish he’s put out that I haven’t tasted and thought, ‘Needs a little bit of this’ or, ‘You know, how about this?’ He nails it every time.”

Set in the bustling Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, formerly Brewery Creek, the restaurant was inspired by classic British gastropubs, with its origins dating back to 1988.

A beer called Cascade dates back even earlier. The Vancouver Brewery, which opened its doors in 1888 at the corner of 7th and Scotia, saw this beer as its flagship product — the restaurant is named after this beer.

While the menu changes with the seasons, Ahenakew has added Indigenous-inspired dishes to the lineup since Thanksgiving in 2022. It began when the general manager suggested a First Nations dish on a day with implications for Indigenous people, and Ahenakew agreed.

The first dish he crafted with this intention was a maple-cured and leek ash-rubbed steelhead trout.

“It was supposed to emulate sitting on the shore, having a shore lunch with fish cooked over an open fire,” he noted alongside the fine details of making the dish, including a Three Sisters bean mash with huitlacoche (known as a Mexican truffle). 

Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of various Indigenous peoples — corn, beans, and squash.

He’s since added other Indigenous dishes to the menu, such as a bison wild rice meatloaf with truffle bannock bread pudding and corn salsa. The restaurant is known for their Sunday roast dinners — inspired by a longstanding tradition in the UK — which Ahenakew has also Indigenized by creating a First Nations edition of the feast last year with slow-roasted bison, mac and cheese, jalapeno-cheddar bannock and grilled corn.

Now, Ahenakew is looking forward to switching the menu from winter root vegetables and heavy dishes to something lighter as we head into spring. He’s considering and looking forward to creating veggie burgers, vegetarian dishes and the next Indigenous dish. 

Ahenakew highlighted that having a lighthearted nature adds to a work day. With gratitude, he spoke of the importance of inspiring his kitchen staff, and in return, they inspire him as well, creating an atmosphere of fun. 

“The more I inspire them, the easier my job gets. Work smarter and not harder, that’s what I say,” added Ahenakew.

“I bring tricks that I learn from everything, not to mention my coworkers, I always learn something from them. So it’s always great just drawing little bits of inspiration. You know, it’s not always about me as a chef. I mean, the more I teach them, the more they can teach me, and the more it helps me.”

He added that the culture in the kitchen plays a huge role in making work enjoyable, speaking highly of the energy and people that fill the restaurant and reminiscing about a specific event that the co-owners attended. 

Last September, on the eve of National Truth and Reconciliation Day, Ahenakew’s brother David Arnault, an Indigenous cultural worker with Downtown Eastside outreach group Community Builders, organized the second annual Reconciliation Through Community event at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society. 

The event drew around 150 attendees who witnessed speeches and performances by Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers and artists.

Ahenakew worked alongside his brother as the chef for the event, which included twists on traditional Indigenous recipes in dishes such as venison sliders on brioche, smoked salmon on bannock crostini, a Three Sisters Salad and more.

Keeping himself active, whether it’s in the kitchen or the community, is something he loves about the work he does. 

“A couple of volunteers and I went and cooked for a bunch of residents at one of the SROs downtown that had speakers and residential school survivors,” he said.

“Nigel and Wendy came down, and they were moved to tears. They said, ‘This is crazy,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, yeah, it’s kind of what we do.’”