Bernadette's aims to raise profile of Indigenous cuisine in Edmonton
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The owners of the forthcoming restaurant Bernadette's say their previous success with Pei Pei Chei Ow has allowed them to pursue their larger goal of increasing Indigenous representation within Edmonton's food scene — and to do it right in the core.
"It is revolutionary to have an Indigenous restaurant in downtown Edmonton," Svitlana Kravchuk told Taproot about Bernadette's, to be located at 10114 104 Street NW. "It does a lot for representation and reclaiming space." The restaurant, set to open in early May, will seat 23 inside, with up to 30 total when the patio is open later in the summer.
Kravchuk and Scott Jonathan Iserhoff, her business partner as well as spouse, closed Pei Pei Chei Ow in January. The takeout and catering kitchen was located in Whiskeyjack Art House, just north of downtown.
Pei Pei Chei Ow garnered accolades after opening in 2022, including being long-listed for enRoute's Best New Restaurant that same year, as well as being identified as one of Edify's best new restaurants in 2023.
But that success meant the operation outgrew the space. "The demand for catering has been so huge," Kravchuk said. "However, being in a heritage building, the kitchen had a lot of infrastructure challenges. We couldn't install equipment that would be efficient for us to use — we were using a residential oven."
Other limitations at Whiskeyjack Art House included a small amount of foot traffic that was less than ideal for a take-out business and a small dining area. "We enjoy serving tasting menus, engaging with customers, and talking about food with them," Kravchuk said. "We love hospitality and realized we had no growth in that location. We wanted to move on to something that we had worked towards and open a full restaurant."
The two scouted locations starting in April 2023. "This place popped up and I thought it was the perfect location," Iserhoff said of the future 104 Street spot. "Beautiful street, prominent area."
Iserhoff is Mushkego Cree. As he rose through the ranks, he said he longed to work under another Indigenous chef. He said he hopes Bernadette's can be that place for young Indigenous staff, noting that his kitchen team currently includes Indigenous people from amiskwacîwâskahikan and Haida Gwaii. "I want to inspire other Indigenous folks, even seeing it walking by," he said. "Growing up in Toronto, there was never that representation. Here we are doing everything I dreamt of as a young chef. My younger self would be so proud."
In addition, Bernadette's seeks to change perceptions about Indigenous food and ingredients. "It's not your fry-bread tacos or burgers," Iserhoff said. "It's different. It's going to showcase my style of cooking through what I've learned working in restaurants for close to 20 years. I always talk about diversity in Indigenous food because we get lumped into one group. I focus on (the) region that I'm from — Northern Ontario — but with the slight incorporation of ingredients that I've learned from here like bison and Saskatoon berries."
Added Kravchuk: "We will be breaking a lot of barriers and showcasing Indigenous food on a fine dining level. A lot of restaurants are serving Indigenous ingredients and they don't acknowledge it — oysters, lobsters, wild meats, bison."
