Feast Café Bistro

Feast Café Bistro is a 100% Indigenous owned and operated restaurant serving dishes inspired by the traditional flavours of this great land. From day one, Feast has run as a hybrid restaurant and social enterprise. Some crowd favourites include butternut squash bannock pizza, traditional tipi tacos, pan-seared Manitoba pickerel and wild rice, slow-roasted sweetgrass bison ribs with wild blueberry BBQ sauce, and, of course, fresh-made bannocks!

Feast harvests, cooks, and eats with good intention. The folks at Feast pay respect to the plants and animals that give themselves to nourish our bodies. Feast proudly uses foods native to the land, such as wild rice, squash, beans and bison. Feast is committed to working with the community by participating in initiatives surrounding Indigenous foods, education and work experience with local non-profits and providing opportunities to those who face barriers to employment.

“As we eat together, we honour our connections, preserve our history and share our stories. This is where our name comes from, what inspires us and our menu.”

Born and raised in Winnipeg and a proud member of Peguis First Nation, owner Christa Bruneau-Guenther is a homecook turned restaurateur. She has made it her mission to help Feast become a pillar in the community, a place for the community to reconnect and learn about Indigenous food and culture. 

Since opening in late 2015, Christa and Feast have been featured on national and international stages like Food Network Canada, Canadian Living and Chatelaine Magazine. Feast has been honored to host guests from all walks of life—from community members, elders, and families to community leaders, senators, and supreme court justices.

Savour Feast’s delectable selection at Manitou a bi Bii daziigae on April 19, 2023 for Indigenous Food, Fashion, and Music: an RBC Reaction by Collision Community Event and experience her latest collection on the runway. For more information, check out the program post for the 2023 Reaction by Collision.

Express your school spirit during Spirit Week! Next week, bring your comfiest pajamas, your baggiest jersey, your wackiest hairstyle, and your creative-iest not-a-backpack! Each day you participate, get an entry into the draw at the end of the week to win!

Show up at either Indigenous Support Centre (F209 at NDC and P407 at EDC) decked out each day:

Tuesday, April 11 – Pajama Day

Wednesday, April 12 – Jersey Day

Thursday, April 13 – Crazy Hair Day  

Friday, April 14 – Anything-but-a-Backpack Day

Make sure you check in with a Navigator to get entered each day. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

If you have any questions, contact Terri-Lynn at tlanderson@rr.ca.

The Exchange District Campus comprises three core buildings: Manitou a bi Bii daziigae, the Roblin Centre and Paterson GlobalFoods Institute. Your Indigenous Food, Fashion and Music experience starts at the Manitou a bi Bii daziigae building – so let us help you plan how to get there.

How do you want to get to RRC Polytech?

Car

Drive to the Exchange District and find parking around our campus – we’ll help you figure out the best parking spots.

Bus

Using Winnipeg Transit is an affordable and efficient way to get to the Exchange District.

Bike

Learn more about your options if you’re intending to bike to the Exchange District Campus.

Explore Your Transportation Options

Car

Parking in the Exchange District

The Exchange District area has both street parking and public parking lot options – both paid. Make sure you purchase your parking pass before going into the Open Doors event.

Bus

Winnipeg Transit

Several bus routes can take you to the Exchange District. Use the Winnipeg Transit tool to plan your bus ride.

Plan your trip to EDC ›

Bike

Storing your Bike

There are options to make cycling a safe and convenient method of commuting to RRC Polytech. Bike racks are available to the public at the Roblin Centre (160 Princess St.), one of our Exchange District Campus’ buildings.

Find out more about biking resources ›

This event is graciously supported by RBC Future Launch.

RRC Polytech is proud to host its 23^rd annual Pow Wow to honour Indigenous graduates and Indigenous student academic achievement! Please join us to celebrate our students as we send them off on their continued journeys to success. The annual Pow Wow gives our community the opportunity to dance, drum, sing, eat, connect, and participate in Ceremony.

Friday, May 5, 2023

Notre Dame Campus, North Gym

• 10:00am – Pipe Ceremony
• 12:00pm – Grand Entry
• 2:00pm – Honouring Indigenous Graduates
• 4:30pm – Feast

Graduating students can register for attendance here. Students don’t need to register for stoles ahead of time and can pick them up at the Registration Table at the event.

Dancers and drum groups can register at the Registration Table on the morning of the event.

Crafters and artists can email Frank Parkes at fparkes@rrc.ca to register.

Attendees don’t need to register ahead of time.

Wiisinin Diner will be closed tomorrow due to unforeseen circumstances. Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we apologize for any inconvenience. Normal operations are expected to resume later this week. Check back here for confirmation on when Wiisinin Diner will be taking breakfast and lunch orders again.

Join us in the Indigenous Support Centre F209 at Notre Dame Campus for a karaoke session on Thursday, April 20! Light snacks and refreshments will be available in the lounge at 4, and karaoke will start at 4:30 until 7. Shy songbirds can belt one out behind a curtain, and show-stopping stars can shine on stage, front and centre—your choice! Bring your friends and your best vocals. No registration needed.

When: 4pm–7pm, Thursday, April 20

Where: Indigenous Support Centre F209, Notre Dame Campus

If you have any questions, contact Terri-Lynn at tlanderson@rrc.ca.

Indigenous Culinary Class invited to assist world-class chefs at the International Indigenous Tourism Conference

A world class event, a thousand hungry attendees, and seven eager first year Indigenous Culinary Skills students from RRC Polytech were among the ingredients in a recipe for success, served up in downtown Winnipeg last week.       

Opportunity knocked when organizers of last week’s International Indigenous Tourism Conference (IITC) reached out to the College looking for help to feed visitors to the RBC Convention Centre attending the largest Indigenous tourism event in the world.    

Indigenous Culinary Skills instructor, Chef Patrick Anderson didn’t have to convince his current class to step up and show off their skills because all seven first year students immediately volunteered and even organized their own carpool to ensure they didn’t miss the chance of a lifetime – to get into the kitchen at a massive international event to prepare upscale traditional dishes and learn from world-renowned top chefs.

“Our students got to work shoulder-to-shoulder with 11 of the most accomplished Indigenous chefs from all over North America, helping them make 650 portions of some of the most well thought out and delicious Indigenous dishes,” said Chef Patrick. “Even I was blown away by all the amazing flavors they developed and served. This menu was proof that Indigenous cuisine is so much more than Bannock, berries and smoked meat.” 

Although cooking for a convention was a first-time experience for most of the students, they leaned on their training, their mentors, and each other to embrace the moment and perform to rave reviews. Their confidence was off the charts by the end of the night as they enjoyed samples of their work and even danced a few friendly jigs with event coordinators and guest chefs in celebration.   

“It was a really useful experience – I’d been to conferences before when I worked in healthcare, but being able to help prep and plate next to these chefs was so exciting,” said student, Belinda Johnson.

The professional chefs could not stop raving to instructors about how diligent and skilled the students were, and even offered jobs to a couple of them.

“Our team did not look like first year culinary students at this event – they acted like graduates. They worked like experienced cooks that have an incredibly bright future ahead of them. One of the coordinators came up to me and told me she believes the future of Indigenous culinary industry is very bright knowing there are programs like ours.”

Chef Patrick Anderson

On the heels of the students’ success at IITC, the Wiisinin Diner is now operating Tuesday to Friday at  RRC Polytech’s Notre Dame Campus. From March 14 to April 21, the Culinary Skills students will get hands-on experience by serving short-order meals to the College community.

The Wiisinin Diner menu will be posted daily online. Staff and students must purchase vouchers at the Campus Bookstore, place their orders for breakfast or lunch online, then take their vouchers over to Prairie Lights Dining Room to pick up their meal. Please note the Campus Bookstore will be closed March 29, 30, 31 so you are encouraged to purchase vouchers in advance for these dates.

In partnership with RBC, the School of Indigenous Education at RRC Polytech is hosting the annual RBC Reaction by Collision on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at Manitou a bi Bii daziigae (319 Elgin Ave.) in downtown Winnipeg. We invite the community to join us from 1 – 5 pm to celebrate Indigenous culture and arts!

Reaction by Collision is a community celebration featuring some of Canada’s brightest Indigenous entrepreneurs through Food, Fashion and Music. All are welcome!

Many thanks to event sponsor RBC Future Launch for their gracious support of the Reaction by Collision event.

Discover the latest trends in haute couture as models stride the runway, indulge in delectable cuisine from local chefs, browse handmade crafts and jewelry from local artisans, and experience the talent of Indian City.

Featured Artisans

Food

Brownees Urban Bistro, a cultural catering company infusing Indigenous ingredients with Caribbean flavours and spice was brought to Winnipeg, Treat 1 Territory by owner and head chef, Melissa Brown, also known as Brownee! With her passion for cooking, love for both her cultural identities (Jamaican & Anishinaabe), and appreciation for the Indigenous foods sovereignty movement, Chef Brown thought it only made sense to offer Winnipeg a unique and elevated dining and tastebud experience.

Feast Café Bistro started with a focus on community and a goal of becoming a pillar in the West End. Chef Krista Bruneau-Guenther wants each visitor to experience modern dishes rooted in traditional First Nation foods while celebrating the spirit of her culture. In the four years since opening, Christa’s recipes have been featured in Canadian Living, Chatelaine, and Food Network Canada.

Fashion

Olivia Nasikapow taught herself to bead growing up, and that hobby turned into a fully-fledged career when she graduated from MC College in November 2022. Olivia’s vision for her brand is to express the resilience and strength of Indigenous Iskwew (women), a testament to the work that she and the women that came before her have done to revolutionize and Indigenize fashion.

Gayle Grubin has been an artisan for 33 years, creating traditional Inuit garments with furs and hides. She is Inuvialuk and from Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the western arctic. Gayle is proud to share her Inuvialuit culture and traditions with anyone willing to learn.

Dawn Harris‘s journey in fashion started when she would shop for stage clothing for her children’s and grandchildren’s jigging performances but found that the pieces offered in stores never fit quite right and the mass-produced styles were lacking in character. She started to envision her own designs that would make her kids shine on stage, and in 2004, she started her brand, Designs by Dawn.

Music

Indian City is a fusion of pop, folk, and rock with an ever-rotating roster of talent. Indian City’s fourth album and Fontaine’s final project, Code Red, is a 2023 Juno Nominee for the Contemporary Indigenous Group of the Year Award. The Winnipeg-based band features different Indigenous superstars with each album, bringing together a masterful mix of energies to every recording and each live performance while expressing the modern conscience of Indigenous People. The band was founded in 2012 by the late Vince Fontaine.

The Crafters’ Market will feature local artisans and businesses with handmade works for purchase. Visit the Roundhouse on the second floor to see what’s for sale!

OGICHIDAA, a student-led Indigenous Cultures Club, will share a drumming performance to showcase their cultural pride as Indigenous students.

Subscribe here or follow us on Facebook or Instagram for up-to-date information. If you have any questions, please contact the School of Indigenous Education Events Coordinator Terri-Lynn Anderson at tlanderson@rrc.ca.

Today is Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQQIA+ Awareness to Celebration Day, a day developed and recognized by the Two Spirit community and the Centre for Community-Based Research in Alberta. We invite you to join us in acknowledging this observation in support of the Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQQIA+ community by learning more about Two-Spirit people and the history of the Indigenous 2SLGBTQQIA+ community.

RRC Polytech has a library guide on Two-Spirit and Indigenous cultural identity to walk you through suggested resources.

Learn more about Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQQIA+ Awareness to Celebration Day at the Centre for Community-Based Research.

Learn more about the Two Spirit and the Indigenous LGBGTQQIA+ community in Manitoba at Two-Spirit Manitoba.

Watch “Niish Manidoowag (Two-Spirited Beings)” at the National Film Board. Walk with four Indigenous youth as they share their stories.

Read “A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder” by Ma-Nee Chacaby and Mary Louisa Plummer from the library. Hear Elder Ma-Nee Chacaby’s story of growing up in north-western Ontario as an Ojibwa-Cree lesbian.

Read “An Introduction to the Health of Two-Spirit People” by Dr. Sarah Hunt. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the historical, contemporary and emergent issues related to Two-Spirit health, a topic that has been largely overlooked in Indigenous health literature.

Watch “Two Spirits, One Voice” at Egale for a short animated discussion on the history of Two-Spirit people.

Watch “First Stories – Two Spirited at the National Film Board. Listen to the story of Rodney “Geeyo” Poucette, who struggled with prejudice within his own community as a Two-Spirit person.

Sweats take place at 1 pm in the Medicine Wheel Garden at the Notre Dame Campus. To register, email Stephanie at sdwright@rrc.ca. Subscribe to our blog for reminders of upcoming Sweats! Check out the Sweat Lodge schedule here for more information.