bear, interrupted: tails from nanook alley.

I should be flying back to the West Coast today. It’s the second time this flight from Winnipeg has been booked and not taken but in the spirit of remote chef life the weather has been playing against us for over a week now. As I think back to how I envisioned this entry being written, which was over a cold beer at the bar waiting for a boarding call taking me back to Nicaragua, and while that still sounds pretty decent I’m also very content to be sitting in front of our fireplace, in our boarded up main cabin, with a guides rifle by my side, sipping a semi warm coffee still planning a menu for the next few days.

For the past 6 weeks I’ve been nestled in at the Geillini Cabins that are situated on a finger-like island on Hudson’s Bay in Nunavut. Basically, halfway between Arivat, NU and Churchill, MB or at 60.22N 94.70W to be exact. The cabins that were previously used as shelter during hunting seasons are named after the Geillini River to the south of us which is also where our guides travel to for our water supply. I listened to many stories from locals of happenings around this area back in the day during our setup week and they were nothing short of crazy. Probably also explains why my dreams this entire time have been so wild and vivid. There is something special about the land here and the people that inhabit it.

That being said, it’s hard for me to fully describe the beauty in the vastness once you clear the treeline but it was evident immediately on my plane ride in as the landscape revealed a color palette I have never seen before. Paired with soft cotton candy sunrises, warm sunsets and watching the fall land change to all shades of blues and winter whites it was love in an instant and I knew I was in for another remarkable work adventure. What transpired was nothing short of surreal.

So, why am I here in the arctic at this super remote location filleting fish with pants, socks and shoes on and not pantless on the beach (besides the fact that I love a good cooking challenge)? For the same reason our guests journey here; the chance to see polar bears on their migratory path north in an intimate and safe setting with Arctic Kingdom. Maybe you could argue I’m still on the beach but I’m not going to get into that.

Aptly nicknamed “Polar Bear Alley” this place fully lived up to its name. I have legit lost count of the number of bears I have seen but it never got old. What became a bit of a joke around camp was, if I was about to plate a meal you could almost bet there was a bear coming to interrupt yet another meal. So, I learned to be crafty and anticipate these beauties gracing us with their presence and got really good at completing kitchen tasks with a headlamp because we’d often kill the main generator so as to not scare them the opposite way. You really just learn to just roll with it because… well, you have to. Watching the bears sniff the air towards the cabin you knew they just wanted an invite in for whatever was on the menu that moment and I don’t blame them.

Seeing my first bear was like something out of a fairytale; too real to be real life. Let alone watching this one female who stuck around for a few days with us early on in the trip play with one of our big orange cones that mark our runway for over an hour. I still giggle just thinking about it. And when I saw my first mom with “COYS” (Cubs Of The Year) I’m pretty sure I shed a tear. Right down to the largest male some of these guys have seen closer to our last days staring me in the eye wondering where his portion of bacon for breakfast was. I felt them all and they felt us: respect. These animals are so impressive, again, really hard to describe and my pictures don’t do them justice. Ultimately, like a broken record, surreal.

The bears were the highlight but there were many other moments too. Like the arctic fox that started calling camp home and then brought 3 friends to the party. How many nights those little gremlins kept me up I also lost count but they’re so fricking cute it was hard to stay mad at them. There were arctic hare around and the occasional snowy owl sighting and some caribou when we first arrived and of course the aurora borealis or northern lights were always the icing on the cake of an already amazing day. To top it off one of my favorite aspects was being able to cook with country food.

Country food is food sourced from the land. It could be hare, goose, caribou, char, polar bear, muskox, whale, seal etc. This provides so much more than just food for the Inuit but also a source of clothing and income. Primarily, I had a surplus of arctic char and a whole caribou to work with. Personally, I had never broken down caribou or any game like this so for me I absolutely loved it. The guide told me to just follow the ribbons and natural lines and the rest will come. In my head I immediately translated this to skiing so it all felt natural and I let my knife do the rest. Caribou stew became one of my favorite dishes overall for the trip served with bannock of course and my char chowder was equally enjoyed.

And yes, we got weathered in almost five full days with guests and we’re still here with staff only. Those days I felt like it was my best time to shine making a lot out of nothing but honestly. Feeding 12 people at the tail end of a season when you haven’t had a restock of food since November 6 and only repeating 3 dishes total is a feat I am very happy and proud of. Learning to feed people in this situation is like rolling the dice: you could get out tomorrow or you could be stuck for another week. Luckily I’m much better at stretching food than actually playing a dice game like 10,000. But really, I couldn't have done it without the support of my team. My job makes me feel creative and it's not new news that I love cooking for people, it moments like these that really remind me that I was born to do this.

As a whole I am at a loss for words over this trip really. From local language lessons and stories with Moses over banging out the dishes, to Scott’s dj’ing in the mornings and subtle hints of being out of oatmeal raisin cookies, to hearing Dave’s whistle during bear visits and making us coffee in the morning and Cameron always knowing when a bear was coming these are the things I am most grateful for on this trip. There are of course a bunch of other people on our team behind the scenes that are just as significant but I have spent the most time with these four and they feel like family.