The year-long wait for many Sooke residents ended the weekend of June 22 with the return of the famous, decades-old tradition of the salmon barbecue.
As a long line of people formed at the entrance of the Sooke Region Museum that morning, official event pitmaster Dean Haldane and his family were in charge of preparing the salmon the old-fashioned way.
With 20 spring salmon slow-smoking over the fire on four racks, the cook explained that the secret to a good salmon barbecue lies in long-held craftsmanship and patience.
“We start the fires early in the morning to get nice hot coals, and then we use green wood, which is freshly cut, so it doesn't burn really fast, but it smokes,” Haldane said. “We use alder because of the flavour from the smoke; it’s not too strong and adds such a great taste to the fish.”
Having cooked salmon for nearly 30 years, Haldane said he learned the culinary technique from his father, an Indigenous man from Prince Rupert who passed it down to him and his loved ones.
“I've been doing this my whole life,” said Haldane. “Salmon was and still is, in a lot of sense, a staple for the people here on the West Coast. In the summer, (folks) would go fishing for salmon and then smoke it to preserve it.”
More than being just a source of food, the pitmaster said salmon represents a way for him to share his culture and connect with fellow Sooke residents and beyond.
“It means a lot to me and it's definitely an honour,” he said. “I love doing it. Look how many people come up and they just take pictures because they're in awe.
“This is cool to see people enjoying it.”
Held in tandem with the Sooke Region Museum open house since 1977, these events are the perfect duo to showcase the municipality’s rich history – one intertwined with the South Island’s First Nations.
“When we arrived here, we learned from the people who've lived here since time immemorial (how) to cook salmon in traditional ways, and now it's part of our life as well,” she said. “The museum represents the history and the heritage of the region, and food is part of that.”
As Sooke continues to grow, Richard said the event is a perfect opportunity for residents to come together, learn about their history and perhaps even become part of it.
And if you haven’t yet experienced salmon cooked the ancestral way, both Richard and Haldane suggest marking next year’s event on your calendar.
“You should just taste it for yourself,” Haldane said. “Holy cow, you'll totally enjoy it!”
To learn more about the Sooke Region Museum, visit sookeregionmuseum.ca.
