b'FOOD INFLUENCERSmedal at the Canadian Federation of Chefs and Cooks Chef of the Year competition and a Plate of the Year Award with the Chane des Rtisseurs. Television appearances followed, with Food Network shows like Chopped Canada, Iron Chef and Fridge Wars.As he became ever more skilled and better known, Chartrand was moving purposefully towards his own native Indigenous cuisine. The whole reason I did it was not fortune and fame; my life is full of boxes to check off, hesays.One of those boxes involved writing a cookbook. The opportunity fell into his lap more or less by chance after an introduction to food writer Jennifer Cockrall-King, who collaborated on his award-winning taww, Progressive Indigenous Cuisine, published in 2019. The next step of that book is to try to get it into culinary institutes as a text-book, Chartrand says.Chartrand checked off more boxes when he finally opened his own restau-rant. I had to learn a lot, he says. I wanted not just to have fun and not just to create cool dishes. I spent two years just focusing on the business of running a restaurant, so that it became second nature.Having now checked off so many of his boxes, Chartrand is finally addressing his top goal: to focus on Indigenous food and what it means to CanadaIndigenous business and and why it should be a part of every-thing. He attended COP27, the UNcommunity partnerships matter.conference on climate change in Cairo, which emphasized for him the impor- We know everyone benefits when prosperity is shared. Thats why tance of rediscovering sustainablewere putting our energy into open and trusting relationship building Indigenousfoodways. to understand common interests and learn how we can partner for mutual benefit. Canadians need to understand that Indigenous food needs to be the fore- In 2021, Suncor and eight Indigenous communities formed the Astisiy front of everything, Chartrand says.partnership to purchase a 15% equity interest in the Northern Courier I believe in my heart that people arePipeline with a value of approximately $1.3 billion. Equity partnerships starting to understand and have a lotprovide a reliable and long-term source of income to participatingmore questions about our culture. IFirst Nations and Mtis communities. see a big huge change. I think right now its a crucial time. We should embrace the moniyaw, the non-Indig- Learn more at Suncor.comenous, because they can help us grow. Foraging and food and blessing and ceremonies, they all go together.SuncorAboriginal Business Report ad Aboriginal BUSINESS REPORT 25Half page vertical, 7.0"h x 4.583"w, 4C, no bleedsFINAL ARTPrepared by EMD|September 5, 2023'