Feasting on Fall
Thursday, 15 October 2009 13:15
Written by Kenton Smith
 It’s impossible to miss the signs of the harvest season: dwindling daylight hours, withered sunflowers, and combines working the fields. All of which provide the perfect scene-setters for a traditional seasonal event that from August to November stretches from Pine River to Plum Coulee, from St. Malo to Ste-Rose du Lac. And whether you’re looking for an honest meal or simply hunger for an excuse to hit the road, the perfect destination is a seat at the table for a Manitoba fall supper.As travelmanitoba.com tells it, every fall rural Manitobans slaughtered poultry, baked pies, and feasted merrily in whatever large public venues were available. Originally called “fowl suppers,” the concept transmogrified over time. Best of all: so numerous and overlapping are the various community celebrations that, for the serious dinner tripper, it’s possible to hit two (or more) in one evening–let alone a weekend–at an average of about 10 bucks a head. Unbroken fall supper traditions stretch back at least 20 years in towns like Elie, St. Eustache, and Carman. For rural Franco-Manitobans like Noelline Bernardin, a volunteer organizer for the Elie-St. Eustache supper, fall suppers are–like parler français–also a way of keeping up French Canadian traditions. “It’s not just French Canadian food, though,” she quickly adds. Indeed, the various suppers (not surprisingly) differ subtly from town to town, rewarding the would-be connoisseur. Depending on both the locale and a community’s ethnic heritage, supper-goers may encounter pork loin, breaded chicken, roast beef, perogies, or cabbage rolls. At the Elie-St. Eustache supper, it’s all about comfort food: roasted turkeys in brown gravy, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. For dessert: a light pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream. Then it’s time to hop back in the car and skip down to the Rockwellian town of Carman, distinguished by its handsome historic brick architecture. Here it is possible to indulge in seconds from the previous meal, but in addition enjoy menu items such as ham, sweet turnip, and carrots that taste of honey. Everything at both buffets is quintessential to the fruits of the season. The menu’s always been the same, according to volunteer organizer and lifelong Elie resident Jocelyne Gillis: It’s all about reliable comfort food. And as Carman organizer Larry Funke proudly boasts, “There’s been no shortcuts taken; all the food is freshly prepared.” Falling back on frozen veggies? “That’s not something any of us like so much.” Same story, different town. “We really encourage homemade pies, which people prefer,” says Bernardin. “And they were beautiful this year,” she effuses. She also shares some amazing statistics: buckling the buffet tables are 90 lbs of meatballs, 100 lbs of coleslaw, 300 lbs of potatoes, and 500 lbs of turkey (although not all at once). Meanwhile, they’ll be cooking up 250 lbs of turnips and 200 lbs of carrots in Carman. As the throngs cram into the gymnasium of St. Paul’s Collegiate, the warm laughter of familiarity boom from the crowd, punctuated by the occasional snippet of French. “It’s always been a community-building event,” says Gillis. It was only last year that the two communities, linked as one bi-parish, decided to pool their resources. Similarly, it is the local Catholic church in Carman–taking over for the Knights of Columbus–that spearheads the fête, or what Funke calls “a good parish get-together.” “It’s a way to build fellowship,” Gillis sums up. A sustained collective effort is certainly instrumental to pulling things off, and it’s not a surprise to find the same dedicated core of volunteers year after year. In Elie, local senior ladies prepare the stuffing and bake homemade buns; St. Paul’s students pour coffee; local firefighters pull double duty as both cooks and servers. Forty five minutes away, the kitchen crew in Carman has been cooking since Friday, and has carved up 32 turkeys in just over a couple of hours the same day. Nor would anything likely be possible without the generous donation of necessary foodstuffs: the turkeys being devoured at St. Paul’s were donated by local Hutterite colonies, and Itzke River Farm provided the celery and onions for the stuffing. Further south, Funke and company get their turnips and carrots from a vegetable farm in Portage and spuds from a local potato grower. While most attendees in Carman are locals, Funke nonetheless boasts of hosting plenty of out-of-towners. Gillis’ ballpark estimate is that 75 per cent of attendees came from outside the community this year–although about 30 per cent of that is family and friends who’ve moved away. The deficit attendees? “Hey, they just come for the experience,” she says. According to Bernardin, the parish wants more people coming from outside the community; indeed, the volunteers were prepared for 700 attendees this year (the leftovers go to soup kitchens). How this writer found about it was a key bit of exit poll information for her: while word-of-mouth remains the principal means of bringing in the crowds, advertising throughout the region using both community websites and newspapers has also been an important measure. It’s also clear that other forces see the fall supper as a gastronomic phenomenon worth turning the spotlight on: the aforementioned travelmanitoba.com features a database of various locations, as well as more than one article. Gillis has been to a few suppers herself in her day, in the likes of St. Claude and Starbuck: “We always try to help other communities.” As for favourite eats everyone’s got his or her own preference. “I love turnips,” Funke professes. Bernardin’s sweet tooth craves lemon meringue. But it’s Gillis who really owns the last word: “You just have to try it all!” So strap on your seatbelt, and leave room for dessert. WHERE THE GOOD EATIN'S AT
photography by Kenton Smith |