This year’s Terroir Symposium in Calgary will bring together over 400 of the hospitality industry’s most influential chefs and industry experts for three days of discussions and workshops centered on transformations.
It’s a fitting topic for chef Tracy Little who is partnering with the event for a pop-up lunch at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology on September 30. Her Canmore restaurant Sauvage is all about transforming the best of Alberta’s natural bounty into plates that immerse diners in their environment.
“I try to connect people with a taste of place,” she says. “We’re a destination that a lot of world travelers come to, and it’s pretty cool when they can go for a walk and see some of the stuff [in the wild] that was also on their plate.”
Little grew up foraging with her father, an expert at harvesting wild foods in the bush. As a professional, Little soon realized that foraging was a distinct skill that could inform her cooking. “I moved to Canmore and fell in love with it here, but I couldn’t find a home at any restaurant to accommodate my unique style,” she says.
After taking over Canmore’s Tapas Restaurant in 2020, Little gradually incorporated more foraged ingredients into the menu, eventually rebranding the restaurant as Sauvage in 2021. “We used the ‘boiling the frog’ method where you slowly start changing stuff so you don’t scare away the existing clients,” she says. “Then I finally turned it into my dream.”
What to eat
Credit: Sauvage
Sauvage now has two 7-course tasting menus: the meat-focused The Hunter and a vegan alternative called The Gatherer. Little forages many ingredients herself sourcing others from local farmers and growers.
“Some ingredients may only be available for a week or two, so I change the menu very frequently,” she says.
A typical menu might include squash with corn, bean and curly dock or elk with currant, hay, lichen, and tamarack. “Right now the elk are rutting [breeding], and you can hear them bugling while you eat. It’s pretty cool,” Little says.
Finding wild ingredients is always a challenge, Little says, but it’s one she fully embraces.
“We have an intimate perspective on the Bow Valley and what grows where, but sometimes you’re trying to track down where something might be or you have to adapt because something isn’t available at all because of the weather conditions,” Little says.
What to drink
Sauvage’s local ethos extends to the restaurant’s drink program, where cocktails have ingredients like dandelion and nettle. Diners can also add wine or housemade juice pairings to their tasting menu.
“We try to keep it as Canadian as possible to reflect the amazing bounty that we have here in Canada,” Little says.
What the space is like
“I want people to feel like they’re eating in my home dining room,” Little says.
That means a ton of plants and dark green colours throughout. “We’ve had people compare it to an old witch’s house or like eating in a forest,” Little says.
There are rumors that the historic 19th century building the restaurant is in is haunted, Little says with a laugh. “I don’t think that though,” Little adds.
Little is looking forward to Terroir this year because of the creativity and innovation it fuels.
“The connection between Sauvage and Terroir is pretty perfect,” Little says. “We’re all about sustainability and trying to be the best that we can within the industry.”
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Jessica Huras is a Toronto-based food and drink writer. Eat your way across the city (and beyond) with her on Instagram @waysofwanderers
