The Fusion Grill is one of the trendiest restaurants in Winnipeg,
drawing diners who like trying creative, exotic and unique cuisine.
Owner Scot McTaggart says that when he opened the restaurant in 1996, a
lot of people were disturbed by the dishes he put on the menu and the
selection of wines he stocked.
“Some said, ‘why are you forcing us to eat this?’ We really had to
defend our concept.”
It took a while to convince Winnipeggers that Manitoba food and
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Canadian wine were premium products that gourmets would enjoy if they
got over their anti-homegrown prejudice. The restaurant’s food combines
prairie products in startling ways, challenging the idea that prairie
food is dull and that
exotic food comes from somewhere else.
Five years after opening, the regional cuisine that the Fusion Grill
champions is popular and spreading, with Manitoba-grown food showing up
on the menus of an increasing number of high-end restaurants in
Winnipeg.
“Business is great. We’re thriving. People come to us to see what is
quintessentially Manitoba,” said McTaggart, who has farmer relatives on
both his mother’s and father’s sides.
“Modern people have lost their connection to their rural roots. With
this food they can reconnect.”
On this night, the restaurant is filled with members of the Manitoba
Farm Writers and Broadcasters Association, who have come to see the
wide range of food the province offers to those who look for it.
They are served a Glenlea shitake mushroom soup, a Manitoba pork
tenderloin stuffed with Manitoba pickerel, a yellow curry risotto with
roast Manitoba chicken in a duck demi-glaze, and slow-roasted Manitoba
bison back ribs with a spicy Seagram’s Five Star whisky glaze.
All of the main ingredients come from Manitoba.
McTaggart, a descendant of loyalists who talks fervently about his
restaurant’s commitment to Manitoba-made food, said focusing on local
products isn’t just an attempt at creating a signature theme; it’s
essential to producing good food.
“The freshest food is that grown nearest to you,” he said.
“People are finally cluing into the idea that it’s better if it’s from
here, rather than California, China, France, wherever. If I was in
China I’d buy from China. I’m here, so I buy from here.
“Freshness and proximity are all part of good ingredients.”
Chef Terry Gereta often changes the menu as he experiments with new
Manitoba food. He said his main problem is getting in direct contact
with farmers who have unique food products.
“We need to meet more Manitoba producers,” Gereta said.
His restaurant deals directly with individual producers and likes
experimenting with what they can offer.
“If people have products out there, we want to hear about them,” Gereta
said.
McTaggart said he tells customers about the farms where the food comes
from, something city people seem to enjoy.
“They eat it up,” he said. “They love it.”
