Eating Manitoba: Pickerel, Perogies and Bison

Manitoba's food culture is the story of its people — Ukrainian, Mennonite, Métis, and Indigenous — who brought and kept their food on the prairie, plus the northern fish and the modern Winnipeg scene. It's one of the most underrated food provinces in Canada. Here's what to eat.

The Ukrainian and Mennonite food Manitoba has one of the largest Ukrainian and Mennonite populations in Canada, and the food is everywhere — perogies with potato and cheese, cabbage rolls (holubtsi), borscht, kielbasa, and Mennonite rollkuchen and farmer sausage (or 'formavorscht'). The church basements and the community halls make the real ones; Winnipeg's restaurants do modern versions.

The pickerel Lake Winnipeg pickerel (walleye) is Manitoba's fish — the shore lunch (fresh-caught, pan-fried) is the lake country ritual. Smoked, pan-fried, or in fish-and-chips at the lake; the pickerel is the Manitoba table fish.

The bison and the game Bison is back on the Manitoba menu — lean, rich, and local, on the prairie where the great herds once were. Plus elk, and the Indigenous game tradition. The Métis food — the bannock, the game, and the river fish — is the deep story.

Winnipeg restaurants The surprise — Winnipeg has a real restaurant scene. The Exchange District is the hub; Segue, the deer + almond, and the new modern-Prairie places do farm-to-table with the local game, fish, and foraged greens. The Forks Market is the casual version.

The Saskatoon berries and the honey The berries grow wild across the province — Saskatoon berries in pies and jam, and Manitoba wildflower honey (the prairie blooms make the honey). The cinnamon rolls at the Mennonite bakeries are the breakfast.

Where to eat Winnipeg for the restaurants; the lake country (Lake Winnipeg, Whiteshell) for the pickerel; the small towns for the church perogies and the community suppers. And eat the pickerel and the bison — they're the province's signature.