Those who took in 100 Mile’s Olympic Torch Relay Celebration last week at the South Cariboo Rec Centre were treated to a few homegrown treats worthy of medals.
One of the most unique was 1,000 pieces of bannock handmade by a team of cooks comprised of Canim Lake Band elders, youth, community members and Canim Lake Band staff.
Tish Diamond, band recreation program manager, says the group used a traditional baking powder recipe to produce half of the bannock and a yeast recipe for the remainder. Butter and organic preserves made by band members were served with the bannock.
The delicious breads were scooped up quickly, with not a piece left by the end of the three-hour event. Near the bannock table people also found enough hearty soup to feed nearly 1,500 hungry bellies.
Janet Brown, Evelyn Coghill and Pam Parma took on the multi-day task of cooking the soup from scratch, using 80 pounds of ground beef, 500 carrots, 50 bunches of celery, 25 kilograms of potatoes and 10 kg of turnips gathered from local producers.