72 | harrowsmithmag.com
the remains, Freshwater Cuisine
focuses on looking past the
traditional fish fillet to create
products using more meat from
a single fish, such as with its
popular Walleye Wings, as well
as its Pickerel Cheeks made
from 100 percent wild-caught
freshwater fish.
“The whole thing came about
because I’m a chef and I saw an
opportunity in this waste. After
we took off the fillets, there would
be over 60 percent waste, and I
wondered how we could create
value-added products out of this
waste, for extra revenue. I created
Walleye Wings as a result. People
were keeping cheeks, but no one
was taking the pectoral fin muscle.
Nobody tried to bring that to
market,” says Barnard.
“As a chef, I’m able to manipulate
fish in so many ways and there are
so many recipes we can do with so
many species. There is more in our
lakes than we know, and making
value-added products from what
most people call waste was a great
opportunity to create something
that was tasty that no one had
thought of. There are so many
opportunities with fish that people
don’t think about,” he says.Making fish cool
Not only does Barnard find a way to
use as much of the fish as possible,
but he’s also showcasing our home
and native land’s freshwater fish,
including the less popular species.
“We’re one of the first ones to
find value in inland freshwater
fish,” says Barnard. “There is so
much stigma around underutilized
species. My whole mission now is
to go and show people what we can
do with our inland fish, how you
can cook it.”Today, Freshwater Cuisine
works in partnership with over
50 independent fishermen who
supply them with 100 percent wild-
caught fish. Freshwater Cuisine
is now the largest operating fish-
processing facility in northwestern
Ontario, supplying the region with
freshwater fish fillets, Walleye
Wings and Pickerel Cheeks.
“We buy fresh fish from our
Indigenous fishers, injecting cash
into the community and creating
jobs and rebuilding fisheries.
Through us, their fish is getting
to all kinds of people now. People
need a consistent supply of inland
freshwater fish and we’re the only
ones in the region doing it right
now,” says Barnard.Freshwater beginnings
“It all started when I moved back
to Kenora from Fort McMurray
[Alberta], where I was previouslyFreshwater Cuisine has made a name for itself with its popular Walleye Wings, made from locally sourced, wild-caught
freshwater fish.