Danielle (DL) Acken/Supplied
Food, and the experience of gathering, preparing and sharing it, is foundational to any culture, rooted in terroir. As Rachel Greening and Spencer Greening wrote in their new book, Gyetk: Coastal Fusion and Ancestral Knowledge from a Ts’msyen Kitchen, food knowledge is perhaps the strongest example of how it takes many people to uphold a land-based culture and its society.
The Ts’msyen Nation have occupied lands along the northwest coast of British Columbia and Alaska for thousands of years, nurtured by the saltwater archipelagos of the Pacific Northwest. Both authors are Ts’mysen people. Rachel’s Nation is Lax Kw’alaams (Port Simpson), where she belongs to the Gispaxlo’ots tribe, Laxsgyiik (Eagle Clan), and Spencer is Ganhada (Raven Clan) from the Gitk’a’ata tribe (Gitga’at First Nation, Hartley Bay). Spencer is a trained anthropologist, while Rachel works in clinical and community nutrition. Together, the married couple facilitate food-based workshops with First Nations youth along the Pacific Northwest coast of British Columbia.
Their book Gyetk (pronounced gee-yet-k, meaning “to feed the people”) is a collection of recipes inspired by ingredients hunted and foraged from Ts’msyen territories, with a nod to the diversity of methods in which traditional foods have been prepared in both precontact and contemporary contexts. It is a stunning celebration and documentation of Ts’msyen culinary knowledge, stories and ecological wisdom.
“This book is also an invitation for non-Indigenous people to explore their relationships with food and the lands they reside on,” write the book’s authors. “By learning about Ts’msyen foods and food systems, we hope readers see the lessons our culture offers to mainstream society and the insight it provides on how to relate to the lands and waters that sustain us.”
Salmon is an integral food source with great spiritual and cultural significance to Indigenous communities across Canada. Sockeye is particularly sought after for its firm texture and oily, deep pink-red flesh.
Spencer and Rachel Greening’s book Gyetk is a collection of recipes inspired by ingredients hunted and foraged from Ts’msyen territories.Supplied
High-fat reserves, necessary for long journeys from the Pacific Ocean to inland freshwater lakes, give sockeye their unique characteristics, the pair explains leading up to this recipe for honey hazelnut-crusted sockeye.
They describe it as one of their favourites: “It looks fancy, sounds fancy, tastes fancy, but it is quite simple to make. We also love that it celebrates two other traditional Ts’msyen foods: seaweed and hazelnuts. Though native hazelnuts are hard to come by, British Columbia-grown hazelnuts have become widely available.”
Honey Hazelnut-Crusted Sockeye Salmon (misoo)
The authors suggest using a local berry-infused honey if you really want to taste the landscape your sockeye comes from and say maple syrup can be used in its place; the result will be thinner in consistency, so reduce the amount of oil by half.
- 1 tablespoon oil, plus more for greasing
- ⅓ cup (45 g) hazelnuts, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from ¼ lemon)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon minced black seaweed (or nori or dulse)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound (455 g) sockeye fillet, 1¼ inch (3 cm) thick (skin-on optional)
- cooked rice, for serving
- cooked Chinese green vegetables (such as choy sum, gai lan, mustard greens, baby bok choy), for serving
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a baking sheet sized for the salmon fillet with oil.
In a medium bowl, combine the hazelnuts, honey, 1 tablespoon oil, lemon juice, salt, seaweed, thyme and pepper and mix well to combine.
Pat the salmon fillet dry with a paper towel, then place it on the prepared baking sheet, skin side down. Evenly spread the hazelnut mixture over the top, ensuring it covers the entire fillet.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes (thicker fillets may take up to 18 minutes), until it flakes evenly with a fork and is moderately firm to the touch; the flesh should still appear moist. It will continue cooking for a few minutes after being removed from the oven.
If the hazelnuts on top have not browned, if desired, broil the salmon for an additional 1 minute, or until the hazelnuts have turned a golden brown (be sure to watch the fish carefully, as the broiler can easily burn and overcook it).
Serve on a bed of rice with a side of greens. Serves 4.
Excerpted from Gyetk by Rachel Greening and Spencer Greening, published by Wellfleet Press, an imprint of the Quarto Group (2026).